Karcher - The machine with a difference.

Karcher SV7

Technology has reached a point where one can get what one dreams about. Similar is this amazing efficient tool by Karcher SV7 which blends steam and vacuum in such a fantastic manner that it's just flawless. With an option to use them individually, Karcher has given a perfect tool.

I use it on my mattress, in the kitchen, bedroom window sills, floor and it's just so easy to use. The ease of use is not just external, there is no cloth bag inside. It has water revolving in the container that dissolves the sucked dust. So dust does not escape, no cleaning bags after use, no minute dust going to the lungs.... The hot steam cleans surfaces and makes them spick and span.

It comes with a number of attachments to combine steam and vacuum, as well as to use them individually.
The quality of material used is robust. Has a compact main unit which can fit almost all the attachments. The wire fits under the water tank making it very easy to carry. Well, designed for convenience. Very happy with the product.

Check out the product details : https://www.kaercher.com/za/home-garden/steam-vacuum-cleaner/sv-7-14394100.html

Interactions, the E2O attracts!

Had an interesting conversation with the Inspector - Special Force Police Department. It was my car that caught his attention.

Interestingly, he is the first person I met who said, "I want to own an EV". He showed me pics on his phone, that he wants to buy the Tata's Megapixel (which was our first choice too), but like us, he also got tired of waiting for the company to release the car.

So, after all the Electric vehicle related talk, he shared his mind-boggling experience at an EV encounter. The police force had received an information about a crime scene with a car number. They followed a small car (MREVA E2O) of particular number plate. The EV driver was scared, shocked almost paralysed by the scene created and he answered all the questions but he happened to be the wrong person..

So, when curiosity got the better out of him, the inspector asked about the electric car... The driver got so flustered, annoyed. He could not comprehend the pace at which things were changing. The inspector eventually apologised for the agony caused and from then on Mr. Inspector remembers electric cars fondly and would like to own one.

What an interaction!

Mirror! Mirror!

Last 8 months have been very interesting... Life lived and travelled in a different way. A reflection of the past gave me amazing insights at how blessed we have been all the way... New things, events and opportunities coming our way...

Last week we were on a long awaited monsoon bike ride to Pune. Somehow that has been our way of connecting back with nature... The Ghats are very inviting and the old highway has become even more safe and open thanks to all the other traffic speeding over the expressway. Open lush green fields, open roads and milestones...

Travelling has been our passion and it helps connect us better in many ways than one. This ride seemed to offer more than just connection with each other. 

Friends with common interest are fun to be around with. We do not meet often but can strike the right cord instantly.  Kamlesh, is one such friend we met. A man of few words ;) and deeper thoughts... :) Loves his EV and is enthusiastic about life and its journeys. 

Interestingly, met a lot of enthusiastic people and shared lots of joy and reasoning about life, for life. :) The visit to the Ananda Yoga retreat was enlightening. Meeting Dharana, a well read and enriched soul, was inspiring.

To my surprise I even connected with a different creature at the retreat. It was not me who took the first step of course. I have never been fond of dogs but this one was so giving that I gave in too. :). She has been there at the retreat from the time of its creation. "Mamma" as she is called, approached us the first day, took in our smell, and as usual my instinct was to avoid. She would wag its tails (like any other) showing its approval of us being around, lead us to the places / rooms / halls we were heading towards. Guard / clear our path of the crawling creatures. Lead us to our rooms and stay out for sometime till she knew we were settled for the night.
One evening on a trek, I was falling behind from the group... she stopped and started walking next to me. She accompanied me to the walks in the morning and even sat beside on a hill side. She was so expressive in her ways and actions but I never patted her back. One morning we were running towards the reception and she sensed harm... she pushed us back and ran ahead to only find that she had won over us. :)

The trip on the way back was like a fantasy. We had a bright blue sky and the blue Enfield with us on our journey back home. Raphae was brilliant in his reflexes, navigating our way back home. On this trip there was no bike-lag after we were back to the city of lights. The big contrast of living in a metro, and living in a valley struck us when we inhaled the polluted air at Panvel. Over all a great fulfilled experience.

Link to 'Ride for Joy': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46JENEx7sao

This experience reminds me of the Rumi Quote, it says:
"You have forgotten the One, who does not care for ownership,
who doesn't try to turn a profit from every human exchange."

Drive More! Earn More! Part 2

Thanks to Mahindra for shifting their Sakinaka location to Chunabhatti, we saw a different part of Mumbai and had a great, fun filled experience. 

We went to Chunabhatti, then to Lohar Chawl and back. 

Travelled by car to the service station, then by Rickshaw and train to Masjid Bandar. 
Returned by train and double decker bus. It was the two of us and to and fro costed us - 94Rs.

Rickshaw - 28 INR

Masjid Bandar 2 tickets - 22 INR (11/person)

Return Train tickets to Kurla - 20 INR

Double Decker tickets - 24 INR (12/person) 

One interesting discovery was that if we had travelled the same distance in our E2O it would have been even more cost effective and less time consuming. 

