Remember my post "Mumbai An Easy Target," it was about High Street Phoenix Mall in Lower Parel and how their security system was totally flawed. Since I had a video to prove my stance, I emailed it to Phoenix authorities, some news channels, posted it on Youtube. Recently I revisited the mall, this time with a DigiCam to record their security flaws even better, but to my surprise, these people had improvised tremendously. I for a change felt really secured.

They had these young boys dressed in Black, who looked stronger than their previous counterparts. These guys were also sensibly equipped with detectors and walky talkies. They seemed serious about their job. They checked every bit of the car, they opened all the doors, checked below the seats, checked the glove compartment, checked the boot and the bonnet. Wow I was amazed. They even had 4-5 security personnel posted at every entrance of the mall with hand held detectors and bag checks.

I was just Wowed.. Miracles do happen in our city. We should probably thank those terrorists because without them this would be almost impossible in our city.

LPO Is The Least Preferred Among Law Students

All my LPO buddies read this:

A career with an Indian Legal Process Outsourcing is the least preferred among law students.

New Delhi, Dec.13 (ANI): A career with an Indian Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) establishment is the least preferred among law students, according to a survey.

In its survey, ValueNotes Database, a leading provider of business intelligence and research, says that 45 percent of respondents felt that the pay package at an LPO was better as compared to the pay package at law firms, but they still did not consider it as a preferred career choice.

Multinationals, international law firms and Indian law firms tap the same talent pool of graduating law students. While multinationals are expanding their operations in India, the Indian companies are expanding their global footprint. Thus the requirements of both these groups for legal advice on financing, mergers and acquisitions, immigration, etc is expected to increase. In addition to this, international law firms are also interested in setting up shop in India and are pinning their hopes on the Bar Council to liberalize the Indian legal services market.

With the increasing demand for legal services from different sectors in the legal industry, there is bound to be a fight for talent, the survey says.

Though there are about 80,000 law graduates each year, the number that is employable is quite low.

According to the survey, LPOs will face an even greater problem in the fight for talent as they harbor a negative perception among law students.

The common feeling among students is that work at an LPO is repetitive and highly process driven. One of the primary challenges for service providers currently is to change this perception of students.

In light of this, the report recommends greater participation of service providers in spreading awareness about the offshore legal services outsourcing not only among students, but also faculty members in law schools. In the long term, greater partnerships/tie-ups between industry and universities will improve both the quality and quantity of the labor pool and change the perception that students have towards the LPO industry.

Some More Ideas on Mumbai Attacks....

1. Do not worry about those who have come thru boats... Our forces can easily defeat them.
WORRY about those who have come thru votes.... Those are our REAL ENEMIES….

2. What a shame and disgrace to every citizen of India that the elite NSG Force was transported into ordinary BEST buses, whereas our cricketers are transported into state of the art luxury buses, these Jawans lay down their lives to protect every Indian and these cricketers get paid even if they lose a match, we worship these cricketers and forget the martyrdom of these brave Jawans. The Jawans should be paid the salaries of the cricketers and the cricketers should be paid the salaries of the Jawans.

3. An ace shooter shoots and gets gold medal, government gives 1crore, another shooter dies while shooting terrorist, government gives 5 lakh.

WHO DESERVES MORE? Huh.. This is our India....

RULE 49-O gives every Indian citizen a right to NOT VOTE

RULE 49-O is a Rule in the The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, "covers the procedures to be followed when a valid voter decides not to cast his vote, and decides to record this fact. Recording one's vote under Rule 49-O is a choice that voters can exercise to prevent electoral fraud, and misuse of their vote."

I mean this is the coolest thing that I have heard of imagine a situation of negative voting. This could really bring about drastic changes in our whole flawed political system. But obviously and undoubtedly this right can not be exercised because no where in our electronic voting systems are we given a button which say "No candidate deserves my Vote."

Any guesses why our government wont let us exercise this right, besides I really fail to understand I am a law graduate but I was unaware of this right... so I really don't think common people have the slightest knowledge of it.

To start with, I guess we should ask our Politicians "Purported Leaders" to give us means to exercise this right.

Mumbai An Easy Target

1 day after the terror attacks were sorted in Mumbai, a friend and I visited High Street Phoenix (a shopping mall) at Lower Parel, Mumbai. We were astonished to see that the roads to Phoenix were desolated; there were no police men on the roads. When we were just entering the mall we realized the security system in place was overly flawed. The 2 security guards at the entrance were unarmed; they merely checked the bottom of the car and the boot. Neither did they ask us to roll down the windows, nor did they check on and under the back seat of the car.

Only presumption that I can arrive at was that either these security personnel are over confident, or that they by instinct know that this car isn’t carrying anything suspicious. I mean they themselves looked very disinterested and all the while were chatting with each other. The car before ours, even had a suitcase but they didn’t ask the driver to open it. This whole drill in these malls and multiplexes is just a farce. It’s a mockery of my, our and their time. I'd say don't do a job because you have to... do it because it matters... Besides even if they would suspect something what would these security people do... RUN? I haven’t seen a city that boasts to be one of the richest in the worlds to be so hapless. It is like we all Indians, especially Mumbaikars were cursed to be born here, where our lives really don’t matter.

Mumbai Will Always Be Under Seige, Unless...

