Here are some tips you can use to buy second hand cars. Collected over the years from my experience of buying second hand cars for me and my buddies which include cars like: M800, Zen, Santro, Wagon R, Indica, Esteem, Accent, Swift, Scorpio, Optra, Corolla

1. Check the manufacturing date of all the tyres. If they are near the model of the year of manufacture of your vehicle (ex. the car model is 2001 and the tyres are also 2001) then the odometer is correct. However if the tyres are like say 2005 and it has considerable wear….it means the car is driven a lot.

2. Demand to see the service history or service record. If the car has been properly serviced (and i am sure you wish it was), the invoice’s will have the odo readings. Demand to see the bill of last service done. Or just get the emission certificate.

3. If the odometer has been tampered, usually the numbers don’t align correctly.

4. Look for dust or any other foreign particle on the numbers odo inside the glass pane.

5. All the tyres manufacture date should be same.

6. In specific case of Corolla see if the gear knob leather cover has been worn out. Also look out if the seat cover’s stitch lining is coming out from anywhere.

7. Try to get the info of the original seller and try to meet him.

8. Check the insurance if he has any NCB (no claim bonus)

9. The front bonnet panel usually has lines on it. If the car has been accidented from front, however you try to correct, this this line would not be perfect. try to catch this when you buy a car. The same goes for the straight body line on the side and rear also.

10. Before buying a car, try to test drive the same vehicle (should be in a good condition) from somewhere else. Better ask a friend to let you drive his set of wheels. Other option would be to head to the showroom and take a test drive there. The idea is to get the hang of a couple of things like: how is the engine sound in various gears, how does a maintained car handles around bends and how does it handle in traffic, you get to know the extra rattles, check the pickup, check the interior. Then compare these to the vehicle you have zeroed in on.

11. Try to see the car in noon time under direct sunlight. Verify that the car has a uniform shade of paint all over. If you see a difference in shade ask if the car has been repainted and why.

12. Open the bonnet and see the bottom of the hood you just lifted. There should be no spray paint job done there. Check if the paint is uniform.

13. Check for rust under hood, in and around engine housing. Check the condition of the screws used to tighten the battery in place. Also check for the misalignment of the screws where the suspension is attached. This would generally be at the two extremes once you pop open the hood.

14. Check for a white powder like substance near all the gaskets. Especially check this near the front and rear windshields and also on the inside of door glasses. Pull the gaskets on doors and see for any unusual marks.

15. Inspect the boot. Check for the condition of the spare tyre and the compartment. This may give a fair idea on how much the car has been used.

Hope this helps in your making a better decision when you are looking for a used set of wheels.

I have been delaying this from since i don’t know when. Most people come to me for advice on which vehicle they should be buying. And so I have developed a reputation of a mr know it all in case of cars. And the funnily ironic part here is that when it came to buy a car myself I am confused. It’s not that I dont know my cars. I pretty damn do. Have the experience of scanning umpteen number of second hand cars as well. So second hand car mart is not greek to me. The problem here is the number of possibilities that have boggled my mind. Well here I just want to share with you all some of the research I have done. Might help some confused soul out there as well. Here are the car prices, on road, B’lore as of October 2009.

PETROL CARS

Company Model Price(in lakhs) Disp (cc) Airbag ABS P.Win/P.Steering Mileage
Maruti
Alto LX 3.07 796 N N N/N 14.5
Alto LXi 3.27 796 N N N/Y 14.5
A-Star Lxi 4.1 998 N N N/Y 14.6
A-Star Vxi 4.4 998 N N Y/Y 14.6
A-Star Zxi 4.8 998 Y Y Y/Y 14.6
Estilo Lxi 3.9 1061 N N Y/Y 13.6
Estilo Vxi 4.17 1061 Y N Y/Y 13.6
Estilo Vxi ABS 4.5 1061 Y Y Y/Y 13.6
WagonR Lxi 3.9 1061 N N N/Y 12.9
WagonR Lxi DUO 4.17 1061 N N N/Y 12.9
WagonR Vxi 4.22 1061 N N Y/Y 12.9
WagonR Vxi ABS 4.5 1061 Y Y Y/Y 12.9
Swift Lxi 4.77 1298 N N N/Y 12.4
Swift Vxi 5.12 1298 N N Y/Y 12.4
Swift Vxi ABS 5.34 1298 N Y Y/Y 12.4
Swift Zxi 6.1 1298 Y Y Y/Y 12.4
Ritz Lxi 4.57 1197 N N N/Y 12.8
Ritz Vxi 4.93 1197 N N Y/Y 12.8
Ritz Vxi ABS 5.22 1197 N Y Y/Y 12.8
Ritz Zxi 5.64 1197 Y Y Y/Y 12.8
Hyundai
Santro GL 3.92 1086 N N N/Y 12.8
Santro GLS 4.13 1086 N N Y/Y 12.8
i10 1.1 Era 4.37 1086 N N Y/Y 13.2
i10 1.2 Magna 4.67 1197 N N Y/Y 12.8
i10 1.2 Asta 5.66 1197 Y Y Y/Y 12.8
Chevrolet
Spark PS 3.5 995 N N N/Y 13.1
Spark LS 3.7 995 N N Y/Y 13.1
Spark LS Music 3.96 995 N N Y/Y 13.1
Spark LT 4.05 995 N N Y/Y 13.1
Spark LT OP 4.56 995 Y Y Y/Y 13.1
Tata
Vista – Safire Terra 4 1172 N N N/Y 11.72
Vista – Safire Aqua 4.26 1172 N N Y/Y 11.72
Vista – Safire Aura 4.54 1172 N N Y/Y 11.72