We would have made it back with at least 40% charge remaining. 

Total Distance to the exact location 48 Kms + Airconditioning and traffic + roaming around the by-lanes = 6o units battery consumed. ;)

Map by road Google Map

Mahindra Reva E2O gives us 0.50 paise per unit which means 50 INR per 100 units of charge. So it would have costed us 30 Rs for the 60 units for both of us... Even if we went all the way and consumed all of the charged units we would still be at an advantage.. Currently and for the next 2 yrs,   its all free for us anyway, since Mahindra pays us back.

Translating that score.. we can travel anywhere in Mumbai around 100 km range for 50 Rs... thats mind-blowing!

So far we have gone 4200+ kms and saved around 23000 INR yearly cost of petrol if we were to drive a petrol vehicle giving us average 14 km /Ltr @ 75INR / Ltr... It just gets better each day!

Drive More! Earn More! Part 1

Oh! what an amazing Sunday it has been so far!

After having done all that we 'needed' to, we felt like we deserved a long drive on a Sunday sunny morning when the roads are not too crowded, to go to a place which we haven't discovered completely..

Distance Travelled: GoogleMap

So the destination - Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus from the Eastern Free Way which takes us around Mumbai.

To V.T via the freeway :)

We started off from a place close to our home at 50% DTE (distance to Empty)... Beautiful roads, very less traffic and an interesting companion who is also the navigator between the two of us. Mumbai is vast and there is always something more to see and do. :)

Driving has never been so much fun. Saw the un-ventured Mazgaon Docks, the mills and the central side of Mumbai. Never before reached Victoria Terminus station in less than 40 mins. This is a much better road to travel to South Mumbai. The air is much cleaner too. There is so much to discover about Mumbai and also about the E2O.

At a signal away from home.

Started with 50 % DTE
The total distance travelled was 48kms. (to and fro)

Reached home with 18% DTE

Regenerated - 16 kms worth of battery life

AMAZING!

The car started showing signs of low battery, the navigation system had red lights blinking, the dashboard gear changed to "E" - Empty and I could no longer go into boost mode. We were well prepared so there was no range anxiety.

Ideally we would have kind of dragged the car home with 2% battery left or used 'Revive' but regenerative breaking had some surprises to offer. The car doesn't cease to amaze us. Its gives us a high.

The next trip to the same place will surely be to discover the monorail. These facilities have made these places more reachable and exciting than before.

Small Important Features

Exactly a year after we owned the E2O, we got a call from Mahindra wanting to talk about how our e2o has become just like us... It was a pleasure going down the memory lanes and talking about how the car has integrated into our lifestyle so well..

I realised that there are many subtle features that the car has, those that we use on a daily basis but don't register them as equally important but Mahindra has put in that effort to make the car as Child-Safe as possible.

To start with - when the car is plugged in, it completely shuts down and it will not move or start, that way one will never be able to make a careless mistake and move ahead with the car without unplugging.

On startup - we need to authenticate with the key, that way no one can just press the button and accelerate. Moreover, its also mandatory to put the gear in Neutral - N and only then there can be any movement from acceleration upon change of gear. Its again a cool Child-Safe feature.

DVD / CD feature can only be used if the car is not in motion. It doesn't work in Forward / Boost or Reverse gear mode.

It has ELR (Emergency locking retractors) belts for the front seat riders which locks it self on impact or sudden braking.

The rear view mirror has a locking mechanism which locks the mirror in place. The set position does not keep moving as a result of cleaning or sorts..

And m sure there are many more features that we haven't discovered yet. :)

Celebrations!

Its the anniversary month for both, us and the car... Life has been very rewarding. 

Its been a year at driving the most fascinating car and we are very happy to say the least. We have met great enthusiastic people as a result of owning this car... Cheers to all! Shared experiences, gave interviews and look forward to more.

Here is our stats for the month.

Join us in our celebration!!! 

E2O Driving Statistics

Oh, its been an awesome month driving in the rains... and at the end of the month we even get statistical report from the company about our drive and its footprint on Earth.

Experience with driving an electric car and keeping in touch with the company on a regular basis in this manner is an unusual experience. They have been very forthcoming about any concerns we may have as far as E2O workings are concerned. With Maruti (the car I owned), I didn't experience the same.

I have realised that its very difficult to earn Eco-Points in a place like Mumbai, coz the moment you are on the road, you have to deal with a lot of pollution and heat. So air-conditioning has become a basic requirement, irrespective of the weather, which leads to more battery power consumption and less earning of Eco-points (check the link to my earlier post)... though people all around are doing a good job of earning the same.

Regen is a boon. We have many times gained back energy in terms of battery power on our rides to South Mumbai. Check the stats below...

Still Going Strong

2300 Kms, 7 Months and still going strong.

Heavy rains in Mumbai have not been a cause of concern as the E2O has big wheels and is high enough to pass through deep water clogs. No leaks, no electrical disruptions. It all works just fine. Its a good sturdy car.

