Why Gorkhaland doesnt look feasible at the moment?

How many members of Parliament does the Darjeeling have? You can "blackmail" the government if you have at least 10 MP's for Lok Sabha. Imagine the scenario if we had 10 MP's at the time of the trust-vote. Did you watch the MP from Nagaland speaking about what he wanted-striking when the iron was hot? Where was the LokSabha MP from Darjeeling and did he speak? The Lok Sabha is representation of the people and right now, for lakhs and lakhs of Indian Nepalis, we have only one representative in the house of the people.



There are too many factions in the hills. There is a party called ABGL (Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League) founded by DS Gurung in 1943. Even they are striving for Gorkhaland. But, they are not included by GJMM or for that matter earlier by GNLF in any major decisions. Even when there was a "birat-jansabha" in Siliguri to support Gorkhaland, they were missing or not included. They do not support strikes called by ABGL and vice-versa. Why weren't they invited with same respect? This is just an example. There is CPRM and several other parties that need to be included in the struggle but leaders are not taking the initiative.

Popularity Index of Gorkha leaders is very abysmal. How many Gorkha leaders do you trust blindly? How many leaders do you think are worthy enough to be called a leader? Everyone in GJMM is a former member of Gorkha NLF. Only the party name, flag and the top brass has changed. Talking about Ghising's shortcomings now and trusting these leaders is but an irony.

Doars? Are they prepared? Talking about including Doars is not at all justified because we need a mandate and that too a popular one. People of Kashmir are still fighting for their belief that the "Hindu" King of Kashmir acceded to India without taking consideration of majority "Muslim" masses. In a Bengali dominated area, how can we speak about Gorkhaland and talk for their behalf?

What about the plight of Bengal government? Now, Gorkhaland, then Kamtapuri, then Madhesiya, then Cooch Bihar. Well, others are just waiting in the queue. Do you think that the Bengal Government will take such a move? Never!

Lastly, drop the idea now if you are thinking of merging Sikkim and Darjeeling areas so there is no greater Sikkim Theory at all.



Roadmap/Alternative/Vision (whatever you may call!):-


Darjeeling should have its own medical college, an engineering college (IIT- why not?), a dental college and a university with special status for the Gorkha people (reservations).

Tourism in Darjeeling should be given special impetus.

Infrastructure should be revamped(build roads, clean the roads, color the walls, preserve the wonders)

Increase number of MP's for Darjeeling areas- A rarity(Depends on population).

Increase number of MLA's

Find ways to get drinking water into Kalimpong, Darjeeling and other areas.

Glorify the schools.

The main problem is unemployment leading to poverty. And that is everywhere. Logical reasoning and analysis is what is needed at the moment.

Don't you think that March 2010 is too unrealistic a deadline for Gorkhaland. It is a new fight overall. I think GJMM should look into the points as goal setting mark.

Five reason why you shouldn't buy Lava, Micromax, Karbonn, Celkon mobiles?

a) Lava is great but what about is SAR value?

< 1.6 is not a figure. Why isn't there a clarity on the values?

Micromax's have their ratings but I dont think it's been ever ratified.

Even Nokia 1280(INR 999) has a SAR-TICK sticker at the back.
None of Karbonn, Lava or Micromax's is listed in the www.sar-tick.com site.

Here are the manufacturers on the list:

Apple
LG
Motorola
Nokia
Samsung
Sony Ericsson

-All oldies :)

b) Value for money but is it worth it?

So I own Lava KKT 40+ (Note that I was the first to review and give a 5 stars on Flipkart.com).
Now, after 6 months of usage, the phone has started emanating a "circuit smell"(circuit burning/wire burning) if I remove the battery.
Flipkart, you folks are innocent. But, I haven't heard anything from Lava yet inspite of my complaints.

Yes, in India, a recall is very rarely heard of.


c) How can a phone be so cheap? All low end chinese boards?

In the battle between the big fish and the small fish, I am amazed to see how much of "extra" the small ones are offering.
It totally baffles me on why Samsung Galaxy Duos would cost 12 K and something that has configurations equivalent to Galaxy S3 (Lava Iris 501)
would cost just 9499 with goodies like Bluetooth headset and 4 GB card.
Forget about the ad-factor that contributes to the pricing, Micromax too sponsors IPL and cricket tourneys along with Karbonn.


d) Sales and support

There are only three to four service centers listed for a place like Bangalore in the Lava Support list.
And they were in areas equivalent to Siberia in terms of "I know the place exists but where the heck is it?"