DIESEL CARS

Company Model Price Disp (cc) Airbag ABS P.Win/P.Steering Mileage
Maruti
Ritz Ldi 5.45 1248 N N N/Y 14.4
Ritz Vdi 5.8 1248 N N Y/Y 14.4
Ritz Vdi ABS 6.11 1248 N Y Y/Y 14.4
Swift Ldi 5.48 1248 N N N/Y 14.7
Swift Vdi 5.83 1248 N N Y/Y 14.7
Swift Vdi ABS 6.14 1248 N Y Y/Y 14.7
Hyundai
Getz CRDi 6.48 1493 N N Y/Y 14
Fiat
Punto Active 5.76 1248 N N Y/Y ?
Punto Dynamic 6.18 1248 N N Y/Y ?
Punto Emotion 6.65 1248 N Y Y/Y ?
Punto Emotion Pack 7.29 1248 Y Y Y/Y ?
Palio SD 5.1 1248 N N N/Y 14
Palio SDE 5.35 1248 N N Y/Y 14
Palio SDX 5.5 1248 N N Y/Y 14
Tata
Vista Terra 5 N N N/Y 13.9
Vista Aqua 5.22 N N Y/Y 13.9
Vista Aura 5.56 N N Y/Y 13.9
Vista Aqua TDI 4.7 N N Y/Y 12.8
Vista Terra TDI 4.5 N N N/Y 12.8

By the way did I mention that the number one reason I hate bangalore is  the road tax these guys charge. Can you imagine paying 60 – 70 k extra as road tax! I mean I can buy a decent 150 cc bike in that much money. And what are those government idiot &%^$!% babus doing. I don’t see any road developments happening around me that can justify the amount of tax being collected. Ok lets consider a hypothetical scenario. Assume a Maruti dealership sells 60 Swift’s a month. To average out on the variants lets assume they are all VXi’s. The road tax on a VXi is roughly around 60k. So the road tax collected by one dealership is Rs. 36 lakhs. And I have only considered tax collected on one variant by one dealership. Imagine what the actual figures would look like. Now just see around you and find any good driveable roads in Bangalore. Yup, now you get the hang of what I am trying to put across.

Well the confusion began as my ideal car would be a Swift Vdi, but it costs 6 lakhs in b’luru, which is kinda out of my budget as of now. But Diesel is at the back of my mind. So I began to explore my options from

1. New car or old car. A sub 3 lakh old car will have to be disposed off before leaving from Bangalore. A 3+ lakh car would be taken to my hometown in Delhi. (Assuming I move back to Delhi in around 2 years).

2. Should I buy an Alto and drive it for 2 years and then sell it off when I move back to Delhi.

3. Should I go in for a second hand Alto which would come in around 1.5 lakhs. And then when I sell it off I would not face so much depreciation also.

4. Instead of going in for an Alto, should I go in for Spark PS, which offers almost similar features and has better space than Alto and is 200c more than Alto. But then the resale value and Maruti service network are better than that of Chevy.

5. Should I go in for Swift petrol. This would bump up my budget if I plan any long drives or highway excursions. But at least I can fall back on the trusty CNG when I move back to Delhi. Yes I would have to part away with the boot space in that case.

