Garbage - The urban malady

Of all the illness and malady of urban life - The Garbage problem takes the cake!.

Here is the garbage in bang in front of a health center ....And we wonder why urbanites face so many health related problems and issues ..

MRTS Stations look better..

The MRTS stations in Chennai look lot better these days (somewhere from Nov mid). Seems there has been a change of contractors. Have not see the QMC station that I blogged about earlier as Station for trains or for Trash, but there is a definite change for the good in the stations that I pass through.

Hope things get better...

Monday blues

For the first time in my work life, I am experiencing monday blues today.

Went to sleep as usual - non late weekend binges here. But could not get a good sleep.

Had an early morning call with the client, so got up at the alarm.

Man! felt as if my body had been beaten over the night - body pain, aching joints, groggy , burning eyes - definitely felt like dragging myself out of bed.

Completed the call and other usual morning rituals, still feeling low for a Monday. An unusual gloomy day in Chennai does not help either.

Finally It dawned on me, that it is most probably due to the extra 5 situps I did y'day. It is definitely not a big deal for a growup, but can be when you have not stretched your body a bit over many many years..

Hope the blues fade away soon. Atleast I have made an attempt trying to blog after such a long time..

Spain wins FIFA, Netherlands deseRvED ignominious defeat

Spain – the “Masters of midfield” dominated the FIFA 2010 Cup final towards a well “fought” victory over Netherlands in a battle of cards. Iniesta scored a well deserved goal as he was the main tormentor of the Netherlands midfield and defense as he repeatedly made forays into danger territory. Netherlands played a typical game similar to tbeir victory over Uruguay and Brazil.

The game

The game started with character, both teams trying to control possession and start the attacks. Ramoes came through well for Spain with a couple of great runs and close attacks. Alas the attacks also drew fire (foot) from the Netherlands and the card games began. Netherlands drew 2 cautions while spain drew level very quickly. The possessions were close while the “Orange” defense was pretty strong. The Netherlands players seem to magically materialize at both ends of the ground very quickly. It felt like there were more orange shirts than black. Netherlands were pushing spain to pass and make mistakes and were also trying to kick them down. One particular kick by ”Nigel De Jong” landed on Xabi Alanso’s chest. Should have been a direct Red card, but he was left off with a caution. At the end of first half the card score was 3-2 with Netherlands in the lead, while the goal score was 0-0.

The second half saw more action and attacks on the goals. Netherlands also started attacking and creating chances. Holes in both defenses were exploited repeatedly, only to be thwarted by goal keepers at the last moment. (Robben and Fabregas had wonderful opportunities in front of the goal post by some excellent saves by the Goal keepers denied the scores).

The 2nd half ended with many more shots at the goal, but score line as 0=0. But Netherlands was a clear victor in the card game with many more cards in its pocket.

Extra time & the Goal

The first area of extra time also went scoreless. Torres was brought it from Spain for the 2nd half of the extra time. Heitinga was cautioned the 2nd time against Iniesta and was packed off the game. It was only 4 minutes before going for penalty shoot-outs when Fabregas who found iniesta. Iniesta has been making breaks repeatedly into the Netherlands territory and was fouled and floored repeatedly by the Orange. He found a good angle and bounce that beat Maarten stekelenburg to the one and only goal of the match. Glory to Spain!!!!

The vanquished

For Netherlands, the mistake lay in their approach to the game. I had been a fan of the Netherlands team in earlier times with Gullit and Marco Van Basten showed much promise. But the current team seems concentrating much on physical attacks and histrionics to win. Robben plays a well rehearsed routine of falling at convenient locations for free-kicks and the team could have made a better impact if as a whole they had concentrated more on the game rather than the attacks. Netherlands had committed 28 fouls in this single match and got 7 yellow cards and 1 Red. Even after fouls and cards they still continue to play the same game of deception, cheating and acting. That they can force teams like Spain to attack back in defense is telling on the impact of such notoriety on the game.

The worst part is the pride they show in playing nasty. Shame on them and Shame on their coach!!!

The Winners

Congrats to Spain for bringing back beauty to the game. They won the FIFA fair play award. Vicente Del Bosque is so composed and well mannered and was encouraging his players even as they missed the goal posts at the fag end of the game. Great guy and the team reflects the good approach with clean takes.
May their tribe grow!!

And oh!. Paul proved he is the best sooth sayer by getting one more right (of course, he was right on the Germany-Uruguay Semi finals too). In fact he has got 8 out of 8 in this world cup.!

