Julie........ a....a......a.... I love you

It was 1975, the period of Emergency where there was a feeling of insecurity and fear amongst people. No one dared to go out alone at night and people scrambled to their homes, if it was nearing dusk.  All these things happened in Delhi where more than 4 persons were not allowed to gather or meet in public!
The best relief came in the form of a great Love story film"Julie" that starred Actors Lakshmi and Vikram with some memorable romantic songs that is even remembered and sung today in most households!  The music was by Rajesh Roshan, Uncle of Hrithik Roshan and Brother of Rakesh Roshan who gave us some real hot numbers in the film!

          


I asked my wife whom I was dating then to accompany to watch this movie in a theatre popularly known as Rivoli in the Connaught Place area. She reluctantly agreed to go with me for this movie, well before our marriage apprehending flaks from people who might see her with me watching this movie as it was quite a bold theme for those days as it essayed about college days love affairs and getting pregnant before  marriage which was considered as the greatest sin in the world that was unpardonable by elders of communities. The movie depicted a bold theme of an Anglo Indian Girl, Lakshmi getting involved with a Hindu Boy, Vikram and the remaining unfolding of romance, drama, climax etc..  Lakshmi was a well known South Indian Actor who had also acted in the Malayalam version of this film that was titled "Chattakari" that ran for several months and became a super hit prompting producers from the Bollywood Industry to remake it in Hindi.  Surely, this film was a great hit in Hindi too!!

Last week, I and my wife decided to go for the Hindi Film PK when we bumped into this famous actor Lakshmi of Julie fame who had also come to watch the same film with her husband Siva chandran who also happens to be a Tamil actor of 70s!  She readily agreed to pose for a photograph with us.

My heart sang "My heart is beating, keeps on repeating.... I am waiting for you!!" The song sung by Preeti Sagar created waves not only because of its captive tune but also for the fact that it was an English song introduced in Hindi films by Rajesh Roshan, describing the life style that Anglo-Indians enjoyed living with!  Lakshmi as a seductive Anglo-Indian girl lived her role with justification!!
      

  Deep inside,  my heart started singing" Bhool Gaya Sab Kuch, Yaad nahin Ab Kuch, par ek nahi baat na Bhooli.... Julie ..... I love you!!" yes, it was a song that captivated and enthralled so many young hearts during those times and made every man wish for a girl friend like Julie!!!  Lakshmi still looked the same with her polished, shining skin intact except for the untimely intrusion of age that elevated the star to the title of "yesteryear actor".  It was a pleasure to meet with the actor after such a long gap which fondly kindled the glorious past of my life! Nevertheless, , I stood firmly convinced about  the fact that my wife still looked best, dignified and pious and gave the same feeling that we had some 40 years back for each other!

English vinglish

M E A Higher Secondary School in Delhi attracted most of the South Indian kids in the early 50s and 60s as it was known as a School that imparted and trained students to shoulder higher responsibilities in life.  The School boasted of at least 15-20 students who appeared in the Merit list of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) year after year till the early 70s.  The School got rechristened as DTEA Higher Secondary School in the year 1969 to grab a donation of Rs 1 lac announced in one of the Special felicitation function organised to honour the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Sri M Karunanidhi who laid a condition to showcase the word Delhi Tamizh as the first two words describing our  School.  So much love for Tamizh and its people living more than a thousand kilometer away from the main Tamizh land known as Madras!!

Tamizh was given prominence than Hindi or English in the School and the teachers aligned themselves to this concept.  Naturally, the ability to speak English or fluent Hindi was weak amongst the Tamils living there although they could manage very well with that little knowledge that they were acquiring in the School.  In fact, the Hindi spoken by South Indians used to be known as Madrasi Hindi as the locals never knew that there were 5 states beyond Central India that spoke and nurtured 5 different languages which was totally different from each other!!  Down below Vindhyas, people were called Madrasis!!