6. Here comes the competition, should I go in for a i10. I test drove the car and the handling is nice. It has a nice peppy engine. The new 1.2 is an added advantage. The 1.2 Magna has equivalent features of Swift Vxi and is priced by approx 50k less. But I need to take the car on highways to satiate my spirit of holidays and exploration. If I can wait for another 4-5 months may be i10 diesel also will be available.

7. Should I go in for i10 Magna or should I put 30k extra and settle for a Swift Lxi. At least I get the big car and sturdy feel of Swift this way.

8. Should I buy Swift Diesel from Delhi and spend extra 10k to bring it in b’lore and then drive in the constant fear of the traffic cops.

9. Stick with the current old M800 for 2 years, and then think of another vehicle when I finally move back to Delhi. Till then I pray that my company gives me enough money so I can afford a VDi.

Company Model Price Disp (cc) Airbag ABS P.Win/P.Steering Mileage
Maruti
Alto LX 3.07 796 N N N/N 14.5
Alto LXi 3.27 796 N N N/Y 14.5
A-Star Lxi 4.1 998 N N N/Y 14.6
A-Star Vxi 4.4 998 N N Y/Y 14.6
A-Star Zxi 4.8 998 Y Y Y/Y 14.6
Estilo Lxi 3.9 1061 N N Y/Y 13.6
Estilo Vxi 4.17 1061 Y N Y/Y 13.6
Estilo Vxi ABS 4.5 1061 Y Y Y/Y 13.6
WagonR Lxi 3.9 1061 N N N/Y 12.9
WagonR Lxi DUO 4.17 1061 N N N/Y 12.9
WagonR Vxi 4.22 1061 N N Y/Y 12.9
WagonR Vxi ABS 4.5 1061 Y Y Y/Y 12.9
Swift Lxi 4.77 1298 N N N/Y 12.4
Swift Vxi 5.12 1298 N N Y/Y 12.4
Swift Vxi ABS 5.34 1298 N Y Y/Y 12.4
Swift Zxi 6.1 1298 Y Y Y/Y 12.4
Ritz Lxi 4.57 1197 N N N/Y 12.8
Ritz Vxi 4.93 1197 N N Y/Y 12.8
Ritz Vxi ABS 5.22 1197 N Y Y/Y 12.8
Ritz Zxi 5.64 1197 Y Y Y/Y 12.8
Hyundai
Santro GL 3.92 1086 N N N/Y 12.8
Santro GLS 4.13 1086 N N Y/Y 12.8
i10 1.1 Era 4.37 1086 N N Y/Y 13.2
i10 1.2 Magna 4.67 1197 N N Y/Y 12.8
i10 1.2 Asta 5.66 1197 Y Y Y/Y 12.8
Chevrolet
Spark PS 3.5 995 N N N/Y 13.1
Spark LS 3.7 995 N N Y/Y 13.1
Spark LS Music 3.96 995 N N Y/Y 13.1
Spark LT 4.05 995 N N Y/Y 13.1
Spark LT OP 4.56 995 Y Y Y/Y 13.1
Tata
Vista – Safire Terra 4 1172 N N N/Y 11.72
Vista – Safire Aqua 4.26 1172 N N Y/Y 11.72
Vista – Safire Aura 4.54 1172 N N Y/Y 11.72

 

At last I got some time off from my hectic schedule. Wanted to write this post so badly since two months, when I had freshly taken Spark for a test ride. First thing I loved was the Chevy executive who rode with me in the car. He asked me to take the car to the limit. I being habitual to driving in Delhi (Delhi drivers are by far the best I have ever seen), was more than happy to oblige. I remember there were two more guys in the back seat who were waiting for their turn to take that car for a spin next. I could see the poor chaps holding each others hands in the rear view mirror when I was negotiating a small round about on a size zero back road while dodging an oncoming Innova from right and overtaking a 407. I remember the Maruti guy telling me not to go over 60 kmph in the test vehicle. And I had a sudden urge to punch him in the face.

 

 

 

 

Okay enuff of the boasting stuff. Lets get down to more serious business here. Time for facts. Spark is the cheapest 1000 cc (995 cc to be precise) car around (PS @ 3.5 L and LS @ 3.7 L on road Bangalore). The only decent car you get in a budget lower than that is an Alto.  Spark delivers 63 bhp and 9 kgm torque, which is absolutely sweet for a car in this class. The suspension was superb. Spark comes standard with tube less tyres and gas filled shock absorbers. The car seemed pretty nice to swerve and cut across in heavy traffic. Changing lanes and fitting the car in gaps was not an issue. Also I have not heard of any major issues with the engine of this car. The engine is peppy and responsive. The AC was also average, nothing too great but not too bad either. Spark delivers an average of 13 – 14 under city conditions with AC on, which are good numbers. But here ends all the good part. Let’s see the other side of the coin too.