Green auto rickshaws to the fore in Indian Cities

New green autos in Bangalore. Seems they are eco-friendly.

More than that, the best part is that all of them have electronic meters. These days I reject autos with non-electronic meters. The new green makes it easy for me to find the right ones

From Citi Notes

Chennai Queen Mary’s MRTS station – For Trains or Trash?

People and Trash compete for Space in the “Queen Mary’s” MRTS stations in Chennai (and trash has an upper hand at this point).

Wanted to go to the beach the other day and got down in the Queen Mary’s MRTS station.
Man! It is awful, the way out towards the beach is filled with all kinds of trash. First there is encroachment on both sides of the road and is filled with junk, trash, people making it dirty in all possible ways.

From Citi Notes

While coming back, came through the temple arch and took right to get into the station. That road again is awful. No concept of even dirtying the edges of the road. One needs to hop,skip and jump to keep away from dirt all the while holding your breath.

Inside the station is filled with garbage in all possible places. Stink is spread well by the fans. All garbage cans were overflowing. Check out below.

From Citi Notes

Who is responsible for keeping this place clean – The corporation or Southern railway?

Can’t QMC or QMC Volunteers do something to keep this place clean for QMC students at least ?

Karnataka Lokayukta takes back resignation

Good sense prevailed for once and the BJP lived up to its slogan of "Party with a difference" and managed to convince the Karnataka Lokayukta to take back his resignation submitted a few days earlier.
Senior Leader L.K. Advani and BJP heads got together to convince Mr. Santhosh Hegde to continue on the post.
The Lokayukta is one (maybe only one) good organization trying to find out corruption and bring out corrupt government officials. It works against many odds including Government apathy, seeing many of the culprits going unpunished etc.

It is a good move by the BJP. Hopefully this time around the culprits get booked and get the required punishments.

Spaniards “Pass” their way through Germans and onto Finals in a clean game

Spain – The team of “one thousand passes”, passed their way nicely through the stoic German defense and onto the finals for the first time.

Spain with Torres rested, dominated the game from the beginning – at one point having as much as 70% possession. They held the ball and moved it all around until the box area. There they had to contend with the German “wall”. Seemed like Germany had planned to defend more than attack. They allowed the Spanish team to move the ball freely up to the box and executed very less offensive runs – in fact Only one run in the first half.

Spain had multiple shots at the goal, but they were poorly executed – Alonso had 3 shots that went away from the goal post in varying degrees. A wonderful header by Puyol went over the crossbar while a sliding attempt earlier by Villa was stopped by the Goal keeper few feet ahead of the goal post. On the other hand, Germany made only one attempt which was more accurate and saved by a Whisker. First half ended with no goals for either team.

Spain dominated the 2nd half in similar fashion, but brought the ball to the goal post more frequently. Finally in the 73rd Puyol rose above ordinary to head a wonderful goal from a corner shot. Great aim, Great Finish. The German team suddenly woke up and changed their play from defense to attack, taking more possession and moving bravely into the Spain area – as if they had nothing to lose. This was what was missing in the first half and the earlier part of the 2nd one.

Torres coming as substitute, missed a wonderful chance at opening his account, when Pedro failed to pass to him in front of the goal post with only the Goalie to cover. The final few minutes saw some aggressive and good attempts by Germany, but all ended well for the Spanish team to ensure their first foray into the Finals!

Appreciation for both the teams for a clean and entertaining game of football (No Yellow cards from either side). Gives hope for clean football after seeing the likes of Chile, Ivory coast and even Netherlands to an extent , going more for the foot than the ball.

If Spain learns a thing or two from Germans on shot accuracy, they should have no problem in getting a score of 5-x in the finals.

Paul was correct once again.

Dozen Stock Market tips for Starters

Here are my dozen tips for thos who start on the stock market - One of the important investment vehicles for urbanites. Not that I have had great success on the Street, but after seeing multiple highs and lows, I think this is what it boils down to.

1. Invest only the surplus amount (i.e. that you are ready to lose or wait for long time)

2. Never invest borrowed amount or any amount that is essential.

3. No one can time the market to perfection. Believe this to save lot of stress, pressure and disappointment.

4. Don’t try to time the market, Know that market is always volatile and wait and ride the waves – up and down. Don't fret over lost opportunities. Remember the Market is volatile and will keep testing lows and highs.

