A month on

One month of topsy turvy life


 
It has been about one month since my previous post. Where my world had turned topsy turvy. Literally. And in this one month, there are more changes. I am not sure whether for the good or bad. But change is the only constant. We have been working from home all this month. Staying in touch with our colleagues over meetings. Still getting office work done. But it has not been that easy.
 

Keto-diet

Around the same time as the lockdown, a week earlier when things were normal I had gotten into a keto-diet regime to bring down my weight. My sugar levels were also high, so I had to do something about that as well to avoid it getting into a diabetic state. It is around this time that a consultant from a company called ReShape Fitness added me on linkedIn, and instead of the usual question of “how can I help you”, I asked him “how can you help me?”. Since there was a need for me. Thus began the diet session for nearly four weeks. My weight was 81.5, not bad for a height of 5’11” but still bordering towards high side.
 
I had to eat mostly proteins like Panner, and veggies (peppers, cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbages) and himalayan pink salt, keya pepper for taste. I was allowed to eat fats such as almonds, pistachios, but not carbs (such as carrots, even onions so to say). I was put on supplements (from Amway – the nutrilite variety) and protein drinks along with dietary fibre. So it was protein in the morning, veggies for the other two meals with nuts to supplement the hunger. Four weeks of this. The body started revolting on day 3. I spoke to the consultant and wanted to come back to normal food. But he convinced me to stay put. After about 8-10 days the fat burn started. All the way from 81.5 kilos to 72.5 kilos. A good 9kgs down. Irritable bowel syndrome fixed, low back ache fixed and the body was shown its place on what it should tolerate as the new normal.
 
It was around this time, I also started facing challenges in getting grocery delivered due to nationwide lockdown. And a severe bronchitis attack I had to sustain and get cured of. So I had to quit this program by 4th week to get back to carbs. But I learnt what I had to and would gladly continue it going forward.
 

Mental health & work

 
See there is nothing serious that can go wrong if you are at home for a month or so. But that depends on context. For me my wife and kids were with me, so also parents so it turned out positive. However I would say office productivity increased being at home due to more efficient targets and meetings. Work started by 9am as opposed to the daily 1.5h grind of commute. Every day was quite productive, but also made me tired. Due to the summers, I slept only by midnight and started getting up a bit late than normal warranting the need to hurry to get into the meetings scheduled. 
 
Lack of proper sleep, issues with diet and health are enough to make you moody and go berserk at home. And if the health issue persists like weeks like mine did, you really begin to feel low.
 
We keep joking around that we want to retire soon. But this is more like the same case but a trial version of how you would feel if you did retire. And if you never had to go out anywhere or meet anyone. This is when you truly realise the value of society, friendships, relationships, being together, checking on each other often, and everything else in between. There were instances where I did feel frustrated just staying put at home. Without socialising, or shopping, or even driving my car. This is when I understood that driving in the traffic was actually ok for me, it was an activity that kept me busy. Unlike sitting on a couch all the time.
 
I know some other people known to me were going through serious trouble at home with having too much to do and no me time for themselves. 
 

Real vs Unreal needs

This pandemic has surely brought about the ability for all of us to think and separate our needs into real vs unreal ones. What we need is food, family time, a feeling of being in good health, sufficient work and good rest. Nothing is gonna happen to us if we don’t socialise, or go out very often. Nothing is going to happen if we don’t keep binge ordering stuff from e-commerce websites to our whims and fancies.
 
We are now able to cook more at home, enjoy safe food with family. There are so many of us that took to cooking literally. Heck I am even starting a recipe blog for you all shortly. Binge spending stopped for good. With the stock market crash and the uncertain outlook on the economy we now understand why it is important to save money. We now realise the value of our current jobs after the job market froze literally. We are able to separate the wheat from the chaff.
 

The future

At least for the short term, the pandemic is not going to go away anywhere. A lot of what we do and how we do it will change. I was reading an article where TCS is going to make 75% of their workforce work from home. Things are changing slowly. Many companies would not mind providing more work from home options to balance out for their employees with respect to pandemic type situations. There would be more take away options at restaurants making them move to the model for good as compared to in house dining which will get more expensive. In fact the social distancing need is significantly going to increase everything – airfares, train fares, bus fares, hotel fares and what not.
 
Many people will likely stop ordering food from outside due to the risk of catching Covid. All payments would become contactless without cash exchanges anywhere. Shops like hair salons will see increased rates due to decreased footfall. People would be skeptic to go to clothing stores or such shops in the malls due to multiple people touching the clothes. Movie halls will see increased rates and lower footfall. 
 
Blueprints for the vaccine will get generated, and there would be a genuine investment into healthcare facilities for the future. Gyms will see lesser footfall and likely get out of business or have to move to online coaching mode with at home equipment for patrons. This also means more investment for us. All public gatherings would be scrutinised and sanitised or even avoided. Marriages would likely see lesser people attend. Food would be circumspect. Cleanliness would be questionable going forward. 
 
Schools & colleges would turn to electronic mode of working for at least one year – at least most schools. In fact they actually must if they have not yet done so. Public transport would be messy and lesser preferred. There is news that the used and new car market will actually pick up very well soon because people would prefer buying and driving their own vehicles to avoid risk of infection. This automatically defeats purpose of public transportation and would lead to heavy traffic jams and increase commute time in the city.
 
Industries will begin to function but will not have a concrete executable plan in place to handle infection risk. Their plans would make sense on paper but in reality will take long time to be actually giving results. Tourism industry will take a huge hit with airlines hiking their fares and not many people wanting to go to resorts for avoiding risk of infection. In fact this industry may not see heydays for another 1-2 years as they cannot change their business model like other industries.
 
Salary cuts or job losses means Loan defaults and not many people will go for newer loans for the whole of 2020 for the short term which means spending will reduce. This will affect all industries such as real estate. Many migrant workers will likely be out of jobs for an extended period not so much because people cannot pay them (like maids, cooks, etc) – but more due to the perceived infection risk. The country needs lots of impetus to reboot the economy. Without that, things will take a long while to come back to shape. What we also need is a plan that will actually work without causing much hardship to people going about their duties. Unfortunately there is no such silver bullet to every need. At best we will end up with few things that works best in this situation and other things that just dont and infact may be complicating the situation more. It will be a mix of stuff which we will have to deal with.
 
But this too shall pass. Except this time it would be a long reset. Wear your seat belts and sit tight. The road ahead is rough.
 

A month on

One month of topsy turvy life


 
It has been about one month since my previous post. Where my world had turned topsy turvy. Literally. And in this one month, there are more changes. I am not sure whether for the good or bad. But change is the only constant. We have been working from home all this month. Staying in touch with our colleagues over meetings. Still getting office work done. But it has not been that easy.
 

Keto-diet

Around the same time as the lockdown, a week earlier when things were normal I had gotten into a keto-diet regime to bring down my weight. My sugar levels were also high, so I had to do something about that as well to avoid it getting into a diabetic state. It is around this time that a consultant from a company called ReShape Fitness added me on linkedIn, and instead of the usual question of “how can I help you”, I asked him “how can you help me?”. Since there was a need for me. Thus began the diet session for nearly four weeks. My weight was 81.5, not bad for a height of 5’11” but still bordering towards high side.
 
I had to eat mostly proteins like Panner, and veggies (peppers, cauliflower, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbages) and himalayan pink salt, keya pepper for taste. I was allowed to eat fats such as almonds, pistachios, but not carbs (such as carrots, even onions so to say). I was put on supplements (from Amway – the nutrilite variety) and protein drinks along with dietary fibre. So it was protein in the morning, veggies for the other two meals with nuts to supplement the hunger. Four weeks of this. The body started revolting on day 3. I spoke to the consultant and wanted to come back to normal food. But he convinced me to stay put. After about 8-10 days the fat burn started. All the way from 81.5 kilos to 72.5 kilos. A good 9kgs down. Irritable bowel syndrome fixed, low back ache fixed and the body was shown its place on what it should tolerate as the new normal.
 
