Sunday, 7th September, 2008.
Time: 11.00 am
I double click on "Connection to five network" icon. Click on Dial.
" The username/password you have provided is incorrect."
Realizing that my internet has been deactivated / expired, I call Swastik net (2522XXXX) and here is how the conversation takes place.
Me: Hello, me 36/A kamgar nagar madhun boltoy. Mala majha internet renew karaycha aahe.
SN: userid sanga.
Me: sunil_desh "s u n i l _ d e s h"(Spelling it out)
SN: Thik aahe, hooun jaail.
Me: Kiti time lagel?
SN: Eek ardha taas.
Time: 12.00 noon
Same damn username/ password incorrect message
Call Swastik net.
Me: Me 36/A kamgar nagar madhun................................(Same as above) Me 11 vajta fone kelella, tevha tumhi 30 mins bolla ajun jhala nahi aahe
Again I am asked for my username and told that it'll be done in 15 mins.
The same thing is repeated 5 times till 4'o clock.
And I am pissed now. I am controlling myself from shouting at the top of my voice on the operator just because people at my house were sleeping.
At 4.00 when I call them, that time I get the reason why my internet connection has not been renewed.
SN: Tumcha payment baaki aahe.
Me:Tumhi ghyayla aala ka? tumhi jevha yeta tevha payment hooun jaata, tumhi yeyla tari pahije!
SN: Ho saheb, aamhi aamcha manus pathavto, tevha tyala payment dya. Hooun jaail.
Me: Thik aahe, pathva.
The man comes at 4.15 nd collects the payment. He calls their office and asks them to renew the account from my house.
At 4.45, I check, and still my internet hasnt been renewed.
Again the same old procedure of calling and firing those guys
At 5, its activate and running as I write this blog.
I dont understand, if the operator had told me the reason for not renewing my account at 11'o clock itself, I would have had my internet connectiong running at 12 noon. But theres lack of management in every sphere of life. A internet provider can easily keep a recored of payments and reason for non -renewal of account canbe told then and there rather than making the person call 5 times and then telling him the reason in the first place. You can observe this everywhere in India. No work is done unless u spend Rs 10. on telephone calls. May be its because of our "Indianness" -in reference to the INDIANESS article that I have written. These are somethings that need to change.
If they dont:
We are there to adjust
but HOPEFULLY THEY WILL!
Sep 7, 2008
Aug 21, 2008
BREAKING NEWS
The most common thing in India along with 70 year old politicians is BREAKING NEWS. I got up one morning to read "BREAKING NEWS: AKHIL KUMAR JAIL VIBHAG SE PARESHAN". "BREAKING NEWS: 3 MAHINO SE TANKHWAAN NAHI MILI" "BREAKING NEWS: BLAH BLAH BLAH".
The first time I ever saw BREAKING NEWS on a Hindi news channel was when there was a bomb blast at Ghatkopar in 2001. It was really a biggggggg news as one would call it and it deserved to be categorized as BREAKING NEWS. After that tough I agree that the number of blasts taking place have increased but the number of BREAKING NEWS seem to have risen in multiples of 1000. News channels these days just want a small news to call it BN (I'm bored of BREAKING NEWS). Infact, there is an Hindi news channel INDIA TV which has a complete time slot dedicated to BN. They call the show BN. How stupid of them and even more stupid of people like us who see it. Khali came to India and his drinking water was something that the media highlighted as BN. What would you do if you meet your mentor after 1 year or your parents. You would surely bow down to take their blessings. News channels took it as an opportunity to have one more news as BN: 'Mahabali Khali ne jhooke. Maa ka aashirwaad liya.' The list of such stupid news is endless. You can't even call it BN. It is nothing but SHITTY NEWS.
News channels feel that the audience likes it. Do we? I don't think so. No sane person can watch such news. There are a few exceptions like TIMES NOW to these channels but then 90% of the news channels concentrate on news which are totally unworthy of the publicity that they get. There is only one word for these news channels - cheap. The news channels have become more of gossip channels rather than anything else. There was going to be a solar eclipse and after the eclipse there was BN: " SURYA GRAHAN HUA. SHANI KA PRAVAH". Nothing but nonsense. You get up in the morning and are trying to catch up on what happened yesterday but the only thing that you get to see is a fat woman with curly hair talking some crap about astrology. This is what news channels focus on when they could have 100 other things to talk about. If it rains for a hour continuously in Mumbai, you get another BN" Mumbai mai barish, Sab jagah pani". By 'sab jagah' they intend the regular areas where there is water logging. The has been water logging at Milan subway since years every monsoon even if it rains for 30 mins continuously. That doesnt cross the editors mind when he wants some feed as BN.
There needs to be a change. There needs to be an independent body out there to penalize news channels in case they provide people with such kind of false (or low quality) news. We need to have a 'News Ethics and Code of Conduct'. A 24 hours news channel should not become a 24 hour entertainment channel (sometimes they are worse than saas-bahu serials) . News channels on their part should change. That would certainly be a BREAKING NEWS for us.
