Can I live without tea?

I am used to morning tea for more than 20 years. From past 9-10 years I am almost addicted to 5-6 cups of tea per day. But recently I am realizing that I waste great amount of time and health for tea.

Let me first write what are the advantages of tea
1. Morning tea makes me (and other tea addicts) feel fresh. We get great enthusiasm for starting day.
2. For people in IT companies who do not move from their desks for hours it is good habit to go for tea - because your muscles get some change.
3. At tea stalls (taparis) you can develop many friends. You will get to meet people from all departments at taparis like development, application, sales, HR and what not
4. Generally if you go to any tea tapari near company you will get to know much information about the type of project that are going on in your company. What are the things other people work on. Also if in area like Hinjewadi (IT Park in Pune) you will also get to know about projects and work environments in neighboring companies.
5. When I go for trek I have observed that if I take 1 cup of tea before simple trek like Sinhagad, I need no water for 3 hours (I do not understand why cold-drinks or lemon water do not give this effect - might be this is completely psychological)


Now let me come to disadvantages why leaving all these +ve points I am thinking about living without tea
1. I think teeth are worse affected because of tea. Because -
a. tea is hot - much more temperature than body temperature
b. tea is sweet (I am not talking about black tea or tea without sugar) - sugar is bad for teeth :(
2. I also think from my past company I have developed habit for tea after lunch and now the problem is I do not feel comfortable without tea after lunch and same is the case with morning tea - I do not feel fresh without morning tea. Any addictive thing is bad :(
3. I take tea 5 times a day
a. for morning tea I waste 10 minutes of study
b. for second morning tea I need to leave home 10 mins earlier because I do not want to waste office hours for tea
c. For afternoon tea I waste 15-20 mins because generally tea addicts are accompanied by smokers and cigarette takes around 10 mins to finish and time for going to tapari/ waiting at tapari takes around 10 mins.
d. Again since I am addicted to tea after lunch it wastes 20 more minutes
e. Same thing in evening - after leaving company I waste 15 mins at tea stall - so I unnecessarily come bit late home.
4. In past I have tried to save time for tea (point no. 3) by taking tea available in company. But whichever companies I have worked for they always provide machine tea - and I have opinion that it is *very* bad for health. And I do not at all like Black tea or block coffee kind of things
5. Tea is probably bad for weight - 5 cups of tea means 5*1.25 = 6.25 spoons of sugar :(
6. I pay 3*5 = 15 Rs per day (minimum - actually at CCD 45 or 55 Rs per tea). So for a month I pay around 450 Rs and for a year around 5400Rs :(

Looking at the negative I have decided say bye bye to tea. Let's see if I could do this. This will save more than 1 hour per day!!

Why I am vegetarian

Lots of times I have faced this question - "but why you do not eat non-veg food?"
Most frustrating form of this question - "but is not it that vegetables are also living things"
The most comedy form of this question - "do Indians (Hindus) think that something bad will happen if you eat non-veg!"
The most sick form of this question - "is it the case, that non-veg food is not allowed at your home"
Non-sense form of this question - "Why do you consider egg as non-veg?"
Stupid form - "why do you drink milk then"

Let me answer some questions so that at least the people who read this blog wont ask these stupid questions to me or to other vegetarians.

1. I do not eat non-veg because it is my choice (simplest form)
2. Religion related - I do not know what exactly Hindu religion talks about non-veg food.
I used to eat non-veg food up to 10Th std (@ 16 yr age).
Once I tried to cut chicken (not a living one - just small pieces from large ones) and after this experience - I could never think of eating non-veg food looking at the blood and the cruelty with which the butcher kills chicken/mutton etc.
I really started feeling that how will I feel if somebody cuts me into pieces? (Probably I wont feel anything after death but might be there is something called as soul)
3. Nobody will question me (from my family) for eating non-veg food, because it is my choice. Probably the people who ask this question are the ones who face questions at home or are required to justify every action at home.
Only thing is my dad wont allow me to read some of the religious books like Gurucharitra.
4. Regarding Egg - it is my personal opinion that egg is also non-veg.
5. Regarding Milk - no animal gets killed for milk.

