India goes GaGa over the IPL SaGa

A shrewd combination of sports and entertainment - thats how our Defence Minister put IPL. Prefectly right! And that is what sells. Thats the reason why the whole nation is going GaGa over the IPL Saga.

Empty Cups, Lost Minds

To understand this post better, a small explanation is required about the Tea / Coffee Making procedure in our organization. We take milk from the vending machine, put sugar and tea bags in it. Shake it a little and put it in Microwave Oven to heat it.

However, over the past few months, I have noticed a couple of guys put empty cups inside the Microwave Oven. Pressure gets on you and slowly it gets on your mind. The cups get empty and the minds lost.

It is the story of most young people these days. Running from pillar to post, everything is flying. Empty cups are just symbolic representation of the lost mind. They show in different forms for different individuals. Life, after all, is not that simple :) Or rather, Life is as simple as you want it to be.

Parshuram Mahadev(Kumbalgarh)

On our trip to Kumbalgarh, we also went to Parshuram Mahadev temple in Kumbalgarh. The description of the temple has already been done pretty well at this link. Something which I want to add is this image taken at that temple.


We were told that almost everything in that temple is natural and nothing man-made. Even this idol of Hanuman appeared on the rocks and has been painted to highlight by man.

Kumbalgarh

Start of journey: Friday, 20th Feb, 2009
End of journey: Tuesday, 24th Feb, 2009

The journey started at 7 pm on 20th Feb, 2009 from Nizamuddin Station in Delhi. We boarded the Mewar Express that goes from Delhi till Udaipur. The train reached Udaipur on 21st Feb at 8 in the morning. It was 1 hour behind schedule. We took a taxi from Udaipur till Kumbalgarh. Kumbalgarh is around 85 km from Udaipur. We were staying the the Club Mahindra resort in Kumbalgarh. The bargaining started at Rs. 1350 for the taxi and we settled at Rs. 1000. While going from Udaipur to Kumbalgarh, we enquired if there is any place in between that can be visited. The driver told us about Haldighati - the battle place of the famous war between Maharana Pratap Singh and Mughal Emperor Akbar. We decided to go via Haldighati. Some more negotiation and Rs. 1400 was the final fare for travel from Udaipur till Kumbalgarh via Haldighati. A new museum is being built at Haldighati dedicated to Maharana Pratap Singh. In addition to a depiction of the battlefield of Haldighati, a small video is shown about the historical facts. We also had sugarcane juice there which was being made in a rather interesting way with a buffalo being used to rotate a wheel that crushes the sugarcane to get the juice. From there we went to Haldighati. The place gets its name from the fact that the sand there is exactly the same colour as haldighati. From there we proceeded to the place where the final war was fought. Around 18000 soldiers lost their lives and there was a famous incident where Maharana Pratap Singh riding on his horse Chetak tried to kill Mansingh (the Commandant of the Mughal forces) riding on top of an elephant. Mansingh escaped. The trunk of the elephant had a sword that cut one leg of Chetak. Chetak on three legs managed to get his master to safety, even though it had to jump 22 feets to get past a water canal. The place was filled with so much blood that it came to be known was Raqt Talai (Pond of blood)

Raqt Talai

HALDIGHATI - Note the colour and thats where the name comes from

From there we proceeded to Kumbalgarh and reached there at around 1. A straight run from Udaipur to Kumbalgarh is around 2 hours. After getting fresh, we took a taxi to Fort Kumbalgarh at 4:30 in the afternoon. It is Rs. 300 to go from Club Mahindra resort to Fort which is around 15 minute run. The fort was build by Raja Kumbha. A guide took us around the fort and showed us the major places. There is a 36 km wall around the fort which is the second biggest wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. There are nine gates known as POL. Some of them are pretty far from the Fort and some are in fort. The highlight of the Fort is the light show that starts when it gets dark. The fort is divided into four layers, each one is lit one after the other starting from the top. After the whole fort has been lit up, it is a sight to watch. The topmost part of the Fort is known as the Badal Mahal. During cloudy season, the clouds enter the Fort. The guide showed us the path from the back of the fort to the nearby jungles where the Kings in the past used to go for hunting.

Fort Kumbalgarh just before darkness

Fort Kumbalgarh after being lit up

Raja Kumbha wanted to build the fort. However whatever was built during the day would be gone at night. A Goddess appeared in the Kings dream and told him that a human life would need to be sacrificed to enable the fort to be built. However the person who sacrifices his life should volunteer for it. A person agreed to volunteer with the following conditions:
a) The fort should have some landmark by his name
b) The palace should be build at the place where his body falls
Thus the main palace is build where his body fell and a POL has been kept after his name.

Lots of different stories are there about the fort. The guide showed us the guns from which bombs were fired at the enemy. There was one person who used to light the gun and used to jump in a well nearby to escape the sound that came when the gun fired. Also Aurangzebs army once fired a bomb at the Fort and a mark is still there on the Fort (Stories of the guide :)). We also saw how Air Conditioners used to work in olden days. There were better scientists then than today I suppose. A road is being built along the 36 km periphery of the fort and it should be possible to visit the periphery of the fort in an years time.

Suddenly, one day you ask yourself!

Suddenly, one day you ask yourself: "What is this adding to my value as a person and as a professional?" If you ask this question consistently and the answer to this question is "Nothing" consistently, then its time to sit down and review.

I found myself asking this question consistently during the IPL (even though I saw it almost in full). The answer to the question was also almost "Nothing" always.

Okie, Lalit Modi achieved one of his dreams through IPL. Yes, Preity learned how to do business. Yes, Shahrukh films might just sell a little more in Bengal now. How does all this help you as an individual?

Who will watch the matches then if everyone follows this line of thought? To start only, only a few will even think about this. Even less would actually try to do anything about it and only some would actually do something. Those some would probably add some value to themselves as a person in most of the things they do.

Ways to improve customer satisfaction for the
Real Estate Industry

I bought a flat in Ferrous in Faridabad. I have been interacting with them for the past 2 years and as a customer I have learnt things which I feel they miss and can improve upon. All of them are generic, so should help in improving Customer Satisfaction for anyone belonging to the Real Estate, provided they are willing to do these small things.

1. If a customer has taken a Construction Linked Plan, make an Excel Sheet for the customer with a breakup on how much each installment would be. Provide this Excel Sheet to the customer and if anything changes in the sheet, provide a new one. I do not believe the company does not maintain such a sheet and if they do, then how much would it cost them to send it to the customer. Zero bucks.
   
2. Send them a monthly update (kind of newsletter every 1st day of the month) on how things are progressing. It gives customer satisfaction and costs Zero Bucks. Sometimes even the news that not much progress has been made but we are on track can satisfy customers.
3. Provide a tentative plan to the customer on when the next installement would be due. It helps the customer to organize their finances. Customer is not generally aware how much time it would take to meet the next milestone for the next installment. For ex. How will I know when the first floor is ready and after how much time 4rd floor would be ready?

How IPL can help Indian Cricket?

By now, probably everyone realizes that IPL will bring loads and loads of money to BCCI. Thats fine! But the question to be answered is "How will IPL help Indian Cricket (apart from financial power)?". In my opinion, IPL will help in the following ways:

• Indians have been nuts under pressure (specially the old force). Everyone remembers how they lost to Pakistan in Chennai when Sachin got out. Its just one example. Yes, some in the new generation are changing it fast. IPL will only make this process much faster. Indians cannot handle pressure for long. That is why they are not best in Test, close to Best in One Day and Best in 20-20. With 20-20 success, Indian players will learn fast to handle pressure for longer durations and intelligent players will quickly carry it to the longer version.
  
• Platform to perform. With each player winning matches for their teams in IPL, intelligent players will start doing it for India also. And with time, players will realize that it is a team game after all. No dependency on only Sachin or Dhoni or Yuvraj.
• Lots of options. It will keep players always on their toes i.e. if selectors are intelligent enough to use the options.
• Gives more power to the buerocracy. This does not sound good because people sitting outside the field will start calling the shots. Something which ICL scores over IPL. With so many players to choose from, things happening outside the cricket field can spoil it all. And thinking about how things work, this has more than 50% chance of happening.

Sometimes even small things suck!

You can only sip from a cup full of tea but sometimes a cup full of tea can suck also. If you are leading a team and people look upon you as their lead, then even small things can matter sometimes. For ex. what will you think if the leader of the team is served with a cup of tea and then after 10 minutes tea for everyone follows? It is mere symbolic but in one way reflects the personality.

Blogger has lost its colours - An update!

It sometimes helps to be an engineer. You can think about troubleshooting things which have no concern for you or should not have concern for you. But an engineer will remain an engineer and anywhich which does not concern needs to be troubleshooted :)

As I was writing my last blog, the colours on the heading came. Troubleshooting it a little further suggests that when I click on "Publish Post" blogger is first giving an error while posting. Also it removes the colours from the post heading. Then when I publish again after painting it back in colours, the colours stay.

Blogger guys, if this helps, then solve it! I am using Opera by the way these days.

Blogger has lost its colours

I have been noticing for the past few posts that Blogger guys seem to have lost the colours. Everything is black or white for them these days. I used to mark all the headings of my blogs in Bold + Red. I still continue to do the same but the geeks at blogger.com have changed.

How the water department works in Delhi?

I went to pay me water bill (it is the only one left where I still have to go, stand in a line, swear at the heat, pay 10 Rs. extra everytime hoping that not many people are interested in paying the bill after due date only to be disappointed). This is how the department works:

Step I) You give the bill along with the money to a person sitting at the counter in Window One
Step II) The person returns you the remaining cash and passes the bill to a person sitting on his right
Step III) The person on the right makes an entry in the register and passes the bill to the person on his right
Step IV) The person on the right stamps the bill and looks for a person on this right

Oops. Thank God there is no person on his right. So devoid of any choices in life, he follows the last option. He passes the stamped bill to the customer waiting on Window Two.

I think there is only one week in two months where those three persons think it is worth living a life and they want to make the most of it. Who hates attention?

Anyways, from the window outside they look like the three monkeys of "Bura mat suno, bura mat dekho, bura mat karo" fame.

One Night @ The Call Center

In the earlier post "The Three Mistakes of My Life", I had put some paisas on the cost of One Night @ Call Center. And yes, it is Rs. 95. Good that these guys are not getting affected by inflation worries and have kept the price the same. The main reason for it could be that Chetan Bhagats fan following is increasing at a rapid pace and so more quantity helps in more profit at the same cost price.

I have read more than half of it in the past 2 days and Chetan Bhagat certainly has the knack of keeping you glued with his simple way of telling the story.

But it is not One Night @ Call Center with all the dates at different places in NCR for Mr. Shyam.

The Three Mistakes of My Life

Its a novel by Chetan Bhagat. Read it in 3 days. Story was great, maybe because I was reading a novel after quite some time, maybe because our TV describes every picture in this world as a single horizontal line these days, maybe because it came at a price tag of JUST Rs. 95, maybe because the story was really great. Any of the above reasons could hold true, but whatever I enjoyed reading it.

I bought it from Big Bazaar and it was a casual buy. However it emphasizes how important the display area is near the place where your pocket becomes lighter i.e. the billing area. If used properly, it can make your pocket become even lighter. I was lucky enough to escape with just Rs. 95 and at the end of it, I think it was a good buy - the best of the lot of things we bought that day.

After reading the novel, I brought out Five Point Someone which I had bought some time back but had never read it till finish. By the way, it also costs Rs. 95. Is it superstition, Mr. Chetan Bhagat? Maybe not, but definitely on the cheaper side and quality is also good. Maybe they go by quantity and keep their margin less. Whatever, I also need to buy A Night at a Call Center now. Any guesses for what its price would be! My 10 paisas on Rs. 95. 

He will still be an employee!

A casual discussion between friends and what better topic than the currently going on IPL. The conversation slowly went into King XI and Team Mohali and their owner Preity / Ness. The majority believed that Preity was slowly getting closer to Yuvraj (we all have opinions and what better topic to have opinions on than something which combines cricket with entertainment). With all the hugs she gives him after every match and it being highlighted in different newspapers everyday, it only made sense. And of course, Yuvraj would earn and get closer to Ness in coming years. But suddenly someone from somewhere in the coversation came out with this:

At the end of the day, he will still be an employee!

Chalo Hello Karo!

A colleague of mine has a kid around 2 and a half years old. One day after office when he reached back home, his kid was playing along with a friend in the society park. He decided to go up to take some rest. After some time, the kid came back up to the flat along with his friend. As soon as he entered the house, he told him:
Papa, yeh arshit hai. Chalo Hello Karo!

Bedtime Stories

There is a legend about a prisoner who was given his choice of punishment, either a hundred lashes or eating a hundred chillies. He opted for the latter, thinking it would be easier to bear. Part way through the ordeal he pleaded for the whip instead. When his back started bleeding he yelped that he preferred the burning in his mouth. This cycle was repeated until the poor man had endured both a hundred lashes and a hundred chillies.

The moral of the story is that

Learn to stick with your decisions, but do not apply fevicol kyunki "Fevicol ka mazboot jodh kabhi tootta nahin"

Couple or De-Couple

There have been lots of coupling and de-coupling theories doing the rounds of stock markets in India. Everyone is taking a bet on whether Indian Market is coupled or de-coupled with the US market.

My two cents on this:

If US rises, then Indian market is de-coupled and if US falls, then Indian market is coupled.

You might be tempted to call me an internal pessimist, but the past week has been like that.

Why I am a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar?

If cricket is religion, then Sachin is God. These superlatives apart, why am I a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. Is it because he made India do the Impossible? Partly yes. But that part is only a drop in the ocean.

On Republic Day this year, Indian team was in Australia for the Tour Down Under. The national anthem was played and the cricketers stood as respect to the National Anthem. TV footage showed that only Sachin Tendulkar was the person who was standing in Attention AND SINGING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

Now this makes me bow down in respect for that person. Of course he would not have assumed that someone is watching. Otherwise all would have been standing in Attention. BUT HE WAS DOING THIS FROM HIS HEART.

What do you do if your income is between 10 lakh and 10.3 lakh?

Indian Government applies a surcharge of 10% on the total tax if your taxable income crosses 10 lakh. So if your taxable income is 10,001, are you screwed?

Well, the answer is NO. And the government takes care of you. Even though this is a fact not known to many CAs (at-least two I talked to), this is how the calculation will work.

The surcharge cannot exceed the amount being the difference of the total income and ten lakh rupees. So if my income is 10,001 the surcharge cannot cross Re 1.

I was troubled by this for almost the whole of financial year, until I saw last year ITR form which tells how surcharge needs to be calculated and the RELIEF the government providers to corner cases like me.

WHAT A REAL RELIEF IT WAS to read it in the ITR form!

This is my interpretation of the ITR form along with help from a book my office CA was carrying, so I believe it is right. But life has no guarantees and so does this particular piece of information in the blog I shared.

Arz Kiya Hai

Badi mushkil mein hu
Kaise izhaar karun
Tu to khushbu hai
Tujhe kaise giraftar karun