It is during these times that children like us were very much put under pressure from our parents who insisted and encouraged us to speak in English.  We were studying in Tamizh Schools and felt happy and comfortable to speak in Tamizh.  Most of my classmates were so bad in Hindi as well and could not come to terms with grammar that was quite unique!  I knew of a neighbour,  a lady who had just moved in from the then state of Madras bargaining with a Banana vendor " 12 Ana darjen ku devu na devu, devatti povu"!!

My father who used to work for Hindustan Times often insisted that I speak in English to my friends who came to my home to play when we were studying in secondary classes.  The result was very clear- my friends stopped coming to my house!!

Once my neighbour, a sardar named  Jagmohan Singh who used to frequent us regularly,  came to my house on a Sunday to play with me and my friends. He had seen the famous epic movie "Ramayana" that got released in Liberty theatre near my house in Karol Bagh, the previous evening!  As usual, We got to listen to the story narrated by the Sardar in Hindi when my father appeared suddenly and encouraged my friend to narrate the story in English!  The plot was how Hanuman ji carried both Ram and Lakshman on either of his shoulders and flew in the air to carry on the fight against Ravana, the abductor of Sita mata!  My father wanted to ensure that the story came in English and stood there!  A bit aghast, the sardar continued the narration with such ease- " Ram sitting here(showing his left shoulder) and Lakshman sitting here(showing his right shoulder) and Hanuman Aasmaan mein Uding(meaning Hanuman took to the sky)"!!!!  This evoked peels of laughter not only from my father but also from all of us who had gathered to listen to the story!!  The incident became so popular that even till this date, we mention about this whenever there is an occasion to remember this or narrate.

One of our classmates, who never missed an opportunity to visit Kali Temple on Baird Road, every Friday, could not afford college education and  learnt Type writing and shorthand. He went for an interview with a multinational company on Curzon road.  It was winter time and the interview was set up early in the morning at 9 am. He promptly reported for the interview on time and the Manager asked him to relax and warm up.  Not understanding what the Manager meant,  he dashed across to the corner of the room where a room heater was on and placed his hand before it to warm up.  The Manager started laughing and quipped  if he would take home a chair if he asked him to take his chair before commencement of interview!!  Later on when he narrated this to all our classmates, everyone laughed but learnt something quietly.

The difference between present and past tense was difficult to understand in our younger days.  Once the English class teacher asked one of our classmates- What is the past tense for I made a mistake?Promptly came the answer from the boy" I was made by Mistake"!!!! The teacher laughed and the entire class just because the teacher laughed!!!

My cousins who were in Delhi studied in a convent school where English was just the basic language. Going to a convent School also required quite a bit of that extra money which only a few could afford!  All my cousins numbering 4 used to speak, sneeze and cough in English and I always thought it was some thing like the 9th wonder of the world.  All that I could converse with them was a simple Yes or No.  My father used to visit their house often talking both me and my sister along so that we could interact and play with all my cousins and in the process learn English!!  Though a brilliant idea from the elderly point of view, it pushed us back in terms of complex and soon we hated visiting their home just because they would breathe, talk and eat only in English which was alien to us!!

There were an Anglo Indian family residing just in front of our home which had a boy and a girl of our age group.  My father encouraged me to talk to them in English and I used to dread them not because of anything but for the fear of speaking in English!!  I could never go beyond single words like Thank Q, yes, no, good morning and good night! Not only me but all my schoolmates were shy enough to avoid such confrontations with people who could converse in English!  My School head master Sri Ramakrishnan, whom the boys had named "Velakkennai"(castor oil ) used to beat us with a scale if found talking to any North Indian and his only view was that We, the south Indian boys would get spoilt!!!  The punishment that the students got from the English Teacher Mr Saxena every day for mispronunciation or wrong usage  will run into hundreds of pages if narrated!!  At the end of the day, now when we look back, our heart humbly thanks all those teachers and the parental pressure and directions to make us what we are today!  English is quite an easy job and a way of life!!