In the 2 pictures clearly contrasting armour capabilities can be seen between US and India. When India's defense budget is the second largest in this world, why can't we also have as much or better arms and ammunitions to combat terror? There is only 1 answer to this - Corrupt Politicians are enjoying vacations from this money, their children study overseas from this money, their houses are adorned with exquisite collectibles from this money, they spend our money to get FSI for their IT Parks, 5Star Hotels, Malls and of course a few Ganpati Towers in Sindhudurg District "Aapli constituency" ... still we chose to keep our silence and wow ourselves for our resilience.

I am sure, soon people will get over this terrorized feeling and soon we'll all get back to our normal lives forgetting the fateful Wednesday. Unfortunately as soon as it is wiped out from our memories, the same terrorists will pull an even stronger attack. Again the history will repeat itself and you, me and every Indian will be a potential target. Again we'd be left to protect ourselves on our own or the police men who are merely equipped with whistles and all they can do is shout "Bhago, Jaan Bachakar Bhago." I say, We say, We all say "THATS NOT ENOUGH."

So let’s unite, let’s ask these politicians where our defense money is being used and why? Their resignations would mean them not being required to answer these impending questions. Their resignations do not mean their gratefulness, it shows their cowardice. It shows the escapist behavior of these politicians. Let’s not allow them to resign until they have answered all our questions.

Let us first take them to task and then move our attention to Pakistan and ISI. Asking the right questions at the right times is the beginning of a revolution. Let’s start a revolution.

Vodafones new AD - "I can't follow you everywhere...!"

Mumbai Attacks

I got this on email and it has kick started a new line of thinking on all this....

The Attack on Mumbai

By Amaresh Misra

Doubts and People

Some people have raised doubts about the `theory' I am circulating supposedly on the net. They have every right to question and doubt anyone and anything. After all doubt is the mother of all kinds of right thinking.

I have received dead threats, hate mails--but more, I have received praises for courage and conviction.

I am not surprised and I do not mind people ridiculing me or anyone else--but I do mind when that ridicule actually goes a long way in hiding the hypocrisy and criminal face/intent of several prominent politicians and corporate figures.

Yes--corporate figures as well; what people do not understand is that in complex situations such as the Mumbai terror attack, new lines of thought will emerge as more facts emerge. But that should not stop anyone from offering critiques of the official or media version.

My initial theory that basically the Sangh Parivar elements instigated the terror attacks is stronger now. In fact more than the Sangh Parivar, it was Modi--yes he is the new, modern face of Indian fascism. He is the one to have a cozy relationship with Ratan Tata, one of the most ruthless and anti-Indian business man, whose family earned its money while smuggling opium to China during the 19th century, and sided with the British in 1857, when 10 million Indians, Hindus and Muslims, lost their lives fighting the British.

In fact, Modi has left the RSS behind in many ways--he is Mossad's number one man. Recently, a top RSS functionary told me that "Amaresh we have lost control over out cadres. We never wanted to let things get out of hand in Orissa and Karnataka. In Orissa, we had even planned a joint declaration with Christian leaders. But there was a revolt from below. The VHP and Bajrang Dal refused to fall in line. Then they got the subtle support of that man Modi. We were helpless".

Basically, the RSS lost control over the Frankestein they created.

In Modi's form this Frankestein struck a deal with Mossad--now remember Mossad has links in the faction torn ISI--remember also that several `Jihadi' groups, in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle-East are still remote comtrolled by either the Mossad or the CIA. In a recent case, a Muslim `Jihadi' organization in Yemen was found to be a Mossad set-up.

That is why it is possible the several young men who attacked Mumbai used Pakistan as a base. But their nationality is varied. Some might be Muslims from the UK as well; at least there is one with a Mauritius passport.

Now it is coming to the fore that someone from Saudi Arabia (called Maulana Bedi for now) probably collected and sent these `Jihadis'. That mastermind must have been paid by an Indian/Modi interest. These masterminds have no ideology. They are creations of America who now work for money, and even against American interests. This is again a complex but stark reality.

Also Nanda, the owner of Oberoi, is a close friend of Modi. He has millions invested in Gujarat. How come terrorists were holed up in Taj and Oberoi for days before the operation? How come arms and ammunition were stored for days in the two 5 star Hotels? Can the common man do this? Is all this possible without some sort of a connivance (known or unknown) of Hotel authorities? And is it too incredible to suppose that Hotel owners will not, knowingly or unknowingly, encourage the destruction of their own property? Taj maybe great for us--but what is its emotional or financial value for Tata? Modi's acceptance of the Nano plant in Gujarat on extremely favorable terms might be more important for Tata.

I leave this aspect to you all.

Coming to the Nariman House, I am really surprised at the perception that why would a Mossad backed operation kill Jews? Why not? In any case Mossad backs aggressive Zionism, which is very much a modern religo-fascist ideology like Hindutva. Zionism is not part of Judaism, just as Hindutva is not part of Sanatan Dharma, the real religion of Hindus. In the Praggya Singh affair, Sanatan Dharmis opposed Hindutva especially when they were maligning Hemant Karkare.

So Mossad and Zionists are known to have killed ordinary Jews--after all Hindutva ideology killed Mahatama Gandhi--can anyone deny that? Also Modi without a qualm masterminded the killing of several of his own people in the Godhara train incident, in order the create the atmosphere for large scale anti-Muslim and anti-India riots.

