TASMAC- the Akshaya Patra for the Government of Tamilnadu

One business that never diminishes or comes down for ever is the Devil's boon to mankind!  If you pass your exams, the celebrations begin with alcohol! The other way round if one fails in exams, the dejection is suppressed with the same alcohol!!  If you buy a car or a house or get promotion in your office, the mood is to drink and express happiness!  Hence, the overall factor for either happiness or sorrow is through Whisky or its allied kins that are available in various forms.

In India, sale of alcohol is mostly controlled by the government agencies who have no heart to balm the affected wounds of millions of drinkers.  On the drop of a hat, these agencies revise the price upwards, knowing pretty well that the person who wants to indulge in drinking has to come to their door steps. Invariably, the government prices the product in odd numbers.  If a customer pays Rs 100/- for a bottle of drink costing Rs 94/-, the balance of Rs 6/- is pocketed by the employees working at the outlet!  So much so that TASMAC is the only government agency that opens their shop at 7am and close it at 10 pm.  The employees never take any off or absent themselves as they stand to loose their share of loot that they make out of the customers by not paying the required change!!  There are instances of murder and kidnapping of employees due to feud and enmity that revolves around the lucrative business.

The other day, I had some friends who desired to drink certain whisky/rum/beer of their choice.  I struggled to get anywhere near the TASMAC shop as it was too crowded with unruly people who were already drunk and were stinking all around, may be because of the humid weather?  With efforts, I went to the counter and asked for a bottle of Aristocrat, an Old cask rum and a few bottles of Haywards beer.  The employee responded in lightening speed saying none of them were available and rattled the brands that were only available namely Bacardi Apple rum/some whisky which i have never heard of and King Fisher beer!!   I asked him if he can sell some good wine bottles to which he replied in negative saying there are no wine bottles available for sale!!  I asked him as to why he is unable to supply what we wanted.  He asked me to buy if I wanted these or vacate the place for other customers!!  I returned not buying anything in protest and decided to write to the authorities who control these outlets.

The State Government is not bothered to open up competition in these sectors and instead force people to drink whatever is supplied to these outlets.  There seems to be no choice for people who are forced to buy products that is thrust upon them.  It is rumoured and widely believed that only those breweries which takes care of the political thirst are allowed to  stock their products with TASMAC.
If you go to Bangalore, you find so many private agencies selling different varieties of beer/whisky/rum and wines and one is amazed to find so many Indian  brands that are available off the shelf!  Why can't the government of Tamilnadu do the same thing and allow multi brands to come into the market so that tipplers can have their choice of drinks according to their tastes?

Never Believe Citi Bank executives or the offers they make!

The Tie clad gentleman introduced himself as an executive of Citi Bank and added that he is an Engineering graduate from the IIT and an MBA from Calcutta IIM.  Surely, I thought this lad must be knowledgeable and fit to handle my life savings which I thought of parking with CITI with an expectation that they have brilliant managers for the funds that the clients park?  Along with this gentleman came a neatly attired, English speaking lady who also introduced herself as an Executive from the same bank. It is only at a later stage that I understood the purpose of bringing well dressed and well spoken ladies along to canvass business!!  Both the persons rattled all Banking Mantras and the existing market and the probable outlook that Citi fund Managers hold for my investment to double or may be triple within a short span of 3 years!  The few doubts that I had to clarify were held back as I did not want too much ignorance to be exhibited specially in front of the lady executive who was much younger in age and experience in Banking Industry.