It was around this time, I also started facing challenges in getting grocery delivered due to nationwide lockdown. And a severe bronchitis attack I had to sustain and get cured of. So I had to quit this program by 4th week to get back to carbs. But I learnt what I had to and would gladly continue it going forward.
 

Mental health & work

 
See there is nothing serious that can go wrong if you are at home for a month or so. But that depends on context. For me my wife and kids were with me, so also parents so it turned out positive. However I would say office productivity increased being at home due to more efficient targets and meetings. Work started by 9am as opposed to the daily 1.5h grind of commute. Every day was quite productive, but also made me tired. Due to the summers, I slept only by midnight and started getting up a bit late than normal warranting the need to hurry to get into the meetings scheduled. 
 
Lack of proper sleep, issues with diet and health are enough to make you moody and go berserk at home. And if the health issue persists like weeks like mine did, you really begin to feel low.
 
We keep joking around that we want to retire soon. But this is more like the same case but a trial version of how you would feel if you did retire. And if you never had to go out anywhere or meet anyone. This is when you truly realise the value of society, friendships, relationships, being together, checking on each other often, and everything else in between. There were instances where I did feel frustrated just staying put at home. Without socialising, or shopping, or even driving my car. This is when I understood that driving in the traffic was actually ok for me, it was an activity that kept me busy. Unlike sitting on a couch all the time.
 
I know some other people known to me were going through serious trouble at home with having too much to do and no me time for themselves. 
 

Real vs Unreal needs

This pandemic has surely brought about the ability for all of us to think and separate our needs into real vs unreal ones. What we need is food, family time, a feeling of being in good health, sufficient work and good rest. Nothing is gonna happen to us if we don’t socialise, or go out very often. Nothing is going to happen if we don’t keep binge ordering stuff from e-commerce websites to our whims and fancies.
 
We are now able to cook more at home, enjoy safe food with family. There are so many of us that took to cooking literally. Heck I am even starting a recipe blog for you all shortly. Binge spending stopped for good. With the stock market crash and the uncertain outlook on the economy we now understand why it is important to save money. We now realise the value of our current jobs after the job market froze literally. We are able to separate the wheat from the chaff.
 

The future

At least for the short term, the pandemic is not going to go away anywhere. A lot of what we do and how we do it will change. I was reading an article where TCS is going to make 75% of their workforce work from home. Things are changing slowly. Many companies would not mind providing more work from home options to balance out for their employees with respect to pandemic type situations. There would be more take away options at restaurants making them move to the model for good as compared to in house dining which will get more expensive. In fact the social distancing need is significantly going to increase everything – airfares, train fares, bus fares, hotel fares and what not.
 
Many people will likely stop ordering food from outside due to the risk of catching Covid. All payments would become contactless without cash exchanges anywhere. Shops like hair salons will see increased rates due to decreased footfall. People would be skeptic to go to clothing stores or such shops in the malls due to multiple people touching the clothes. Movie halls will see increased rates and lower footfall. 
 
Blueprints for the vaccine will get generated, and there would be a genuine investment into healthcare facilities for the future. Gyms will see lesser footfall and likely get out of business or have to move to online coaching mode with at home equipment for patrons. This also means more investment for us. All public gatherings would be scrutinised and sanitised or even avoided. Marriages would likely see lesser people attend. Food would be circumspect. Cleanliness would be questionable going forward. 
 
Schools & colleges would turn to electronic mode of working for at least one year – at least most schools. In fact they actually must if they have not yet done so. Public transport would be messy and lesser preferred. There is news that the used and new car market will actually pick up very well soon because people would prefer buying and driving their own vehicles to avoid risk of infection. This automatically defeats purpose of public transportation and would lead to heavy traffic jams and increase commute time in the city.
 
Industries will begin to function but will not have a concrete executable plan in place to handle infection risk. Their plans would make sense on paper but in reality will take long time to be actually giving results. Tourism industry will take a huge hit with airlines hiking their fares and not many people wanting to go to resorts for avoiding risk of infection. In fact this industry may not see heydays for another 1-2 years as they cannot change their business model like other industries.
 
Salary cuts or job losses means Loan defaults and not many people will go for newer loans for the whole of 2020 for the short term which means spending will reduce. This will affect all industries such as real estate. Many migrant workers will likely be out of jobs for an extended period not so much because people cannot pay them (like maids, cooks, etc) – but more due to the perceived infection risk. The country needs lots of impetus to reboot the economy. Without that, things will take a long while to come back to shape. What we also need is a plan that will actually work without causing much hardship to people going about their duties. Unfortunately there is no such silver bullet to every need. At best we will end up with few things that works best in this situation and other things that just dont and infact may be complicating the situation more. It will be a mix of stuff which we will have to deal with.
 
But this too shall pass. Except this time it would be a long reset. Wear your seat belts and sit tight. The road ahead is rough.
 

The Dyson V11 absolute pro review

Introduction

 

After being accustomed to Eureka Forbes for most part of my life with the demo man coming to my home and later managing to convince me to buy one of their vacuum cleaners each single time, I slowly moved on to the likes of Karcher. All of these vacuum cleaners however were wired and had to be lugged around the house along with the wire. This was irritating at some point and I wanted something which would cut free the cord. Here is where the Dyson family of vacuum cleaners used to appeal to me since a long time. Finally I decided to take the plunge in 2020 and went in for the DysonV 11 absolute pro.

 

What it claims to be

Dyson V 11 absolute pro is a cordless vacuum cleaner obviously with rechargeable battery about the size of a laptop battery and can be easily used around the house to clean the house. So what is special as compare to the other vacuum cleaners you may ask? Well from the looks of it there’s nothing really different from other vacuum cleaners but when you begin to use this machine you see the finance with which it is built. The looks, the attachments, the ease of attaching and removing something, the way it glides over the floor, the way in which you can keep it clean, the way charges, and so many other things in between – these are what makes it really different from other vacuums.

So basically it comes with the main unit along with many accessories for which you Will need a bag to store them. It’s a professional design with the stunning blue look and feel extremely premium to hold in the hand. It’s almost like the Apple of phones.
 
 

Installation

 

After the purchase of the vacuum cleaner the goods were delivered to me by courier within a couple of days. Post that an appointment was set for demonstrating the vacuum cleaner and me being the usual guy decided not to go for it since I knew how to use vacuum cleaners. Nevertheless after sometime I thought I should still let the appointment go through and called the guy for a demo.

The guy said he will take a Ola cab and reach my home. I have never seen any service personnel come by taxi for a demo. Just imagine the level of comfort his company gave him to do a task well. Small things matter right? He was at my home on time very professionally dressed and already to show me the demo of the vacuum cleaner. He went about to explain all the parts very well and detailed some specifics of how to use each part.
 
He had to wall mount the vacuum and he did that in an extremely professional way. Not a single bit of dust fallen on the floor anywhere. I was extremely impressed with his way of working and vacuum cleaner was on the wall in no time.
 
 

Detailing the parts

The vacuum comes with the following parts

 

 
  • Main unit which also has charging port
  • charging cable
  • Wall mount apparatus
  • One long tubular attachment
  • One floor cleaning part
  • One crevice cleaning part (for in between mattresses, sofas)
  • One mattress, sofa cleaning part
  • One carpet, mat cleaning part
  • One electronic screen cleaning brush
  • One cobweb and wall corner cleaning brush which can also be used for windows
  • One bent attachment to reach above air conditioners, fans
  • One spring attachment to pull, extend and clean inaccessible areas
 

Detailing the modes of operation

There are basically three modes of operation, Turbo, Medium/Auto and Eco

 

 
  • Eco stretches the battery upto an hour
  • Medium / Auto takes the battery until 40 minutes
  • Turbo is usually around 15 minutes
 

All these vary the suction power and produce different results.