Remember evil thrives in the world because the `good' lacks imagination. Evil triumphs because it is capable of out-thinking `good'.

Those who call themselves supporters of Modi and Advani, they are also supporters of the killers of Gandhi. Hindutva ideology and politics since its inception has been opposed to the idea of a secular Indian nation-state since 1947. They staged an uprising against Indian state in 1947; proof exists that Golwalkar the RSS chief was hand in glove with the British army in carrying out anti-Muslim attacks. This was brought to the notice of Rajeshwar Dayal, the then Home Secretary of the United Provinves (present day UP) who took the case to Govind Ballabh Pant, the the then UP Chief Minister.

Muslims who stayed back in India after 1947 did so because of choice. There was an acute polarization within Muslims between Jinnah and the Muslim League on one side and the Muslim Ulema and its supporters who sided with the Congress.

Karkare's death

Now the Karkare incident--two versions are already coming out. It is unclear how he was killed--and foul play is suspected. Karkare's mother came onto TV and wanted to know how her son was killed. Salaskar's cousin raised the same issue.

So the relatives of the brave martyrs are asking for justice. They feel that there is more than meets the eye--and that somehow Karkare's death, and that of Kaamte and Salaskar, was related to the Malegaon blast investigation conducted by Karkare.

Why has Karkare's son refused the 1 crore announced by Modi? The latter came to Oberoi when the firing was still on; he made a very petty statement disliked by everyone. Modi was probably feeling that he had pulled off an ace by triggering this crisis just before elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, areas in which the BJP was clearly losing before the terror attacks.

Think--the boat to Mumbai could not have come without the co-operation of the Gujarat Government!

The fact is that Hindutva forces who were castigating Karkare and the entire Mumbai ATS team as villains and `enemies of Hindus' are now suddenly hailing them as heroes? What double standards man--people have send me mails, saying that they support Advani and Modi. All these people are supporting the killing of Karkare, just as they supported the killing of Gandhi.

Karkare and Kaamte were true Hindus and the most secular elements within the strife-torn, and highly communal Mumbai Police. They were men of integrity--how come Karkare died while wearing a bullet proof vest? Or like Sharma in the Batala House encounter, was he not wearing that vest? Was he shot in the heart or the neck? Probably we will never know.

But we should know--we have a right to know. Karkare was hated by Hindutva elements. And they masterminded his killing--they are responsible. Karkare is a great hero, a martyr in the cause of secularism.

Modi, Advani and all the anti-Sanatani Hindus posing as Hindus on the net have a distorted mind. In their blind or soft anti-Muslim hatred, they are unable to see how, to suppress the Malegaon Blast investigation, in which Karkare was about to take the name of Praveen Togadia and even Chota Rajan, Karkare was eliminated.

Communal forces backed by foreign agencies are hell bent on destroying India--America wants to dismember Pakistan, gherao China etc. and for that it needs India firmly in the US-Israel orbit. That is why Americans, British and Israelis were targeted. Nariman House was a hub where according to eyewitness reports, several suspicious Israelis were seen coming and out; it is possible that these people were involved in the terror attacks and that they killed their own people.

The Mumbai terror attacks were a gigantic exercise, a fight between those forces within the Indian establishment who want to take India towards the dangerous and suicidal US-Israel nexus and those who want India to stay Independent and have good relations with Pakistan, China and Iran.

Everyone in this battle would not everything or all the countours. But the pattern is becoming clear slowly and steadily.

Indian nationalism has to be redefined--India's slow drift towards a pro-US and a pro-Israel policy and towards Hindutva gives the ground for people like Maulana Bedi and Mossad to attack India. India has to go back to the anti-Imperialist, Hindu-Muslim unity, anti-Hindutva 1857 nationalism.

Why were the 1857 150th anniversary celebrations downplayed in India? Why was my book on 1857 downplayed? Because the pro-US and pro-Israel lobby did not want 1857, the nodal point of true Indian nationalism to resurrect.

Think...just think...we owe this to Karkare and all brave NSG men and army men...

Thanks to Bush, global terrorism has become an industry, a money making machine. It has other phenomenon like outsourcing war and terror to mercenaries attached to it. Mossad excels in forming armies of private mercenaries and destablizing states the world over. Just go to the net.

Indian Journalism a Ghastly Joke

“Our journalists battled along with the Commandos and put their lives at as much risk to give the world point-to-point news.” This is what all T.V. channels and news papers have been boasting about related to the Mumbai Attacks. But any person following the media would realize that there were so many loop holes in their reporting.

Today I saw India TV interviewing a man outside Taj Mahal Hotel, who had come there because his wife had gone missing since Wednesday night and she was dining at Taj on the fateful day. The India TV reporter was asking the grieving husband strange questions which no human would ask another… another irritating thing was that journo had the audacity to ask the man such questions over and over again. It sort of went on the following lines (in Hindi)….

Question 1: Are you worried about your wife’s security?

Question 2: Do you think your wife is dead or alive?

Question 3: Do you love your wife?

Question 4: Would you be happy if your wife comes out unharmed?