The officer asked me if I have inclination to retire at 65 and suggested an Insurance policy of Birla sun Life with a premium paying period of 10 years and insurance covered for 21 years.  he also spread a work sheet in front of me stating the huge gains that would accrue at the end of 3/5/7/10 years which was quite fascinating for anyone to get lured into investing with them!!  The insurance was unit linked policy and was subject to market conditions and this was never explained to me.  I paid insurance premium for 7 years for myself and my wife and whenever I enquired about the surrender value, it would be at least 25% less than the paid of value of the premium that I have been paying for 7 years. I was quite furious and wanted to know what exactly is being done by the Birla Sun Life Insurance Managers or is it that they are dumb idiots who are unable to extract benefits from the market?  I wrote a strong letter meaning business to the Birla sun Life who deputed 2 of their executives to explain and assuage my feelings about the company.  what shocked me further was when the executives told me  the fact that Birla Sun Life Insurance paid nearly 35% of the premium that I paid towards my insurance policies to CITI Bank as commission for bringing them this business!!! what a circle of fraud and malicious dealings enacted by the Insurance company engaging a Bank as its agent  to bring in gulliable  customers!! Instead, the Bank through their executives lure customers by showing fake charts of gains and rewards by  investing with the Birla sun Life Insurance and gain profits for themselves? This is surely not ethical banking!  When you confront the bank, they simply say that the markets are down and not looking up and once the markets bounce back, I would see profits!!!

Not satisfied with Citi Bank explanations or the Birla Sun Life Insurance explanations, I decided to close both my bank account as well as the Insurance which I surrendered.  I got much less than the paid up premium value although I stayed invested for 7 years without any yield or profits. Obviously, the Insurance company has kept the value of the product low so as to cover the commission paid to Citi Bank all these years!!  Citi Bank is practising unethical banking and instead of being fund managers to their clients, they are turning otherwise.  It is time, RBI comes down heavily on such Banks and restrict their business field to pure Banking where customers are rewarded by way of interest and profits and the bank makes profit by ethical lending to needy borrowers or industries.  There is no point in marketing Insurance policies for private players for the sake of commission and entangling customers in difficult modes of investments.  The term banking should bring in respect and attract customers as it used to be in earlier years.  I have lost a considerable chunk of money through investment in Citi Bank who in turn invested them in various Mutual funds and insurance policies of private players such as Birla sun Life for achieving short term gains for themselves but lost a customer who should have been otherwise happy?

My advice to all those wanting to invest their precious money is not to get lured by the Bank executives who promise Moon but deliver only an ice ball which also melts! Beware of such people and be careful in your investments.  It is always better to invest in Nationalised banks and like products where the returns may be low but the capital is safe and some reasonable returns are assured!

"Teacher" who can shape your "future"!

Meet Rathinavelu, a simple human being who teaches Yoga, not only to shape the person in you but is also  a catalyst to augment  your thinking and thoughts to shape your future in a humble and peaceful  way.  Whether it rains or shines, Rathinavelu is at your door step on the dotted time  to bring out the best person in you in terms of humility and behaviour, that goes a radical change once you start the session with him.

Rathinavelu evaluates a person before imparting the techniques of Yoga in such a way that the person enjoys doing yoga and starts expecting the master to arrive on time for the classes.  Such is the magic this man possesses in shaping the lives of people.  The Yoga master also understands the way of life that a person leads and slowly influences to desist from vices and habits  that a person may have, which could be affecting the person.   Rathinavelu always believes and says with conviction that the body is like a temple and one should not adulterate or add unwanted substance to the body and pollute it.  He is well read in Tamil and often says verses from Thirukural during the session and giving explanation to the subject.

He explains the benefits that arise out of a particular Asana or posture and the gains that gets absorbed in your body.  He sometimes recalls some incidents that he has encountered  and how the life later changed practising Yoga and meditation.  Much importance is given to breathing and the Master says that each Asana should be coupled with systematic and rhythmic breathing so that the flow of oxygen is ensured for  optimum benefits.

Sri Rathinavelu is also full of humour, wits  and cracks jokes either from the books that he has read or from the movies.  This talented Yoga teacher is an ardent fan of Sivaji Ganesan and doles out dialogues and songs that enthralled the fans all these years!  The mix and match of Yoga with humour and jokes makes the Yoga session more interesting and desiring.