From outside the car does look a lot like Matiz. The front looks nice, but the rear is just horrendous and cheap. Interior is comfortable for 4 adults. But again depends on which car you are comparing this with. Compared to 800 and Alto yes it’s more roomier.  The two spoke steering is also not that impressive for hand grip. But the response of power steering is decent enough. Gear shift quality is just about ok. The dash in grey is ok. The plastics are ok, but then isn’t it the same with Santro and Wagon R also. The practically placed central console gives more room for the driver to get in and out of the car easily. The boot space is almost the same as you get on other hatchbacks.

The Spark is strictly a city car only. Do not dare to venture out on the highway. The build quality is not upto the mark. You can feel that the doors are so light you can compare it to plastic. Just knock on a door panel or a body panel to believe what I mean.

If you are looking for a car which is not too taxing on your pockets and don’t want to go for an 800 cc car, go for Chevy. Wagon R and Santro are both old stallions which sooner or later would be phased out. Both these cars are continuing because a. They do not have a worthy successor as of yet. and b. The company wants to have a model for this price bracket.

My pick Spark LS.

I don’t even know why I am posting this, but I guess it’s the fact that I have listened to this song over 50 times in 2 days. I wanted to understand the lyrics and so googled it. But alas could not find the correct lyrics anywhere…. saareyaan ne punjabi  di maan bhen keeti hoi see….. so here’s the correct version… may be I also have managed to goof up some words… do correct me if I am wrong somewhere…

 

Hik naal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Nain aa Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Ti

Hik naal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Nain aa Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Ti

 

Mileya Malook Jeya

Vekheya Salook Tera

Paata Puhwara Hun Jehra

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Roop Tera Haye Ni Tu Fiza Hai Chenab Di

Balle Teri Taur Ni Tu Shaan Hai Punjab Di

Roop Tera Haye Ni Tu Fiza Hai Chenab Di

Balle Teri Taur Ni Tu Shaan Hai Punjab Di

 

Paake Yaariaan Kitta Haye Tu Kharab Ni

Bulliyaan De Haseyaan Ne Ditta Haye Maar Ni

 

Lak Jad Lachke

Jhanjhar Chanke

Paata Puhwara Nawa Tera

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Haye Tera Jalwa Tera Hai Shabab Ni

Aashe Aashe Aashke Kudi Lajawab Ni

Haye Tera Jalwa Tera Hai Shabab Ni

Aashe Aashe Aashke Kudi Lajawab Ni

 

Tera Ni Khumar Ditta Ghar Di Sharaab Ni

Patte Gaye Munde Pind De Behisaab Ni

 

Heer Sanu Lag Di

Sohniye Tu Phab Di

Har Paase Charcha Hai Tera

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Hikanaal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Naina Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Di

Hikanaal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Naina Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Di

 

Mileya Malook Jeya

Vekheya Salook Tera

Paata Puhwara Hun Tera

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Kudos to Labh Janjua, for singing this beautifully.

You can download this song from http://www.cooltoad.com

Spotted these beauties parked right next to where I live in Bangalore. Seems the Chevy guys had taken a halt for dinner. I could have missed it so easily. They looked so innocent, in white, parked next to each other. Thanks to my keen eye… I spotted the new Chevy Cruze, which is due to be release next month in September. It was  a shocker, as this car looks so strikingly similar to a Honda Civic from rear, that most people would miss spotting this. I felt awkward, but ultimately my curiosity got the best of me. “Bhaiya, ye safed gaadi kiska parked hai?” I asked the Paan waallah. He pointed to the restaurant and said “Kuch log andar aaye hain khana khane unki gaadi hai”. I couldn’t believe what I did next, but again, being an auto buff, my feet started moving towards the restro. I asked the restro owner and he told me a crew of 4 guys had come and they are having dinner.

One half told me to just foolishly barge onto their dinner table and to confirm whether this was indeed Chevy Cruze or not. But thank god for my parents had put some decency in me. I went outside and began clicking away. I had just taken 4 pics when the guys finished their dinner and came out and stopped me from taking pics. I asked them candidly if I could just sit inside and feel the interiors, but as expected the guys were either very rude or very tight lipped, they didn’t let me. On pestering them they told me that both of them were Diesel versions. One with a manual gearbox and other with an automatic. The expected price was somewhere around 15-17 lakhs. They said this was positioned to take on Skoda Laura, Honda Civic and Honda Accord. I asked them that was Chevy planning to exit the Optra, but they said no. On asking when was Chevy planning to come out with their small car, they said it would be late next year.