When I was seeing this telecast I was thinking you freaking MCP think your wife, mom-dad, kids are in the hotel and then think of someone asking such questions. Besides what did he mean by asking do you love your wife… why would a non-loving husband go from hospital to hospital, road to road to find his wife. I mean was this reporter intoxicated…. an asshole

Anyways, besides this there were clear flaws in most of the reporting… initially it was announced that there were 10 terrorists, where as eyewitnesses in Oberoi said there were 10-15 of them. TOI reported that there were 10 in all. If all this was to be believed I don’t know, every 2 hours into the news they’d declare 1 terrorist killed, so in that case there should be at least 30-40 of them. Or should we believe that most of the news gave hoax numbers. Before releasing the news who gives the news channels or anyone the right to speculate? Think about the family members of those captive in the hotels, every time they’d see a report of a terrorist dead their hopes of getting back with their relatives would grow and again and again in these 3 days of terror their hopes were crushed… All this thanks to the irresponsible media.

Rediff mentioned that its information comes from the interrogation of "Abu Ismail," while according to TOI a terrorist named "Ismail" was killed at Girgaum Chowpaty and was never interrogated. To the extent the various news papers reported different names of the vessels that were hijacked to enter Mumbai. How can they goof up this way, I’d say rather wait for few more hours confirm to the fullest extent that the news is 100% reliable and then go ahead and publish it.

We have notoriously bad, TRP hungry and politicized journalism going on in India. Every thing needs to be sensitized and sensational, otherwise it won’t sell. I was seeing BBC, which in comparison although slower than the rest of the news channels it focused solely on the operations and did not disclose any figures on the no. of terrorists or the dead. BBC was any day a more reliable news channel.

In the last 3 days every Mumbaikar was put through a lot... Uncertainty of their personal security, politicians, unreliable media, and every man/woman here thought how unfortunate he or she was to be borne here, to be borne in a country which can not protect it, to be borne in a place where freakos can walk in with armour enough to rage a war. We all can wow by the heroes who died trying to protect us, especially Bharat ke teen anmol ratan, “Kamte, Salaskar and Karkare,” without offense to anyone... our police was so unequipped that these three did not shoot 1 bullet out of their gun and were killed. It was sheer Bad Luck and they without any display of bravery lost their lives. However, they were given so many salutations for their bravery and the remaining 10-11 police constables of lower ranking who also lost their lives fighting for us were not given any recognition in the media. This is what Indian Media is all about.

How can we complain about external terrorists when we have many sitting within our country without armour but with a stronger weapon “audience” and who continuously and successfully lie to us… THE MEDIA.

4th World Toilet Summit in New Delhi.. Hahahaha

Can you beat it there is a Toilet Summit? And it’s a “world summit,” Really?
Does this mean US, UK, Italy, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, etc suffer from lack of lavatories syndrome like India?

I don’t wonna mock this thing but it really makes me laugh. Maaan toilet summit…

Read on to laugh a little more..

“The Rural Development minister, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, claimed that within five years, the government will have built sufficient facilities for everyone – many years ahead of an international deadline.

He revealed that the government would spend around £125m on rural sanitation projects this year, a increase of 43 per cent on last year. He said: "By 2012, India will be free of defecation in the open and will meet international commitments in this regard.”

Ok they have already started doing this for rural India, what about the metros. Has this so called Rural Development minister, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and the not so rural development ministers ever visited a “Sulabh Sauncalay” (Mumbai’s public toilets) and seen how much they meet the international commitments… If I were a guy I’d rather defecate near a tree or behind a building rather then visit these lavatories. I am sure most people would agree with me on this one.

What are these international commitments? No lights, non-working flushes, no water, infested with all sorts of insects.. etc.

OK OK enough of mockery.. only thing that I really appreciate is that they plan on rehabilitating the scavengers.

“Up to half a million people in India are engaged in "manual scavenging" – cleaning toilets that have no sewage system and carrying away waste or "night soil" on their heads or in carts. The practice has been officially outlawed but persists because in many places there are no alternatives.

One former scavenger, Sushila Chauhan from Alwar in Rajasthan, told delegates how, unlike most people in her dry, desert state, she hated the rain which spilled the waste she was carrying in a metal tray on her head all over her. She was "rehabilitated" by a training and education scheme provided by Dr Pathak's organisation. She said: "The nauseating acidic smell of human waste used to remain with me throughout the day, even hours after I would return from work. But worst of all there was a lack of appetite for food and everything good in life.”

India's minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Meira Kumar, told the conference that the government would provide more resources for the rehabilitation of women such as Ms Chauhan.

Ms Kumar said: "We have banned the practice of manual scavenging and the government will complete the rehabilitation of all scavengers by March 2009. We launched a scheme for these people in January 2007 and the focus is to train scavengers for self-employment.”

Shaher mein gadhhe nahin, gadhhe mein shaher hai!

Does some one remember this dialogue of "Electric Baba" in the movie "The Wednesday" (This is not a movie review... I loved the movie). This scene was so not required in the movie but I am so glad it was there. Someone falls in a gadha with live wires and survives an electric shock, it was sort of a spoof on the condition of our city.

But what the actor said was so true "Shaher mein gadhhe nahin, gadhhe mein shaher hai!". After all the PILs and Court orders, has BMC really done anything for Mumbai ke gadhes. Right to Information (RTI) the tool given to Indians to seek answers from public organizations and officials comes with a price tag. It is an expensive and a time consuming affair. Firstly confirm the BMC ward that the locality that you are complaining about? Secondly find out by going to that ward (which by the way is very unorganized and would mean a 30-45 min wait) which corporate managed the roads department. Then they’d tell you that the road in question is not under BMC directly it is under some other sub-division… then I didn’t have the patience to pursue it further.