 

Cleaning the parts

The user manual has a lot of information about how to attach the parts how to clean them and so on. These are pictorially depicted and easy to understand. The user manual has a lot of information on how to interpret alerts from the machine, understand if there is a blockage in the machine, and how to look for blockages within the vacuum cleaner in such rare instances. The level of instructions are not confusing and are very pictorial easily get the point. Two of these parts can be cleaned with water. The main unit has a filter which can be cleaned washed and dried in sunlight and put back again.

The dust holder area in the vacuum is within the main unit and can be open to dispose of everything in a dustbin. You need to ensure that when getting rid of the dust you don’t put your face to close with the dustbin, else there is lot of micro dust which could fly out causing cough.
 

Summary of the gadget

There are very few things that are professionally designed in the world while at the same time addresses real life issues while we humans use these gadgets.

Pros

Here are a few things that tilted my favour towards the Dyson v11

 
  • Professional look of the device
  • Heard a lot about the professionalism of the company and the level of investment they do into their design (such as bladeless fan etc)
  • Cordless vacuum means no more wires worry or tangling or hurtling vacuums across the house
  • Easy way to dispose dust straight into the dustbin – no dust bag etc
  • Suction power is uniform until the last drop of battery
  • Charging is done overnight and its ready to go again in the morning
  • Professional installation support and easy to read manual
  • Wall mount option
  • Attachments that are sensible to use and easy to attach/detach at any height
  • Entire vacuum can be held in one hand like a huge gun
  • Slickness in the tech
  • Easy cleaning options
 

Cons

Here are a few things why people may not buy a Dyson

 
  • Karcher and Eureka are still at affordable range of about 5-15k INR. For everyday vacuuming at cheaper price these are still great options
  • At nearly 50000 INR this is one of the costliest vacuums in India and is not affordable to someone who likes it but is restrained by the cost factor
  • The main unit is heavier than I expected and hence you need to keep it at an angle while cleaning the floor else your wrists are gonna hurt after a while.
  • For floor cleaning I would still prefer something like the Roomba simply because its automation level vs the price point of 2/3rds of Dyson means it would do its job without me having to intervene.
  • At the end of the day no vacuum can ensure your entire house is clean always. Its a mix of vacuuming mopping and sometimes even deep cleaning windows and doors that ensures maximum results.
 

In summary I purchased this gadget at a zero cost emi of 2500 INR a month for two years. I know that this gadget is there to remain with me for a couple of years and this offer was great for me. I know I have invested in a company that puts thought into design for addressing real world issues and does that in style with their products. I am a happy customer of Dyson and feel that their products and their professional approach will give a lot more choice to the customer in future.

If you have the money and are looking for a good vacuum in the market, there is nothing better than this one at the moment. Go for it !

The Dyson V11 absolute pro review

Introduction

 

After being accustomed to Eureka Forbes for most part of my life with the demo man coming to my home and later managing to convince me to buy one of their vacuum cleaners each single time, I slowly moved on to the likes of Karcher. All of these vacuum cleaners however were wired and had to be lugged around the house along with the wire. This was irritating at some point and I wanted something which would cut free the cord. Here is where the Dyson family of vacuum cleaners used to appeal to me since a long time. Finally I decided to take the plunge in 2020 and went in for the DysonV 11 absolute pro.

 

What it claims to be

Dyson V 11 absolute pro is a cordless vacuum cleaner obviously with rechargeable battery about the size of a laptop battery and can be easily used around the house to clean the house. So what is special as compare to the other vacuum cleaners you may ask? Well from the looks of it there’s nothing really different from other vacuum cleaners but when you begin to use this machine you see the finance with which it is built. The looks, the attachments, the ease of attaching and removing something, the way it glides over the floor, the way in which you can keep it clean, the way charges, and so many other things in between – these are what makes it really different from other vacuums.

So basically it comes with the main unit along with many accessories for which you Will need a bag to store them. It’s a professional design with the stunning blue look and feel extremely premium to hold in the hand. It’s almost like the Apple of phones.
 
 

Installation

 

After the purchase of the vacuum cleaner the goods were delivered to me by courier within a couple of days. Post that an appointment was set for demonstrating the vacuum cleaner and me being the usual guy decided not to go for it since I knew how to use vacuum cleaners. Nevertheless after sometime I thought I should still let the appointment go through and called the guy for a demo.

The guy said he will take a Ola cab and reach my home. I have never seen any service personnel come by taxi for a demo. Just imagine the level of comfort his company gave him to do a task well. Small things matter right? He was at my home on time very professionally dressed and already to show me the demo of the vacuum cleaner. He went about to explain all the parts very well and detailed some specifics of how to use each part.
 
He had to wall mount the vacuum and he did that in an extremely professional way. Not a single bit of dust fallen on the floor anywhere. I was extremely impressed with his way of working and vacuum cleaner was on the wall in no time.
 
 

Detailing the parts

The vacuum comes with the following parts

 

 
  • Main unit which also has charging port
  • charging cable
  • Wall mount apparatus
  • One long tubular attachment
  • One floor cleaning part
  • One crevice cleaning part (for in between mattresses, sofas)
  • One mattress, sofa cleaning part
  • One carpet, mat cleaning part
  • One electronic screen cleaning brush
  • One cobweb and wall corner cleaning brush which can also be used for windows
  • One bent attachment to reach above air conditioners, fans
  • One spring attachment to pull, extend and clean inaccessible areas
 

Detailing the modes of operation

There are basically three modes of operation, Turbo, Medium/Auto and Eco

 

 
  • Eco stretches the battery upto an hour
  • Medium / Auto takes the battery until 40 minutes
  • Turbo is usually around 15 minutes
 

All these vary the suction power and produce different results.

 

Cleaning the parts

The user manual has a lot of information about how to attach the parts how to clean them and so on. These are pictorially depicted and easy to understand. The user manual has a lot of information on how to interpret alerts from the machine, understand if there is a blockage in the machine, and how to look for blockages within the vacuum cleaner in such rare instances. The level of instructions are not confusing and are very pictorial easily get the point. Two of these parts can be cleaned with water. The main unit has a filter which can be cleaned washed and dried in sunlight and put back again.

The dust holder area in the vacuum is within the main unit and can be open to dispose of everything in a dustbin. You need to ensure that when getting rid of the dust you don’t put your face to close with the dustbin, else there is lot of micro dust which could fly out causing cough.
 

Summary of the gadget

There are very few things that are professionally designed in the world while at the same time addresses real life issues while we humans use these gadgets.

Pros

Here are a few things that tilted my favour towards the Dyson v11

 
  • Professional look of the device
  • Heard a lot about the professionalism of the company and the level of investment they do into their design (such as bladeless fan etc)
  • Cordless vacuum means no more wires worry or tangling or hurtling vacuums across the house
  • Easy way to dispose dust straight into the dustbin – no dust bag etc
  • Suction power is uniform until the last drop of battery
  • Charging is done overnight and its ready to go again in the morning
  • Professional installation support and easy to read manual
  • Wall mount option
  • Attachments that are sensible to use and easy to attach/detach at any height
  • Entire vacuum can be held in one hand like a huge gun
  • Slickness in the tech
  • Easy cleaning options
 

Cons

Here are a few things why people may not buy a Dyson

 
  • Karcher and Eureka are still at affordable range of about 5-15k INR. For everyday vacuuming at cheaper price these are still great options
  • At nearly 50000 INR this is one of the costliest vacuums in India and is not affordable to someone who likes it but is restrained by the cost factor
  • The main unit is heavier than I expected and hence you need to keep it at an angle while cleaning the floor else your wrists are gonna hurt after a while.
  • For floor cleaning I would still prefer something like the Roomba simply because its automation level vs the price point of 2/3rds of Dyson means it would do its job without me having to intervene.
  • At the end of the day no vacuum can ensure your entire house is clean always. Its a mix of vacuuming mopping and sometimes even deep cleaning windows and doors that ensures maximum results.
 