So, when I had a screen crack on Lava KKT 40+, I took it to a local repair shop & it costed me about 600 INR to get replacement.
He swore to me that it took him 5 hours to find the part in SP Road Bangalore.
And 600 INR though a small amount(?), is 30% of the Cost prize.
Imagine, if it was a 10 K phone.

I asked the man on which of these new brands have good after sales and support. He just told me that it was tough and Micromax was just a little better than the rest.

e) Lava, Micromax, Nokia, Samsung

Which one would you carry? Yes, it is just the name that matters atleast for 90% of us


But, the final choice is yours, my friend!

Avoid "wardrobe malfunction" buying at FashionAndYou.com

"Things that I don't learn once and continue to falter".

Well, yes, it is the same story. First, it was the most fraudelent BagItToday also known as India Today Book Club(ITBC), then it was

MakeMyTrip. Now, inspite of my "gyaans", her highness's binge of online shopping with FashionAndYou.com continued and today it ended with much of bitterness.

Okay, lets me make it more simpler:-

Ever wondered why we post our best photos on Facebook & Orkut? If you know why, then you might very well understand why we should not be buying things online especially from sites like FashionAndYou.com

When girls spend a fortune of time to get ready for shopping and take a millennium to choose "a dress", I do not get the logic of why they would buy something online based on a set of photographs. If you trust me the way I trust my photographer friends- Rahul and Alvin can make even a rusty bicycle look great or a simple fisherman look like he has the best profession in the world.

So, the story is that her highness had ordered a set of garments worth INR 1300/ and when it arrived, she thought it was not even worth mopping the floor with. The advertised photograph portrayed it to be something else.

Then, we called the customer care who ofcourse refused to accept it. So, I am blogging here just to let you all know that we have to be wise, especially when shopping online.

FashionAndYou like any other online store strives for maximum profit and though you might get good order sometimes, there is an equal chance that you may not like the next stuff that you order. Also, I dont believe the prices are competitive. They always have an additional burden of shipping charges.

My simple advice , "Avoid FashionAndYou.com. Avoid going blind with the bling"

Crazy Indian judiciary and a clown Congress Government

Instead of focusing on the core issues like deteriorating Indian currency, the economy, terrorism or even sports, the Government and the judiciary is now busy looking to prosecute “21 sites for offences of promoting enmity between classes & causing prejudice to national integration” and that includes biggies like Google.
What the heck?

Sibalism has now defined the new depth of political nadir.

I always believed that the Congress government would lose the next elections because of anti-incumbency factor but it appears there is more than just Anna and the factor.
In one of the comments written below one of the article that published this trending story, a pro-government individual has pointed out:-

The case relates to some of the objectionable/hate-promoting content dumped into these social media sites by our own folks (maybe the person living/working next to you) and the sites not acting to remove them despite complaints (flagging as you call it). If Google engineers are smart enough to design and develop Ad Sense (that peeks into your email for keywords and displays relevant ads), they are surely smart enough to create filters that auto-flag hate posts/groups.

So, you want Google to censor every flagged comment, first verifying that it promotes hate or enmity(Ho Ho! That’s a freaking programmers nightmare) and censor every post that someone proves promotes hate. That sounds like the death-knell to the freedom of media, speech and expression.
Do I need to say more?
The internet is mammoth and I don’t believe terrorists and hate groups are influenced more by the internet than their company of friends or upbringing or their social conditions. And what about the cases against these companies? That will go on for ages like as in the case of “Indian citizen” Kasab. Yeah, he can apply for permanent residency now.
The Government probably would not have got a huge backslash from me if they started with NROP( read backwards[rb]) censorship first if they said it promotes XES(rb) and could argue it was “the cause” for the blowing population. But, media censorship on social networking or forums or the internet? That’s absurd.
I wanted the Government to go the China way but not this way. But, what can I do but vent out my anger and blog here.
Saada Haq, Aithe Rakh and Govt FTW(rb)!!

Thus cometh 2012 at Royal Orchid Resort, Yelahanka!

The prospects of having a great new year celebration didn’t look high as I was having fever on Friday- yet again! But, as always, I take illness as a challenge following notes from the old and the wise. So, I asked a bucket full of hot water to have my legs soaked in and repeated this at least twice. So by afternoon on the 31st, I was busy making calls to the Pradhan’s and the Das’s to plan something and include the Tewari’s because I felt I could make it.

My friend’s circle(including my family) are notorious for making great plans in the 11th hour. So, we headed off to the Royal Orchid Resort Yelahanka to celebrate the transgression of 2011 into 2012.