Basically they will do everything it takes to waste your time and test your patience. If you are a job going person like me, then soon the patience would wear off, you’d accept the gadha’s in the roads and move on. You’d stop pursuing the problem. The only way that this problem can be solved is by having 1 person to pin point for every small to big government undertaken project. Have a web-site with the names and contact info of such persons. Make the babu’s accountable for every singe penny. Put CC TVs in their offices. Make sure those TV’s work.

Is all this that difficult that it just can’t be done? Then why can’t our government do small things and make our lives a little simpler. I have the answer because they are “GOVERNMENT,” they have pledged to “Help not the common people, help the rich who’d in turn make you rich.”

Who ate my Cake? Who? Who? Who? Who?

Someone sent me a lovely cake and I wanted to relish it in office “Alone.” So I saved a small piece from the scavengers at home. I carefully packed it to avoid the intricate sweetened flowers on it from squashing. Gleefully I carried the box upright in the train so as not to twist and turn it.

I winked at it in the empty lift telling myself hash I saved you from those scavengers. I placed the box in the office fridge hoping to have it bite by bite post lunch. When I went to fill water, I opened the fridge and checked if it was secure, then when I went to heat food I checked on it again and it was there.

But when I went to eat it, it had gone… My precious cake had just gone. It had disappeared. I can’t imagine someone did this to me. My tummy surely cringed as it was missing the cake. I even thought of “God,” I was still a little hopeful, I went again and again to the fridge hoping that my cake would some how reappear. Either the person who took it realized it isn’t his and returned it, or God by his mercy sent a blessed cake piece honoring me for my past good deeds. But, no.. it was not there. I ruffled through other boxes but no it was gone.

It was resting in peace in some colleagues wretched stomach. I was disheartened and after a few arguments with office boys hoping they’d have a cue where my cake was, I realised it was all in vein. My cake had left me for ever…

Atleast Cake Chor return my box!!!

Uma Bharti - Blaming Media

Is you have heard of the news of the Bhartiya Janshakti Party (BJS) President Uma Bharti having slapped a district party office bearer, Anil Rai then you’d know where I am heading.

Uma Bharti said that had the incident not been captured on camera, no one would have come to know about it and the person who was slapped would also not have left the party.

Is she thinking of what the news channels covered as some scripted T.V. show where she could sort of get away with it and hope that it would be edited for being too sensational? I can understand media being blamed for over-sensitizing issues but Uma Bharti's blame shows off her attitude of getting away with anything.

Has Science Erradicated the GOD Feeling?

The question that rings in many minds when we think of America, UK and people who explain everything by science. I read this Article which in a way explains this phenomenon of losing faith to Science and finding a scientific explanation for miracles. Although the writer seems like an Atheist he brings out the problems of losing faith but really doesn’t have any strong solution to the problems that he enumerates.

In some place the writer says “When I was an undergraduate I knew a rabbi, Will Herberg, who worried about my lack of religious faith. He warned me that we must worship God, because otherwise we would start worshiping each other. He was right about the danger, but I would suggest a different cure: we should get out of the habit of worshiping anything.”

Emphasis ME: In a way disagree; I know that most deadliest wars fought pretend to be in the name of RELIGION, in reality they are a fight of regionalism, a fight for land & its resources. So, I think a world that believes in God is still less dangerous than a world that does not believe in God because somewhere God and the literal teachings of Various Prophets keeps the believers in some sort of positive control.

On the whole the Article is a thoughtful analysis of the weakening of religious belief in countries with advanced science.

Really Creative

With the hype of Raj Thakrey being in judiacial custody, this was really a refresher.

Vodafone Harassment...

I am a bonafide subscriber of post paid services from Vodafone Essar Limited. I have 3 numbers on my name. I have since the inception of subscription of Vodafone at all times regularly paid all bills due. Despite the same, I have been harassed due to the high handedness and irresponsible behavior of Vodafone since the past 4 months regarding the payment of my mobile bills. Vodafone has on several occasions erred in computing and sending the correct bills. Despite me going to the Vodafone stores my billing problems have not yet been resolved and every month I have been visiting the store trying to resolve them. Due to Vodafone’s erroneous billing, I have been often charged late payment fees which again on my insistence are reversed in the next bill and this continues every month since June 2008. On October 3, 2008 I made timely cheque payments for my 3 numbers. As seen in my bank statements, the amount was debited from my account on October 4, 2008, but Vodafone claims that it has not received any such payment. I was time and again called and smsed by Vodafone and their recovery agency “Enterprise” to make payments. I faxed the bank statements on the October 8, 2008 as per Vodafone’s request. On October 9, 2008 all outgoing services from my numbers were blocked. On October 10, 2008 I visited Bandra Vodafone store and spoke to Mr. Gufran Sayed Kadri and Mr. Kamaal Sattani. I was made to wait for 2 hours in the store from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. They verbally assured me that my problem would be resolved. Further, I requested them to give me a written assurance or some receipt that I had made a due complaint. However, they refused and the calls from the recovery agencies continued, hence, I again visited Vodafone Lower Parel store on October 16, 2007 but there again I was verbally assured that the billing details would b updated immediately and that the phone calls from recovery agencies would stop, but they still continue to call and threaten me. I fail to understand why nobody in Vodafone has the authority to give me a written assurance. All I wanted was a receipt of my complaint but they blatantly refused. All the higher officials who are in a decision making position sit behind sound proof glass walls and the security officials at Vodafone head office would not allow me in to speak to the concerned person. Enterprise agents continue to threaten me on phone. Whole day my family is busy at work and only person at home is my 80 year old grand mother and servant. I really fear that if these recovery people come home it would be dangerous for my grand mother. Hence, I went to police complaining about the harassment by Vodafone but they too claim that they can do nothing till Vodafone actually sends a collection officer home. Again, why wait for further injury? are police official’s so helpless that instead of preventing crime they wait for it to happen and then take action. Is the common mans security not the police responsibility?

