Vehicle Registration Process at Kukatpally RTA

So, we (My wife and I) purchased this Honda Activa from a dealer in January.  While I collected the scooter from the dealer on the day of the purchase, they asked me to come on the next day to collect the temporary registration papers. The next day, I got the original retail invoice, insurance copy, a form 22, form 20 and form 21, PUC certificate, temporary registration number and registration tax receipt. The guy at the dealer asked me to give him Rs 1000 to get the permanent registration done.  Since I did not have enough cash, I asked him if I can give it later. He gave me the contact number of a person and asked me to meet him with the money and the documents along with identity proof and address proof at the Kukatpally RTA office.

The Kukatpally RTA is quite near to where I stay. So, instead of going through the agent, I decided to try it on my own.  On a fine morning around 10 am, wife and I went to the RTA office. I went to a person who was sitting outside with a pile of forms and generally guiding people.  I asked him regarding registration and he pointed to a board which had the list of documents. I checked the papers I had with us. It had all the listed documents. I had got my wife's Aadhar card as the ID proof and Voter’s card as the address proof. Got them photocopied and wife signed on them as the scooter was purchased on her name. 

There was a queue of about 10-12 people at counter 2. The queue was moving very slowly. My wife joined the queue. When there were about 5 people ahead of her, a person with a khaki dress came and started checking the papers of all the people in the queue. When he checked our papers, he asked to get a valid Identity proof like a Passport or PAN card or Driving License or Matric certificate. Though my wife argued that Aadhar card is mentioned as a valid identity proof, he did not buy into it.

So we went home and came back with her Matric certificate and made a photocopy of it. Again stood in the queue. It was almost 11 AM and this time the queue was short. Only 3-4 people were ahead. The clerk took all the documents and verified them in the system. He asked for Rs 400 as fees. The actual fees is Rs 395. He however did not return the change of Rs 5. He gave back 2 receipts. One was a receipt for Rs 395 and the other was another  token. Wife asked the clerk where do we go next and he said HSRP.  We figured out HSRP is short for the High Security Registration Plate.

We looked around and found another cabin with for the number plate. There was no queue there. We went and gave the token and he asked for Rs 250. I saw that it was only Rs 245 for 2 wheeler number plate. I understood that he would not return the balance. We paid him the money and he scribbled paid in the token and told us to collect the number plate in a few days. Wife asked him where we go next. So, the told to go for digital picture and digital signature capture. 

This was again a small cabin inside the RTA office in a small flat. There was again a queue of 10-12 people waiting. Wife stood in queue and finally they took her picture and gave her digital signature. They again verified the original Matric certificate, Aadhar card and Voter card and then returned back all the documents that were collected at counter 2.

Next we had to go for vehicle verification. It was in a ground beside the RTA office. There was another man in khaki police uniform. We gave him the papers. He noted down our contact number and vehicle chassis and engine number on one of the forms. Then he asked us to get a pencil imprint of the vehicle on a piece of paper. Luckily, there was another man who had a pencil. We borrowed it and I took the pencil imprint and gave it to the police man.

Then for verification, he asked me to read out the chassis number. I read it out. Don’t know what he verified but he said it is ok!

The he asked me to go to the other side and read another number below the stand. I read it out and he said ok!

Then, he told that we will get the message by end of the day and the RC card will reach by post in about 15 days time. 

The HSRP availability will be messaged through SMS and we have to bring the vehicle to RTA to fix the same.

The overall process was over in about 40-45 minutes.

True to his word, I got SMS for the vehicle number on the same evening.

After about 4-5 days, we received another SMS to collect the number plate. I went to the same cabin and showed him the SMS. The boy over there asked me to sign on a register with a few details (sl no, date, registration number etc) and fixed both the number plates to the scooter. He asked for some tips and I gave him Rs 50.

About 2 weeks later, the RC card came by registered post.

Hope this post will help others who are going to register their vehicle. Thanks!

The No Complaining Rule – Jon Gordon – Book Review

Having read the book, The Carpenter by the same author, I picked up this book as well. I had some idea of what to expect. Jon Gordon’s books are quick reads and you can literally breeze through them as the concepts that he propounds are neither new nor heavy. But he gives practical advice in the form of a story. I quickly recognized the pattern which is quite predictable. It goes like this:

The protagonist is in some problem both at professional and personal front. She/He meets a mentor who gives valuable advice. The protagonist applies the same in his life and work and miracles happen.