The first thing on my mind and I could hear Ritu mumbling behind me was SEE-ROK[ Transposed version of the word ‘Roksee’=liquor]. We had opted for VIP passes with unlimited IMFL(Indian Made Foreign Liquor) and unlimited food. So, we headed straightaway to the food and beverages section. The first impression wasn’t great at all and stayed like that till the end.

I am not sure if Royal Orchid was directly involved in the new year’s bash but unlike my previous experiences with the chain, it was pathetic and sad.

I am a bit sleepy now so, let me summarize the Royal Orchid event in five lines:

a) The event was disorganized.  Queue was too long in food stalls and there were less counters.

b) Liquor wasn’t unlimited. The bar closed way too early.

c) There was shortage of food.  The kitchen closed early.

d) Police lathi-charged on a few. Why and what the heck?

e) The entire show(including DJ Suketu’s performance) was not worth the money

- My advice to everyone is to avoid Royal Orchid events like this…Believe me, its not worth the money!

The only great thing was our dancing and enjoying quality time with my family and friends.

 

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous new year 2012!

Bangalore Metro Rail Service

Finally, the much awaited Namma Bengalooru Metro service starts this Thursday October 20 2011.

The first stage will cover the following routes:-

Mahatma Gandhi Road Station towards Byappanahalli(vice-versa) through Sir M. Visheshwarya, Vidhan Soudha, Cubbon Park, MG Road, Halasaru, Indiranagar and Swami Vivekananda Road(Old Madras Road).

The trains will stop for 30 seconds each at each station and will run at a frequency of 30 minutes.

To quote BMRCL MD N Sivasailam:

"The Bangalore Metro, in terms of technology, is comparable to any metro rail system in the world - in Europe , USA or China - and is even ahead of some of them"

According to a report in the TOI, "Trains will be Wi-Fi enabled, so passengers can use laptops, tablets as well as mobile internet."

As an "immigrant" but permanent resident of this lovely city, I am pretty excited to go on my maiden metro trip and am hoping it will be this weekend.

Here is my route map on how I will reach the station:

Well, just in case you did not get it, the idea was to boast how close I stay to the metro station :)

Simply bored!

It is crazy to be "Simply Bored"!

I know that the tendency to be bored isn't great and it wasn't so just a couple of weeks back; Everything was going like I had planned- new job, working from home, closer to home, higher salary, peaceful nights...Then came a thought- I will hit the gym & I did so religiously until I fell ill(YET YET AGAIN!) on October 3rd 2011. With the illness, I finally scaled new heights in my antibiotics dosage- a third-generation antibiotics was prescribed by the doctor. What the heck is wrong with my immune system? I wish I could unravel the mystery of my recurring illness especially with my throat. Come next week and I will be going for a head-to-toe checkup. But that's not the point. It has simply disturbed my momentum in life. And nowadays, I feel this constant urge to be restless & bored without doing anything.

 
And in my boredom, I tend to shift my focus to something else. I "unwillingly" read articles on www.timesofindia.com and pity readers like myself who have to go through so much of torture reading their articles. You should read the level of "crap" that they write- both content-wise and grammar-wise. www.thehindu.com seems to be better. Then, I go to www.thesun.co.uk for my daily dose of celebrity & "masala" news. Sometimes, the contents are NSFW and I have to hurry through the stories.

Facebook doesn't entice me anymore though I love watching status updates of others, just out of my curiousity to know how others are faring.

What else? TV is full of Anna Hazare "mania", Advanis and the Gandhis. In short, additions to make your boredom more miserable.

Last but not the least, whatever is being earned is graciously being spent literally washing off the burning desire to possess a cruiser-bike soon.

So, at the end of the day, there is boredom again and the cycle continues....

Yes, it is crazy to be "SIMPLY BORED!!""

Super service from HP Customer Care, Bangalore

Possibly, one of the only reasons to keep me awake this moment! I have just been out of an hour long call with BMC Support. These two days have been 'freaking' hell! Not that I am complaining about the work or the hours but get thoroughly frustrated to 'over-commitment' of the biggies!

Anyways....

It has been a long time since I last blogged. A blogger since 2004 and an early-bird, of late I have been busy shuffling between tiring work hours and the need to commit to my personal duties.

Having said that, I would not been blogging at this hour hadn't it been for the timely support of HP's Service Center in Indiranagar, Bangalore.

My HP laptop is again up and running...