I had one more look at the damsels and continued my way back.

20082009789

20082009790

20082009791

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First of all here’s the price comparison (On-Road Bangalore, if you are not from Bangalore reduce around 50-60k from the prices given below) :

Ritz Petrol:                                      Swift Petrol:

Lxi – 457968                                     Lxi – 477652

Vxi – 493097                                    Vxi – 512689

Vxi ABS – 522090                           Vxi ABS – 534743

Zxi – 564636                                      Zxi – 611126

Ritz Diesel:                                      Swift Diesel:

Ldi – 545578                                     Ldi – 548967

Vdi – 580265                                    Vdi – 583232

Zdi – 611553                                      Vdi ABS – 614866

I know your reaction.  Yes, if you look closely e.g. pick the Vxi versions of both the cars, there is hardly a difference of 20K between the two cars. The Ritz has, as the company claims the all new K12 engine with new technology. And due to this the company is claiming a mileage of 17 kmpl in Ritz petrol versions. The front and rear leg room space is almost the same in both the cars. But as the Swift is the widest car in its range, it gives an impression of being more spacious. The Ritz has a better feature offering a 60:40 foldable ratio for the rear seats. The boot space is also comparatively a little more in Swift. This is due to the shape of the car. From the top view the Swift would be something like this:

swifts shape

swifts shape

while the Ritz’ rear would look something like this from top:

ritz shape

ritz shape

So you get marginally lesser boot space in the Ritz. Looks wise Ritz is dashing from the front, but the rear end might not appeal to everybody. The rear glass pane is seemingly …. tiny, so I thought the rear visibility would be an issue with Ritz. Though reversing the car was not a problem when I drove it. There is comparatively lesser cabin noise in Ritz than Swift. The diesel engine is the same so you get the same zippiness as in Swift. I wanted to test drive the petrol version but their petrol test vehicle was unavailable. The turning radius is less so swerving into bends and taking u-turns is easier. The gear is very convenient to operate, thanks to the raised height, which I think Maruti picked from Hyundai i10. But the negative is that the whole panel encasing the gear, what Maruti calls the Waterfall dashboard, eats a chunk out of the leg room space of driver. The dash has also been rendered useless due to the downward tilt. In Swift the dash is straight so you can keep a thing or two. The cup holes and spaces to keep your stuff are also more in Swift. To substitute this Ritz has a really lousy low grade plastic cup holder provided under the front left seat.

Maruti is using a new ploy to make sure Ritz is successful. The waiting period on Swift Vxi is around 1 month and on Vxi ABS is a whopping 4-5 months. Whereas you can get the delivery of Ritz in your choice of colour in a flash. I think after the dismal response for A-star they want to ensure by all means that Ritz gets the fair market share, till Maruti comes out with the new version of Swift. By the way this is the Canadian version of Swift, looks strikingly similar to the Chevy U-Va ain’t it?

800px-Suzuki_Swift+_T200_Loaner_(Sterling_Ford)

Saturdays and Sundays are the most toughest part. You have a day off after a busy week. The heat outside is scorching and you don’t want to step out. You woke late due to last night’s movie session on your  laptop. There is a Maggi lying in the kitchen but already have had enough of that. Then my friend it’s the time to for a quick recipe, which hopefully would not turn out to be a disaster. Tell your self “Men are better cooks that women” and tread into the unforbidden territory. But beware the truth about the accidents that happen in kitchen is that you usually have to eat them :) . Here are some of the things I cook for survival purposes only :)

Matar Pulao / Veg Biryani:

First of all both of them seem the same to me at the root level.

Utensils required: Cooker, Pan, something to stir with, knife, plate.

Ingredients: Rice, Ginger & Garlic paste (readily available in market, and a must keep for bachelors specially), salt, chilly powder, cumin, coriander powder (not essential, can do without it too), peas (+ any other veggies you want to add…. it’s really Your choice), green chillies, edible oil.

1. Take about a glass full rice and put it in a deep pan. Pour water in the pan and let the rice soak for about 15-20 minutes. After that drain out  the water.

2. If you are planning to add potatoes also, put unpeeled potatoes in the cooker, pour water, till the potatoes are covered in water. Close the cooker and let it heat until you hear about 2 whistles. Take out the potatoes and peel them when they cool down a bit. Chop them into chunky eatable pieces. Drain the water from the cooker and clean it.

