Saturday, December 28, 2013

A cute chota calendar


It was long time ago* when I last ordered anything from zoomin but a couple of days ago what caught my fancy is an email about this great deal on their small sized calendar which is up for sale for just Rs. 99.

Today, I received my table calendar, from this online prints website, in just a matter of 2 days of placing the order. I found it really good and thought of spreading a word about it.

My chota calendar which reads "Waheguru" (Punjabi for the Almighty Lord)
Its normal price is Rs. 299 (which is not at all worth it) but due to this offer, it is available for only Rs. 99. Moreover, it has over 100 backgrounds to choose from, to get your name etched or engraved or painted (and what not) on it.

Theme selection

If you want to get one for yourself or for gifting it to a dear one, you need to place an order before Dec 31st, 2013*. If you don't have a zoomin account yet, you can register here.

Do let me know how did you find your own chota calendar. Cute or not?

* If you haven't ordered anything from zoomin in more than 6 months, it will take around 6 hours for your account to get reactivated. So don't wait for the last moment if you want your chota calendar.

Update: The cute chota calendar offer has ended. You can check out the other offers here.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Delhi must vote!

It is already an interesting scene here in Delhi where the ruling Congress party is aiming for another giant leap while the opposition BJP is confidently seeing itself in a position to topple the government off their political marathon. To add to this tussle, the newly formed AAP (Aam Aadmi Party - translated as Common Man's Party) has already gained enough popularity, esp. in the youth, and (at least in their own imagination) wishing to clean the crap of corruption with their debut shot.

The elections are just 2 days away which happens to be a Wednesday and we, the inhabitants of NCR (National Capital Region), are wondering why did the Election Commission did not consider keeping it on a weekend (or by declaring a holiday in entire Delhi-NCR) being (very much) aware of the fact that a huge headcount works in the NCR region.

As a consequence, though it is a holiday in Delhi, the voters who work in mostly MNCs and factories in Gurgaon/Noida and other major NCR hubs won't be able to comfortably cast their vote. They either have to take a holiday, or reach office late by sacrificing the comfort of office transport facility and commute on their own after casting vote.

When you see that it's mostly the youth who supports the newly formed anti-corruption party AAP and it's mostly (at least as per my calculations) the youth who works in NCR, keeping the elections on a weekday smells like a foul plan!

AAP has already raised concern and requested the EC and Center government to declare a holiday in entire NCR but there is no echo heard yet.
But those who care
are aware,
that you got to vote
or be ready to rot
,
for another 5 years
crying onion tears!
So, take an off if you need to, for it is your future, because the government is of the people, by the people, for the people.

UPDATE: My friend +Manpreet Singh shared a comment  pointing us to the provision (vide: Section 135B of theRepresentation of the People Act. 1951) released by the Election Commission of India. The title of the section goes like - "135B. Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll." Hooray!

Please do share this information with all your friends and relatives who work in Gurgaon/Noida or other areas of NCR.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Network Blues

When I heard about network portability being introduced in India, I was glad that I would be able to get rid of the poor mobile network in my home.

Those days I was using Idea!, which was popular as the cheapest mobile network of the time. Well, in college days, cheapest is usually the best, isn't it? Thankfully, the network quality wasn't cheap when I subscribed to it and there were many competitive offers on messaging and calls, due to which majority of my classmates also were on Idea! Rather the Idea! network used to be so good initially, that I could hear crisp words from the other side even while I was hiding in my quilt ;)

But this luxury didn't last for long and I eventually found myself on the street outside my home from the comfort of the quilt. I was then in my fourth year, and became so much desperate for the possibility to hop to another network without losing my contact number, that my final year presentation was on MNP (Mobile Network Portability).

There is a funny incidence too, which is worth sharing. Once I went to Jim Corbett National Park with my office colleagues and our guide took us in the middle of the jungle, where he stopped the jeep and said, "Guys, your mobiles are now disconnected from the world. No network reaches here...". While he was saying this, I popped out my phone from the pocket and voila! two solid bars of network. When I checked with others, none of the Vodafone (then Hutch) or Airtel guys could defy what the guide just said; but the plight was the same at my home.

Not long after this, I was able to move to Vodafone. It was my preferred network because most of my family members were on Vodafone and they were having good experience with it and there were intra-network offers too.

After using it for almost an year, I realized that even Vodafone had gradually fallen below the quality threshold one would expect from a mobile company as large as this. Slowly this network problem started surfacing in my office too and it crossed the limits of my patience when I started missing urgent calls. This time I ported my mother's number to Airtel who was also facing issues with network at home.

After a while, when I was sure that Airtel is behaving fine in my room and the living room, even though it is expensive than others, I decided to use the port lifeline for the second time. This was not going to be an easy journey because seemingly Vodafone doesn't want to lose customers (well, no one wants) and they offered me highly slashed rates to keep me from going for at least 2 more weeks. I was convinced to enjoy these offers but realized that what worth are they if I don't have the network to use them.

So, I sent another porting request for moving from Vodafone to Airtel. A Vodafone customer executive again tried to hold me back by even getting to the extent of saying that I can't port for at least 6 more months because I have agreed to stay with Vodafone by accepting the special offers. Bang! I lost my senses! But I saved myself by telling him the spellings of consumer court ;)

Finally, I am now with Airtel. Last Friday, I was running late for my office and it was already 5 minutes past my usual pick up time, I was wondering why hasn't my cab mate called me yet to inform that the cab has reached. I picked up the phone, and saw, "Emergency calls only!".

Friday, November 15, 2013

A fresh start

After a long break from blogging, I have decided to make a comeback. For the new beginning to be really fresh, I am starting a brand new blog.

My aim is to write stuff that helps me articulate whatever is in my mind and share it with the world. If my posts make sense, let me know and if they don't, do let me know :)