Rathinavelu often says "No Pain- No Gain" and makes you bend forward and backward for each Yoga- Asana so that flexibility of the body is achieved, eventually shaping up  your body.
Rathinavelu resides in Thiruvanmiyur and can be contacted on his mobile9941688623

I have been learning Yoga from this teacher and have immensely gained out of it.  My breathing problems have subsided considerably, making me more active.  I would recommend Sri Rathinavelu to anyone and everyone willing to learn this great art of keeping both the body& mind   in a fit, nourished and balanced  condition!

Palakkad Parameshwaran- the Auto-Sarathy!

Meet Parameshwaran who hails from Palakkad and popular as Palakkad Parameshwaran.  He owns an Auto rikshaw and drives all around the town with ease and knowledge of the place,  both historical and geographical.

I made a quick trip from Chennai to Palakkad to visit our family deity Manapully Kavu and one of my friends suggested that I contact Parameshwaran .  "He  will extend all possible help to make your visit purposeful and useful".   I contacted Parameshwaran Iyer and explained the purpose of my visit and all that I got in the form of  reply was an assurance from this gentleman - "Don't worry"!

I reached Palakkad on the 26th November, 2012 early in the morning at 5.20 hrs by Aleppy Express and to my surprise I found this gentleman waiting at the platform to meet me!
He suggested to have the first round of fresh coffee at the station itself since the cosmopolitan club where i was going to stay  would not be awake for serving coffee or tea before 7 am.  The coffee served in the Railway canteen was so fresh that i ordered for  one more which I shared with my wife and all that cost me Rs40/- There were many surprises in store and this was only the beginning.

Manapully Kavu entrance

                                                                    Nadai-Manapully kavu

                                                                  Chenndai artiste playing

                                                                         The 6 ft tall lamp
I checked into the club with my wife and Parameshwaran gave us an hour to get ready.  On dot at 7 am  this gentleman appeared on the scene and took us to Manapuuly Kavu temple which was quite close to the place I was staying.  He was with us guiding us at every step and helping us to get the tickets for various sevas from the counter.  We had a very peaceful darshan of goddess Bhagawathi and performed archana and pooja as we desired.  He explained the historical imporatnce of the temple and various stories and anectodes connected to the temple.  Sri Parameshwaran took us to a Hanuman temple, calling the deity very powerful and known to grant wishes to people who prayed to him.  Interestingly, this Hanuman temple is situated right inside the Fort of Tipu Sultan, a Muslim ruler who ruled the Malabar for some time!

                                                         taller than the men lamp at Hanuman kovil

                                                            Vazhipadu at Hanuman Kovil
I was quite amazed to see traditional lamps that were as tall as humans  glowing  and removing darkness with pride.  There were several of those adding divinity to the place of worship.  

 

It was already 9.45 am.    We were quite hungry by this time.  When I told Parameshwaran about having some thing to eat, he took us by surprise by asking if we would like to have hot and fresh Appams? Delighted, We jumped at this offer!  He took us to a place opposite the Fort Maidan where a husband/wife team prepared fresh Appams and served with Chutni and sambar!  This was not a regular restaurant that carried star ratings but a way side shack where people thronged just because of its genuine delicay and  taste!

                                              Ambica and Ramachandran's shack selling Aappams

                                                             Shack opposite to Fort maidan
The hot tea served was something which contained special flavour and  taste !  The bill that I paid for all the 3 of us was a meagre Rs 102/- and it was truly filling and tasted home made.  Parameshwaran took us to Kalpathy village which is now declared as a Heritege Village by the ASI, Govt of India.  We had darshan of the presiding deity of the village Lord Sri Vishwanatha swamy also known as Kalpathy Shivan Kovil. We  spent some time enjoying the serenity of the temple and the river which is called as Kalpathi Pozhai. 

