A long time ago when I was in school, we were invariably asked to write an essay on Independence Day around this time of the year. Being the innocent little boy that I was, unaware of the evils lurking in this world, I used to write all sugary stuff, singing praises of our country, its leaders and the martyrs. But after having lived here for 23 years, the whole idea of an ‘independent, sovereign, secular’ state has gone for a toss.
A small group of football fans have started a new blog – a footie blog with an Indian touch. We call it The Final 3rd.
We’ve got contributors from all over India, yours truly included. Check it out!
That is all.
Follow The Final 3rd on Twitter!
I’m in Chennai. And it’s raining. Yes, real drops of watery goodness sent from the clouds above. Never mind that this is happening because of the cyclone ‘Laila’ which would have hit the coastal regions of south India by the time you read this.
At the risk of schadenfreude, I must say that at least it’s better than getting cooked in the scorching May heat. The 5 minute walk from my house to the office seems like a marathon thanks to the ‘default’ Chennai weather. But like most things in life, the bad inevitably followed the good. My bed was the first one to suffer, getting drenched in rainwater leaking from a wall socket while I slept. The poor mattress is currently being kept under the intensive care of a table fan. And the mattress didn’t go for a dip alone. It took 2 of my bedsheets along, colouring them violet in the process. The worst part? I had changed the sheets right before I went to sleep that night.
For now, the weather is quite pleasant and I know it won’t last long. But anything’s better than having to suffer at the hands of the dreaded Chennai weather. 
A few weeks ago I visited a book fair where I caught a glimpse of some newspapers from a bygone era. Since the authorities didn’t allow anyone to hang around for too long, I was able to click only a handful of pictures with my cellphone camera. Here they are:
Over the past few years the media has been singing praises of our Railway Minister and the dramatic turnaround he has brought about in the fortunes of this sector. The balance-sheet looks better every year for the Railways and the profits are at an all-time high. So you’d be forgiven for assuming that there has been a remarkable change in the standard of the trains and the facilities as well.
That was what I expected when I boarded the Pushpak Express from Nashik on the 20th of February. And although there was not too much to complain about, one thing caught my eye -
There's a roach in my coach!
Click the image to get a clearer view of what I’m talking about.
Apparently, even after rigorous efforts to keep the compartment clean and hygienic, this creature escaped the clutches of the cleaning staff.
And this, in an AC 2 Tier coach. Go figure.
All I can say is – some things never change. 
They say that the customer is king, but hardly do we see him being treated as one. Usually the smiles on the faces of dealers and salespersons are programmed to disappear as soon as you purchase a product from them. God help you if that product decides to act up one day.
However, not all consumers take it lying down. Check out this link for Koshy John’s woeful experience with the Hewlett Packard (India) customer care. Also, don’t forget to visit the forum where it all began.
Conclusive proof, that it pays to be aware of your rights as a consumer.
Today India celebrates its 61st Independence Day. Out of these 61 years, I’ve witnessed 21 years with my own eyes and I’ve seen how the face of this nation has changed. It continues to evolve, even as I write this.
During this time, I may not have given anything to the nation in return for everything that I got. But still, I hope, just like most of us, that someday I’ll be able to play a small but significant contribution to India’s progress. That is all.
Happy Independence Day.
Jai Hind!
My mobile operator (AirTel) has given me quite a few reasons to frown during the time I’ve been using their services. I’ve grown accustomed to their promotional messages, fluctuating call charges and poor signal reception in my locality. I don’t find it irritating any more to receive their pre-recorded advertisements masquerading as calls. I’ve learnt from experience. I’ve adapted.
FAIL
In fact, now I have 3 contacts named AirTel 1, 2 & 3, each having 5 of their phone numbers so that the next time they call me, I’ll know better than to pick up the phone. I’ve even assigned the AirTel ad music (the one featuring A.R. Rehman) as their ringtone. With such detailed preparations, you’d think I’m well-equipped to handle anything that AirTel throws at me. After all, what more can they possibly do?
I found the answer to my question a couple of days ago.
The day began like any other, I’d just returned from my morning classes and was planning what to do next, when my cellphone rang. I’d got a message. It read along the lines of,
‘You have been subscribed to Hello Tunes… yada-yada-yada’.
It was from 543211, the AirTel Hello Tunes service. Must be some mistake, I thought. I didn’t subscribe to any such thing! Quickly checked my balance which was a princely sum of Rs. 5.41, just in case.
No damage done… yet.
Hello?
After about 15 minutes, I got another message, this time from a 4-digit number saying,
‘Thank you for subscribing to the Hello Tunes service. Your monthly charge of Rs.30 has been deducted from your account balance…….’.
What the….???? A quick reality-check confirmed my fears. My balance stood at Rs.-24.59.
Collateral damage.
Now here I was, my balance in the red, cellphone rendered useless and my fist trembling with anger. I called up their customer care number from my AirTel landline (yes, I know) and after navigating through their maze of menus, finally reached a customer service representative. I somehow controlled my language and my voice as I explained my problem to her. The lady checked up the records but my balance had not been updated there yet. Great. She told me to call up after 20 minutes while the records get sorted out. Gee, thanks.
Patience is not a virtue that I possess, so I called up again after just 10 minutes. This time some bloke was on the other end and I had to do the explaining all over again. Thankfully, their records had been updated so it was plain obvious what i was complaining about. After a few checks, he redirected me to a higher authority where I had to rewind & play once more. I was put on hold for 4-5 minutes and finally assured that my caller tune would be deactivated and my balance would be returned!!
Victory!!!
5 minutes later, I got the confirmation -
‘You have been unsubscribed from the Hello Tunes service…..’.
A few more minutes and my balance was back as well! Muahahahaha!!! Take that, you capitalist leech!
So in a nutshell, I got subscribed to a service that I didn’t even request for, they took away me money and left me in the lurch! And the fact that they didn’t put the blame on me – the customer – speaks volumes about this goof-up.
But what actually went wrong? No answers to this one.