In summary I purchased this gadget at a zero cost emi of 2500 INR a month for two years. I know that this gadget is there to remain with me for a couple of years and this offer was great for me. I know I have invested in a company that puts thought into design for addressing real world issues and does that in style with their products. I am a happy customer of Dyson and feel that their products and their professional approach will give a lot more choice to the customer in future.

If you have the money and are looking for a good vacuum in the market, there is nothing better than this one at the moment. Go for it !

The world turned topsy turvy

Context

 
It was December of 2019. I was preparing to buy a new car, and also conduct a function at my home for my boys. Planning was in full swing. Suddenly I lost my 96 year old grandma. It all happened in just a week. We were a bit sad about this, but still decided to go ahead with the function assuming her blessings.  She personally had told me she will be there at the function no matter what the circumstances. But that was not to be.
 
Hectic activity preceded the function. Invitation cards, arranging a hall, transport, accommodation, food, the priests and everything else from decoration to photography. The mood was set and the function happened. It was a fantastic event well represented by everyone. Family, friends to support me and make it a success.
 
Around this time just after the function, my father in law had a heart attack. It all happened all of a sudden. He was at my home and he suddenly started perspiring. I just checked his head and felt that it was a little too much and I took a call to immediately take into the hospital along with my wife. Fast forward two days and he had come out of the ICU after having a couple of stents placed in his heart. A couple of days later he was back home feeling fine. In the meanwhile my new car suffered an accident although a minor one. I personally did not get hurt but I had to spend a lot on damages.
 
Just when I thought everything was getting settled the COVID-19 mania entered the scene.
 
 

The Pandemic

Even at the time of this writing the number of confirmed cases all around the world has already touched 600,000. A whopping 27,000 deaths have already occurred. 130,000 people have recovered and the pandemic has affected 181 countries. India had to work fast and do something immediately. This is where the Prime Minister took a bold call and not only did he ask for a curfew of one day but also extended the curfew for three more weeks. What started as a joke about the Chinese turned into a real nightmare for the entire world. Every company offered work from home for the employees and the government ordered a strict lock down of the entire country. This simply means everything was stopped – malls and movie halls, schools, transportation, working from offices, public gatherings, events or even simple things like restaurant visits and family outings.
 

Pressing the reset button

 

Work and Study

Just one week or two everything has turned topsy-turvy. Kids took up exams in schools hoping that they would go to the next grade with flying colours. But the government cancel the entire primary and middle schooling and rather promoted them to the next grade automatically. High school exams are now postponed without a date. Working from home became the new normal for employees in India. All the meetings were happening on video conferencing software. And now the whole world is talking about the recession to come. If the stock markets are anything to go by we are in for a very very long haul by the time everything recovers. People were hoping of good salary hikes and promotions and needless to say bonuses but now all they want is their job to be secure. 
 

Fun and frolic

People wanted to spend time with their families watching movies and going to malls for shopping and a few other trips for holidays. But people are now spending time with families sitting at home. Many people lost lot of their money in the stock markets, while some have a lot of money and don’t know what to do with it. There was a time when weekend shopping was a must do in everyone’s list but today the whole world is scrambling to get food that can last at least one week. The world is talking about distancing from each other not meeting each other, and not going to any public place for fear of catching the virus.
 

The importance of small things

Everyone of us for a long time have assumed that everything in the world will be available to us all the time. Given the crunch on resources we now understand to see small pleasures in life and appreciate them. It could be as simple as having a good meal with your family. It could be to do the clothes or to do the garden or even playing with your kids on the street. It could be watching the birds or enjoying the silence given that all the industrialisation has come to a full stop. This is the reverse case of the so-called perceived stress that we undergo with our job. Requiring us to sit at home doing nothing for nearly a month makes us feel like we are cut off from everything. We now understand the happiness associated with all the socialising that we did. Our mind yearns for getting back to work meeting our colleagues and friends and getting a break from the mundane home life.
 
We now understand that we need not run to the doctor for every single problem we have, but rather find some way to get it cured at home itself. We now understand how not to waste things, how to keep our home clean, and what it is to be healthy. We now understand how important it is for our kids to go to school and get educated while spending quality time with their friends. 
 

Government stuff

As far as the government facilities are concerned the lawmakers now realise the seriousness to reboot the system once and for all. In my opinion this should be a permanent change and for the good. This should help the future generations be prepared for anything like this pandemic. Our healthcare facilities need to be upgraded and more importantly accessible to all irrespective of how much money they have. In fact a country like India should now seriously think about social security in a greater sense with respect to health care. In all of this I really appreciate how we as a country have put in all our minds together and take a resolve to fight this pandemic. 
 

Future priorities

As we go into the future cautiously our priorities need to be revisited completely. We need good healthcare which is affordable to all. We need assurance on food supplies. We need to stop hoarding essentials. We need to stop panicking about everything. We need to support those who are taking action. We need to care more for our families. We need to socialise more with our friends. We need to look forward to a world where humanity takes priority over everything else. We need to help more. We need to give more. We need to treat all other beings other than humans with greater respect. We need a lot more trust and a lot more faith. We need to stop being politically oriented and start being more humane. We need to celebrate the fact that we are living a good life and so are others around us. We need to make genuine friends and we need to respect people around us more. 
 
But is the world ready for all this? Or are we going to go back to old ways and only think about ourselves while we cause destruction around the earth with our selfish nature? This is like that all important exam question but you are given a chance to edit your answer once. Will you choose wisely?
 
 
 
 
 

The world turned topsy turvy

Context

 
It was December of 2019. I was preparing to buy a new car, and also conduct a function at my home for my boys. Planning was in full swing. Suddenly I lost my 96 year old grandma. It all happened in just a week. We were a bit sad about this, but still decided to go ahead with the function assuming her blessings.  She personally had told me she will be there at the function no matter what the circumstances. But that was not to be.
 
Hectic activity preceded the function. Invitation cards, arranging a hall, transport, accommodation, food, the priests and everything else from decoration to photography. The mood was set and the function happened. It was a fantastic event well represented by everyone. Family, friends to support me and make it a success.
 
Around this time just after the function, my father in law had a heart attack. It all happened all of a sudden. He was at my home and he suddenly started perspiring. I just checked his head and felt that it was a little too much and I took a call to immediately take into the hospital along with my wife. Fast forward two days and he had come out of the ICU after having a couple of stents placed in his heart. A couple of days later he was back home feeling fine. In the meanwhile my new car suffered an accident although a minor one. I personally did not get hurt but I had to spend a lot on damages.
 
Just when I thought everything was getting settled the COVID-19 mania entered the scene.
 
 

The Pandemic

Even at the time of this writing the number of confirmed cases all around the world has already touched 600,000. A whopping 27,000 deaths have already occurred. 130,000 people have recovered and the pandemic has affected 181 countries. India had to work fast and do something immediately. This is where the Prime Minister took a bold call and not only did he ask for a curfew of one day but also extended the curfew for three more weeks. What started as a joke about the Chinese turned into a real nightmare for the entire world. Every company offered work from home for the employees and the government ordered a strict lock down of the entire country. This simply means everything was stopped – malls and movie halls, schools, transportation, working from offices, public gatherings, events or even simple things like restaurant visits and family outings.
 