                                                                   Kalpathy Sivan Kovil

                                                                   Kalpathy Sivan Kovil

Kalpathy Vigneshwarar sannidhi

                                                                       Kalpathi Pozhai

Kalpathi pozhai-check dam

                                              New chariot built for Lord Shiva@Kalpathi Kovil
Though the flow of the river has dwindled over the period, it still reminds of the richness of the soil and the character of the place!  We dashed to Mandakarai Ganapathy temple which was right across on the opposite end of the road.  The temple had closed  as it was past 10 am. We decided to come again to this temple in the evening and in the meantime, we  decided to visit some of our relatives who lived in Kalpathi. Parameshwaran knew everyone and could take us to the exact place without us telling him the address!! We had a fruitful visit meeting some of our relatives and friends at the village.

                                                       My ancestoral home where i was born

I stood in front of the old ancestral house which was instrumental in bringing me out into this world!  The house does not belong to us or our family any more as it has been sold..  The memories are intact!  The house was very popularly known as "Atthan's house" as my grandfather (Late) sri Vaidyanathan  was known for his social activities and physical help to one and all in the village and its surroundings!  People to whom I was introduced were too happy to see  me with my wife.  Their happiness doubled  when they came to know me as Atthan's grandson and son of Atthan's daughter Kamalam, 84 years old and living with me in Chennai.  The Kalpathy river which was seen as a free flowing river with abundant water has become a small riverlet due to building the Malampozha dam and many check dams in between that prevented  the free flow and robbed its beauty.  The river banks that were sprawling, once upon a time, presented a pathetic look and made me wonder if this was the gift of modern science and technology?  There was a painful feeling deep inside my heart to see the present status of the river that once stood with all its pride and beauty!

  We decided to visit the Bhagawathy temple at Kallayankulamin the evening at 5pm.  I had visited this temple about 15 years back.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the highway roads fully developed snatching the heritage value of the village that housed this famous temple!  It is said that the Late Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi chose the symbol of human palm or the hand symbol taking clues from this temple where Devi emerged only showing her palms.  The palms are worshipped in this temple.

Kallayan kulam Bhagawathy temple

Temple tank

The temple tank behind the temple presented a clean look though there were people taking bath here and there!  Keralites avoid using soaps  while taking bath in temple tanks and that's probably one reason that the tanks are more or less clean?  Most of the temples have their own tanks adding to the aesthetic beauty of the temple and its surroundings.

Moyan Girl's school

Moyan girl's school

My mother studied in Moyan girl's school and I thought a picture taken would please my mother and rekindle her glorious younger days that she spent in Kalpathy and her daily walk to the school which was about 2-3 kms away from the village.  My mother felt  nostalgic when I showed her the pictures of her school.  She recalled  that the school, in order to enroll more and more girls into their school, did not charge any fees from them! The school wanted more and more of girls to join them to strengthen the  ratio and also increase the literacy ratio amongst females!

Parameshwaran Iyer took us to Sultanpet to a shop named "Hot chips" where fresh banana chips were being made.  To my surprise, automation found its way here too as the shop had a motor driven machine that sliced the Banana(Nendrampazham) uniformly and pushed it down into the vessel that had boiling Coconut oil  where it got fried to find its way into the mouths of millions of people all over the world! The chips were made fresh and naturally tasted like "never before"!

innovative method of hot chips

The energetic Parameshwaran Iyer suggested so many more temples to visit and took us to Chimaya mission's Guruvayoorappan kovil which is said to be a replica of the original Guruvayoorappan in Guruvayoor.  He took us to Ambika puram  Krishnan Kovil and Vadankanthara Bhagawathy temple and many others.  The serenity of temples in Kerala has magic that it attracts the inner soul and spreads peace, solace and happiness in you! 

