Chennai - the City

Kangal Irandal un kangal Irandal enai katti ezhuthai podhadhana...the song which impressed me from the day I landed in Chennai. Hmm...Alas I am back here. Am I happy? Am I excited? Am I comfortable? I don't know I don't know because I don't have time to think myself. You see that's the problem here, things are running so fast around you that you have time to run along with it. Chennai the place where lakhs [Not 100 thousands :-)] of people fleet in for work and various other activities haven't changed much in the base values but still you see evident added things on these values. First item I noticed in the government buses is the tickets issuing method. There is no more bunches of tickets carried by the conductor with variety of face values on it. He has this ATM kind of instrument where he punches in the amount and the ticket is printed. That was easy and a nice change. Vijay is scaring me on his Kuruvi movie posters everywhere in Chennai and looks like it was forced to be a hit. You know why... don't you.

I am seeing the best of best cell phone models here whereas still I feel U.S. is 10 years behind. You get a feel that most of the people tend to behave as if something is chasing them. Are they being chased or are they chasing something? Not sure but you will get that feel. Within city limits I don't see a penny change in terms of cleanliness and it has got worse. The thing which I crib continuously is the mad traffic. Every bank is giving out 0% interest loans for these vehicles and every dick & harry had got some vehicle adding more traffic on roads. Apart, the people have the possible negative value traffic sense with them. Yes, pathetic traffic sense and when I start my bike I remind myself whether I have a valid life insurance than my driving license. Not exaggerating but this is the true state.

I think there are at least 50+ T.V. channels newly added and every channel follows the same pattern of show list ignoring minimal level of creativity. Over re-acting casts and same revenge fundas are the most watched mega serials. Still you have to appreciate that they have tied the people and I see many rush back to watch their favorite Kolangalal or Arasi to name a few. The internet connection is neither good nor bad, somewhat you can adjust if you don't have the greediness to open multiple sites or download something big item.

Sathyam Cinemas have taken the movie experience to next level. Yes it is awesome with a heavy price to it but truly amazing. The ambience, seating, effects and all other items have been carved with perfection. But you need 1000 INR to watch a movie with 4 family members. Saravana Bhavan has reduced dosa size to idly size and charging double than before. The sambar or chutney what they give is just for smelling not for eating.

Real estate business is woofing to the sky and 80% due to the NRI software engineers sitting outside the country, coding "dim a as integer". The inflation rate has gone to 12% in the country and everything is at least 50% more price from 3 years back. The politicians haven't changed much and still think people are comedians. They do the same thing what they were doing in 1980's and I think the next change would be hitting there. Fridays at IT companies is like going to a cat walk show. You will get confused where you are for a minute on Fridays.

There are many many items I observed in this continuous changing city but this page would be then glutted all over. Hence resisting with the samples and leave it to you guys to experience yourself.

tata....

Life changes continuously and traverses through different phases due to its and our own course of action. Once again time has come to pack my bags for the return to homeland. It’s tough to adapt quickly to a whole different world after living quiet sometime in the land of opportunity. This space and time has definitely given the right exposure and knowledge which every software engineer likes to gulp. At the outset the living style and the day-to-day activities are completely different between these two worlds. I am going to miss few things definitely here and with the good memories back in mind traveling back home with hopes and starting things freshly. If again lines cross, I might drop by here. For now Good Bye US Dudes.

A Love Letter

Dear Lakshmi,

I still remember the day I met you and without any inch of hesitation, I accepted you as is. From there I have enjoyed every single moment with you and always loved to move along together. To my conscious I believe I have taken utmost care of you and whenever you weren't feeling well I have treated you with the best care I can afford. I have always fed you with hygienic food and avoided dirty places. You have shared my moods when I am happy or sad. Whenever I get down mentally, you have enhanced my mood with good music and drive. I haven't troubled you much by using you harshly and always stayed with the gentle touch. You have wonderful shape and nice at inside. I have ensured that no one touches you in crowd and when someone even come close, I took you out of that area. You have been a good friend and we had a nice relationship so far. When I realized that you might depart me soon, I was really upset. True dear! I was restless when someone started to come and snatch you from me. When someone utters minor complains about you I was defending you and never let you down. When it was confirmed that you will leave me, I started feeling the loneliness. Finally when you left me today, I just stood there to see you going far away and disappearing after sometime. I wish I would see you again sometime but not sure when and how. You have left me only one thing for me to remember and you will always stay back deep inside my memories. Oh dear! Love you and going to miss you a lot :-(

ஊரை தெரிஞ்சுகிட்டேன் உலகம் புரிஞ்சிக்கிட்டேன்
கண்மணி என் கண்மணி
ஞானம் பொறாந்திரிச்சு நாலும் புரிஞ்சிருச்சு
கண்மணி என் கண்மணி
.
.
--Narsidude

Learnt at a cost

The issue got resolved after diagnosing at the high command, Toyota services. It was a simple fix for which I had to pass through various incompetent(s). Anyways my car did teach me a professional lesson.

"Go to right people at right time to get the right solution"

Thanks to my dear car!

Learn to say "Don't Know"

If you don't know say don't know. That’s much better than doing some crap and covering up the issue. Recently my car had an issue of vibrating when the brakes are applied. In fact I haven't driven much in recent times and thought may be its some issue in brakes. As it is an old Toyota Camry, the wear & tear is expected. When I went and gave the vehicle for diagnosis to Midas service in my area they said it is something to do with brake rotors in the front wheel and they have to cut the rotor. Also the back tires have to be replaced to fix the issue permanently. I asked them how the tires are related to the issue, as I don't see anything when I drive and only when the brakes are applied the vibration occurs. They gave me a detail explanation which wasn’t convincing. So I told them to perform the brake rotor fix and not to do the tires replacement. They did the brake fix and when I came to take my car in the evening, I realized the issue wasn’t fixed. So I asked them why it wasn’t fixed. The fantastic customer handling person told me it was because of tires. I told them to explain how that is related to this, and then the chief mechanic came for rescue. He drove for a test drive and confirmed this is not any brake or tire issue, it is something to do in the transmission of the car where the gears are getting stuck when the car comes from high speed to low speed. I was convinced with this fact but was upset with the initial diagnosis. So went back to this super customer handling guy and asked him if you would have said this in the morning I could have saved what I payed you now. He was again again repeatedly saying there was an issue in the brakes too which was fixed. I again said when the problem is somewhere why I have to fix something which was working and pay for it. He never accepted because basically he was trying to cover up for the mistake. I again told him even if you couldn’t diagnosis the right issue, you could have simply said "I don’t know" & there is nothing wrong in it and I could have gone somewhere else. But never was he ready to take what I said and finally with frustration told him Thank you for your excellent service and diagnosis. I am very sure I will not go back there again; eventually they lost a customer which is not correct for business operation. Anyways I am just a pebble for them still I am one among similar customers whom they will continue losing if they are doing this in future. Crap!