5. Buy and Sell in parts rather than whole.

6. Be prepared to wait through cycles.

7. Be ready to sell at a loss in order to get money to invest and make profit.

8. Track trends not specific stocks or news

9. If you read in newspaper it is already too late to buy or sell.

10. Expect an average of 15-20% over a couple of years’ time – Do not expect 50% or 100% as a trend. Don’t believe exorbitant return stories – They may hide a lot of losses. Devil is in the details.

11. Capitalization based parameters

Capitalization	Risk/Volatility	Returns	Time/Analysis Required	Importance of acting quickly	Liquidity/sale ability)
Large-Cap/Blue-Chip	Less	Less	Low	Low	Good – Almost always sellable
Mid-Cap	Medium	Medium	Medium	High (Mainly during drops)	Medium – Sellable at a loss
Small-Cap	Highly Volatile	High	High (Lot of Analysis, Track daily for triggers)	High (Mainly during drops)	Low – Might even get de-listed

Decide your portfolio/stocks based on your needs and your plans. Also note that the definision of large,mid and small caps differ among analysts. Safe way is to go with the stocks that are part of Mid cap/Small-cap Indices.

12. Spend time to review, Re-plan and Re-organize.

Important: The only way to learn is to invest and try out. No amount of books/literature/blogs can provide you with the learning that comes with getting successes and seeing losses.

Netherlands’ players good Actors. Fake their way to a European finals.

Uruguay-Netherlands match ended with a 2-3 win for the latter, effectively snubbing out the last South American team from the tournament. The brazil-defeaters kept up their reputation as tormentors of South American teams and continued their winning streak in this world cup – winning all their matches till now.

The score line does not give the complete picture though. For the first 20 minutes, Netherlands dominated the match with possession and good attacks. Their dynamic plays resulted in a wonderful goal in the 18th minute from skipper Van Bronckhorst. Around the 30th minute, Uruguay suddenly started coming back strongly by making plays and creating chances. Forlan’s left footer was a beauty to have found its mark in the 41st minute.

In the second half, although Uruguay had good possession of the ball in the midfield – in fact they were getting the ball at will from the Netherlands players, many times the throw-ins from Netherlands were directly picked up by Uruguay players, they were not able to dominate the box on either side. Their attacks seem to lose steam as they reach the goal area and their defense was slow to react. Uruguay even got a wonderful chance to equalize in the last 10 secs of injury time - Would have pulled the match into overtime, but the lacked strike to convert.

Of course, Netherlands had another ace up its sleeve. Netherlands had to give a lot of credit to its star actors – Robben, Mark Van Bommel played the lead roles while Persie and Wesley Sneijder provded to be good supporting actors. In fact the first Netherlands goal itself could have been disallowed for an unwanted “attack” on an Uruguay defender. Persie and Robben were so ready to fall, squirm, and fake just to start running again in seconds. Mark Van Bommel hit an Uruguay defender and rolled over and started clutching his own waist, all to limp for a few seconds and then to be back in action, truly the work of a genius – Shame on them.

Uruguay did fail to convert its chances, but Netherlands did not play as a team worthy of even being in the Finals on 11th.

12 member Netherlands beats 10 member Brazil

World cup becomes that much less important for many many fans as Brazil is beaten by Netherlands 2-1.

After a super quick pass in the 10th minute that Robinho converted, Brazil was coasting nicely during half time. Kaka was getting his foot on the ball and had some nice shots on the goal.
The game after half time was a completely different story, a self goal and later another header from Sneijder put Brazil behind.

But what kept them behind was some very physical play by the Netherlands and convenient Referreeing. Referee "Yuichi NISHIMURA" of Japan was consistently partial towards Netherlands players. Of course Brazil's Melos "earned" the Red card, but by the same token, Netherlands should have gotten atleast 5 more cards. In many instances, Brazil players had to play the ball and pull one or sometimes two opponents. Kaka was marked, and repeatedly fouled against and many Netherland players -mainly Persie, Robben adn Sneijder can easily earn some Oscars for very good acting.

Fifa should start making the games stricter in order to preserve the beauty of the game that is getting tarnished by physical attacks and Fake moves.

Brazil lost, but not purely to better football.

Brazil marches ahead..

With Kaka and Robinho back in the attack, Brazil did a good job of marching ahead towards quarter finals, beating Chile 3-0.

Chile looked promising during the initial periods, having good possession and even executing some runs towards the goal, but once Juan Headed a regulation corner shot into the goal, Chile seemed to fall apart.

Brazil showed some glimpses of their famous/quick counter attacks that have taken teams by surprise. Both the goals - by Fabiano and by Robinho were very quick moves that left the opponents with little time to react.

Kaka could not shine much, hope he does so in the quarters and later.