Guruvayoorappan kovil

Mandakarai Ganapathy temple

Lord Krishna's temple@ Ambikapuram

Vadakkandarai Bhagawathy temple

Govindarajapuram temple

Heritage Kalpathy street

 The Kalpathy village has a shop that sells Sevai and other snacks and coffee and We were taken to the shop by our Auto Sarathy Parameshwaran.  True to his belief, the snacks were absolutely delicious and out of this world!!  The coffee served was so fresh in its flavour and taste that one glass turned on the urge to have one more glass of that fresh coffee!

after a body massage

Palakkad visit would have been incomplete without a body massage that rejuvenated and Parameshwaran knew the right place for that and fixed up the therapy for both of us.  Arogyodayam, a centre for such therapy is in the heart of  Palakkad village that offered this facility.  The massage was good but I find the massage in Ayush is as good as any other centre in Kerala except that the charges in the city is 50% more as compared to the village!!  

Palakkad Railway station

Parameshwarn dropped us at the Palakkad station to catch the Aleppy express on time.  The experience of this visit shall remain in our memories for ever.  The god sent Parameshwaran was truly a gift of the god to take people around as "Sarathy" and a good guide who will  make you feel protected and complete the mission and the purpose for which this visit was planned!  Parameshwaran can be contacted @09349244349.  

We bid good bye to the warm hearted Auto-sarathy in Parameshwaran!!

Skyfall- a non-adhesive bond movie

I was quite surprised to see availability of tickets even at 6pm for a 6.40 Pm show at the Inox, city centre, Chennai.
As predictable, the movie starts with action that will push you back into the seat and create an adrenaline rush. The action scene shot somewhere in Istanbul puts the movie in a different category of entertainment that has never been thought of?   The movie watchers in the theatre, after arming themselves with loads of pop corn and soft drinks, were seen walking and searching for their seats missing out the very purpose for which Bond movies are seen-ACTION??
Fortunately, to add fuel to the fire, right in front of my seat was a child sitting on her mother's lap and creating all kinds of noises that added to the background music of the film.  Believe me, it was hilarious at times though many people expressed their displeasure by looking back or staring at the direction from where the noise(nuisance) came!!
I do not know what made the director shoot the film more in a realistic manner throwing the basics of earlier Bond movies which dwell ed more on imaginations and fantasy!  People go to watch Bond movies with certain basic expectations of beautiful locales and romance with women!  This film is a poor replica of a genuine Bond movie and disappoints the fans.  This movie portrays acceptance of lost youth and also death which was never talked about in previous Bond films?  No wonder, the house was not full right on the first day of the show!!
The film involves a plot to kill the famous M(Judy dench) who directs Bond for whatever he does since ages, finally dies in an action filled drama involving the villian silva,  who once worked in the Secret service and fell apart with M.
Bond comes back alive after being shot at at during the fierce fight on top of a running train which will thrill anybody and everybody in the hall. Despite falling from heights into racing waters sucking Bond into depths, coming alive amazes everybody. .

The last action scene is not believable and makes the movie somewhat ineffective.  Sky fall is not up to the standards of  effective portrayal of James Bond and people who go to watch will have to apply Fevi-Bond if they have to sit through??

husne se chand bhi sharmaya hai

This song from Door ki awaaz, sung by Rafi saab is one of my favourites. The melody contained in the song and the way Rafi has given life to the romantic number will be long remembered and liked by any music lover. hope you like and enjoy listening to it as much as i did!!

T20 @ Chepauk stadium 11/09/12

In India, cricket is worshipped equally as you worship a god in a temple.  The dream of every youth is to become a cricketer even if does not have any qualifications!  The reason being huge flow of money and fame linked to this game.  The players are honoured and worshipped by one and all and the players enjoy that popularity and fame too!

Chennai hosted the first ever T20 match on the 11th September, 2012.  The match between the home team and the visiting New zealand team attracted thousands of people who thronged the stadium to witness the match live and the associated entertainment.