Bad Roads: Aftermath of a crater attack!!

To my humble mind, I have very few, but unusual thoughts coming when I’m moving and shaking uncontrollably in my car; not because of any such tendency that I have, but because of the pot holes that ‘we’ have.

Why is it so difficult rather impossible to solve the ‘hole’ problem.

Roads in and out of Mumbai are pathetic, awful, unbearable, unsafe and yet expensive.
I fail to understand what are the Road tax and the Toll we pay, all about. Maybe it’s never sufficient for the corrupt lot as they must have had to cut down on their family foreign trips because of a lesser collection.

After the unsuccessful effort of solving the unsolvable question of whether the egg came first or the hen, a second such unsolvable question that comes to my mind is, what causes such bad roads that we have.

Some of the probabilities could be, curse of some Gods or Goddesses? Our past Karmas? Or maybe it rains acid? Oh yet again, maybe there is no better substance available to mankind that can fill these holes or just because, now it’s part of our annual budget which we have to spend anyway.

At times my mind has doubts of some kind of a nexus between our friendly car manufacturers and not so friendly road making bodies. As obvious as it is, what I know is that the life of a car in our cities could be three times what it is, thanks to the bad roads.

My last ride on the Mumbai- Ahmedabad Highway was quite a horror. Not because of some security threat but because of what looked like an aftermath of a crater attack, a desolated battlefield at the end of a war.

In actuality, the end of the war is far away. We still have to fight and get not what we want but what we rightly deserve. After sincerely paying all the tolls and road taxes and other such heavy taxes that come to us as a duty, the least we can expect is the right usage of such funds which are originally meant for the purpose of making our lives easier, safer and better. Maybe we should have a Right to good roads added in our Constitution. It might just give us one more reason to be proud to belong to our cities, States and the Country.

Spectacular Lamborghini Gallardo

If you wonna learn to to keep a Lamborghini clean u have to watch the link...

Excruciating stuff and profound meticulousness is what it takes to keep a car of that caliber clean.. Seeing the efforts I think its better that I don't own one :)

CORPORATE CRAP in PANGEA3

Lawyers talking about platforms and system downs!!!

As the CTRL key controls us... (CTRL C + CTRL V)

TARGETS to be met, TIGERS of the week, (Weak??)

COMMANDOS without the guns....

UNACCEPTABILITY...

E S C A L A T E---even though your still in the same level for sooo many months

ISSUES-- the latest one --- use-less ISSUES

People reviewing contracts that is going to be reviewed again by the QCs and again by the people and again by the QC's and again by the people and again by the QC's and the Client changes his mind

Working Saturday-----Chilled out Mondays

STATUS pronounced as “STAAYTUS”....

LOCKED TIMESHEETS.....futures in jeopardy.... appraisals at stake…

HELPDESK… Emails for the printers and the lights and the AC temperature and the TISSUE BOX and the what not!!

SHHH---GUYS PLZ keep it LOW---Coz somebody wants to share a JOKE in their private 'BAY'

Working INDEPENDENCE DAYS -----for the people who celebrate their INDEPENDENCE DAYS....

HR is called Talent Management… wonder what talent are they managing…

Here BIO-METRICS is much more important than the fact of you possessing a “Lawyers Degree”

Finally, as trifle as it can get…. entering Office at 10:15 a.m. and 10:16 a.m. really matters...

WOW Get a Life "LOSERS"!!!!!

Dad and World Wars...

My dad is a collector of World War collectibles and a Article to that effect got published in Times of India supplement Downtown plus. I rarely appreciated his work and always thought that life would be so much better if he’d stop collecting the junk but today I realize the worth of his efforts.

Keeping History Alive

Posted On Saturday, August 09, 2008

From written work to military attire, Viraf Bilpodiwala continues to gather world war collectibles spanning across the globe, finds out Irene Fernandes

Viraf Bilpodiwala displaying Second World War treasures

The world war may have ended 63 years ago as a chapter in our history textbooks but for Viraf Bilpodiwala it has been a life long passion to gather collectibles associated with the Second World War (WWII) from all over the world. The 54-year-old businessman, a resident of Dadar Parsi Colony, is the proud owner of several original world war artifacts. Since 1969 he has been collecting literature to army fatigues. “As a school kid, I was taken by awe watching war movies like The Bridge Over The River Kwai, and Battle of Britain. From that point my interest in the subject began and over the years I have managed to lay my hands on everything related to WWII,” says Bilpodiwala.