Brazil, Brazil, where art thou?

The Brazil-Portugal y'day was a stalemate in more ways than one. With Kaka disqualified, Elano injured and Robinho as substitute, Brazil lacked the zing in terms of swift moves and accurate attacks.
The attacks lacked sting and were not controlled well enough.

Although Kaka and Elano were expected to be out on the sidelines, thought this would be a chance to see some pyrotechnics from Robinho - It was not to be and turned out to be quite a dull contest.

Hope the three come out rested and fresh for future contests.

Karnataka Lokayukta resigns - Shameful and sad

http://www.hindustantimes.com/K-taka-lokayukta-resigns-says-post-lacks-adequate-powers/Article1-562142.aspx

Atleast there was one organization that was fighting against corruption. Successive governments have tried hard to reduce the powers or to curtail the operations in one way or other.

Hope better sense prevails to encourage atleast one way of fighting corruption.

Brazil comes unscathed, Ivory coast plays more "Foot" than ball

It is obvious that there is some Foot in Football, but Ivory coast literally took to the heals and played a mean and physical 90 minute routine against Brazil. The game was full of nudges, hits, kicks and holds.
Brazil could scrape through with Fabiano scoring once with his foot, once with his "hands". Kaka helped Elano score an elegant third and Brazil were safely through.

The last 30 mins of the game was like a gladiator match. It was like watching the last quarter of NBA basketball, as the game went in fits and starts, a stoppage every few mins.

Glad Brazil could pass this grueling test. Wish Ivory coast does not make to the round of 16 with so blatant a game.

Brazil, Beware of the Argentine Army

Watched the Argentina-SouthKora match. Check out the here - http://xr.com/gimz
Argentina played excellent football, great possession, excellent passes, no-foul takeovers from the Koreans, and some good striking.
They handled the freekicks the best – getting as close to the goals, rather than wasting them with uncontrolled shots as other teams. The strikes were slow, deliberate and well planned.

The result might as well be 14-1 (yeah, no typos) – There were 22 shots and 18 freekicks.

Brazil, better beware!

The Soup and Salad Cafe, Chennai – Soup in a coffee cup? Leaves you wishing for more!

At end of work day y’day had a feeling that many things have been accomplished (indeed a couple of my long postponed tasks were checked off from the list).
After a good days work, it is a right to feel famished. On a suggestion, went to “The Soup and Salad cafe” http://www.thesoupandsaladcafe.com/, http://www.sandscafe.com/ in T.T.K. Road, alwarpet.

I have been a frequent visitor of “Pure and Natural’ in Bangalore, as well as a fan of Jamba Juice from CA. Both are good and have sizable portions. Went with my tongue out for something similar.

The ambience is quite nice – Nice colors and setup
An Antique radio & nice/mild music
Very clean and nicely laid out tables & place mats
A touch of creativity and nicety all around
The best part is the smile and pleasant approach by everyone.

Since we felt famished, decided to order a soup (Zoupe?) as the menu suggested that it is quite filling. I ordered a Minestrone (too many confusing choices) & My cousin ordered a Spicy Chinese soup.

Our expectation was they are not just thin soups but will be filling.
The spicy Chinese soup was quite spicy (Of course!, what did I expect) and the minestrone was also slightly spicy (It is a diff kind of minestrone for me with thick broth, hints of pepper and a slightly tangy taste)
But the surprising part was the soup bowl (hmm..) Actually it was not a bowl but a coffee cup, the sizes of those in café coffee day etc.
Obviously, the soups did not service our appetite well enough and so we decided to order a sandwich(Zondich) – Calcutta karukkumurkku zondich and share it.
The sandwich came in a grilled pocket bread (much like a pita bread).
A) It was a tad difficult to share with the odd shape and what not.
B) The portion is much less compared to what could have been for the price.

Positives:

• Excellent and pleasant service – Its been quite a while seeing smiles on service people in Chennai.
• Quiet ambience
• Nice colors
• Genuine – Menu mentions bottled water at MRP and bill conforms to it!

Guys, If your costing permits, please increase the portion sizes.

Many a famished stomach will patronize you! & help our philosophy of making this a way of life.

Brazil survives scare, Maicon to the rescue

Mighty Brazil Vs Minnow North Korea – How it turned out ?

First half: Max possession by Brazil – 60% plus. A few attempts. No success. North Korea into long periods of Solid defense and bursts of a couple of attacks.
Brazil players – Trying to no end
NK Players – Wall is their middle name
Coach Dunga – Tense as hell (Can these guys see the goal post?)
Commentators – Initially “Fantastic contest”, after 30 mins – Zapped
Brazil fans in the stands – Crest fallen!, (What are they doing?)
Brazil fans watching T.V – Is this Brazil?