The first time I ever saw BREAKING NEWS on a Hindi news channel was when there was a bomb blast at Ghatkopar in 2001. It was really a biggggggg news as one would call it and it deserved to be categorized as BREAKING NEWS. After that tough I agree that the number of blasts taking place have increased but the number of BREAKING NEWS seem to have risen in multiples of 1000. News channels these days just want a small news to call it BN (I'm bored of BREAKING NEWS). Infact, there is an Hindi news channel INDIA TV which has a complete time slot dedicated to BN. They call the show BN. How stupid of them and even more stupid of people like us who see it. Khali came to India and his drinking water was something that the media highlighted as BN. What would you do if you meet your mentor after 1 year or your parents. You would surely bow down to take their blessings. News channels took it as an opportunity to have one more news as BN: 'Mahabali Khali ne jhooke. Maa ka aashirwaad liya.' The list of such stupid news is endless. You can't even call it BN. It is nothing but SHITTY NEWS.
News channels feel that the audience likes it. Do we? I don't think so. No sane person can watch such news. There are a few exceptions like TIMES NOW to these channels but then 90% of the news channels concentrate on news which are totally unworthy of the publicity that they get. There is only one word for these news channels - cheap. The news channels have become more of gossip channels rather than anything else. There was going to be a solar eclipse and after the eclipse there was BN: " SURYA GRAHAN HUA. SHANI KA PRAVAH". Nothing but nonsense. You get up in the morning and are trying to catch up on what happened yesterday but the only thing that you get to see is a fat woman with curly hair talking some crap about astrology. This is what news channels focus on when they could have 100 other things to talk about. If it rains for a hour continuously in Mumbai, you get another BN" Mumbai mai barish, Sab jagah pani". By 'sab jagah' they intend the regular areas where there is water logging. The has been water logging at Milan subway since years every monsoon even if it rains for 30 mins continuously. That doesnt cross the editors mind when he wants some feed as BN.
There needs to be a change. There needs to be an independent body out there to penalize news channels in case they provide people with such kind of false (or low quality) news. We need to have a 'News Ethics and Code of Conduct'. A 24 hours news channel should not become a 24 hour entertainment channel (sometimes they are worse than saas-bahu serials) . News channels on their part should change. That would certainly be a BREAKING NEWS for us.
Aug 16, 2008
NEW BLOGGER JOINS IN
Welcome Sneha aka Sreyashi!!!!
You can see two of her posts below this post. Certainly one of the best on this blog.
Keep writing. People enjoy it. (Got personal feedback from some friends :P)
~Harshad
You can see two of her posts below this post. Certainly one of the best on this blog.
Keep writing. People enjoy it. (Got personal feedback from some friends :P)
~Harshad
Aug 15, 2008
the day u slipped away
leaving me with disbelief,
the world was turned upside down
for u, it must have been a huge relief!!
the day u left my hand
nothing had been so piercing,
i was dumbstruck for hours
the pain had been so excruciating!!
tears swelled up in my eyes
as my heart knew u left me,
it completely blurred my vision
i could then hardly able to see.
i withdrew myself from others
friends had turned into foes,
i kept regretting day by day
oh! how could i let u go??
the feeling of emptiness
being aloof from the world,
who would i share my feelings with?
upon me, all miseries were hurled.
am bound by the days u left behind
the world deserted, am alone
looking nowhere a vacant mind
with no more storm no cyclone!!
leaving me with disbelief,
the world was turned upside down
for u, it must have been a huge relief!!
the day u left my hand
nothing had been so piercing,
i was dumbstruck for hours
the pain had been so excruciating!!
tears swelled up in my eyes
as my heart knew u left me,
it completely blurred my vision
i could then hardly able to see.
i withdrew myself from others
friends had turned into foes,
i kept regretting day by day
oh! how could i let u go??
the feeling of emptiness
being aloof from the world,
who would i share my feelings with?
upon me, all miseries were hurled.
am bound by the days u left behind
the world deserted, am alone
looking nowhere a vacant mind
with no more storm no cyclone!!
You are walking slowly on a black road glistening with rain. At regular intervals yellow light from the tall streetlamps falls on the road making it shine. A light drizzle touches your skin...amorously. The earphone plugged to your ears is belting out..."So Yesterday-m just a bird thats already flown away'".
Suddenly you want to turn your face upwards and close your eyes and let the rain kiss your face gently. Suddenly you want to outstretch your arms and lose yourself. Suddenly you want to mingle your tears with the drops of rain running down you face.Suddenly you want to erase the past and look forward to a new beginning. Suddenly you feel your dignity and self respect bloom like an immortal flower. Suddenly it feels like love---Madly in love with ur own self.
Suddenly you want to turn your face upwards and close your eyes and let the rain kiss your face gently. Suddenly you want to outstretch your arms and lose yourself. Suddenly you want to mingle your tears with the drops of rain running down you face.Suddenly you want to erase the past and look forward to a new beginning. Suddenly you feel your dignity and self respect bloom like an immortal flower. Suddenly it feels like love---Madly in love with ur own self.