His expansive collection includes literature pertaining to the WWII that spans over 1000-odd books, posters that were printed then, magazines and several old newspaper cuttings. Most of them are illustrated and some were got hold of when they were discarded from school libraries. That is not it! He also owns a used uniform that belonged to Rommel’s army in North Africa plus a few silver badges and his favourite - the Nazi helmet and the Nazi cross, which he purchased from local store in London. “The American and the British helmets are easily available, the Nazi war items are no longer available anywhere, not even in Germany,” explains Bilpodiwala

Bilpodiwala has travelled the world over to touch the heights of his passion. While some were a treasure hunt, the others were easily available in the local markets. “In 1975, when on a tour to Europe, I visited the Imperial War Museum in London, and the Army Museum in Paris. The war had ended 30 years ago then, but in Europe, there were several antique shops that were still selling original world war artifacts,” expresses Bilpodiwala, who exclaims that most of his collection has been gathered from the chor bazaars from all across the country and world over.

As easy as he makes it sound, he promptly adds the fact that across the globe, the world war is an incident looked down upon by many. “The world war has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many and people are not willing to speak about it openly. I had to hunt meticulously and with great difficulty I managed to procure these collectibles,” he adds.

An unusual passion and a dedicated one like this also entails unmatched commitment to maintain it. And this credit he attributes to his family, especially his wife Nergish. “There were times, especially, when we were touring the war museums, I would simply wait till he finished his extensive research. The war can be quite a boring topic for many, but for my husband it was a natural outcome of a genuine interest in reading. It was a widely-covered topic then and television, too, was not so popular,” Nergish says.

The Nazi helmets, dagger and silver badges that were used in WWII

The Bilpodiwalas take a lot of care to maintain their invaluable artifacts. “Most of our collectibles are kept in cupboards that are well-aired. Since the number of items is a lot, once a year I clean all of them. To keep away white ants, tobacco is spread between the pages of books, once or twice a year,” adds Nergish.

So what does one do when history has completed its phase? Bilpodiwala adamantly mentions that he will continue as long as he lives to keep this passion alive. “Whenever I get the chance I collect. Nowadays, it is difficult to get the latest editions of war material since that era of history is done with. When time calls for it, I shall most happily gift this priceless treasure either to my children or donate it to a library or a museum.”

Fight over Scrabble

Fighting over Scrabble... Come on grow up... let people play a smart game in peace. F#*k the copyright laws man... The ideology behind a game is fun and why bring these meaning less Copyright laws.

Discovering True India on a Bullet

This guys perseverance to see the real India at its best and courage to take on the risks of driving on Indian Highways... its just commendable.

"I fell off just the once but I feel I looked eternity in the eye several times," says Martin Buckley.

Pangea3 and Teli Gali

I work in Pangea 3 located in the posh Leela Business Park in Andheri East. But the way to my office completely sucks.... I have to ferry my way to the company pick up spot through a tiny lane called "TELI GALI."

If you have heard of the famous Teli Gali just outside Andheri (E) Station in Mumbai than thats what I am talking about... children pooping near your feet, women washing clothes and utensils, open wires that can electrocute you, mice and roaches might just run around the feet, sewer lids are almost not there, etc.. etc.

The best way to reach office is to "fly" as the road traffic is excruciating, foot board at the stations are so packed that getting from one end to the other would take at least half an hour, irregular buses drive me crazy and above all THE TELI GALI...

Imagine the way to the Big multi-nationals in Andheri E, MIDC, SEEPZ is through Teli Gali... You have to see the video to know the plight of people who travel from this gali...

Floods under my house, Mumbai.

Hoax Calls and Abuse and Abuse and Abuse

How willing is a person to obey an authority figure who instructs him/her to perform acts that conflict with his/her personal conscience? Imagine a phone call from the police asking you to inflict injury (mental of physical) on someone under the cover of police investigation… Question is… Would you buy it? Would you abide?

In America some freak made such hoax calls to people asking them to physically investigate someone who has been a suspect. People actually bought it and in turn happened a series of abusive crimes.

What is most chilling about these stories is that it happened repeatedly, across America, to people just like you and me. The inflicter and the inflicted were victims…. This story just dumbfounds me.

Food Crisis in Ethiopia

When we eat, and waste, do we think of the millions of people in this world who are on the brick of starvation, do we think of a 3 year old child who weighs less than 5kgs, do we think of the deaths caused by food crisis, do we think of their grief and do we and can we do something about it.

Ethiopia is stricken by the worse food crisis of the century. There are ways to help and donate… all of us can make a difference…

Click on the following link to help http://www.praxisethiopia.org/?gclid=CKX-5oys7pMCFQpEegod5m4zVw

Moral Policing in Bangkok....

Call it hypocrisy or pretentiousness on the part of Bangkok government… they have put a love curfew on Bangkok teens. The officials are concerned that those under the age of 18 might do more than just gaze into each other's eyes on Valentines Day. Hence, the Bangkok Police have imposed a curfew. The teens have to be home by 10 pm or risk spending the night behind bars.

Wow!!! Shiv Sena alikes in Bangkok…. But in a city like Bangkok which is renowned for sin, where sex is for sale in hundreds of strip joints and brothels, Valentine's Day curfew is laughable.

India and our Woes

If you are an Indian you'd know what the following post is all about:

Why is the media here so negative?

Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?

We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?

1. We are the first in milk production.

2. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.

3. We are the second largest producer of wheat.

4. We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place in Tel Aviv. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE?

Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things?

We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?