3. Chop one onion with long slices, chop green chillies, chop some veggies whichever are available and keep them separate in a plate. I have used capsicum, potatoes, cauliflower, peas and baby corn. Do remember to wash the veggies beforehand.

4. Put the cooker on with medium flame. Add oil and cumin (jeera) and onions. And keep stirring until the onions turn brown.

5. Add Ginger & Garlic Paste. Add all the chopped veggies and/or peas. Keep stirring.

6. Add salt (about 1.5 teaspoon), red chilly powder (half teaspoon), turmeric (1 teaspoon), coriander seed (dhaniya)  powder. And keep stirring.

7. After the spices have mixed up with veggies, add the rice and mix till the spices mix up evenly. Let it fry it for around 5 minutes or so.

8. Add water in the cooker till everything is fully immersed in water. And cover the cooker.

9. After about 2-3 whistles turn off the flame and wait for about 10 minutes before removing the lid.

Voila… if everything went right you would be able to impress even yourself :)

Don’t take life so seriously, it’s not permanent!

God and love are the two greatest illusions of life.

Where you stumble there lies your treasure.

Love comes unseen, we only see it go.

My best dreams and the worst nightmares have the same people in them.

The price of anything is the amount of life we exchange for it.

A life filled with wanderings doesn’t define the directionlessness or meaninglessness of it! Instead it defines the complication and the stubbornness to give-in to, what is known as usual!!!

My words speak louder than actions

“There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi – I didn’t like him any ways.

If life is a waste of time, and time is a waste of life, why don’t we all get wasted and have the time of our lives?

Truth will always be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance.

If you really want to do something, you will find a way. If you don’t, you will find an excuse.

In this world, it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.

Do first what you dread the most.

Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time.

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.

A new study shows that licking the sweat off a frog can cure depression. The down side is, the minute you stop licking, the frog gets depressed again.

It is better to aim at perfection and miss, than to aim at imperfection and hit it.

Wherever you are — be there.

The thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts a good discussion.

What single ability do we all have? The ability to change.

Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Perhaps the best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.

The words I want to say to you are locked away inside the pocket of my heart.

Life is an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.

I not only use all the brains I have but all that I can borrow.

The real trap of fame is its irresistibility.

If everybody was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes.

I came. I saw. I clicked.

Sincerity is the highest compliment you can pay.

Veni. Vidi. Codi.

Veni. Veni. Veni. (I came, I came, I came)

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.

If it doesn’t matter who wins, then how come they keep score?

Vegetarian is an old Indian word meaning bad hunter.

Life is hard. It’s even harder if you’re stupid.

Fear is something to be moved through, not something to be turned from.

“You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Happiness is not a reward — it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment — it is a result.

Nature has given to us the seeds of knowledge, not knowledge itself.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

Encouragement is like a premium gasoline – it helps to take knocks out of living.

It is hard to understand how a cemetery can raise its burial rates and blame it on the cost of living.

Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must. - Muhammad Ali

If you can’t beat your computer at chess, try kickboxing.

All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific.

Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They’re there every night, they see it done every night, they see how it should be done every night, but they can’t do it themselves.

If misery loves company, misery has company enough.

In life, as in chess, forethought wins.

I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. – Voltaire

Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity.

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What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand. Confucius

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.

Magnify you Skills…or else Modify your Goals.

Act as if it were impossible to fail.

I’ll note you in my book of memory.

After three days, fish and guests stink.

When all else fails, read the instructions.

If at first you don’t succeed… make sure nobody finds out you tried!

Marry and make a woman happy OR remain a bachelor and make several women happy!

The impact of recession is so great that women are actually marrying for love!

Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.

Men achieve a certain greatness unawares, when working to another aim.

Hurry! I never hurry. I have no time to hurry.

Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.

I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don’t know the answer.

The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.

Nothing makes a man so modest about his income as a tax form to fill out.

Tact: getting your point across without stabbing someone with it.

I still miss my ex, but my aim is improving.

I used to be indecisive, now I’m not so sure.

Man is God’s greatest masterpiece. But who says so? — Man.

Talents are best nurtured in solitude; character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

A talent can be cultivated in tranquility; a character only in the rushing stream of life.

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.

He is happiest, be He king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.

For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is.

The best of all governments is that which teaches us to govern ourselves.

Beware of dissipating your powers; strive constantly to concentrate them. Genius thinks it can do whatever it sees others doing, but is sure to repent of every ill-judged outlay.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Sex is like air; it’s not important unless you aren’t getting any.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Life is beautiful. Let’s fuck it.