In this book, the protagonist is Hope, the HR Head of a computer software firm. She has been divorced recently and having issues with raising 2 teen age children. Again, there are issues at work – negativity, bad culture and some pestering colleagues. To top it all, she also has some medical issues.

Amidst all these, she meets a nurse who helps her with the No Complaining Rule. She uses this in her office, at board rooms, in workshops and everything, including her personal life is sorted out.

Some of the good lessons from this book are – 

The complaining fast - This is a concept where the author says that we just go through 1 day without any complains. Then extend it by a week.

The 3 No Complaining Tools –

1.       The But … Positive technique –

This is a simple tool to covert complains into positive thoughts. E.g: I don’t like driving in traffic BUT I am thankful that I can drive and that I have a job!

2.       Focus on ‘Get To’ instead of ‘Have To’ –

Instead of saying ‘I have to do this’ say ‘I get to do this’. Focus on what you get to do. Focus on feeling blessed instead of stressed. Focus on gratitude.

3.       Turn Complains into solutions –

Every complaint represents an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive.

Five Things to Do Instead of Complain

1.       Practice Gratitude

2.       Praise Others

3.       Focus on Success

4.       Let Go

5.       Pray and Meditate

Now comes the critical part of my review. The book is well structured and the story is well told, with its suspense, dénouement and ending, and the core principle propagated is based on ‘The Success’ i.e you attract to yourself what you project to the world. However, having worked in a corporate environment for more than 17 years, I felt that the ideas and methods from this book cannot be used in a corporate environment. These principles and rules are more personal in nature and usage. If someone tries to really implement them in the corporate world, they would quickly become the butt of all jokes. I feel, todays’ organizations are not ready to espouse this.

My verdict: You can read this book if you get for free as you can complete it in a day. But not worth buying it to read.

The Carpenter – Jon Gordon – Book Review

This is a light weight book by Jon Gordon. It is a motivational book. Michael is an entrepreneur who is stuck in his business. One morning, during his run, he passes out and a carpenter saves his life.

Later he meets this amazing carpenter who becomes his mentor and Michael revives his business. He also becomes mentors to numerous others.

The lessons from this book are not something that is new. They are the same old stuff but packaged in a new way. You get to see a blend of ‘The Secret’ – attracting what you want, affirmations, and secrets of success.

Some of the ideas that stuck with me was - Designing a masterpiece. The author says that our life is a masterpiece and before building it, we need to design it. He says, most people go through life living by chance. But if you really want to build a masterpiece, you have to live intentionally. He says, one must ask oneself: What does it look like when you are at your healthiest, strongest and best? What does your family situation look like? Are you ignoring people you love the most or making more time for them? What matters most? What priorities drive your day? What are you doing that makes you come alive? What are you doing to live and share your purpose? When you look back on your life, what do you want to be able to say about it? How do you want to feel? What will you have wanted to accomplish? What legacy will you have left? What stories people will be telling about you?

The Author says, once you design your masterpiece, you must be a craftsman in your approach to life and your work. A craftsman views everything as an art, not work. A craftsman wants to make his next work of art, his best work.

Believe that you can do it and talk to yourself to motivate, instead of listening to your self talk, which may be discouraging. The overall advise is to have a positive mindset.

The carpenter shares 3 greatest success strategies of all as its heart of success.

The first greatest success strategy is to love everything and operate from love than fear.

·         Love the struggle

·         Love the challenges

·         Love the competition

·         Love negative people

·         Love those who hurt you

·         Love fear

The second greatest success strategy is Serve others. Become a servant leader.

The third greatest success strategy is to care for others

·         Care about the work you do

·         Surround yourself with people who care

·         Show your team you care about them

·         Build a team that cares about one another

·         Show your customers you care about them

This is how you stand out and succeed

The other lessons that Michael learns are that success takes time and failure is a gift.  He learns that he is a work in progress and he needs to have courage to keep moving forward.

Don’t focus on building your business. Focus on using your business to love, serve, care and build up others. If you do this, your business will build and multiply exponentially. 

Focus on one person at a time, one interaction at a time, one moment at a time.

Finally, success is meant to be shared. Be generous and share your wealth and knowledge. It comes back to you!

Overall, I liked the book. It has some great messages that are told in a nice story. One can read it once. But I would not read it again if someone asks me to! Is this a must addition to my library? I don't think so!