A month back, I was informed that the laptop would not boot. A little later, there was a yellow line on the screen(Read: Permanent Damage) and a little later

Since it was purchased in the U.S through www.deals2buy.com and at that moment did not care about international warranty, So, I wasn't expecting much from the Service Center- Maha Electronics at 13th Main Indira nagar.

On enquiry, I was bridged to the customer care and they said that the laptop wasn't supported in India.

With this, I was left with the only option that I usually follow to get the best out of any support- I spoke to the manager Mr. Rajeev who first empathized, sympathized and then said he would "work on that on a best effort basis" to get it working and asked me to leave the laptop there.

Days passed and we were getting impatient but the most pleasing part was that the Service Center guys kept informing that the "Hold your breath" FREE replacement was on its way.

Finally, it arrived yesterday much to our immense delight. And today, I received a call from HG Padmaraju(the engineer) that the "Hold your breath again!" FREE LCD replacement had arrived and we could get that replaced whenever we wanted to.

That's like a stress buster, ain't it?

On a closing note, I don't know why I keep writing about "Customer Rights" and "Customer Experiences". My cousin Anand teases me with the line "Jaago Grahak Jaago"

Yes, indeed! I was "awakened" by this excellent customer support. Kudos to HP and the Maha guys..

Google Instant is such a pain in the neck

There is no way to turn this off permanently and if you have a slow internet connection, it becomes a real thorn.

I liked every feature of Google but this is one that I really want Google to take off their feature list.

I hope they are listening…!

What to do in Tampa, Florida!

Laying on my bed after a long day at work, I am having a good feeling and it's not related to work at all!

Technically, 8 working days from now and I will be back home to Bengalooru- Yeah! Heaven only knows how I much I adore that place?

However, as I am rewinding my emot state during my 4 months stay here at Tampa Bay, I know for sure that I like this place and wish to come back here again but this time with my family.

There are 9 things that I could think of that would summarize my "good feeling" for the place:-

1. Weather : Not as perfect as Bangalore but ask someone from Minneapolis and they would say- it's Paradise
   
2. Marts and Malls: Walmart, CompUSA, Best Buy, Target, Whole Foods, International Plaza, International Flea Market(Tampa's own cheap market), Dollar Store. There is a whole bunch of malls and shopping marts here. And for all other things, there is craigslist.
   
3. Night-Life & Clubs: It's a bachelor's heaven here. From gentlemen's club to night-clubs, the place apparently ranks in the Top 10's of the world. If you don't believe me, read more about Joe Redner in the Wikipedia.
   
4. Downtown & YBor City: If you are in Tampa, you would certainly visit downtown and YBor City. From Hookah bars to beer joints, the center around the 8th Avenue is alive from about 9:30 pm to 3 :00 am to 3:30 am in the morning
   
5. Close to Miami and Orlando: These are the three tourist hotspots namely for beaches and theme parks. Miami is like a 5 hour drive and Orlando is around 2 hours from Tampa.
   
6. People: Good "civilized" people…
   
7. Something "Indian": For an Indian, one of our prime requisites will be the availability of Indian stores- there are plenty of restaurants and departmental stores here to get Indian food. (I guess nowadays its not an issue anywhere in the world: D). Oh, did I forget to mention that I watched two Indian Tamil movies here at Tampa?-Enthiran The Robot and Manmadhan Ambu !
   
8. HART service: The bus service is pretty fine compared to where I was in the US before (Plano, TX). You can take unlimited rides in a day with a 3.75$ bus-pass OR go for an unlimited ride monthly pass at 60$. Of course, the buses are not available round the clock but it's available every half an hour during the day and before midnight. Saturday and Sunday follows a different schedule.
   
9. Compact: All the places that you would want to go or visit is close to each other.
   

   
    

Yeah, it's been an effen-tastic experience!!

Google nahi hota to kya hota?- The Plot!

I was thinking of crappy movie titles like "Shiva ka Insaaf" starring not the Great destructor himself but Jaggu Da when this thought came in. What about a movie "Google nahi hota to kya hota?"

When unrealistic themes and uncommon events have become a part of big banner movies, this title looks like it could rock filmdom. Google has become a part of our lives. No matter how big a company Microsoft is or will remain so; it will never be a Google.

The six letters that you would type to get to Google is now your last respite for everything ain't it? From codes to coats and to scorns or corns, you will get every piece of information there and that information is sometimes what your life would stake upon. Of course, Wikipedia has a lot to do with Google's popularity index but it rocks with or without it.