Nobody gets out alive. Life fucks all.

One good turn gets most of the blankets.

There are two kinds of pedestrians — the quick and the dead.

Life is sexually transmitted.

An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.

If quitters never win, and winners never cheat, then who is the fool who said “Quit while you’re ahead”?

ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI.

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

It’s not hard to meet expenses, they’re everywhere.

Jury — Twelve people who determine which client has the better lawyer.

Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.

Before marriage, a man yearns for the woman he loves. After marriage, the ‘Y’ becomes silent.

If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.

You look like s***! Is that the style now?

I haven’t committed a crime. what i did was fail to comply with the law.

“you make my software hard.”

People who drink to drown their sorrows should know that sorrows knows how to swim.

I’m trying to see from your viewpoint, but I can’t seem to fit my head that far up my *ss.

I’m busy right now, I’ll ignore you later

If you must lie, be brief.

Some of them are inspired, and some have been straight frame by frame, scene by scene remakes. In the earlier days they got away with this, but not now …. hail the Internet :)

Feel free to add more and point out any mistakes.

Fight Club – Fight Club
Akele Hum Akele Tum – Kramer vs Kramer
Paap – Witness
Zeher – Out of Time
Main Aisa Hi Hoon – I Am Sam
Heyy Babyy – Three Men and a Baby
Agneepath – Used a lot of references to Scarface
Road – The Hitcher
Dhamaal – Rat Race
Black – The Miracle Worker
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan – Some scenes inspired from Bad Boys
Salaam Namaste – Nine Months (1995)
Kyon Ki – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Kucch To Hai – I Know What you did Last Summer (1997)
Awara Paagal Deewana – The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Deewangee – Primal Fear (1996)
Kartoos – Point of No Return (1993)
Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai – American Pie (1999)
Yaarana – Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
Murder – Unfaithful (2002)
Krrish – Some part inspired from Paycheck
Dil lage – Sabrina
Mein Anari tu khiladi – The hard way
The Train – Derailed
Speed – Cellular
Malamaal Weekly – Waking Ned Divine
Ek Ajnabee – Man on Fire
The Killer – Collateral
Raaz – What Lies Beneath
Kaante – Reservoir Dogs
Chocolate – The Usual Suspects
Alag – Powder
Deewane Huye Paagal – There’s Something About Mary
Hum Tum – When Harry Met Sally /Before Sunset
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai – My Best Friend’s Wedding
Aap Ki Khatir – The Wedding Date
Kyonki Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta – Liar Liar
Papi Gudia – Child’s Play
Zinda – Old Boy (Korean Movie, not Hollywood)
Main Hoon Na – Never Been Kissed
Dil Hai ki Manta nahi – It Happenned One night / Sure Thing
Ram Jaane – Angels with Dirty Face
Phir Hera Pheri  – Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Taxi # 9211  – Changing Lanes
Aak Ruka Hua Faisala – 12 Angry men
sadak – taxi driver
darr – cape fear
takkar – unlawful entry (also see fareb)
Bachke Rehna Re Baba – Heartbreakers
Bunty aur Babli – Bonnie & Clyde
Kya Kool Hain Hum – The Monster
Maine Pyar kyun kiya – Cactus Flower
Yakeen – Shattered
Ghulam – On the waterfront
Aitbaar – Fear
Sholay – The seven samurai / magnificent seven
munnabhai mbbs – patch adms
ghajini – Memento
God father – inspired Sarkar and Sarkar Raj
Bruce Almighty – God Tussi Great ho
Kahi Pyar na Ho Jaye – The Wedding Singer
Life in a metro – the Apartment
u me aur hum – the notebook
love story 2050 – the time machine
Mr ya miss – Switch
sequel to partner  – Wedding crashers
Omkara – othello
aitraaz – disclosure
Chori chori – house sitter
ek hasina thi – double jeporody
musafir – U turn
mujshe shaadi karogi – anger management
qayamat – the rock
kuch kuch hota hain – sleepless in seattle
chak de india – miracle on ice
jab we met – a walk in the clouds
race – bad lovers
andaz apna apna – dirty rotten squandrel
dhoom2 – payback
Naksha – The Rundown (2003) / Welcome to the Jungle
Tathastu – John Q
Shaadi Se Pehle – Meri Biwi Ki Shaadi
Rang De Basanti – All My Sons
Mr Ya Miss – Hot Chic
Sauda The Deal – Indecent Proposal
Aabra Ka Dabra – Harry Potter
Dhoom – The Fast and the Furious & Ocean’s Eleven
Taarzan: The Wonder Car – Christine
Koi Mil Gaya – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Forrest Gump
Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai – Meet the Parents
3 Deewarein – The Shawshank Redemption
Chor Machaaye Shor – Blue Streak & Hindi Movie Gol Maal
Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi – The Parent Trap
Karobaar: The Business of Love – Indecent Proposal
Baadshah – Nick Of Time, The Mask, Rush Hour, Mr. Nice Guy
Judwaa – Comedy of Errors/ The Twin Dragons.
Fareb – Unlawful Entry (also see takkar)
Agni Sakshi – Sleeping with the Enemy
Daraar – Sleeping with the Enemy
Criminal – The Fugitive
Hum Hain Kamaal Ke – See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Akayla – Cobra
Main Azaad Hoon – Meet John Doe
Maalamaal – Brewster’s Millions
Janbaaz – Duel in the Sun
The Burning Train – Shinkansen Daibakuha
Partner -  Hitch
Bichhoo – Léon
Hum kaun hai – The Others
Bazigar – A kiss before dying
36 China Town – Once Upon a Crime
Jism – Body Heat
Raghu Romeo  – Atame! (also known as Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down)
Dansh – Death and the Maiden
Sangharsh – Silence of the Lambs
Ek Din 24 Ghante – Lola Rennt (also known as Run Lola Run)
Gulzar’s classic Parichay – The Sound of Music
Josh – West Side Story
Dostana – I now pronounce you chuck and larry