After marriage should we live away from parents?

Now a days me, Ketan and Abhay meet almost every Sunday at CCD. Though there is no limit on how much we can discuss software development, office, old memories and trip plans which 98% times fail. Abhay somehow started with a good idea and started brain storming on one of important topic.

All 3 of us are of age group 25-26. The topic was 'should we live with parents after marriage?'

Here are my thoughts -
Why should we live with our parents:
1. Emotions
In today's use and throw culture we hardly give attention to emotions. When I think of how much love I got from my parents I can not think of making them live alone (in my case now it is only my father). In most of the cases parents are of the age of 55-60 (at the time of their son's/ daughter's marriage).
They are already going through great paradigm shifts in life,
- generally this is age for retirement.
- this is also the age when most of the parents face health problems like joint pains or diabetes etc.
- just sometime before we are dependent on parents for money and support and scenario changes 180 deg in 5-6 years.
- after retirement they must be facing problem of loneliness
- for single parent the case is still difficult because they do not have anybody to share their emotions.

2. Breaking the good old systems
I have firm opinion that good systems take time to build and once broken they are difficult to fix. I am proud of Indian culture where family (actually joint family) system has evolved over the years.
Let me consider some practical advantages of living with parents
- You will always have a 100% reliable person at home. You need not to manage your time for servants as they can come any time of the day.
- 4-5 years after marriage when you have kids, you and your wife can continue your careers since your parents can take care of your kids.
- If your parents face some medial emergency it will be difficult for them to look for help without you. It will be much more quick if they face problem at your home.
- For those who invest in shares etc. your parents can act as investment consultant for you - it will be good time pass for them at home to keep track share market and parents are more reliable than brokers.

3. Finance
Living in separate houses means that paying for two houses and paying twice for every basic need of house.
- If living separately means buying 2/3BHK + 1BHK flat then I think it would be great to have a single 7-8 room luxury flat.
- If living separately means buying 2 TVs, 2 Fridge, 2 Washing machine then living together can at least save 1 fridge and 1 washing machine.
- as I said earlier by living together husband and wife can continue their career for more time.
- earlier point of investment consultant

4. Synergy
If synergy means
1 + 1 = 3
then what does 2 + 2 means?
In some families
2 + 2 = 3 (either wife or husband or either of parents is unhappy)
or in some other families
2 + 2 = 7 (this case from actually 3 + 3)

I will try to answer some of questions.

1. For many years, your parents life has always revolved around you. Give them a break.
Perfect - arrange for some short and long trips for your parents. Try to manage some family get together. It need not be 8-10 years break, 1-2 months is good in my opinion.
If your live separately from parents for 8-10 years (and in this period both parents as well as your family develops completely different way of living) then it is next to impossible to make healthy relation again.

2. In these modern times is it wrong to expect your wife to want to live with your parents?
No it is not wrong.
Fortunately still today's date we marry to girls who also belong to planet earth. This means that your wife will also have parents, and she will also expect some one to take care of them.
I will say that if your wife do not have brother then you should live with your parents and your wife's parents.
This also depends on your maturity while choosing wife.

3. In a husband-wife scenario, there are a lot of times when you definitely do not want your parents to be around
Well but as I said if you live in big house then this problem can be solved to good extent.
I myself value privacy very much - simple solution I choose is I tell others that I need privacy. I think similar thing should be told to parents if needed.

I think the answer to all above discussion is simple. Whether you can live with or without your parents more happily depends on -
have you developed a Fevicol ka majbut bond with parents or is it a abrasive bond - more you try to come closer more it hurts?

Though I am confused to some extent while writing this blog, I can say for sure that at least we should try living together first the second option is always possible.