Hiranandani upscale builders, Chennai

Hiranandani Realtors, when they came to Chennai announcing their township on the prestigious OMR Road in Egattur, people in Chennai were thrilled and rushed to book themselves a flat or at least to enquire about it!  Some of them had seen the project of the builder in Powai, Mumbai and other places.

As usual, when the customer approaches,  the builder offers only those flats which will find the least preference amongst the buyers and the flats that you want seriously comes with a premium on one pretext or the other saying its East facing or corner one or facing sea or facing club house etc..

Somehow, you want to be a part of this "considered Prestigious" group and settle for one that suits your requirements or in other words the apartment is thrust ed upon you by the young, charming sales group of the builder!

Everything is charged upfront by the builder saying that the facility that will be created will be like magic kingdom that will be world class!  You are robbed upfront for the club house, corpus fund, advance maintenance for 18 months at a pre determined high rate etc..  The construction agreement is so cunningly designed that you fail to read in between lines and forced to sign on dotted lines just in an enthusiasm to be part of this "prestigious living"?  you have no choice either!  You end up paying a neat Rs 25000/- towards advocate charges as well for signing on an agreement that is well prepared in favour of the builder, line by line binding us to forgo even the undivided share of property in the common area which normally belongs to the owner!  You are assured of copious ground water supply citing the lake in the back ground that keeps recharging the water table and reassured of ever lasting water supply.  The promise of fresh air is one thing that they are unable to cheat and thanks to mother nature!  Very cleverly, the builder erects boundaries concealing the crematorium that is hidden behind the structures to which the villagers around have an access and which can not be objected by the residents or the builder!  It is said that atleast there is one or two cremations everyday in this facility thats is adjoining the Hiranandani school and within the boundaries of living.

The building is ready for possession after a delay of nearly 18 months and when you ask for compensation for the delay in handing over, the staff promptly points out reasons such as recession in Economy, strike in some steel or cement plant, floods, fire, change in political scenario and everything that happened in the country because of which the building process slowed down!  On the other hand, they rightfully charge overdue interest on delayed EMI payments made by you.  If you resist or object, the property is not handed over and having spent several lacs through your nose, you deem it fit to at least take possession of the flat despite certain loss of capital thinking the value will appreciate sooner than later!

The Economy slides into recession mode and a family dispute between the brother and the sister of Hiranandani becomes inevitable and the project becomes an orphan with promoters  trying to milch everything that is possible out of the available resources.  The best way to generate more income is to squeeze the residents to pay more and more for the amenities which falls within the ambit of maintenance!  Hiranandani says that the club house charges are mainly for building the club house and if you want to utilise then you have to pay monthly maintenance over and above the general maintenance charged!  The corpus fund is not for the benefit of residents but for maintaining peripheral roads that goes within the complex!  The swimming pool subscription is payable on yearly basis in advance.  The story is endless and the residents are forced to face a war like situation.
Some people with guts and will to fight the builder have joined and formed individual associations for each tower and trying to contain or minimise the maintenance charges for the benefit of residents.
The builder wanted a whooping Rs4.50 /sq ft towards maintenance where as the association have fixed a private agency for RS 3.50/sq ft.  On hearing that the residents have decided to form their own association, the builder indulged in cheap tricks such as switching off the lifts by sabotage that left the top floor occupants high and dry!  The gen sets and other motors to pump water are in bad condition and requires AMC to function.  There is absolutely no water supply and requirements are bought through water tankers every day.  These are some of the several hardships caused and created by the so called reputed group of Hiranandani Realtors!

The association is contemplating to file suit against the builder for all such violations and hardships caused to the residents and creating hurdles for a smooth transition for control.  So much so that even the common area that is supposed to be part of undivided share of land for the owners is not given and eaten away by the builder.  The owner is now entitled only for the undivided share of his plinth area of the flat which is legally not right.  The worst part is that the Hiranandani school management have dismissed some teachers just because they happened to be part of  association formed by the residents revolting against the builders who are trying to arm twist the residents to cough up more and more for every facility and maintenance.