Pressing the reset button

 

Work and Study

Just one week or two everything has turned topsy-turvy. Kids took up exams in schools hoping that they would go to the next grade with flying colours. But the government cancel the entire primary and middle schooling and rather promoted them to the next grade automatically. High school exams are now postponed without a date. Working from home became the new normal for employees in India. All the meetings were happening on video conferencing software. And now the whole world is talking about the recession to come. If the stock markets are anything to go by we are in for a very very long haul by the time everything recovers. People were hoping of good salary hikes and promotions and needless to say bonuses but now all they want is their job to be secure. 
 

Fun and frolic

People wanted to spend time with their families watching movies and going to malls for shopping and a few other trips for holidays. But people are now spending time with families sitting at home. Many people lost lot of their money in the stock markets, while some have a lot of money and don’t know what to do with it. There was a time when weekend shopping was a must do in everyone’s list but today the whole world is scrambling to get food that can last at least one week. The world is talking about distancing from each other not meeting each other, and not going to any public place for fear of catching the virus.
 

The importance of small things

Everyone of us for a long time have assumed that everything in the world will be available to us all the time. Given the crunch on resources we now understand to see small pleasures in life and appreciate them. It could be as simple as having a good meal with your family. It could be to do the clothes or to do the garden or even playing with your kids on the street. It could be watching the birds or enjoying the silence given that all the industrialisation has come to a full stop. This is the reverse case of the so-called perceived stress that we undergo with our job. Requiring us to sit at home doing nothing for nearly a month makes us feel like we are cut off from everything. We now understand the happiness associated with all the socialising that we did. Our mind yearns for getting back to work meeting our colleagues and friends and getting a break from the mundane home life.
 
We now understand that we need not run to the doctor for every single problem we have, but rather find some way to get it cured at home itself. We now understand how not to waste things, how to keep our home clean, and what it is to be healthy. We now understand how important it is for our kids to go to school and get educated while spending quality time with their friends. 
 

Government stuff

As far as the government facilities are concerned the lawmakers now realise the seriousness to reboot the system once and for all. In my opinion this should be a permanent change and for the good. This should help the future generations be prepared for anything like this pandemic. Our healthcare facilities need to be upgraded and more importantly accessible to all irrespective of how much money they have. In fact a country like India should now seriously think about social security in a greater sense with respect to health care. In all of this I really appreciate how we as a country have put in all our minds together and take a resolve to fight this pandemic. 
 

Future priorities

As we go into the future cautiously our priorities need to be revisited completely. We need good healthcare which is affordable to all. We need assurance on food supplies. We need to stop hoarding essentials. We need to stop panicking about everything. We need to support those who are taking action. We need to care more for our families. We need to socialise more with our friends. We need to look forward to a world where humanity takes priority over everything else. We need to help more. We need to give more. We need to treat all other beings other than humans with greater respect. We need a lot more trust and a lot more faith. We need to stop being politically oriented and start being more humane. We need to celebrate the fact that we are living a good life and so are others around us. We need to make genuine friends and we need to respect people around us more. 
 
But is the world ready for all this? Or are we going to go back to old ways and only think about ourselves while we cause destruction around the earth with our selfish nature? This is like that all important exam question but you are given a chance to edit your answer once. Will you choose wisely?
 
 
 
 
 

Details of the economic stimulus package for battling coronavirus times from FM Nirmala Sitharaman & BJP – India fighting COVID-19

In today’s meeting the finance minister outlined the stimulus package of 170000 crore Rs/- for the country during the time of fighting a serious pandemic COVID-19. Here is the summary of the package
 
 
  • 50 lacs insurance cover for medics
  • Money and pulses to be made available for poor
  • 5kg rice/wheat per person free for 3m over and above for 80cr people
  • 1kg pulses per household free
  • Farmers, mnrega, divyang, jandhan, Ujwala, self help, organised sector workers, construction workers, district mineral fund are covered for this stimulus package
  • Farmer – 2000 Rs immediately of the 6000 for the year
  • Wage increase in mnrega by 2000 per year
  • Old age > 60y – 1 time amount of 1000 Rs over 2 instalments
  • Jandhan holders get 500 Rs per month for next 3 months
  • Ujwala – 3m free cylinders
  • Women self help groups – (deen dayal yojna) – collateral free loans doubled from 10 to 20 lacs
  • Organised sector
    • GOI will pay EPF contribution of 12% and 12% – for all those establishments upto 100 employees, 90% of whose employees earn less than 15000 per month
    • PF regulations will be ammended to allow non refundable advance of 75% of PF or 3 months of wages whichever is lower for contingency
  • Construction workers – give directions to state governments to utilise the construction welfare fund to provide for economic stability
  • District mineral fund – will request state governments for supplementing and augmenting all kids of screening, testing and those things necessary for fighting the pandemic
 
 

Details of the economic stimulus package for battling coronavirus times from FM Nirmala Sitharaman & BJP – India fighting COVID-19

In today’s meeting the finance minister outlined the stimulus package of 170000 crore Rs/- for the country during the time of fighting a serious pandemic COVID-19. Here is the summary of the package
 
 
  • 50 lacs insurance cover for medics
  • Money and pulses to be made available for poor
  • 5kg rice/wheat per person free for 3m over and above for 80cr people
  • 1kg pulses per household free
  • Farmers, mnrega, divyang, jandhan, Ujwala, self help, organised sector workers, construction workers, district mineral fund are covered for this stimulus package
  • Farmer – 2000 Rs immediately of the 6000 for the year
  • Wage increase in mnrega by 2000 per year
  • Old age > 60y – 1 time amount of 1000 Rs over 2 instalments
  • Jandhan holders get 500 Rs per month for next 3 months
  • Ujwala – 3m free cylinders
  • Women self help groups – (deen dayal yojna) – collateral free loans doubled from 10 to 20 lacs
  • Organised sector
    • GOI will pay EPF contribution of 12% and 12% – for all those establishments upto 100 employees, 90% of whose employees earn less than 15000 per month
    • PF regulations will be ammended to allow non refundable advance of 75% of PF or 3 months of wages whichever is lower for contingency
  • Construction workers – give directions to state governments to utilise the construction welfare fund to provide for economic stability
  • District mineral fund – will request state governments for supplementing and augmenting all kids of screening, testing and those things necessary for fighting the pandemic
 
 