Now, as for the plot: - I'd like to make it simple, a direct lift from "Main Meri Patni or Woh". No one else fits the bill then our dear Rajpal Yadav a.k.a Jhun Jhun. It will be about a village simpleton who discovers the "magic" of Google and how it changes his life and life around him?

And that too, when someone tells him "You can get everything at Google".

Our guy is a loser by all means- education, sick parents, intolerant neighbors and "lafangey" friends. Lost his girl- Raima Sen a.k.a Bulbool to his nemesis Mukesh Tiwari a.k.a. Bheera- the tough guy! The audience feels his sorrow and will cry with him when the girl he secretly admired and thought was in love with him confesses her marriage to the guy who bullies him.

There is no Hanuman Temple in the village by a river that is dry. The villagers are still complaining about the drought and the corrupt politicians. The world is about to come to an end for our simple guy.

Just then, a hoarding comes up in the nearby town for Google Freshers with that simple tag line.

Thus begins Jhun Jhun's endeavor to learn computers, internet, googling in that order. From Facebook to Orkut to "How to make a coke bomb?", our protagonist is everywhere, scrapping, commenting, liking and showing off his "grey matter"!

Oh, by the way, did I forget to mention how he opens up his own Facebook group called "Jhun Jhun Ki Kahani, Forum Ki Jubaani" where he lambasts his village sarpanch and MLA of the area in his own simple way.

"Sabb kahtey hain dengey Roti Kapda Makaan, hum kahtey hain do sirf ek paan ki dukaan"

When events like the "Pink Chaddi" campaign can do wonders, I'd expect Jhun Jhun to do more than just TimesNow or NDTV but be interviewed by CNN and esteemed honoraries like our dear Borat Sagdiyev.

Lastly, there will be some item songs by Sonakshi Sinha.

Now, that you got the plot and sure find it interesting, you have got to watch the movie..?

PS: I would not do a 5 point someone here but just in case VVC is reading this, man, all that you need to do is to pay me a humble few thousand dollars and you can have the rest of the story. Of course, I need my name in the credit scroll using Trebuchet MS size 66 font yellow on a black background!

How do I convert ₹ into $?

How do I convert ₹ into $?

Gorkhaland Awareness Campaign- One man’s selfless endeavor to realize a million’s dream.

 

I promised to put this up on my blog a week back but he knows how “entangled” I am. I know him for about 2 years now and I know he “breathes”, “talks” and has only one deepest belief and “unfulfilled” dream- the creation of Gorkhaland. We argue on how unfeasible the creation of this state may seem. But, I still believe we need aspirants like him- selfless and innocent. This has been put up for you Bhai- can’t express how much we love you !!

 

Hello….hi
Again I’m here to bore you…..but this time it would be a short write up regarding the prevailing situation of our future Gorkhaland !!.. ….I know you all are great readers and reading a few extra characters wont tax you..hola….smiles again!!
….Last letter of 10th March was overwhelmingly welcomed by our readers..Our constructive criticism worked to some extent. While we also had few complaining our writings .Anyway we too accept all kind of feedbacks from you all. What matters is that end justifies the means…Our end should be Gorkhaland after all and thenceforth new dawn of overall and collective progressiveness.
Back some days we have witnessed a lot of happenings …Veteran leader kanu Sanyal , once the flag bearer and initiator of Naxalite Movement epicentring in Naksalbari (once partner of Charu Majumdar ) died ..He used to support Gorkhaland Cause and right to self determination of oppressed people. May his soul rest in peace.
We sometime tease BG’s commanders being fatter with ongoing movement …but perhaps pressure for them is also huge…Inward and outward pressure..lol . Mr. Bimal Gurung though did not end his life on march 10 but did surprise people of Kurseong’s Naya Busty on April 1st 2010 by surprise visit…Interestingly leaders are connecting to people somehow…..Good thing is that BG is people friendly… having uncanny knack for getting people’s support..(hmm ..doesn’t need MBA in HR/PR)
Yesterday Lepcha youth Association has come with violent protest against the newspater , The Statement’s false reporting..The Stateman reported that Lepchas were happy to be under the rule of WB Govt and they don’t want Separate state…and so sparking huge n somehow violent protest in kalimpong bazaar…!! Important lesson to be learnt is Unity…If different communities can unite why not different Hill Leaders from different political background…GJM, AIGL, CPRM,GNLF,CONG, etc all should unite and work single handedly.. “Mr Giri, Mr Rajen Mukhia , Mr Madan tamang, ..are u listening??...people want that…and so on please do that..!!”… We should have kind of Joint Action Committee by now…We should have JAC comprising of all parties..
Recently::Last Official Tripartie meeting in Delhi saw the talks on demarcation of territory for autonomous region…negotiations still going on….More autonomy?? But Getting Home Deppt wud be just fine but tis difficult to get …
State is always best solution…Union territory also is win win solution for all…Interestingly we have come to know that there is a possibility of state within a state like Meghalaya was in Assam for some time….
"The solution, perhaps, lies in adopting a model similar to the one tried through the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act 1969 [ARMA, 69]. This legislation was made possible by the Constitution (Twentysecond Amendment) Act, 1969, which, by inserting Article 244A, intro-duced a rather original idea into the Constitution in relation to the State of Assam. This Article made it possible to establish an “Autonomous State” within the State of Assam. Not many may remember that before Meghalaya became a full-fledged State, it was constituted as an “Autonomous State” within Assam with its own Chief Minister, Cabinet and Legislative Assembly. Under ARMA 69, Meghalaya was constituted 40 years ago, in January 1970, as an “autonomous state” within the State of Assam. Full-fledged Statehood for Meghalaya, came somewhat later under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act 1971, when the States of Manipur and Tripura were also established. As the 1969 law, which established Meghalaya as an “autonomous state” within Assam, was not worked for long, being overtaken by the 1971 legislation, the ARMA 69 approach in resolving some festering disputes has not received a full trial and has not been adequately explored.
…Go tell ur dad, uncles and perhaps to GJM members that Gorkhaland Awareness Campaign
Had some valid ideas…Ideas are free here..hahas..!!
Another Good news is that a large no. of contract teachers might just be put in regular pay roll..After all they deserve that for working for so long with peanuts-salary! ..Thanks to JSTO..!!
Lastly we wish you great Easter weekend and thank you for your precious time reading with us!!
Regards
GAC