I once asked a 11 year old girl what her goal in life is.

She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.

YOU say that our laws are too old.

YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.

YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,

YOU say the airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.

YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS.

YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best.

In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?

YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .

YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah .

YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'

YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.'

YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand .

Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ?

Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ???

We are still talking of the same YOU.

YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own.

You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground.

If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?

Once the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr. Tinaikar , had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right.

We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage allover the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin.

We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.

When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home.

Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my
sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?

What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU.

When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians,

The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F. Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

Diary Mania

I always wanted to write a diary.. just to capture some important events, thoughts and plans. But I was too scared as an actual diary would mean the risk of someone reading it. Now with all the virtual diaries, this is a minuscule problem exists but its quite small. For instance I am sure my parents wont get to it ever.

Also another problem with these virtual diaries was that it was difficult to alter the date of publishing/saving the diary. Whereas now this is also solved, free online diary providers give you the leverage to add a diary to the date you wish. This is incredibly helpful as often I write my diary once over the weekend and often I am writing about something that happened 10 days back. So now I can save the event on the date that it happened. Plus I save pictures and videos which support my description of events.

Stocks

I started investing in shares sometime back and always would wonder what site would help me get all the past scores and relevant data on the stocks that I was interested in. I finally found a winner after good amount of researching.
Rediff Monies is what it is called!
It is truly fantastic, helps you add favorite stocks to a watch list where you can track all of them together. Also, you can check the highs and lows of last 1 year. You can place alerts for the stocks. Imagine all this free. Thanks Rediff.

No Swearing Words!!!

Can you beat it, South Pasadena has passed a proclamation that the people should not use the curse words.

"City Swears Off Swearing For One Week

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. -- We swear this story is true: it's No Cussing Week in South Pasadena.

The City Council passed a proclamation Wednesday, putting curse words off limits during the first week of every March.

The mayor said it provides a reminder for people "to be more civil, to elevate the level of discourse."

No Cussing Week was the inspiration of 14-year-old McKay Hatch, the founder of South Pasadena High School's No Cussing Club.

Hatch admits he himself engaged in colorful language in the past, but said he tries not to anymore.

Hatch hopes his No Cussing Club will lead to cuss-free zones in other cities.

He said he thinks it could be a quality-of-life issue and said there could be less violence if people behave better."

Name Change

If you think Indian Courts ponder over ridiculous issues and waste precious court time, think again... An Italian couple lovingly named their son "Friday," however one not so busy city hall clerk didn't like the name and brought a suit against the family in an Italian tribunal. In India, we don't have written norms for so many critical issues but in the progressed countries its different, they have an administrative norm which bars parents from giving “ridiculous or shameful” first names to children!!!

Italian Court Orders Name Change

December 23rd, 2007

An Italian court has ruled that a couple could not name their son “Friday” and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint whose feast day he was born on. “I think it is ridiculous they even opened a case about it,” the family’s lawyer, Paola Rossi, told Reuters by telephone from the northern city of Genoa on Tuesday.

Friday/Gregory Germano was born in Genoa 15 months ago. The parents registered him as Friday in the city hall and a priest even baptised him as Friday — unusual in Italy since many priests insist that first names be of Christian origin. “We named him Friday because we like the sound of the name. Even if it would have been a girl, we would have named her Friday,” the boy’s mother, Mara Germano, told Reuters.

When the boy was about five months old, a city hall clerk brought the odd name to the attention of a tribunal, which informed the couple of an administrative norm which bars parents from giving “ridiculous or shameful” first names to children. The tribunal said it was protecting the child from being the butt of jokes and added that it believed the name would hinder him from developing “serene interpersonal relationships”.

The Germano family appealed but lost their case this month and the story was carried on the front page of a national newspaper on Tuesday. When ordered to change the name, the parents refused and the court ruled the boy would be legally registered as Gregory because he was born on that saint’s feast day.

“I really doubt this would have happened to the child of parents who are rich and famous,” the boy’s mother told Reuters, recalling that some famous Italians had given their children unorthodox names such as “Ocean” or “Chanel”. The appeals court ruled against Friday because it recalled the servile savage in Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe and because superstitious Italians consider Friday an unlucky day.

“I am livid about this,” the boy’s mother said. “A court should not waste its time with things like this when there is so much more to worry about.” “My son was born Friday, baptised Friday, will call himself Friday, we will call him Friday but when he gets older he will have to sign his name Gregory,” she said. I hope he has not siblings named after the other days of the week.

How can they do this to me???

Have you heard of a bad dream coming alive... this is what has happened in my life. And all I ask myself is "How can they do this to me?"

I live in Mumbai and I work for a LPO "Pangea 3." I worked in Colaba (South Mumbai), but last week I got transferred to the Andheri East branch. This has truly been a reality check for me!!! The whole traveling part is unpleasant and disturbing. In the literal sense "Mere raton ki neend ood gayi hai" (I have lost sleep).

Insensitive Management: Decision making people in my company are Non-Indians "Whites." They haven't lived in Mumbai for long enough and obviously are not aware of the sad conditions of local trains and buses and general transport problems of Mumbai. Somehow its OK according to my company to spend 2 - 3 hours everyday commuting. Most other employees like me seem to be overlooking this part... some my company presumes that its okay to put employees through a few traveling problems for the bigger good of "the Company." I say BULLSHIT.