2020 – The shark joins the family

Introduction
I am not new to T-BHP, and have been here since about mid 2006. That is now 14th year with the site. That said, I have also had the good fortune to own many new and pre-owned cars (just due to my craze in cars). I started off with a Maruti 800 3rd hand car to learn driving in 2000, after which I moved on to Fiat Palio NV, a new Maruti 800 AC, the Swift VDI, Honda City pre-owned, the Ford Figo, Nissan Sunny, Honda Civic pre-owned, Maruti Ciaz, Honda BRV pre-owned, Tata Nano pre-owned, and Maruti Celerio. As you would see after the downfall or the news of FIAT not doing so well, I went with Honda or Maruti mostly with the exception of also having the FIAT MJD where possible. 
You can read about some of my other cars here, here, and here
Few of these cars were petrol, and few diesel, but I have always been a diesel-head. I do not know what really made me change cars, but on a pure ROI basis, I would have spent as much as about 2-3 cars changing so many cars over this period. Of all these Maruti was no nonsense and I knew what to expect. Although they still were/are making tin cans with the probable exception of XL6. I was a 3 time Honda owner and have finally ditched Honda after a hattrick session of issues with these cars and my legs which I will detail a bit later.
Buying another car was just a routine affair for me after so many. But I was in a severe dilemma. After so many cars, I just wanted my legs to be at peace. Of all these the celerio and BRV were automatic petrols and the BRV was fantastic for ownership – it was such a fuss free car. But the issue of leg pains tormented me all over again. My thoughts that automatics will be better for legs were rubbish. The right leg was angled badly in automatic cars and this was hurting me. I had to go manual again. And diesel it had to be to leverage on the torque. Now the question was which one this time?
Criteria to own a car
I had to buy one more car. A car that would keep me happy for few more years without a change. I knew it had to be a diesel manual for sure as it put me at ease compared to the automatic as I had control over how to drive my car. It had to be value for money for the features given and it had to meet these criteria.
  1. Leg space with far seat push back for driver seat
  2. Ground clearance to avoid shitty potholes in Bangalore
  3. Not too much body roll if possible
  4. Tech gimmicks
  5. Reasonably good mileage, torque and power
  6. Complete VFM for the price paid
  7. Good AC with inbuilt stereo supporting apple car play for my phone
  8. I did not want to install any accessory this time extra barring a few I wanted everything in the car itself – fully loaded vehicle
  9. Resale was a consideration but the lowest priority one
Too many choices in 2019
Given the great launches of 2019, I had the following options this time around without paying heed to any pricing bracket. 
  1. Nissan Kicks
  2. Ford Ecosport
  3. Tata Harrier
  4. MG Hector
  5. Kia Seltos
  6. Renault Duster
  7. Renault Captur
  8. Jeep Compass
  9. Tata Hexa
  10. Nexon / WRV / Brezza / Ertiga 
  11. XL6, Ciaz 1.5D
I needed to be absolutely sure that any car I buy was VFM, and kept me cool during my 25km (total per day) commute up and down in Bangalore if you know what peak traffic looks like. So the ground rule was that any test drive had to be in similar conditions and if someone didn’t offer me that it was a no-no for me.
Now for elimination rounds. Ready?
Kicks
I took a test drive of kicks diesel and my opinion was that the pedals were a bit hard to press, but overall the engine was good, but the car was rather lacklustre even with its intelligence. The horrible part was the sub par below HD rear camera that put me off. Seating was for 5. Grey leather interiors were not so great. The music system was sub par. They were offering 0% interest scheme etc but the whole sales pitch was not really up to the mark. At about 17.4 lacs OTR Bangalore, this was not so much VFM. At 15 you could consider this. Moreover Kicks was fast approaching the likes of Duster, Captur, etc into oblivion in terms of dated designs. Kia almost smashed every other car out of the park with Seltos.
Duster and Captur
I had seen much of this already, and although these are the toughest cars money can buy honestly in that price range, the design was dead on arrival for me so I had to drop it. Even if I had bought these they would easily depreciate by 50% very very soon as I had enough experience with Ola cash my car, or Olx, or cars24, etc by now. So buying one of these means 5-7 lac of depreciation in 2-3y. Design and modernness and appeal was missing in 2019 to go forward. So no test drive taken.
Jeep Compass
Eliminated due to cheaper options with same engines available at lower price point such as hector, harrier. Also space was a concern. 
Nexon, WRV, Brezza, Ertiga
All dropped because at about 10-12 lac-ish they either lacked features, or power, or space or something or the other. Only way to get more is to go to  15 lac + range. Initially I wanted to stop at 15 lacs, but later I made up my mind to go to 20 + or – 1 or 2 more lacs. As long as there was VFM. The VFM always ensured I listened to my mind than my heart.
XL6
New launch, only petrol, no diesel, so dropped although it was more appealing than Ertiga.
Ciaz 1.5D
Old hand, I already owned 1.3 ciaz, was very cool to drive. Took a test drive of 1.5D and was blown away by the drive. Absolutely scintillating engine and overall drive. Smooth like hell. But reserved judgement for a while more. I got this at 13.75 lacs. Which means it was tending to 15 already. Surely VFM with everything in place – leather seats, white led’s alloys, and what not. Strong contender for sure.
Tata Hexa
When the car was launched the Tata hexa was awesome. But once more new choices were available this car also seem to be getting obsolete with respect to design. It is not that it was an incapable car but the engine was a bit outdated and I was in two minds whether to go for it or not. I also perceive the car as heavy and was not so much to go towards the Tata brand. Their service network leaves a lot to be desired and after owning the Tata Nano I was not okay to go to Tata again with the exception being Harrier.
Ford Ecosport
The Ford EcoSport was an old horse again. It has sold very well since inception over multiple iterations. Even after so many years it was still not looking very outdated. My friend owned an eco-sport automatic and I have driven it multiple times. As long as you handle it with care it is a breeze to drive within city traffic. But the version I was considering was a diesel manual the same one the Figo came with. The dealer offered me a 12 km ride and the car performed extremely well. The engine was very potent and each and every functionality was well integrated within the car. I actually kind of like the sync system in the older car. The point is about finding what you want easily and Ford are masters at this. I did have some leg pain but that’s probably because I was driving the new Ford for the first time and it took some time getting adjusted to.
The Ford EcoSport was a strong contender in the buying game and at about 15 lakhs this was a very good machine to go for. 
Tata Harrier
Even though I was concerned about the bulk of the car the Harrier was a worthy alternative at about 18.5 lakh. This was not the top end version. The dealer offered me a 12 km drive through peak traffic. I also took a shorter test drive around the office once more. The first thing you notice about the Harrier is its bulk. It is a real SUV but also one that blocks many parts of your vision with its thick pillars. When you’re standing next to vehicles in peak traffic,  you don’t get a sense of safety and feel that you may probably  hit the two wheelers standing next to you.
Gear shift and clutch seem a bit disconnected and although it easy to drive and powerful to the interiors lack finesse and Tata could have done better for a car this expensive. Of course there are eight speakers and the Harman stereo but I somehow felt the tech stuff could’ve been more cooler. It would not be wrong to say the hexa is actually better than the Harrier inside. Since the car seemed way too big for me and did not offer me VFM for the price I have to pay I decided to drop it.
Kia Seltos
This car has been grabbing headlines ever since its launch simply because it is a car with all the features anyone can ask for at this point in time. The point was not that the people did not have money but they wanted a vehicle which offered them more. In every possible way this car was good but I did have some things to pick on.
The doors wouldn’t open wide enough and the space in the middle row was just about okay if not great. This was a car where the clutch and gear shift were mated very well and it was a joy to use. The power is adequate for five people and the torque meant that you could putter around in city traffic easily. So this car was obviously in the list.
MG Hector
This car was the dark horse among all cars and irrespective of the negative publicity it manage to gather, as a car it offered much much more at a lower price point. This car was sitting right higher than Ford EcoSport and slightly lower than the Seltos top end HTX+ variants. Ride quality was very good and I had a 12 km test drive of this car as well. The power was very good and the way it was able to handle potholes on the road was awesome. It had huge amount of space both for the rear passengers as well as for luggage and this was a selling point for me.
I preferred to go for the top end variant but the problem was this was going about 20 lacks. The second gear had an issue in this car and was not properly tuned so I did have a few instances where the car stopped in second gear. The fiat MJD with 170 bhp of power was very evident with this car.  This car made the Harrier look pale in comparison. This car also made it to my buy list.
Finalists
Kia Seltos, MG hector, Ecosport and Ciaz 1.5D.
For a long time, I really wanted the 1.5 Ciaz again, but the thought of owning another Maruti again kind of made me look elsewhere. The XUV and Scorpio were out since they were old, outdated and somewhat not in my taste. The Verna did not even figure here because I did not prefer a Hyundai. So also the Venue since it was utmost a small 5 seater raised to a good ground clearance. Somewhat felt it was overpriced. 
I booked the hector, second variant manual diesel. White colour. Paid 50000 bucks. I told him take your own time to deliver upto 5 months. I wanted the delivery to be in 2020. During the time I waited, I could not still give up on the others so easily. After a lot of reading about BS4/6 confusions for diesel cars and the fact I already owned Ciaz with a heavy heart I decided to let the 1.5D go. After driving the Seltos I came to appreciate the features a lot and for 18.9 lacs I was getting leather ventilated seats, Bose speakers, purifier, sun roof and what not. So I decided to cancel the hector booking and book the Seltos instead. By now it was November of 2019 and when I went to book it, they jacked the prices to 19.5 and at this price the HTX+ made no sense for VFM – my original criteria.  Without a bit of thinking I dropped the Seltos as well. 
Wild card entry – Mahindra Marazzo