Mindless blogging….

 

It is 8:05 pm IST and I am waiting to go out. It has been a “normal” weekend.. and suddenly Kalpana interrupts. It is escalation time again and I quickly attend to Sanishcha’s needs. BURP she goes and it is mission accomplished. That took about five minutes and am back to blogging again.

I am still seeking for excitement. I don’t know why there is a sudden rush of energy in me and I would want to spend my weekend doing something worthwhile. Tomorrow starts a hectic on call week till Tuesday next week and though I am excited to get behind the steering of my new i10 on 25th of March, yet I don’t still have the same feeling of fresh happiness.

Why is there a feeling of incompleteness? I don’t know why am blogging about this state of mind. I would call it Mindless. Perhaps I need a break from the never ending wants… Perhaps  I need to read a book.

The other thing that crosses my mind now is to setup BSNL broadband in the new house. I have been twice to the office and now they have been telling me that there is no DP box for the building and it would take a week to come. And as I am on-call, I need to get some arrangement done.

Okay…now I need to go out and will write this post once I am back (8:19 pm)

Back at 9:02 pm

I wanted to have an evening ride on my old Activa Honda. She has grown old.. 3+ years and 33k kms done, she is still the champ though not with the same power and pull. Still reminds me of the picture I took on her after the buy at 256/15- proud owner and with a distinct L on the front and the rear. She reminds me that priorities keep changing in one’s life. She was ever there and though it was scary to ride a two-wheeler in Bangalore, she was irreplaceable. And now with Sanischa coming to our lives, she has to be play a second fiddle to the car.

Anyways…So what is next for the week? Hmmm… Get a wireless internet connection or wait for BSNL. If I wait for BSNL, then I have to be at office from 6:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening. It is difficult but manageable. Set up the “final”(?) bit of wood-work for the new house(the Puja altar and the bookshelf).

Here are some exclusive pictures for my audiences:

 

Call the cable guy again and get the cable connection done(I thought the deal from Hathway at 220 channels, 1 free set-top box, 2 connections at Rs. 200 was damn good).

What else?

Start hitting the gym… Will I …Won’t I .. . ahm…..

Eureka Forbes customer feedback.

 

Here’s another one and the only one where I possibly went wrong in the end and tendered an apology.

I purchased a water purifier system(WPS) sometime in January directly from the Eureka Forbes(EF) office in KR Puram. Though there are lot of  WPS companies available, yet, I chose EF simply because of the number of its service centers in India and the brand name. The team lead Satheesh PM(name unchanged) promised me a free re-installation anywhere in Bangalore within a period of 3 months. This was my pre-requisite for buying the WPS. My experience with customer service from people over the past few months has/had been dismal so I thought of getting it hand-written on the purchase invoice.

