Permanent Driving License in Hyderabad

It has been a long time that I have posted anything on my blog. Today, I am in an exhilarated mood because of our excellent experience at the Hyderabad RTA office at Attapur.

My husband had applied for a 4-wheeler driving license. First, we applied for learner license (LL) and then finally permanent license (DL).

We filled Form - 1, 1A, 2 for the Learner license (LL) and submitted the following:
a) Address Proof - Rent agreement alongwith employer's letter on their letterhead and
company seal. (We needed both as we are tenants, and we did not have any bill to produce in
our name)
b) Date of birth certificate - issued by municipal corporation
c) Phone bill
d) ID Proof - PAN card photo copy
e) Photographs - 1
f) Fees - Rs. 60

We also carried the originals of all documents for verification which they did very carefully. ALWAYS CARRY ORIGINALS FOR VERIFICATION.

After being fully satisfied, the guy at the counter gave us the fee receipt which we produced at the test center and after half n hour, the online test was done. My husband got immediate score, of course he passed! :)
To our surprise, the LL was issued in 15 minutes. Before leaving, we had to purchase the hologram at the exit and stick it on the LL. It is mandatory.
The LL is valid for 6 months, but we can apply for permanent license after 1 month.

So we promptly applied for permanent license(DL) right after 1.5 months. Again, we went to the RTA office. This time, we followed the following procedure:

a) Filled Form - 4
b) Attached one self-addressed envelope
c) Passport size photo - 1
d) Fees - Rs. 415.

The guy at the counter gave us the fee receipt, which we attached to the form. The fee is valid for only 7 days. Then we went to the Kondapur Testing Ground. The forms are accepted between 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. From Attapur, we drove like crazy to reach Kondapur by 12:20 p.m. We thought we will be lucky to have our form submitted as the counter was open till 1 pm. But there, service time of each form is 5 minutes and by the time we reached near the counter the counter closed, to our utter dismay! :((

So we went the next day and after 1.5 hours in the line, our form got through the counter. The policeman checked our original RC book, insurance copy.
We were again in for a surprise to have our name called after 15 minutes, although we had like infinite applicants before us!!! Later on we got to know that since we were not attached to any agent/driving school, we were called first! Anyway, my husband drove through the tracks. In the first round, he forgot to put his seat belt. Hence, he was asked to give the test again with the seat belt(fair enough!), which he did. And lo! we got the slip with the stamp "PASSED" endorsed on it!!! :) :)
All that we have to do now is wait for the license which will be mailed to us. I hope this last leg also clears seamlessly.

I must say, all through, we had a smooth sailing. It was all done in a fair manner. We were so happy that we did not go through any agent or driving school paying them 5-6 times the amount we paid otherwise. We also found that even though you go through an agent, you need to stand in the line, give the test, then why do we need them. It is for a reason that they test the driving skills of the applicant and I feel, everyone should go through it fairly.

Things to do:

a) Never go to an agent.(You can read it aloud, if you want to)
b) Keep atleast 10 passport size photographs in your pocket.
c) Keep a stapler, gluestick, pen(both black and blue).
d) Carry your originals always. (DOB, Proof of residence, RC book, Insurance copy of your
vehicle)
e) Stand in proper line.
The reason for my stating the last point.
I accompanied my husband to all these offices and while we were standing in the queue, everyone would come and advise me to go and stand in the front as I am a lady. I told them, that it is not my form that I am submitting its my husband's form, therefore, we have to stand in the men's queue. Obviously, we were given queer looks from others for such statements as it seems many do it. But I found it unfair to the other men and I would have got irritated if any woman had done that while we were standing in the men's queue. Luckily, the counter guy also started refusing the forms from the lady line. Applicant has to submit his/her own form. There is no proxy business here!

This is a small thing, but a lesson that our youngsters need to learn. If things are done following the rules and in a fair manner, then everything goes smoothly.
But, today, for short term gains, we stoop to any level! Youngsters are learning the bad traits seeing the elders!

Before I end, kudos to the AP Transport department for making the license process so transparent and hassle free for the citizens! No one will cheat if there is transparency and fairness and they have set a very good example for everyone else. :) Keep it up!!

Integers Math

In my teaching experience, I have found that many students of different age group, become clueless when they have to answer "Is -10 greater than -16?" This happens due to weak conceptual background in integers.