Bluffmaster – Matchstick Men

I am not a final authority on Bollywood. My views are my own. Please feel free to disagree with the comparisons made here. I wrote this ‘coz I obviously felt there wore some striking similarities.

This started as a notepad file on my desktop wherein I put anything that helped in my daily office work.

  • vi editor is by default not unicode i.e. it supports utf-8 and not utf-16. So if you have a file containing a unicode character (a 2 byte character) so when you open this file using vi, you will be seeing two funny looking characters instead of what you expected. The solution is to use vim, which is an enhanced version of  vi.
  • The following would round off a decimal number. This would always consider the last digit. So the algo involves calculating the decimal part of a number and then rounding off the number accordingly (Assuming that input contains the number to be rounded off):                                                   temp = inuput;
    while(temp / 10 > 1)
    ++i
    totalLen = input.ToString().length();
    decPartlen = totalLen – i – 1;
    float tenMult = pow(10, decPartLen);
    double result = ((int) ((tenMult * input) + 0.5)) / tenMult;OR

    temp = inuput;
    int len = (temp % 1).ToString().length() – 2;
    float tenMult = pow(10, len);
    double result = ((int) ((tenMult * input) + 0.5)) / tenMult;

  • If you by chance give an extra space at console and unix takes you to the next line e.g. HOME:>ls -l | egrep `^d’
    > t
    > quit
    > break
    > exit
    > :q
    > q
    >
    >
    >
    > end
    > exit
    > esc
    > fi
    > finish
    > end
    > break
    > exit
    > ^C
    you can come out of it  by pressing Ctrl + C. I’ve been stuck here a lot of time. And as you can see tried everything except the obvious at first.
  • UNIX does not have an option of listing only directories so you can try this: ‘ls -l | egrep `^d'' and for listing files use this ‘ls -l | egrep -v `^d'
  • Process Explorer is a wonderful nifty utility to check for what all dll’s have been loaded corresponding to your exe. This is freely available for download from Microsoft website. A similar utility on Linux is also available.  For KDE, KSysguard:
    http://docs.kde.org/development/en/kdebase/ksysguard/ and for GNOME there is an app called Gnome System Monitor:
    http://freshmeat.net/projects/gnome-system-monitor/. On Linux console you can use the ‘top’ or ‘ps’ command. Or you can also use htop, http://htop.sourceforge.net. Also try looking if ‘ldd’ solves your purpose.
  • To run a shell script from C++, you can use the following syntax: ‘long sysret = system(testscript.ksh);’. In most of the environments the return value zero would mean the system command executed successfully. Similarly if you want to run an exe or bat file from within a C++ code use CreateProcess command.
  • To output a parameter that has been passed to your script, to another file, use ‘echo $1 > $filename’. I was by mistake doing this instead ‘$1 > $filename’. $1 is essentially similar to giving the parameter $1 at the prompt. echo $1 would actually echo out the value and then that value can be redirected to your file.
  • If TaskManager has been disabled: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Taskmanager_error.htm