So, when my new apartment was almost ready, I called up Satheesh and politely asked him for a free re-installation. He informed me that I should be calling him a day before I shifted. So when the day arrived, I called him up. However, even after twenty odd tries wherein the phone rang, I received no response. The next day, I received a message saying he was out of station. I was fine with it and since it was already weekend, I thought it would be best to call him on Monday. On Monday, I called him again and this time he picked up the phone and noted the new and old address. Also, he seemed to remember his promise of a free reinstallation and informed me that the technician would be notified and gave me the number of Narayanamoorthy(NM) who could be contacted to get the details of the technician. I called up NM the following morning and enquired about when the technician would be arriving. He gave me the date and time and then informed me that it would NOT be a free service that Satheesh promised but a paid one. I argued that Satheesh had promised me a free-reinstallation and that I had the written proof for the same.

Now Mr NM informed me that he had spoken with Satheesh who said that he had never promised any customer and possibly the technician(guy who installs) might have written that on the invoice. So, I called up Satheesh again but could not reach him(Phone rang but he doesn’t pick up). By this time, I was already pissed off and so called up Mr NM and asked him on who should be contacted for escalation. Mr NM directed me to Mr. Ali who also had a similar line of NO-FREE reinstallation. I blasted him about Satheesh’s broken promise, EF’s service and threatened to create a ruckus and report in the internet if they made me come to their office. I believed this had no impact on them.

So, I sent an SMS to Satheesh informing him that I would escalate the issue to his higher superiors and that I had a written proof and would report in the internet about EF’s failed promise. Thereafter, Satheesh replied stating he was in a conference somewhere out of station and that he would look to ensure that a free reinstallation is done.

The SMS had worked and the next day, the technician was there at my old residence to shift the WPS. I had also asked for a clamp stand for the purifier’s wall mounting and of course, I was ready to pay the price. Since I was caught up with some other work, I directed the technician to my residence and became busy. After about an hour, when I returned home, I was informed that the base of the WPS had a crack and that the technician had left in a hurry after installing the wall mount without testing if it was working fine. By this time, I was furious and sent an SMS to Satheesh who replied stating that Mr. Raju, the service manager should be contacted.

Raju was quick to act on the request and I could hear him shout at his technician over the phone on the second line. After several calls and in about 2 hours, the technician was back and he cooled me off with a single line. “The WPS was full when I emptied the contents at your old address. If there is leakage now, then its my problem and if there is no leakage, then it was already in that condition”. That made sense and I waited for him to pour water on the empty WPS. And as he said, there was no leakage. It appears that Protec+(the WPS) has a hollow space between the actual system and the base. So, even though the base had cracked(God knows when?), it hadn’t leaked.

Immediately, on realizing my fault, I apologized to the technician who bore the brunt of his manager’s wrath and to his manager Mr. Raju himself who had done the work with great sense of customer support.

The entire episode ended with mixed feelings for me.

Raju did a great job but Satheesh-the architect of the chaos failed me repeatedly. The technician was just and deserved a pat for his thought.

How soft can we get? What India should learn from China?

Whereas the Indian Government is spending crores to keep Kasab alive, I was amazed to see the treatment meted to criminals by our neighbours at the other side of the Himalayas. China undoubtedly has the most feared judicial system in the world with the convicted getting a death sentence even for cases like tax fraud, corruption, theft and small-scale drug offenses. And ours continues to be a case of appeasing diplomacy and freewheeling for the guilty. Take Kasab's case for example, I don't understand what other vital information our government needs to extract from him. And per the last report, the bodies of the rest of the 26/11 terrorists have been lying in a morgue with the government again shelling out a couple of crores for preservation, leave aside the stench the hospital folks have to bear.

We need to learn from our immediate neighbours. China is ruled by a patriotic government. A government that is respected and feared in equal measures. Time and again, we have been proven to be a soft state. Now, let me not raise a debate here but isn't this statement a known fact:-

We DONT claim what is rightfully ours but our strong neighbours have time and again claimed what they believe is rightfully theirs.

Yes, people have exploited India's goodness and warmth to the fullest and they still get away with it whereas our neighbours know how to punish the offenders. From their own Drug and Food director to a British national arrested on charges of drug smuggling, they haven't spared anyone convicted of breaking the law. The vehement criticism from UK for executing their citizen had a strong answer from the Chinese embassy which stated that judicial sovereignty of China shouldn't be questioned. Innocent or not, the execution sent a strong message to the world. There is no one above law in China.