This blog is created only with a view to educate innocent investors wanting to invest in High rise buildings and particularly in Hiranandani upscale who are constantly advertising for their new upcoming projects in the same vicinity.  I appeal to all those people not to fall prey to such allurements and be matured enough to tackle things and understand the same clearly before entering into such agreements with such so called reputed builders, be it Chennai or in any part of the country.

I appeal to the Urban development Ministry to form guidelines for such building and construction activities bearing in mind the middle class investor or buyer who dumps all his money and takes home loan just to have Good living but ends up shattered with such happenings that's real in this realty sector!

Mugging /way laying in the heart of Kualalumpur

I and my wife decided to take a short break and decided to go to Kualalumpur. Air Asia was giving cheap tickets to travel and we rightly thought of using the same. On 20th August, 2014 around 2.45 pm,  We checked ourselves in Sunway Putra Hotel, 100 Jalan Putra which is supposed to be the heart of the city and adjoining PWTC metro station which was convenient to travel economically and faster.

We decided to go for some sight seeing and shopping, after a cup of self made tea and took the Metro to "Sogo" which was just 2 stations away from Jalan Putra PWTC station. We spent some good time going around the shopping area and bought a few clothes from Sogo.  We returned the same way by taking a Metro train and got down at PWTC around 7.40 pm.

The Hotel is just next door as you get down the ramp of the Metro station.  The Mall is under renovation and re construction and as such only a small narrow passage of the hotel is open for public because of which there is hardly any traffic flow into the hotel or coming out of it. The place is isolated.

As I was walking towards the Hotel that had barricaded the entire area with enclosures and kept only a small narrow entrance to the Hotel steps, a car suddenly pulled up and a man who could be in his early 30s peeped out of the window in the front and called me with a paper in his hand.  I thought he was asking for some address, like people ask in India, and went near his car to tell him that I am a Tourist on visit, when he pushed himself back into the car and showed me an Identity card that had a caption "Police" and talked to me very rudely and with authority saying that he was a secret police and that he was looking for some drug peddlers and fake currency racket.  He further asked me if I was an Indian or a Pakistani to which I replied that I am an Indian tourist.  With rudeness and scant respect in his voice he asked me where I was staying?  I showed him the hotel right behind me(Sunway Putra) and told him that he could come with me to the hotel and verify.  He was so impolite and rude that he asked me to show my shopping bag which he smelled and returned back after scrutiny.  Next he asked me to show my purse and I promptly gave him my purse from the pocket without realising the fact that I was mesmerised by then and forced to follow his diktats.  My wife says that she even warned me not to give the purse to him but I did not pay heed to her warnings at all as I was under his control.  He scrutinised my purse and asked me if I was carrying any more cash and asked me to turn around and show my other pockets which I obeyed.  There were some more currency which was distributed in other pockets which I normally do when I go abroad just to escape pick-pockets.  The young looking man then asked my wife as to what was she carrying in her clutch and examined them too.  He gave back the purse and clutch after examining and smelling them like a sniffer dog for drugs and gave it back to me.  He said that he was doing all this for the sake of protection to tourists which, in turn, will protect them and sped past.  I was dazed and shell shocked and probably mesmerised by the man who showed some voodoo looking Identity card that had "Police" written on it.  He showed the card at least twice to me just to keep me under the cloud of mesmerising.  In the whole process, I lost all my money including 4x1000 Indian rupees.

The security guard of the hotel who was barely 30 ft away was not to be seen at all.  we complained to the Manager of the hotel situated on the 9th floor about the incident.  He immediately brought his General Manager and a couple of security men of the hotel and sympathised with us for the loss.  The GM who was also a Tamil offered to send his Manager along with the hotel car to the police if we wanted to lodge a complaint but also admonished us saying that it may take up to 5 hours at the station to finish the formalities and that we could be summoned by the police for further investigation in the following days too, meaning our so called holiday would be ruined.  He further said that Malaysian Police would always come in the Police car and never in Private vehicles. I told him to display an exhibit in the Hotel Lobby for the benefit of Tourists suggesting dos and dont's.