End of First half: Everyone waiting to see more aggression from Brazil an dlapse in concentration from North Korea

Second Half: Max possession again by Brazil, but more aggression and more attempts. Attempts are better – Either due to better coordination or the tired legs of Korean players.

55th Min: Unbelievable angle from Micon, almost from the end line , parallel to the goal post, ball passes between the goalie and the goal post and curves to end up nicely in the middle of the net on the other side of the goal. Just unbelievable.
One of the commentators mentioned in the first half about the need of “Divine intervention” and it looked like the god of football just sent out a gust of wind to curve the ball at the right angle!
Brazil players – Relaxed after the emotional celebration
NK Players – Resigned to fate
Coach Dunga – First signs of smile.
Commentators – Talks of Brazils historical record of good opening matches
Brazil fans in the stands – Erupting, samba drums and colors come out
Brazil fans watching T.V – Hey, things are back to normal finally!!

All are awake and excited and the stands are erupting. Elano gets a nice pass from Robinho later to put it 2/0.

Korea did show its Mettle with a nice goal from Ji in 89th minute. Great achievement from a player and a team that was written off at every instant.

Hope Brazil sheds complacency, regroups itself quickly, puts in more aggression in the attacks and learns a thing or two on the defense from DPR (North Korea).

Cholayil Sanjeevanam, Adyar – Great Satvik food experience

Went to Cholayil Sanjeevanam, a good Vegetarian Restaurant in Adyar (http://www.cholayilsanjeevanam.com/health_res.htm) during the weekend. Have gone there a couple of times earlier and have liked their approach, cleanliness and food.

They offer a Satvik Vegetarial Meal (Rajakeeyam) which consists of different series of juices, vegetables and food to tingle the taste buds, enable good digestion etc.

The first set is a set of 5 juices in shot glasses (date juice, Nuts & Milk, Vegetable juice, mint buttermilk, rice bran kanji)
Then comes a set of 4 uncooked vegetables
Followed by a set of 4 semi cooked vegetables
Finally, you get to the fully cooked items.
Brown rice is served with Dhal which is followed by a choice of brown or white rice with sambar, morkozhambu and rasam.
A spoon of honey to aid digestion
A nice Payasam for Desert
And a Paan that is made of carrot and other vegetables.

Here is a picture of the meal

From Citi Notes

Overall, there is no oil or fried stuff and seasoning. The food is kerala style and even after these many items, you feel filled by not too stuffed or heavy.

Note of caution: There is little spice (I did not see any chilli or chilli powder in any dish) and the food is kerala style. One or two of my friends have not found that to their liking.

But, if you are game for a tasty, vegetarian meal cooked based on healthy principles and if you are open for a new experience, this is the place to go.

The lunch is priced @150+ taxes and comes to around Rs. 175/-

Anyone tried this ?

Southern fast Packers & Movers - Good option for Bangalore, Chennai

While I was moving from Bangalore to Chennai, I was looking for a good packer/mover. The ones I used earlier to move within Bangalore were charging exorbitant rate to move between cities.
Got the reference of “Southern Fast Packers & Movers” from a known source. They had moved one single item (a Windows AC) and it was packed, moved and delivered well.

I spoke to Mr. Perumal – who is in charge, and he came for an estimate. The estimate was much less than others and he spoke sense and straight fwd, not vaguely.
The packing started on time and they had come with 4 extra boxes. But at the end, they ended up needing 10 more extra boxes.
We negotiated a decent rate there itself with Perumal.
The next day morning 8.00 a.m. the truck was at my place in Chennai and the 2 guys unpacked things nicely and did not even wait for any extra money (that has been my experience in earlier moves).

It was a nice experience. I'll use them again if required.
Southern fast packers & Movers - 216/3 3rd Cross 4th Main, Chamarajpet, Bangalore 560018. India. , Tel:26508966. Contact Mr. Perumal.

Fifa2010 - Schedule for Indian fans

Schedule for Indian fans of all the matches in IST (Courtesy "The Hindu")

From Citi Notes

Tata indicom, Koramangala - Sleepy Customer Service - Please wake up!

I have been a happy user of Tata walky services for the past 6 years and since I am moving out of the city, wanted to disconnect my connect my connection. After some search/calls found out the info to disconnect etc and send an email to the customer service customer.care5@tatatel.co.in which was replied promptly.