Jul 27, 2008
SE- DAY 1
I woke. My mind tells me to check the clock. Its 6.55. I have an alarm at 7.00. Lets sleep till 7 . I try and when I think its 7.00, its only 6.56. Totally bored to sleep, I wake up. Its 21st July, 2008. Thoughts start creeping in. Its first day of SE. SE dammit SE. I am a senior now. I won't have common syllabus . We might have a better lot of professors - Yippeeeeee. I won't have the same classroom - :(. "TRRRRRRIIIINNNNNNNNNNG" - 7'o clock alarm. Press Quit. Why does the alarm have to ring when something that makes you sad crosses your mind?
Fast forward directly to SPCE-SPIT Quadrangle. 8.45 am.
I can see Rishkul sitting. Kaushik is also here along with Shrey and Shreyansh. And there is Mark. I wave to everyone. Shake hands with everyone. All SE's now. I ask Rishkul - " Room kaunsa hai?" Room 304. 3rd floor - shit,climb 3 floors daily. Booooorrrriiinnng. First is the Maths lecture by some professor names Gajabiye. True to SP traditions of nothing starting on time, so did our SE class. Lecture canceled. We head to the Gymkhana. All of FE, not a single day was spent at the Gymkhana. Here we were spending our 1st lecture in the Gymkhana. All was fun till we got a call from one of our classmates saying the next lecture had begun. We head towards the classroom with anxiety as to how the new professor will be. Before I could have entered the room, she had already started her subject :(. Me, Kaushik and Suresh sat on the same bench which was made for only two of us. Last bench it was, so everything justified. Lecture over. Next professor in - Prof. Bhagat. A very very cool professor whose teaching is better than any professor I have come across in SP till now. He took class for 1.15 hrs of his 2 hours and left us to one horrible professor whom I wouldn't like to name. He was trying to exceed the 30 minute slot that we managed to fit in for him. That was it. The 30 minute lecture almost felt like a 3-4 hours lecture and he wanted to exceed it. We asked him to stop with shouts of "Sirrrrrrrrr....Sirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". He said something and left the class but who cared. He left and that was the end of day 1 at college.
I don't remember my journey back home and what happened after that. But college was a bit boring that day. There was excitement of meeting all friends after a long time but that was the 1st one hour. Once back to normal, the first day was boring. Nothing changed about the lectures. the same boring ones. No change whatsoever. Neither our attitude changed nor the professors. Neither we cared what the thought us, nor they cared what we understood. We had our lunch the same way that we used to have in FE - eating more from others boxes than your own. Everything was actually the same - except for change in our year: FE to SE. What was the biggg fuss about first day of SE when nothing had changed.
Ohh! I forgot. Room 304 from Room 8!
Fast forward directly to SPCE-SPIT Quadrangle. 8.45 am.
I can see Rishkul sitting. Kaushik is also here along with Shrey and Shreyansh. And there is Mark. I wave to everyone. Shake hands with everyone. All SE's now. I ask Rishkul - " Room kaunsa hai?" Room 304. 3rd floor - shit,climb 3 floors daily. Booooorrrriiinnng. First is the Maths lecture by some professor names Gajabiye. True to SP traditions of nothing starting on time, so did our SE class. Lecture canceled. We head to the Gymkhana. All of FE, not a single day was spent at the Gymkhana. Here we were spending our 1st lecture in the Gymkhana. All was fun till we got a call from one of our classmates saying the next lecture had begun. We head towards the classroom with anxiety as to how the new professor will be. Before I could have entered the room, she had already started her subject :(. Me, Kaushik and Suresh sat on the same bench which was made for only two of us. Last bench it was, so everything justified. Lecture over. Next professor in - Prof. Bhagat. A very very cool professor whose teaching is better than any professor I have come across in SP till now. He took class for 1.15 hrs of his 2 hours and left us to one horrible professor whom I wouldn't like to name. He was trying to exceed the 30 minute slot that we managed to fit in for him. That was it. The 30 minute lecture almost felt like a 3-4 hours lecture and he wanted to exceed it. We asked him to stop with shouts of "Sirrrrrrrrr....Sirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". He said something and left the class but who cared. He left and that was the end of day 1 at college.
I don't remember my journey back home and what happened after that. But college was a bit boring that day. There was excitement of meeting all friends after a long time but that was the 1st one hour. Once back to normal, the first day was boring. Nothing changed about the lectures. the same boring ones. No change whatsoever. Neither our attitude changed nor the professors. Neither we cared what the thought us, nor they cared what we understood. We had our lunch the same way that we used to have in FE - eating more from others boxes than your own. Everything was actually the same - except for change in our year: FE to SE. What was the biggg fuss about first day of SE when nothing had changed.
Ohh! I forgot. Room 304 from Room 8!
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