That left the Ford Ecosport only on the list. Very capable and right in all sense of the word. I had carefully kept off MUV cars in all this search but this is where I called Mahindra and asked them whether they would give me a test drive of the marazzo and I got my 12km test drive upto my home in peak traffic.  I checked for parking at my home and it was a bit tight. But still managed to feel that parking was possible correctly.
The car itself was a 120bhp 1.5 Diesel from the Mahindra stable and the first thing you notice is its super silent engine/cabin. On the test drive, it was not the star performer, but ticked many of my boxes on the list. The price was 18.6 which is why I had dropped it last year before the BRV. But here it was again this time at a whole lot lesser – almost 10%+ down on original pricing OTR. This was the M8 fully loaded model and for the value it was offering midway between 16 & 17 lacs, it was astounding enough for me.
Bonus is it was a 7 seater /  8 seater config possible. I opted for the aquamarine green and specifically did not want to go for loan, somehow managed to scoop up the money and made a full downpayment for the aquamarine colour – mid December. However a couple of days after payment was made, he said the colour isn’t available and there was a glitch on the facts he stated that car was there. This was India Garage. They offered me a white instead and he confirmed it was under transit. I had to make a choice. I opted for the 7 seater (2+2+3) , pearl white M8 top end variant of the BS4 marazzo which was on an irresistible offer price in December.  The risk was with BS6 fuel on BS4 car but heck even BS2 vehicles still ply and there is nothing wrong with them and I trust the industry to find a way out.
There was a death in the family around Christmas so had to wait until that cleared up, so moved by registration to 1st of Jan 2020. So 2019 model registered in 2020. And no aquamarine, but Pearl white. 
PDI and delivery
I had made the full downpayment and told him to hold the car until Jan 1st. He got it to showroom on Dec 31st, so my new year eve was spent checking it out at the basement of the showroom. Was looking good and waiting for its driver – me!! 
On Jan 1st, called my fil, wife and kids (mom wasn’t able to come due to medical complications) to the showroom by 4pm. Car was getting cleaned and ready. Finished paper work which was minimal – no loan, full DP and nothing much to fill. Everything was done. Someone suggested to verify against TBHP PDI so did that. Was all ok. They gave me a bouquet and some photographs later, it was mine. 
The car was finally mine – the gentle shark Mahindra Marazzo! This is where the story begins. Due to extreme paucity of time, I will need to update this thread in different parts. Please bear with me. For now I will leave you with a couple of photos. Enjoy!