Y'day, went to the Tata indicom office in Hosur road (opp Forum mall) to return the instrument.

The first "Customer Service" representative looked us indifferently, no smiles, spoke with a accent and volume that we cannot hear and directed to the "sales" counters (we had come to return an instrument!)
After talking to one more Rep, found that we had to wait in Counter no.5 (For how long? IT is anybody's guess). After asking again a couple of times, we were told that the rep will be present in 5 mins and for sure he was there and was there with another in tow.
After taking our request (again as indifferently as humanly possible), he was constantly interrupted by his company and from the guy in next counter!. After we voiced our complaint, things worked like a charm - Efficient and even a smile at the end.

What is with these Folks? We have been a happy TATA customer for 6 years. The whole office was like zombies - Mainly the Customer service counters. They don't look at the customer in the eye, they don't smile, and they don't set expectations about the time.

When it comes to products from different companies, I have a preference on TATA products as I consider them value for money.

I Wish the Customer service experience was better and more friendly.

Have you had any such experience with the Koramangala Tata indicom office?

Update on 01 Jun 2010: In a swift move, a senior person (Ms SaiPriya) from Tata Indicom retali support called (after seeing this blog and tracing us) and spoke to us. She has promised to fix this problem for future customers. Really glad to see that they take a single persons' complaint seriously.
Would be great to see a Customer service that understands the importance of their work towards the Customer and towards the Company's image. Good luck.

Vegnation in Thiruvanmayur - Please do better!!

Went for lunch@Vegnation y'day. Had seen an article in Hindu a week back that has praised the outlet and has been waiting to go there.

The ambience is pretty good.

Had tomato Soup, Mutter Makkai masala, schezwan noodles , veg kadai.
The tomato soup was okay - Not fresh and the bread crumbs were over fried (smelt of oil)
The Makkai masala was good - Nice Paneer and tasty
Veg kadai was a let down - Seems Frozen or Canned Peas,beans were used - Atleast they tasted like that. Mainly the beans were horrible.
The schezwan noodles was spicy and good

Tried to round things off with nice Desserts - Strawberry mousse and Sizzling brownie - Both were not available! and the choice was Chocolate mousse and a Chocolate pastry.
Both were big let downs. They were not fresh and not too tasty
Mainly my nephew slumped on seeing the plastic mousse container - The photo showed a nice chocolate wrapping for it. (Even the name board outside shows the mousse in a wonderful chocolate wrapping -So much for advertisement)

Even after the Ordinary lunch, a wonderful dessert would have lifted our spirits.

Vegnation - Please do better. Atleast for the cause of having good vegetarian restaurants around.

Thanks to Saravana stores – Timetables are back in MRTS stations

For the past few months, the MRTS stations in Chennai were devoid of timetables (for a month or so). Being a recent regular traveler , I found it very difficult while waiting for trains.
Now, saravana stores has placed new timeboards on all stations. I am sure many a commuter will be thankful.

Beauty and the beast

This is a lake present on the bypass road between Velachery and Pallavaram. The water, greenery and the cranes were beautiful

Check out what is behind – Beast of a garbage dump!

King fisher losing senior passengers flying out of Mumbai due to lack of elevators

In mumbai, the kingfisher terminal is in 1A. There are no elevators in this terminal and all passengers have to climb two floors of stairs for the check-in counter.
After the ticketing, passengers climb down the two stairs (escalators are present) to board the aircraft.

I know of senior citizen passengers who refused to fly by KF after one experience with the climbing and made their booking in Jet Airways.

I like King fisher airlines for their good service. KingFisher are you listening?

If elevators are indeed present in 1A terminal and I had missed them, please add comments so that it is helpful to all
p.s. the same terminal is also used by Air India.

Jet Airways proves senior friendly

Had a pleasant surprise last week, when I had to fly a few seniors in Jet Airways from Chennai – Mumbai and Back.

On the onward journey I had my 85 year old grandma and I had mentioned a wheel chair request while ticketing. While alighting from the flight in Mumbai, a jet airways employee was waiting at the end of the steps with a wheel chair.

On the return journey I had four seniors – two over 70 and two over 60 returning all by themselves. They had good feedback about Jet personnel helping them with the luggage etc. Seems in Mumbai they had requested for help and an airhostess carried all their luggage and placed it in the overhead bins. While alighting, the same person carried all the luggage till close to the exit and placed it in a trolley for them.