My friend Dr Gopal got a couple of passes for the event and I was fortunate enough to go with him to see this match that was result oriented within a matter of 3 hours plus.  Fortunately, we had a car pass that could steer us right up to the compound of the stadium.  By the time, we could get in to watch, NZ team had lost 2 wickets and the crowd was in ecstasy.  The stadium did not get the face lift that it gets during the IPL matches and was lacking in communication display boards detailing the match that was in progress.  The frenzied crowd clapped and appreciated the first 50 runs, boundaries and the sixes scored by the players and there was a sense of enjoyment all around.  Yuvi's mother and family members sat in the adjoining enclosure and were seen enjoying Yuvraj singh in action with his bowling and fielding.  The visitors scored 167 runs and lost 5 of their wickets with Irfan Pathan bagging most of them.  Brendon Mc cullam scored a breezy 91 and was declared the man of the match.  It is a matter of great appreciation and pride to note that the Chennai crowd was very sporting in applauding players of both the teams and gave lots of encouragement to the players.

The brief break forced us  to visit a few stalls that were specially put up for a quick bite and a soft drink to quench the thirst.  The food stuff that were being sold were too pricey.  For instance, coffee was being sold for Rs40/- for a small gulp in a paper cup, cocktail samosas for  Rs50/- for 5 small pcs etc.. exploitation is something that is born with any Indian and the stadium under the control of Tamilnadu Cricket association was no exception to this!

India came second to bat with Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli and entertained the crowd with their stylish knock.Kohli made a quick fire 70 in about 44 balls and took the home side to sight victory but the party was spoilt with disappointing batting from the captain Dhoni and his trusted aide Suresh Raina who could not en cash the advantage created to achieve victory.  Yuvi sparkled with a knock of 34 out of 22 balls which included couple of sixes over the fence that brought the stadium down with thunderous cheering and noise.
However, India lost the match by 1 run.  The T20 match does not show case the actual skills of the player as it does not give any time to plan or think for both the bowler and the batsmen alike. The entire match was seen as a welcome bugle for Yuvraj singh who battled cancer since the past one year and bounced back to play cricket after a win over the dreaded disease.  The mere sight of the great player in Yuvraj sent rays of hopes for many who are battling cancer of various sorts and has ignited  their hopes to win and be back to whatever they were doing.  Youvraj deserves all praise to send out a strong message and signal to all those affected by Cancer that everything is not lost and you can win if you want to!!??

A sense of satisfaction prevailed after the match was over and it was absolutely Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment!

Nithyananda

This Self styled god man or swamiji did well for himself when he hit the headlines and attracted thousands of followers by his good vocabulary and hold on the spiritual subjects on which he spoke!  He could easily control human minds and take them all into his fold and making them listen to him and obey his commands at any time.

It must be more than 7 years when I encountered his gang of followers in Gandhi Nagar club, Chennai where Nityananda was invited to speak and given an opportunity to attract the elite club members into his ashram fold and subsequently into a sort of slavery service.  The first floor conference hall was booked by one of the enthusiastic club members who was later seen canvassing friends and people to join the Nithyananda movement stating 101 reasons that convinced many and forced them to leave their family and households in search of long lasting peace!  I heard loud music in praise of the lord and peeped into the conference hall and  to my surprise, I saw many of my club members and their spouses dancing around this swami in ecstasy!  The godman also danced with them and encouraged.  suddenly, from out of nowhere, one of my club members came and pushed me out of the room and closed the door firmly.  I was wondering why he did so and created an element of suspicion about the truth behind such scenes and belief.  As a club member, I have the right to access all the floors and no one could stop me from that.  I enquired with the office as to how the club can permit an activity such as this where a self proclaimed person can dance with the members and spouses when he is supposed to enlighten the audience about Dharma and spiritualism for which entry should not be restricted.  I did not get any convincing reply as the persons who booked the conference room were senior members of the club holding honorary posts in the club.

When the news about the sex scandal broke out last year I heard from other members of the club that the senior members who were supporting the Nityananda movement and were themselves trying to rescue their wards from the Bidadi Ashram where they were living.  One member was in tears when his teen aged daughter refused to go with him and insisted upon staying back in the Ashram and would not believe the media reports about the scandal.  I hear many of the members of the club have had a bitter experience about this and have disassociated themselves from the activities of Nithyananda.