As a matter of consolation, the Hotel staff changed our room by upgrading it to an expensive suite without charges and also sent fruit bowl with compliments from the hotel just to wean us away from the trauma and shock resulting out of this incident.

What intrigues me is the fact that when the hotel is under renovation and when there is no public activity, why should the hotel sell their rooms to innocent tourists?  Even if they sell, should they not inform the tourists that the hotel is under renovation and also warn about possible way laying or mugging by disgruntled elements.  The hotel staff also were of the opinion that such incidents were on the increase in Kualalumpur and possibly planned and executed by some anti social disgruntled elements.  We were totally dis- illusion ed and shattered to learn about these developments and vowed never to go to Malaysia ever. Malaysian government must ensure adequate Protection to incoming tourists and keep them educated about such impostors and way laying by anti social elements lest they loose out on tourism which is already on the decline due to twin  disasters that occurred for MH airlines in the recent past.

All those Indian tourists who wish to go to Kualalumpur are hereby warned that such an incident could happen to them too and be  advised never to part groups and stay together and never pay heed to anyone asking for any help or direction lest you would be robbed and made poorer.  I am still trying to recover from this incident and nightmare and it will be quite some time for it to come to normalcy.

Chennai Airport- Taxi service_ Aviation Express!

I and my wife returned from a short trip abroad landed at the Chennai International Airport early in the morning @2.30 hrs.  After a wait of nearly an hour our baggage arrived and we went to the Aviation Express counter situated right outside the arrival hall and paid a flat sum of RS 700/- to go to our house in Besant Nagar, a distance of say about 15 kms.

The Aviation Express staff took us to ta waiting Taxi bearing no 4307(Tavera) and woke up the driver who was fast asleep inside the car!  The driver looked at us with kind of disgust for waking him up at such early hours and opened the boot without even moving an inch! We began our tiring journey back home.  We realised that the Taxi driver had not switched on the A/c due to which we felt suffocated and requested the driver to switch on the A/c.  With reluctance he turned the A/c knob into position no 1 which meant low e flow of cold air which was insufficient for us as the weather was very humid.  When we requested the driver to increase the A/c power, he snubbed at us saying the A/c is already on!!  We told him that it was insufficient for us and again requested him to increase the power and the knob position.  He obliged doing that but in turn, pulled his windows down and started to put his neck out and made some unusual breathing sounds which was little scary and suspicious.  I asked him as to what was he up to?  He replied that he was in deep sleep and that we woke him up!  He was trying to take deep breathe and ward off sleep by sticking his neck out of the window and get fresh air!  We were  quite astonished with his behaviour and kept our cool.
We reached home around 4.10 am and the driver was unfriendly even to take out our luggage and put them down.

After we removed all our luggage, the driver stood there staring at us and demanded that we tip him for having disturbed his sleep in the wee hours!  I explained to him the situation and if only he had behaved well and helped us, he would have been richer by our tips.  He snared at us and banged his door and with a screech, he started his car and vanished from the scene!

This is the behaviour of most of the Taxi and Auto drivers in Chennai and they have no respect for the jobs that they do or the customers who engage them. Its really frightening and sad that Chennai that is known for its hospitality and friendliness has come to see this day.  How can one feel happy with this kind of attitude and behaviour from the transport drivers who do not understand their responsibility and respect for the job that they are doing?  The entire happiness that you would have derived from out of the trip would be nullified and negated with this kind of welcome that you get in the city.

Through this blog I wish to alert the appropriate authorities and the owners of the Taxi services all over the State to take a note of this seriously as otherwise they would not be able to stand in competition that is inevitable!