Felt a little push at times going over the Bandra - Worli Sea Link bridge where the winds are very strong. You can feel moving off the lane if you don’t hold the steering strong enough. Reminded me of the super hero movies specially Avengers where cars just fly off the bridge. LOL! Didn't feel dangerous though.

The other day, we were just admiring our car parked next to the Nano. We wanted a small car to go around the city and Nano was one cost effective option as the city car. After driving and owning the E2O, there has been no looking back.

E2O parked next to the Nano

iWork Rocks! So does Apple

Apple never stops at anything less than the best and it surprises me each time I experiment. The iWork tool (substitute for Microsoft office) is getting better each day.

With the new operating system, Numbers (spreadsheet App) gets more and more intelligent and efficient at all that I want to do.. Long gone are the  days when we opened up formula bars and searched for the right equation and inserted them ourselves. The crazy, curly bracket closings, and the hyphenations that used to take the most out of me are a thing of the past now... I am so thankful for that. hahahha!

Check this clip.. Its definitely a great example of their many slogans "It just works"...

Here trying to calculate the square feet area and the corresponding amount... Its all about clicking at the right cells and 'Tadaaaa' its done... I can just select the row I want to preserve and enter the calculation.. its just takes care of everything else.

I highly appreciate such easy efficient ways of doing things and now I can store them all online on iCloud and access them from any device or edit online too ( like Google Drive but with better editing).

The time to be happy is NOW

At 'The Yoga Institute', Raphae and I attended the 7 days Health Camp where we were introduced to a healthy, daily lifestyle which they suggest should include some 'Vihaar' everyday...

Vihaar is any active hobby, cultural activity, some entertainment that makes one happy. Reading, watching TV are not included as it's a passive activity. Vihaar could be a walk everyday where you enjoy the nature around, cycling, swimming, painting, dancing, gardening. According to me even driving is an active hobby if there is no road rage involved. The long rides, drives with family and friends; discovering new places and people...LOL!

So, during one of the days in the Health Camp, we were all made to form a big group and sang this song...

'The time to be happy is now,
The place to be happy is here,
The best way to be happy-
is to make someone happy
And to make a little heaven right here'

It was melodious, then we were divided into smaller groups and each group sang the lines alternatively... only to realise that the impact is much better when we all sing it together..

Its a beautiful day today, and I am singing this song on my own... Join me. :)

Extending Range

We have now driven close to 1500 kms. Now we would like to extend and go a little further than what the current range would take us to. We have never reached the stage where we need to use the "Revive" option, thats because we are planning our trips before hand, being pro-active about charging and not even thinking of driving beyond the range and re-charging the car once its outside our garage.

Just contemplating, that instead of the company investing heavily in infrastructure for setting up charge points at various locations, collaborating with Cafe coffee Day's for quick charge points; would it not be profitable both to the company and the customers to have the Sun2Car facility available? It takes a lot on the customers part to wait for things to get implemented - like charge points on highways that can enable us to go a little further than the driving range, or reduce range anxiety.

We drive, we experience, so we suggest!

E2O 1100 kms

Very happy to have travelled and grown with our car e2o which is now a 1100kms old.

Raphae and I have started travelling more, going for night rides more because its a pleasure to drive the car. No traffic jam is any longer worth a road rage. We got stuck in a traffic jam the other day at 11pm but we were in bliss. No fuel consumption worries, no idling costs.

We look forward to the Fast Charge Stations by Mahindra at various important junctions, then we will be able to travel longer distances.

Strange experience with Money

Today we were out in the city and at various junctions had very strange experiences with people who wanted money from us for some or the other reason. :)

We reach Cafe Coffee Day for a sharing session at Bandra Kurla Complex. After not finding a shade to park under, we just parked the e2o along with the other parked cars. This security guy came up to us out of no where and asked for some chai pani. He was threatening us that it will be our loss if we don't pay, and the municipal tow car will come and take away the vehicle. I was convinced and willing to pay him the little buck that he was expecting from us but these guys was firm enough to not pay. No rules were broken nor was the car parked in a wrong way. After a brief exchange of words and re-threatening him, we moved on without paying. I was left thinking how the world can twist you a certain way if we ourselves are not sure of our actions.

It reminded us of an incident that happened with us in the pay and park at Colaba where I argued with the guy for charging me 100 Rs instead of 20Rs which was printed in the receipt. He took 20Rs but did something to the car's functioning that left me stranded for quite sometime on the road in the night, just a few inches away from the car park.

After a good round of coffee, we headed towards Juhu Beach for the evening walk. These days, a new business of photography has started on the beach. Vendor guys come up with their SLR cameras and they click instant pictures for a price. We had our own camera, so we asked the guy to just click a picture for us.. Having done the same earlier, we knew these guys don't mind clicking digital pics. Its easy money for them. He did a good job. We paid him well but he wasn't satisfied. Wanting to guilt us, he just threw the money on the sand and walked away. We didn't pick it up nor did we turn to see if he did.

Its a strange world and money has strangely taken over all of us. Come to think of it, this piece of paper drives people's moods and emotions, may be even lives. What say?