The government must ,monitor and  censor the activities of such god men who mushroom every now and then and cheat people and swindle money.  Any person who follows the path of spiritualism should not have bondage with any physical property and should not be allowed to accumulate wealth and properties.  The role of spiritual leaders is to guide people and show them the right path to be adopted in life.  Money and wealth should not influence the vision and purpose of such self styled god-men!!

Toyota India -Poor after sales service

My family was excited when my son booked a Toyota Corolla with Lanson Toyota, Chennai 18 and took delivery after a brief waiting period.  The car was quite stunning with its looks and made us feel proud of its possession.  Ironically, the keys provided were electronic with which you could open the door from a distance, open the petrol lid and also the boot!!  The technology had a distinctive advantage over others and something new for the Indian market.

unfortunately, the electronic key had rubber moulds to control various functions such as door opening, petrol lid opening and the boot opening.  It was quite a comfort to operate these functions from one place with a remote!  The rubber moulded parts fixed on top of the key withered due to various atmospheric conditions prevailing in the city and started giving trouble as the electronic chip was exposed and one had to really focus on a point to press or pressure to open the door.  Many times, the passerby used to wonder and doubt if we were the real owners of the car as we struggled often to open the car with the damaged key.

My son lodged a complaint with the local dealer stating the problem and after taking pictures of the damaged key and the car chassis number etc.. replied that the key would be replaced only if we agree to pay up Rs 13000/- for a replacement.  It was shocking to realise that the company charged a whooping sum of Rs 13000/- just for replacing the keys for a manufacturing defect!  Toyota must understand the types of climates prevailing in India before launch of their cars and manufacture rubber parts and moulds accordingly to suit the climate and atmosphere of that particular state.  Chennai being a humid place with sun blazing throughout the year, Toyota should have made stronger key parts to sustain the waggeries of weather.  The matter was represented to Toyota India who promised to look into the matter but never got back to us.  There is a famous saying-"Be a Roman in Rome".  Toyota India is probably following the same policy and have adopted the Indian culture of saying "No" to everything and have consigned ethics to wind?  despite repeated complaints and requests, neither Toyota India or the local dealer Lanson Toyota have come forward to replace the defective key free of cost.  This leads to believe that the company is following restrictive trade practices and force the customer to shell out more and more for everything including defective parts for which they assume no responsibility!

This is to caution the buyers to insist warranty for the keys in such a manner that it lasts at least till the car runs! Otherwise, be prepared to shell out thousands of Rupees for a key which will otherwise cost nothing more than Rs 50/- with the local key smith.  In this case, the local key smiths are unable to replicate as there is an electronic device which authenticates the genuineness and operations.  quite surely, this is a ploy and a trick adopted by Toyota to make customers come to them again and again for spares and parts through which they can steadily earn??  This is nothing but robbery- Japanese style??

I can be contacted anytime@7845265699 for an inter-action on this subject. 

Ek tha Tiger

After the roaring success of "Dabaang", "Body guard" and  "wanted", yash Raj Films thought to encash the popularity and the rising brand image of salman Khan to produce this "Chat-Masala" film-Ek tha Tiger!  surely, Salman takes a lead ahead of Shahrukh , helped Yash Raj films to profit out of this useful venture and stamped his authority in Bollywood as a leader!
The film is supposed to have accumulated a record box office collection surpassing the previous best and so is the rating of the star in Salman Khan who is said to be on top of the billing chart!