Good job guys. Keep it up

Velachery Electricity Board office - Not friendly for Senior Citizens or disabled

Went to the Electricity Board office in Velachery the other day to pay the monthly bill

The payment counters are in the first floor and there are about 20-25 steps to climb. Many of the paying consumers are senior citizens.

I think the Government should take the lead in showing that it cares for the Seniors, and those who need extra care and attention. It can easily set the standards that others need to follow. Some action instead of the usual and statements would help.

Fast Track - Sudden increase in rates w/o announcement

Have been a regular user of Meru in Bangalore as their service is pretty good and decent. Found a similar service in Chennai "Fast Track" - http://www.fasttrackcalltaxi.in/
Booked a taxi from home to Airport on 20th Feb - The agent conveyed that rates are 100/- for first 5 km and 12.50/- for each extra km. and specifically mentioned to pay the meter rate only.
When we reached the airport the meter was at 170.
Had to travel to the airport again on 28th Feb (after the budget ). This time the agent did not say anything regarding rates.
After a few kms I saw that the meter was at 120 (instead of 100) and was running at 15/- km. When I reached the airport the meter stood at 205.
When I checked with the driver he gave some unclear reasons about night rate (infact this trip started later than the earlier trip) etc. After questioning that only a week ago I travelled at 15% lesser rate, he was okay with me paying the old rate itself.
Seems after the budget, Fast track has silently increased the rates or extended the night timings. Seems a unethical slight of hand to me..

Indian airlines defies time, cheats and gets away with it

If you are booking flight IC971 from Chennai to Mumbai - read this!
I booked a tkt on IC971 from Chennai to Mumbai - scheduled departure from MAA 7.00 a.m. If you search in IA site- you will see that the scheduled departure is 7.00 a.m.
Once I went to the airport, the IA staff told that the flight is rescheduled to 10.00 and if required I can get a full refund. Well, I had to book another ticket on Jet Airways as the matter required some urgency.
The IC971 left by around 9.00 a.m.
Later I found out that the flight IC972 from mumbai to Chennai is "Scheduled" to arrive at 8.50 - i.e its regular expected time is 8.50 a.m.
Since IC972 is the one returned as IC971, and its scheduled arrival at chennai is 8.50, how can IA sell tickets for 7.00 a.m and put customers to hardships?
Did any of you face the same issue or am I missing something?

Spams Emails in the name of Income Tax India

Recently I have been getting some spam emails with sender as "Income Tax India"
Sender email : refunds@incometaxindi.co.in..
The email has some note about refund amounts etc and gives a link that says "Tax Refund Online Form". The hidden link actually points to http://mail/ murdochsmith.co.uk. (complete link http://%20mail.murdochsmith.co.uk/images/refundtax/gov.in/formular.html ).. added as space in between to break the link.)

Can't something be done regarding these fake emails?.
I checked out the Income tax india govt site about whether I can raise a complaint/warning and all I get is this link
http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/archive/CBDT_PressRelease_09102009.pdf which warns people regarding spurious emails and tells them that the responsibility rests with the individual.

Can the IT dept atleast provide an email or form to send such spurious emails so that they can track with cyper police and cut down on people mis-representing them?

Save indian tigers - only 1411 left?

"Save Indian tigers" seems to be slogan of the day - We have top sports people, film stars and others telling us that only 1411 left and Aircel is making a major campaign.
It is nice to see corporates and prominent personalities taking up the cause of the wild cat. Seeing the cubs in the advertisements that look like kittens, it is hard to imagine the evil in the minds of those who are ready to kill these wonderful animals purely for money.
What can be done - I guess there are many organizations doing wonderful service. I'll try to list them here as I find them.
To start you can register your support in http://www.saveourtigers.com/
If you know of any organizations or any way to do something, please post comments/links

Superb program on sun tv - Asathapovathu Yaaru

Saw this program on sun T.V. the other day - Two twins (Ashok and Anand, I think), did a wonderful program.
They juggled with Apples (in different ways), and at the same time, kept eating the apples one by one. It was fun to watch and the timing was just great as they managed to juggle by themselves and also between each other, eating the apples bite by bite.

Copper chimney in R.K. Salai - Good taste, decent service.

Went to copper chimney y'day with my cousin and had a couple of veg items.
The place is spacious and service is pretty good. Price is equivalent to other similar level restaurants - For a 2 person veg food costs around 400/person with starters and main course.

The only delay was a 10 min time in bringing the bill.

Hot breads - Mylapore (Near Saravana Bhavan) - Can do better.