2020 – The shark joins the family

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Introduction
I am not new to T-BHP, and have been here since about mid 2006. That is now 14th year with the site. That said, I have also had the good fortune to own many new and pre-owned cars (just due to my craze in cars). I started off with a Maruti 800 3rd hand car to learn driving in 2000, after which I moved on to Fiat Palio NV, a new Maruti 800 AC, the Swift VDI, Honda City pre-owned, the Ford Figo, Nissan Sunny, Honda Civic pre-owned, Maruti Ciaz, Honda BRV pre-owned, Tata Nano pre-owned, and Maruti Celerio. As you would see after the downfall or the news of FIAT not doing so well, I went with Honda or Maruti mostly with the exception of also having the FIAT MJD where possible. 
You can read about some of my other cars here, here, and here
Few of these cars were petrol, and few diesel, but I have always been a diesel-head. I do not know what really made me change cars, but on a pure ROI basis, I would have spent as much as about 2-3 cars changing so many cars over this period. Of all these Maruti was no nonsense and I knew what to expect. Although they still were/are making tin cans with the probable exception of XL6. I was a 3 time Honda owner and have finally ditched Honda after a hattrick session of issues with these cars and my legs which I will detail a bit later.
Buying another car was just a routine affair for me after so many. But I was in a severe dilemma. After so many cars, I just wanted my legs to be at peace. Of all these the celerio and BRV were automatic petrols and the BRV was fantastic for ownership – it was such a fuss free car. But the issue of leg pains tormented me all over again. My thoughts that automatics will be better for legs were rubbish. The right leg was angled badly in automatic cars and this was hurting me. I had to go manual again. And diesel it had to be to leverage on the torque. Now the question was which one this time?
Criteria to own a car
I had to buy one more car. A car that would keep me happy for few more years without a change. I knew it had to be a diesel manual for sure as it put me at ease compared to the automatic as I had control over how to drive my car. It had to be value for money for the features given and it had to meet these criteria.
  1. Leg space with far seat push back for driver seat
  2. Ground clearance to avoid shitty potholes in Bangalore
  3. Not too much body roll if possible
  4. Tech gimmicks
  5. Reasonably good mileage, torque and power
  6. Complete VFM for the price paid
  7. Good AC with inbuilt stereo supporting apple car play for my phone
  8. I did not want to install any accessory this time extra barring a few I wanted everything in the car itself – fully loaded vehicle
  9. Resale was a consideration but the lowest priority one
Too many choices in 2019
Given the great launches of 2019, I had the following options this time around without paying heed to any pricing bracket. 
  1. Nissan Kicks
  2. Ford Ecosport
  3. Tata Harrier
  4. MG Hector
  5. Kia Seltos
  6. Renault Duster
  7. Renault Captur
  8. Jeep Compass
  9. Tata Hexa
  10. Nexon / WRV / Brezza / Ertiga 
  11. XL6, Ciaz 1.5D
I needed to be absolutely sure that any car I buy was VFM, and kept me cool during my 25km (total per day) commute up and down in Bangalore if you know what peak traffic looks like. So the ground rule was that any test drive had to be in similar conditions and if someone didn’t offer me that it was a no-no for me.
Now for elimination rounds. Ready?
Kicks
I took a test drive of kicks diesel and my opinion was that the pedals were a bit hard to press, but overall the engine was good, but the car was rather lacklustre even with its intelligence. The horrible part was the sub par below HD rear camera that put me off. Seating was for 5. Grey leather interiors were not so great. The music system was sub par. They were offering 0% interest scheme etc but the whole sales pitch was not really up to the mark. At about 17.4 lacs OTR Bangalore, this was not so much VFM. At 15 you could consider this. Moreover Kicks was fast approaching the likes of Duster, Captur, etc into oblivion in terms of dated designs. Kia almost smashed every other car out of the park with Seltos.
Duster and Captur
I had seen much of this already, and although these are the toughest cars money can buy honestly in that price range, the design was dead on arrival for me so I had to drop it. Even if I had bought these they would easily depreciate by 50% very very soon as I had enough experience with Ola cash my car, or Olx, or cars24, etc by now. So buying one of these means 5-7 lac of depreciation in 2-3y. Design and modernness and appeal was missing in 2019 to go forward. So no test drive taken.
Jeep Compass
Eliminated due to cheaper options with same engines available at lower price point such as hector, harrier. Also space was a concern. 
Nexon, WRV, Brezza, Ertiga
All dropped because at about 10-12 lac-ish they either lacked features, or power, or space or something or the other. Only way to get more is to go to  15 lac + range. Initially I wanted to stop at 15 lacs, but later I made up my mind to go to 20 + or – 1 or 2 more lacs. As long as there was VFM. The VFM always ensured I listened to my mind than my heart.
XL6
New launch, only petrol, no diesel, so dropped although it was more appealing than Ertiga.
Ciaz 1.5D
Old hand, I already owned 1.3 ciaz, was very cool to drive. Took a test drive of 1.5D and was blown away by the drive. Absolutely scintillating engine and overall drive. Smooth like hell. But reserved judgement for a while more. I got this at 13.75 lacs. Which means it was tending to 15 already. Surely VFM with everything in place – leather seats, white led’s alloys, and what not. Strong contender for sure.
Tata Hexa
When the car was launched the Tata hexa was awesome. But once more new choices were available this car also seem to be getting obsolete with respect to design. It is not that it was an incapable car but the engine was a bit outdated and I was in two minds whether to go for it or not. I also perceive the car as heavy and was not so much to go towards the Tata brand. Their service network leaves a lot to be desired and after owning the Tata Nano I was not okay to go to Tata again with the exception being Harrier.
Ford Ecosport
The Ford EcoSport was an old horse again. It has sold very well since inception over multiple iterations. Even after so many years it was still not looking very outdated. My friend owned an eco-sport automatic and I have driven it multiple times. As long as you handle it with care it is a breeze to drive within city traffic. But the version I was considering was a diesel manual the same one the Figo came with. The dealer offered me a 12 km ride and the car performed extremely well. The engine was very potent and each and every functionality was well integrated within the car. I actually kind of like the sync system in the older car. The point is about finding what you want easily and Ford are masters at this. I did have some leg pain but that’s probably because I was driving the new Ford for the first time and it took some time getting adjusted to.
The Ford EcoSport was a strong contender in the buying game and at about 15 lakhs this was a very good machine to go for. 
Tata Harrier
Even though I was concerned about the bulk of the car the Harrier was a worthy alternative at about 18.5 lakh. This was not the top end version. The dealer offered me a 12 km drive through peak traffic. I also took a shorter test drive around the office once more. The first thing you notice about the Harrier is its bulk. It is a real SUV but also one that blocks many parts of your vision with its thick pillars. When you’re standing next to vehicles in peak traffic,  you don’t get a sense of safety and feel that you may probably  hit the two wheelers standing next to you.
Gear shift and clutch seem a bit disconnected and although it easy to drive and powerful to the interiors lack finesse and Tata could have done better for a car this expensive. Of course there are eight speakers and the Harman stereo but I somehow felt the tech stuff could’ve been more cooler. It would not be wrong to say the hexa is actually better than the Harrier inside. Since the car seemed way too big for me and did not offer me VFM for the price I have to pay I decided to drop it.
Kia Seltos
This car has been grabbing headlines ever since its launch simply because it is a car with all the features anyone can ask for at this point in time. The point was not that the people did not have money but they wanted a vehicle which offered them more. In every possible way this car was good but I did have some things to pick on.
The doors wouldn’t open wide enough and the space in the middle row was just about okay if not great. This was a car where the clutch and gear shift were mated very well and it was a joy to use. The power is adequate for five people and the torque meant that you could putter around in city traffic easily. So this car was obviously in the list.
MG Hector
This car was the dark horse among all cars and irrespective of the negative publicity it manage to gather, as a car it offered much much more at a lower price point. This car was sitting right higher than Ford EcoSport and slightly lower than the Seltos top end HTX+ variants. Ride quality was very good and I had a 12 km test drive of this car as well. The power was very good and the way it was able to handle potholes on the road was awesome. It had huge amount of space both for the rear passengers as well as for luggage and this was a selling point for me.
I preferred to go for the top end variant but the problem was this was going about 20 lacks. The second gear had an issue in this car and was not properly tuned so I did have a few instances where the car stopped in second gear. The fiat MJD with 170 bhp of power was very evident with this car.  This car made the Harrier look pale in comparison. This car also made it to my buy list.
Finalists
Kia Seltos, MG hector, Ecosport and Ciaz 1.5D.
For a long time, I really wanted the 1.5 Ciaz again, but the thought of owning another Maruti again kind of made me look elsewhere. The XUV and Scorpio were out since they were old, outdated and somewhat not in my taste. The Verna did not even figure here because I did not prefer a Hyundai. So also the Venue since it was utmost a small 5 seater raised to a good ground clearance. Somewhat felt it was overpriced. 
I booked the hector, second variant manual diesel. White colour. Paid 50000 bucks. I told him take your own time to deliver upto 5 months. I wanted the delivery to be in 2020. During the time I waited, I could not still give up on the others so easily. After a lot of reading about BS4/6 confusions for diesel cars and the fact I already owned Ciaz with a heavy heart I decided to let the 1.5D go. After driving the Seltos I came to appreciate the features a lot and for 18.9 lacs I was getting leather ventilated seats, Bose speakers, purifier, sun roof and what not. So I decided to cancel the hector booking and book the Seltos instead. By now it was November of 2019 and when I went to book it, they jacked the prices to 19.5 and at this price the HTX+ made no sense for VFM – my original criteria.  Without a bit of thinking I dropped the Seltos as well. 
Wild card entry – Mahindra Marazzo


That left the Ford Ecosport only on the list. Very capable and right in all sense of the word. I had carefully kept off MUV cars in all this search but this is where I called Mahindra and asked them whether they would give me a test drive of the marazzo and I got my 12km test drive upto my home in peak traffic.  I checked for parking at my home and it was a bit tight. But still managed to feel that parking was possible correctly.
The car itself was a 120bhp 1.5 Diesel from the Mahindra stable and the first thing you notice is its super silent engine/cabin. On the test drive, it was not the star performer, but ticked many of my boxes on the list. The price was 18.6 which is why I had dropped it last year before the BRV. But here it was again this time at a whole lot lesser – almost 10%+ down on original pricing OTR. This was the M8 fully loaded model and for the value it was offering midway between 16 & 17 lacs, it was astounding enough for me.
Bonus is it was a 7 seater /  8 seater config possible. I opted for the aquamarine green and specifically did not want to go for loan, somehow managed to scoop up the money and made a full downpayment for the aquamarine colour – mid December. However a couple of days after payment was made, he said the colour isn’t available and there was a glitch on the facts he stated that car was there. This was India Garage. They offered me a white instead and he confirmed it was under transit. I had to make a choice. I opted for the 7 seater (2+2+3) , pearl white M8 top end variant of the BS4 marazzo which was on an irresistible offer price in December.  The risk was with BS6 fuel on BS4 car but heck even BS2 vehicles still ply and there is nothing wrong with them and I trust the industry to find a way out.
There was a death in the family around Christmas so had to wait until that cleared up, so moved by registration to 1st of Jan 2020. So 2019 model registered in 2020. And no aquamarine, but Pearl white. 
PDI and delivery
I had made the full downpayment and told him to hold the car until Jan 1st. He got it to showroom on Dec 31st, so my new year eve was spent checking it out at the basement of the showroom. Was looking good and waiting for its driver – me!! 
On Jan 1st, called my fil, wife and kids (mom wasn’t able to come due to medical complications) to the showroom by 4pm. Car was getting cleaned and ready. Finished paper work which was minimal – no loan, full DP and nothing much to fill. Everything was done. Someone suggested to verify against TBHP PDI so did that. Was all ok. They gave me a bouquet and some photographs later, it was mine. 
The car was finally mine – the gentle shark Mahindra Marazzo! This is where the story begins. Due to extreme paucity of time, I will need to update this thread in different parts. Please bear with me. For now I will leave you with a couple of photos. Enjoy!