Salman is an Indian secret agent (RAW) who after a successful stint of operations in Iraq is assigned yet another assignment and this time to keep a watch on the activities of a missile technology- scientist who has migrated to Ireland and is suspected to pass on valuable information to the enemy agents and naturally, the ISI of Pakistan!  He is assisted in his research work by the Pretty & Beautiful Katrina who is an ISI agent and trying to steal the information ahead.  salman befriends Katrina saying he is a writer and wants to write the biography of the professor for which he has to be with him all the time and observe him  and what follows is nothing but the witch hunt of both these agents by their respective agencies who want to make sure that they do not fall in love and elope to weaken the organisation that they work for!  The action sequences are amazingly pictured and can be compared to that of any  Hollywood action movie.

 The on screen chemistry between Salman and Katrina is a great treat and a relief to watch as they are said to be in a relation even in their true life which both of them deny!!
What seems idiotic is the introduction of yet another RAW agent Gopi who instead of focusing on the vulnerable job of spying and espionage starts pampering Salman by accepting his find in Katrina and acknowledging her as "Bhabi"!  This plot could have been avoided in the film to make it parallel to movies produced in Hollywood!!

Finally, the two lovers hoodwink their respective intelligence agencies with action packed chases and shoot outs where many get killed except the main stars who manage to escape in a waiting jet only after salman shoots a few of them, rides a mo bike with a speed so as to catch the jet just before taking off from the ground with a bullet injury in his back!!  The audience is so entertained and amused that whistles start blowing to see their Hero finally making it to escape with his Pakistani counter-part lover.  No one knows where the eloped couple live but keep getting footprints of their life without confirmation!!

The music by sajid-wajid is very good and specially the last song of Masha-allah compels the audience to stay back and glued to their seats just to watch their favourite pair of salman and Kat perform the dance sequence with so much of ease and style!

Univercell communication-Phoenix mall, Bangalore

My wife wanted to be in touch with our son and daughter-in-law residing in Muscat on a regular basis.  The ISD calls BSNL landlines or the usage of mobiles attracted high rates of tariff.  My son suggested that we get an android mobile phone and download an application called Viber with which we could talk everyday provided we had a wi-fi internet connection!  We geared up to buy this android phone and went to Phoenix Mall on Whitefield Road and headed to Univercell communications who keep advertising heavily for sale of mobiles.
An enthusiastic sales man showed us some phones and explained the difference between Android and window based phones.  We explained the need to use an application known as Viber and wanted him to sell us a phone that could use the apps that we needed.
 Nokia Limia 710 is your answer said the sales guy!  We asked him if it would support the Viber apps, he said yes!  we showed our interest to buy but insisted that he download the Viber apps and show it to us.  He insisted that we pay the bill first and assured us that he will download it for us and make it available for voice calls.  We paid the bill and he explained the salient features which did not interest us and we insisted that he download the apps that we wanted.  He took some time and downloaded the said apps on to the phone.  We had to register our mobile number with the concerned and did everything that was needed.  There was a message on the phone that the voice call usage in respect of Viber was not available and that Windows are making efforts to get it at the soonest!!  We did not want the phone as it was of no use to us as we did not get the thing we wanted.  The salesman called his senior and senior ahead to discuss this problem without any proper response or assurance!  In the meantime, we had already wasted a solid 1 1/2 hours in the shop trying to understand the complex problems surrounding the "Viber" apps.
We demanded cancellation of sales and refund of money.  The salesman insisted that they have already created an on-line billing process and that it was not possible to cancel the sales!  We blew our top and insisted that we wanted refund of money and it is a clear case of cheating the customer on false promises.
The sales guy offered yet another mobile "Samsung" that could support the apps that we wanted.  These assurances were insufficient to create any confidence in us and we stood on our ground for refund.  Finally, the man on the cash counter punched a few numbers on a different machine and got the transaction cancelled.

All that I would like to say is that the persons at the stores are not trained enough to explain the functions of the mobiles that they are selling and do not know the products at all.  Their only ambition and target is to sell the mobiles at any cost!  There is no conscious effort to keep up the prestige and value of the company that they work for.  They have at least lost one customer who is dissatisfied with their service and vowed not to enter their premises any more?  will Nokia or Univercell communications take a note and address my complaint?