On a random scan of the list of mass murderers and their fate, the Chinese have always ensured execution for the wrong-doers whereas some countries have even spared these criminals on grounds of insanity.

Now, let us get back to our country and the review the number of executions that have been carried out. The last person hanged was Dhanonjay Chatterjee for raping a minor and that was way back in 2004. Official reports confirm that only 55 individuals have been executed since Independence. The unofficial numbers go to a maximum of 4300. In comparison, reports point out that our neighbours China have hanged at least 5000 in the year 2007 alone.

By figures, the acquittal rate in India is amazing: 1,163,450(51.9%). Assuming that 51.9% of the accused are innocent, shouldn't there be one individual from the convicted who could qualify for capital punishment?

By this pie-chart, I believe Dhanonjoy should be behind bars and not hanged.

We certainly breathe well in India because we can pee at will on our sidewalks, break traffic rules whenever there is an opportunity, evade taxes wherever possible. This is because we do not fear our government and our law and this has always been exploited by the perpetrators. I believe this is not going to change because we have learnt to live a corrupt lifestyle. If change might come, then it might take more than a century for us to change our country's image.

Okay(am I sounding very pessimistic?)- Our government should give it a try..

Hang Kasab at the earliest!!

Quotation invite for Interior designers and decorators: Required for Woodwork, Kitchen and Lighting of a new Bangalore 2 BHK appartment.

This is a formal invite of quotation for all professional interior designers or decorators based in Bangalore ONLY.

We would like someone to guide us with the woodwork and interiors of our apartment(including kitchen).  Our apartment is of 1055 sq. feet super built-up area with dimensions as shown in the snapshot below.

 

As you can see, it is obvious where the woodwork is required. However, we would like professionals to share and impress us with their creative ideas to maximize the space available and to design the framework. This should also include suggestions for the type of wash-basins, chimney, lightings, woodwork in utility, corners of the living room, TV panel and balconies.

Yes, of course, this will be a paid project based on our final agreement.  I am expecting that the designer will take care of everything once the project is allotted(including purchase of materials to finishing).

If you are interested to know more about this project, my budget and would like to bid for the same, please drop me an e-mail at “mailforsachin[at]gmail.com” along with your phone number.

I will contact  you and we can proceed further from there. Thanks- Sachin!!

Songs by American Nepalese…

 

 

Nothing lasts forever…..and we both know Hearts can change…!

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I couldn't take care of this dog and therefore returned it to the pet guy.

It is tough living in the city, isn't it Rahul?

Invitation to Gorkha Saanjh 2009 by Bharatiya Gorkha Welfare Association(BGWA).

What: Gorkha Saanjh 2009 BGWA cordially invites you all to the 2nd edition of "Gorkha Saanjh". For details, please visit http://bgwa.webs.com for more details. Ayo Gorkhali! BGWA, Bangalore When: Saturday, September 12, 2009 3:00 PM Where: Ambedkar Bhavan Millers Road, Vasanth Nagar Bangalore, Karnataka India Description: 14th September 2008 - Gorkha Saanjh 2008 @ Bangalore

A day we all Gorkhalis scripted history with our first ever Gorkha Saanjh in Bangalore.

The event witnessed the largest gathering of all Gorkhalis residing in the city and all coming together to show their Solidarity and Support for our community and belief in the Vision of “A Unified and Progressive Gorkhali Community” .

Gorkha Saanjh was conceptualized with the objective of providing a platform for promoting and showcasing local Gorkhali Talent and the proceeds of the event being utilized for Social Welfare activities for Gorkhalis residing in Bangalore.

Gorkha Saanjh 2008 was a great start to this journey and with all the support and encouragement we have seen memorable events like Chaitey Knockout Football Tournament and Gorkha Mela in Bangalore. Equally important has been the birth and growth of a support system to help Gorkhalis in the city during times of emergency.

The fledgling support system has been tested during the past one year and has risen to the occasion and helped many from our community at times of need. We take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped and contributed in these endeavours.

For the year 2009, BGWA has embarked on this journey with more ambitious plans some of which are as below:

1. Providing Free Health Insurance to a wider pool of BGWA members

2. Scholarships for Primary Schooling for the deserving and the financially needy

3. Strengthening the Student Network and Mentoring Programme

4. Creation of a Fund Pool to provide financial assistance for the needy during emergencies

Now, the second milestone Gorkha Saanjh 2009 @ Bangalore is around the corner. BGWA invites all to this event to reaffirm our Unity and Solidarity.

Please visit http://bgwa.webs.com for more details.