Went to Hot breads today with a friend and his 7 yr old daughter. The place is too small and can set about 12 people in a crampled sitting space. The other end is occupied by the cake master! and his assistants doing their interesting hand works on the cake.

I had a Mexicana veg (the menu mentioned something regarding a fajita) and my friend got a veg chutney sandwich. his daughter was very clear (as kids of that age are) and had a veg burger.

The mexicana veg was nothing special. I earlier had mexican chilli cheese (cheese and Jalapenos). That was better.

Eitherway the portion is too small with only 2 bread slices trimmed. And I also see that many sandwich places in chennai don't use the bigger sandwich bread but use the regular/small white bread

Can provide a better value for money

ETWOW in Chennai - Very Good and short.

http://etwow.in/

Watched the show y'day. Very good show. 8 teams of artists from different coutries (russia, france, hungary etc) provided some tricky and dangerous entertainment.

• Started with two acrobats doing some major balancing act - A test of strength and balance. Some of them were too good. As a climax one artist balanced himself on one hand, which was placed on the head of the other - Amazing stuff
• The mono cyclist was a joy. He had a glee while doing his tricks, did some interesting ones including jumping from one Mono cycle to another and also doing some highjumps. How he is able to land perfectly on the pedals of a moving mono cycle is a mystery.
• The man on the german wheel was great. Skirted too close for comfort when he reached the edges of the stage.
• The hula guy was just too quick. The speed with which he was able to switch the hulas between his neck, waist, legs and hands was in flick of the eyes.
• The 2 skaters put on a sensual act (or tried to). The stuff was pretty dangerous with the lady's head inches off the trampoline bar. It was too fast, too quick and dangerous. The music for this piece was slightly jarring - with a kind of eerie feel.
• The 3 young girls from Russia were extremely flexible and strong. Nice music and nice work
• The statue show was from a person from France. The timing was very good and the fun element was nicely presented about the two statues coming to life and interactive with each other
• Finally was the laser show. The guy was able to bend light in many diff ways, did a great work in splitting, joining and making very diff shapes and the timing was perfect with the music
  Overall a mini and quick version of Cirque de soleil - http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/default.asp
  The only problem was the timing of the show. It was too short and in some cases the artists were there only for 7-8 mins. It seemed as though they were rushing out. I was expecting a break at 1 hrs and 15 mins. I did get a break of course, coz by that time the show itself was over.
  For sure, the could have timed it better to give a more wholesome and satisfying experience
  
  Music Academy seating is great,the view is just great as you can see the stage and artists very well even from far seats.
  
  Great artists. Great show. Slightly low on the value for money

The Extra terrestrials in Chennai - Don't know to pick up phone?

In the ET movie, the key part is played by a phone call (an inter galactic one if you prefer to see that way)

But the organizers of the ET show in Chennai (http://etwow.in/ticket.php) seem to have forgotten the trick of the trade.

The phone number - 9380514803 mentioned in the site just plays a "Reliance jingle" and shuts off

Kinda spoiling ET's reputation I say - What say you?

Sony Center in Anna salai - Do they need customers?

Went to the Sony center in Anna Salai (Near Shanthi theater) the other day as I needed a memory stick for my new Sony cybershot.
First, there is a guard in the front, who doesn't care to even open the door.
Once inside there were a cpl of people (none of them customers), talking to themselves as I walked all around the shop looking for the memory card.
I found it in a wall, unscrewed the holder and removed the card and went to the billing person who was busy watching T.V.
Had to disturb him in order to confirm whether the stick matches my camera and to bill for the same.

Sony Center - Anna Salai, Chennai

Don't think this sony needs customers as they are busy with themselves.

What do you think?

Rain in Chennai

Today morning started with typical weather in this time of year. Slightly cold, but one could feel a bit of perspiration. Immediately talks of "Sweat has started already" started in the hot, hotter and..... Chennai.
It was a pleasant surprice when the clouds opened up by about 7.30. I always love the rain - feel it is kind of a cleanser, cleaning the whole city and making this look bright and shiny.
It rained pretty well (Atleast in south chennai) for about 30-45 mins before Surya came and showered his blessings.
It was great to see leaves glistening and school children enjoying the pleasant surprise without care about getting wet or spoiling their school uniforms
I am sure everyone will enjoy the rains, if only cities have a better way of managing the after-effects. For that matter, same with the snow - It is so beautiful/Magical while it snows. The only problem I have felt is if you have to step out in the slush post the snow.
I think as a development of human index and to make life better, Cities should take up managing these aftermaths better. Will definitely be a great boon for the public to be able to enjoy these magical moments.