Teachers may take a little pain and take a big chart and draw the number line with positive, and negative numbers.
Write the thumbrules on the board:

Number on the left is smaller than number on the right
Number on the right is greater than number on the left.

Allow the children to read and think about it using the chart. Ask some students to take some examples and see if something is assimilated.

Then you proceed with your own examples and fortify the concepts

Write the question on the board: "Is 4 lesser than 10?"
Ask one student to come and locate number 4 and 10 and then ask them "Is 4 on the right or left of 10?"
Assuming the student replies correctly, i.e. 4 is on the left of 10.
Repeat the thumbrule that number on the left are always lesser than number on the right.
Thus, 4 is lesser than 10.

Now let us do another comparison. Is 4 lesser than -10?
Same steps to follow. Thus time, 4 is on the right of -10.
Thumbrule: number on the right is always greater than number on left.
Thus, 4 is greater than -10.

Another comparison. Is -4 lesser than -10.
This time -4 is on the right of -10.
Thumbrule: number on the right is always greater than number on left.
Thus, -4 is greater than -10.

Another comparison. Is -9 greater than -7?
This time -9 is on the left of -7.
Thumbrule: number on left is smaller than number on right.
Thus, -9 is lesser than -7

Another comparison. Is 1 smaller than -7?
This time 1 is on the right of -7.
Thumbrule: number on the right is greater than number on left
Thus, 1 is greater than -7.

Try this with your children, students and sometimes, even adults need this assistance and send the feedback!

Deadly Irukandji Jellyfish

Yesterday night there was a documentary on Irukandji Jellyfish (I.J.F.) on Animal Planet. I was amazed when they showed that a sting by an I.J.F. can prove fatal. You just will not be able to believe as it is just 1.2 cm by 2.5 cm body and contractible tentacles, length of which may range from 5 cm to 1 m.
Following pictures will clear how small it looks.



These jellyfish are mostly found in Australia. The jellyfish are named after the Yirrganydji people (a.k.a Irukandji), who are a group of Australian aborigines, whose country stretches along the coastal strip north of Cairns, Queensland.

It is found that these jellyfish sting from the tip of their stingers which is why the venom takes time to take effect. It causes severe pain and the venom starts taking effect after some 15-20 minutes. If timely cure is provided, then the sting is not fatal. But there are reports where few humans have died because of Irukandji sting!

Imagine such a small creature killing a full grown human being!! Wonders of nature or what may I say!

Clash of titans!

It was an awesome match on the Wimbledon grass court. The grass court king versus the clay court ruler!!! I am not to write a long, shot by shot review of the match, that one can find on all the sports websites.

I just wanted to reflect upon the show of grit, determination and the fight till the last. With all the interruptions by the rain and the losing of championship points twice in the 4th set, Nadal was still focussed and fought the 5th set and win the cup. One would expect one of the players to give up out of fatigue if nothing else in a match that lasted 4 hours 50 minutes, the longest ever played in men's singles.

I just could not sleep and kept myself awake to see the final set that finally got over at 2 a.m.
How can one miss such an astounding competition? The fact to note here is the killing spirit in both of them. They both were rivals who equaled each other in all sense of play. It was an Achilles vs Hectar fight (Those who have watched or read about Troy can draw the analogy)!!

I wonder what it would feel like being in that position where one has to prove everyone wrong by winning the title again and another has to win the grass court title for the first time after losing so many times there. Both had lot to prove or disprove. With such pressure, if one can still perform in this mid-blowing manner, then hats off to them!!

A lesson to all, never lose your focus till the end and keep doing what is required to win. There is no short cut to success, sonny!!

Millau Bridge - World's highest road bridge

On National Geographic, the construction of Millau Bridge, the highest road bridge in the world, was shown. After seeing this, I was in awe of the engineers, designers, steel company - Eiffel, and all the workers who had equal share in converting this design into reality fighting against all odds of weather, wind, and Physics!! I often wonder, what a sense of success, all those people involved must be having for the rest of their lives. They have tons of stories to narrate! Awesome!

After seeing such feats achieved, I feel that there are many more courses that students can opt for besides computer science. Kids, master your concepts of Physics and Mathematics. With courses like structural engineering, one can take up professions that are mentally challenging. Children and parents, these pictures are not just to admire but also gives us something to think about out of the box!!

Following are some pictures of the modern marvel.
Read more about this by visiting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct