Venkat's Blog

Favourite Quotes from Movies

2012-02-02T23:23:00.005+05:30

Spider Man -> With great power comes great responsibility!
Karate Kid -> Life will knock us down. But we can choose whether or not to get back up
Jerry Maguire - Help me Help you!

List to grow ....

Instant Mobile Payment Service

2012-02-02T23:21:00.001+05:30

IMPS has been around for sometime. Today trying to use the same.

Generating the MMID for IMPS itself seem to be cryptic now.

Citibank IMPS
ICICI Bank IMPS
HDFC Bank

IMPS can be done from the respective mobile applications or SMS or through online accounts.

Currently there is a limit of INR49000/- per day.

Just that looks like the mobile is now more precious. Yet to check out the security features in the same.

All the information you need to transfer money is the Payee's Mobile number and MMID. The transfer is instant and very convenient!

One day you will

2012-01-16T12:22:00.000+05:30

Well this should have been a fb update rather than a Blog! Have been a fan of Lady Antebellum since the day I heard Need you now. What a song it is! Just pulled me totally into country songs. Not just fantastic music, but amazing lyrics and very easy listening.

Normally I'm not a fan of lyrics - I just listen to the music and the way the songs flow. To me that conveys a lot more. I have always heard One day you will be - but never realized it has such good lyrics.

Take a listen and enjoy the lyrics too! Such positive, up beat, refreshing song!

One Day you will link from youtube. Couldn't find an official version though. This is from their first album Lady Antebellum.

Gratuity fund!

2012-01-02T17:17:00.002+05:30

Typically Gratuity would be payable to an employee if he/she has served at least 5 full years in a company. Most companies deduct about 4.81% of the basic salary towards Gratuity deductions.

So sometimes it makes sense to leave the company after completing 5 years if you are closing in on 5 years!

The value is calculated based on the following formula:

Gratuity payable = (Last drawn basic wage X 15 X No. Of years of service)/26

There are quite a few calculators available on line.

http://ndtvprofit.com/Calculators/gratuity.htm

is a good one.

AFAIK, up to ten lakhs of Gratuity is tax free. Not sure if things are changing in the new tax code getting implemented from 2012.

Word of the day - Misinterpreted!

2011-12-31T00:17:00.001+05:30

Misinterpreted is definitely the word of the day!

Can there be life without misinterpretation? I believe most people make decisions only based on misinterpretations in personal life. Especially when one is angry it extrapolates! There are times when you just write what other say even if the word is "misinterpreted"! It becomes more tough when there isn't a chance to clarify the misconceptions.

When someone tries to lead a life without misinterpretation, it becomes fuzzy and complicated for others to understand. Living in this fuzzy state is ideal, but it becomes tough to make decisions. Unless one can keep a cool head, this isn't possible. But being in this state is possible when you know someone pretty well and who has seen us in this state. Misinterpretation most of the time is led by the words we choose while framing the sentence too. At times a simple "troubling" word too can lead to massive misinterpretation. If you are a man of fewer words, then it becomes even tougher. Our actions too can lead to misinterpretation.

I'm hoping I'm able to interpret what happened today! Extreme measures are definitely based on misinterpretation. But all said and done, all that happens is for good.

Well definitely song for the day is jo bhi mein

Ghati Subramanya

2011-12-29T10:42:00.000+05:30

Ghati Subramanya temple visit was suggested by a friend and was pending for a long time. Decided to give a try yesterday the eventful day.

Ghati Subramanya temple is about 30Kms after crossing the Devenahalli International airport ramp. To reach Ghati, there are two ways from Yelahanka (get maps from Google)-

Through the new airport road by going to the right before hitting Yelahanka Town. Proceed to Devanahalli Airport and go further without taking the Airport ramp. After this take a left turn in a junction showing the Doddaballarpur sign (first major left turn? and much before nandi hills turn). There is also a Ghati Subramanya sign board from here on. From here Doddaballarpur is about 20Kms. After crossing Doddaballarpur junction, take a left turn with the Ghati Subramanya sign board. This is about 2Kms or so from the Doddaballarpur junction. Temple is at about 10kms in this turn
Take a through Rajankunte, for which you have to proceed to Yelahanka town and take a left towards Doddaballarbur. Once you hit Doddaballarpur, follow the above

Check with people on route any time. I took route 1 since I thought most of the route is good here.

Was contemplating whether to meet the friend on the way. Started towards Ghati and on the way decided to meet the friend any ways hence took an U-turn. Meeting didn't go well. Probably it was destined that way! Headed to Ghati. The car parking approach route is kind of small and can be jammed. Chappals can be left in the official stand close to the temple entrance. Parking has paid public toilet too (kind of neat).

The sanctorum has two idols. The Subramanya seem to face the backside. There probably is an ant hill too behind the idols. They have placed a mirror in the back to view the face of Subramanya. The temple sanctorum visit area is too small and might get jammed on a crowded day. Yesterday it wasn't crowded, so could go to the sanctorum multiple times easily. Sometimes its just easy to unload the issues to the god by offering a flower! And try to be at peace (?!??!) Sometimes that's the only way and to wait hoping things would be fine!

Behind the main temple, is the abode for several Naga gods (?). You would find thousands of naga statues, a ganesha temple and a main naga temple. People pour milk (abhisheka) to the Naga statue as offering.

There doesn't seem to be any closing time during the day. There is also prasadam offered (lunch - not the oota; today it was lemon rice and curd rice). So looks like you can go here anytime. Forgot to check the official timings for the temple. The route was all the way good this time.

Brown Rice

2011-12-14T15:44:00.002+05:30

A visit to MotherEarth shop in Indira Nagar - Koramangala link road made me think about using Brown rice! They have Organic Brown rice - both Sona Masoori and Basmati.

With the amount of masala we use in the curries - it really didn't make a difference in the taste!

Few links on Brown Vs White rice:

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/94/1/Brown-rice-vs-white-rice.html

http://arp.optimalhealthsystems.com/showeduc.asp?id=7

Start using Organic Brown rice for a healthy life!!

Long term infra!!

2011-12-14T15:38:00.002+05:30

IDFC, L&T and IFCI are now open !

IDFC Long term infrastructure bond is open till 16th Dec 2011 and L&T is open till 24th Dec 2011. Both are giving 9% interest pa. But looks like IDFC has better rating, though both are very similar.

Invest 20K to save tax under 80CCC (6k+) for this year. Choose the option of buyback after 5 years with cumulative payout (option 2 in IDFC?). At the end of 5 yrs cumulative you will get back 30780. Gain on returns is taxable while buying back.

IDFC should you invest link has good information.

One should be able to buy this easily from iccidirect or hdfc isec online trading websites. Or follow the cumbersome process of filling it up on paper.

One Time Password Verification!

2011-01-13T15:27:00.005+05:30

Its great to see RBI finally implementing something to prevent misuse of credit cards on transactions over telephone / IVR or Mobile application! Was always wondering why RBI can't come up with a clear policy to prevent misuse. RBI is implementing a One time password method, wherein before one makes a Credit Card Transaction over the telephone/IVR or mobile applications , say booking a Air Ticket, a one time password needs to be obtained via SMS / hotline. So be prepared and get to know the methods! This for sure would prevent misuse of cards to a greater extent in India.

Ensure that you have registered your mobile number correctly with the respective banks! This is being implemented from 1st of Feb 2011.

I would have preferred this service to be provided by Visa / Master rather than individual banks. That way, one has to remember only couple of ways to get the OTP.

For me the glitch is that my favourite mobile shop application NgPay is not going to have a hassle free shopping method anymore! Have to wait and see how they are going to integrate this OTP with their application.

Following are from different mailers I got from respective banks

Citibank Cards:

Getting an OTP:

Please SMS OTP XXXX (Last 4 digits of Debit/Credit number)

to 52484 or 9880752484 to generate an OTP.

HDFC Bank Cards:

Send an SMS ‘PWD 1234’ to 9717465555 from your registered (with Bank) mobile number
(Note: 1234 are the last 4 digits of your HDFC Bank Credit Card number)

You will receive an SMS with the OTP on the same number.

ICICI Bank Cards:

SMS

Step 1 -	Send IOTP Your 16-digit ICICI Bank Credit Card Number to 5676766
Step 2 -	You will receive the OTP on your Registered Mobile Number and e-mail ID

Online-Banking

Step 1 -

Go to www.icicibank.com.On the bottom right side under'Cards' section: click on 3Dsecure option

Step 2 -

Choose the 'IVR-IOTP' Option

Step 3 -

Enter your ICICI Bank Credit Card Number, valid from and date of birth

Step 4 -

Generate OTP Request

Step 5 -

You will receive the OTP on your Registered Mobile Number and e-mail ID

Real Time OTP generation

Step 1 -	At the time of the IVR transaction, enter ICICI Bank Card Number, Expiry Date and CVV Code
Step 2 -	You will receive the OTP on your Registered Mobile Number and e-mail ID

To RTO again for a Smart Card!

2010-12-24T12:18:00.003+05:30

The other day happened to go to RTO again to help a friend in getting the NOC done. This time around, they are enforcing change over to Smart Card for any action thats being done for the RC book!!

Question is - now how do you know how the ownership count for the vehicle? I guess this is another trick for RTO to make some money - guess we have to go back to RTO file a form to find the prior ownership details! Or is RTO going to become hi-tech, wherein typing in the Car details / inserting the Smart card going to produce a report? I doubt!

Anyways - this made me think I should get a smart card for my car too!!

As usual stood in the queue couple of times to figure out the required documents. That apart, following is what you would need:

1. a RTO folder - typically sold in the shops below

2. RC Book

3. Copy of the Emission Certificate

4. A requisition letter in white sheet

5. Self addressed cloth envelop with Rs. 15/- stamp

Punch all the documents together and then file it in the folder

Submit this in the right counter [counter 8 for Koramangala RTO]. Once submitted, the officer mention the fee to be paid. I think it came up to Rs. 261. After paying the fee [counter 1 - in the other extreme of the building], one needs to get a sticker pasted to the application form from the near by counter. Note down the smart card request number - this would be in the sticker pasted on the application.

Submit the application in the appropriate counter and take the receipt.

Post this I waited more than month! Eventually went back to RTO and collected the smart card by showing the receipt! So ensure that you retain the receipt safe.

Getting things done at Govt Offices! RTO Part-3

2010-05-20T12:52:00.004+05:30

Eventually went to Indira Nagar RTO to get the final step of transfer done!

Missed out taking the photos at the first attempt :-( So went back again and stood in the queue after couple of days.

Another gentleman was standing behind me in the queue with the bare minimal documents. The officer went through it and told him the required documents. He was walking out and a tout told him he would get the work done in couple of days .. but would cost 2500/- Not sure what happened later - probably he got the work done with the tout!

I had to rejoin the queue 2-3 times since I was asked to pay 25/- at cash counter every time the officer went through my papers!! [basically I had to pay 25 per month since the time the vehicle was actually sold] The lady in the cash counter thought I'm stalking!! Had to explain her whats happening :-)

The procedure of submitting application was different in Indira Nagar compared to Koramangala. Finally to me it looked like, Koramangala was a bit more better organized!! The building too is worser or should I call it a dungeon, at Indira nagar!

Finally gave the documents and left the place hoping to receive the RC book by speed post within a month!!

Waited for an additional month .. still no news! Finally decided to go and check whats happening.

Today morning went to the RTO with all skepticism!! Went to the regular counter - not much crowded, he asked me to talk to the person in the next counter. And mentioned apologetically that he is not around and should be back shortly! Eventually he came, took the receipt, asked me to wait since his assistant was not around!

Finally his assistant turned up and took my file out!! Surprise! Surprise!! the work has been completed. Checked the date - it was completed exactly two months back!! I had no idea why it wasn't dispatched by speed post!

Anyways was happy to see the work finally done! without paying any bribe or commission to the touts!

So see .. things can work without using middlemen or bribe at a Govt office!!

Getting things done in Govt Offices! RTO Part 1

2010-02-10T18:20:00.004+05:30

After getting the Indemnity bond, was planning to attempt car ownership transfer. It was in the company's name and the EMI's had just got over. Car was hypothecated too.

Eventually got the car transfer document from work place after paying the residuals! All plans of buying a new car has been shelved for a few years since the recession set in doesn't seem to go away that soon!! Ok at least the EMI burden is going to be lesser :-) Or may be going to pay the EMI for overhauling / tyres et all!!

First Checked out FAQ's at http://rto.kar.nic.in/ to see the documents required for transfer. The office folks had indeed given me all the requisite forms. This included forms with crazy numbers, address proof and emission certificate [where are all those diesel emission certifiers?? I hardly find any in a stretch!! - has it become not so profitable? thought the other way].

Was on vacation - had finished a good trip to Munnar. Nothing much to do, so decided to go ahead and initiate the process for car ownership transfer. But eventually when I went there it was about 2:00pm. First observation is that the dark steps leading to the office was not filled with Shady agents and middle-men -> who previously would never allow you to enter RTO!! Was Surprised to see english board everywhere. No one at May I help you counter - probably is out for lunch.

Went around searching - offices had names that aren't very easy to decipher! Spoke to one of the officers in the counter - I was asked to go to hall number 11. Went there - checked out counter specific to the KA-01 registrations. There were only a few officials - one of them told me its the right place and I have to come after 2:30pm. Left the place to come back at 3:00. At 3:00 I was told I have to come in the mornings to submit the applications!! Was really frustrated - only then saw a board hanging right above there stating the same :-( if only I had noticed it among those zillion such hanging boards!

Eventually came back the next day - went to the counter. The person ahead of me was asked to submit a self addressed cloth envelop with 25/- stamp. So went around hunting for the envelope; went to a nearby post office for stamp and returned.

By then another friend too joined for the same purpose. We went and submitted all the documents to the PRO in that bay. She went through and told us, we can't do the transfer out there; we have to get it done in the RTO attached to the respective residential area! Mine happens to be Indira Nagar. But this RTO had to issue a NOC, for which only the RC book, insurance/pollution copies were required with a letter. There was no fee attached to this!! PRO attested our documents, and we left the docket [pinned together] to the clerk in the reception. We collected a small receipt too. This was 2nd of Jan, and the receipt said we would receive the RC book by speed post by 18th Jan!!

Left the place with some apprehension :-) .. to be continued

Getting things done in Govt Offices! RTO Part 2

2010-02-10T12:39:00.005+05:30

The date of dispatch for the RC book was 18th of Jan!! It was already last week of Jan and no news!!

Another friend who had given the papers with me visited the place to checkout! He was told that we had to give form-35 too to get this done!! They didn't notice that there was Hypothecation and hence didn't ask for the same at the first attempt. We could have caught this too if we had thought over. Basically Hypothecation cancellation should be

The initial procedure actually involved clearance of the application by an officer - looks like the officer missed out on this part. Btw, I like this concept since one of the most tedious things at govt offices is to get to know the application and the documents to be attached. This person acts as a good liaison on this part.

Meanwhile another senior personnel who was doing something got up and came to us to inquire why we are there for. After looking at my receipt, he said I had to wait!

So went back again to submit the documents. Reached there by 10:00 am. Couple of people were around - I should have checked with the person sitting in the back [typically seniors]. But awaited for the junior person to come. This junior person typically sits in the front desk and answers all queries. When he eventually came, (probably 30 mins late to the seat) he started working on the file pile on his desk. Was amazed to see that he was so efficient and cleared the whole set in about 20 mins!!

Then he took my receipt and said I have to talk to the senior officer sitting behind him!! I should have straight away done that when I came!! I was asked to pay 100/- fee for Hypothecation cancellation and then submit receipt with From-35 from the bank which hypothecated it.

After paying in the respective counter, came back and gave it to the senior official. I was asked to wait till the PRO comes and verifies the papers again. Waited another 20 mins. She never came. The same senior official came to PRO desk and cleared our papers!!

Submitted the same on 2nd Feb 2010 with all apprehension as to how many more days and waits it would take!!

Eventually it reached me by speed post on 8th Feb 2010!!

Not bad at all. If I had submitted all docs correctly, it probably would have got over in less than 30days.

Now - I'm heading on to the next stage with more confidence!! The car papers finally have to transferred to me at Indiranagar RTO!! Will keep posted ... :-)

Getting Indemnity bonds!

2010-01-08T15:46:00.004+05:30

This is that time of year to get the tax forms filled up at work! One of the requirement is to get a indemnity bond on a Rs.20 stamp paper. This is in case one of the spouses claim the tax for housing loan. Every year 150/- goes towards getting this done. Good revenue for the Govt! and the agent. First we pay 0.5% charges on the loan and then this!

This time too took the necessary doc on a disk to a computerized document agent in Koramangala BDA complex [near the typing agents]. Gave the soft copy of doc and paid 100/- as advance. He was to give it to me the following day - went off to vacation and came back to collect it. Surprised to see that he hasn't done the work!! Last time too he wasn't prompt, but I thought 1 week is good time. He had lost the document I gave too. Asked for the stamp paper he bought for me so that I can get it printed myself. He was charging 50/- for a 20/- document! When questioned, he gave back 100/- and asked me to get it myself if he can!! What a customer service! First he doesn't do the work for which he took advance and un-apologetic and now this. Wow!! is it some rocket science to get a document done?

Main issue always has been to get the stamp paper to print the document. Gov has come up with vague rules of supplying the docs! Once had attempted to buy it myself and was indeed complicated since I had to run around from one State Bank of Mysore to another - at times no one has!! Thinking about this, went to another shop [close to the Sagar hotel in the complex] to check out.

This shop had a Notary too! Notary asked me to get a plain stamp paper and get it stamped in the registrar's office 2 floors above! And I had to come the next day morning.

Next morning went there, he gave me a plain stamp paper for 5/- wherein the actual cost was 2/-. Wrote my name and amount on the top, handed over in the counter - was asked to pay 25 for a 20 stamping! Some one was already arguing and the officer was explaining we would get the receipt as well for the 5/- and that its official! I was wondering this 5 should ideally include the Rs. 2 paper and stamping charges. It was a saturday and hence crowd was less - else may be it would take 30mins+ ?

Came back after about 20 minutes, the document was stamped. Took it to the shop to get document printed for Rs. 10/- Eventually was notarized for Rs. 50/- A total cost of 90/- vs 150 with the previous agent. 60 is no big deal, but I had to go there twice and wait the same amount of time - so it makes sense this way!

So looks like things are better.

Today's newspaper, had the advt for e-stamping:

http://www.shcilestamp.com/FAQ.html

So next time you want something to be stamped following the above might be much easier - especially for Rental Agreement and other high value stamping.

For indemnity bond whats described above the link would be easier.

Getting things done in Govt Offices!

2010-01-08T14:53:00.007+05:30

Always had tried to keep away from Govt Office related work at Bangalore. Reasons being - the language [which i'm comfortable now] and the time it takes to get things done [perceived & heard].

This time decided to get couple of things done on my own. Its not that this is the first time, but may be after quite sometime.

1. Home loan joint declaration indemnity bond for tax purpose

2. Transferring the Car to my name from the Company [General opinion is that RTO is the most corrupt organization?]

3. Getting a Khata [BBMP]!

Previously had visited a Grama Panchayat office at Belandur, to get the property taxes paid. It wasn't tough at all. Luckily the form I received was in English. I did see the officer working hard to ensure that he collects and gives receipts for all the requests! Saw him being dumped with 100's of documents since that day was the last day to get 5% off! These documents were from Agents who work with Apartment Welfare associations.

Was only wishing these would be automated soon! And yes! the next tax payment was online and had to just give the previous payment receipt number. This happened in a span of 3 months [probably was under development for long time]. Anyways life is much convenient paying taxes online!

About Pondicherry

2009-12-18T12:50:00.004+05:30

I was brought up in Pondicherry. Did my school and College at Pondicherry!!

Pondicherry (now called Puducherry; & I stopped calling Pondi for reasons I realized after moving out ;-)) always brings all those pleasant memories of those days. Now I have completely shifted out to Bangalore - I'm a Bangalorean!!

I get frequent enquiries about traveling to Puducherry from Bengaluru. Most folks want to spend about 2 days [ie a weekend out there] by Car. So decided to add another blog on this topic!

Over night / day buses are being plied by KSRTC and Tamilnadu Govt Transports. Checkout for the same in the respective websites. They ply Normal to Volvo buses. Advanced booking would be required for the weekends.

Following is from an excerpt I sent to a friend. Will try to make this more descriptive and useful later.

Pondicherry Tourism Website has very comprehensive information about Pondicherry. Do visit this page.

Within the town, Surguru / Annamalai / Jayaram / Ginger are pretty good and the room charges would be around 1.5K to 2K. Quite a few budget Guest houses too are available within the town.

Dune Beach Resort looks interesting - have never visited.

There are several Guest Houses in Auroville as well- these come with recommendation from my friends.

Try to reach Pondicherry on Friday night [it takes about 6 hrs of continuous drive at moderately high speed]. If leaving on Sat morning, then start at least by 6:00 am. The Sunrise near Shoolagiri after Hosur is a fantastic view.

Google Map Bengaluru to Puducherry

Route: Electronic City -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Take Chennai rd and take almost immediate right to Pondicherry / Thiruvannamalai road -> Thiruvannamalai -> Gingee -> Tindivanam -> Pondicherry. Just ensure its not a Full moon day/ night - if so expect delays at Thiruvannamalai and be prepared for nasty diversions

Once you take the Pondicherry / Thiruvannamalai road, the road doesn't have median; but the traffic is pretty less in early mornings and late evenings. Be watchful for people cris-crossing the roads near villages.

En-route Eating places:

A2B restaurant inside BP Petrol Station closer to Krishnagiri in the same side as the travel. [About 60Kms from Bangalore and probably about 1.5Hrs of travel]

Hotel Saravana Bhavan [I don't think this is Original] at Thiruvannamalai [About 150Kms or 3 Hrs from Blr]

A hotel just at the Main entrance of the Tiruvannamalai temple - it has decent lodging as well [AC dbl room was about 800/- in 2007]

All of the above are Vegetarian restaurants.

En-route places of Interest:

1. Thiruvannamalai Temple [takes about 1 Hr to see the entire temple]

2. Gingee Forts [needs a bit of trek]

Once in Pondicherry, following is a good itinerary:

Day One

1. Visit Panchavati temple in the Tinidivanam road. It would be about 4-5 Kms from Jipmer Hospitals
2. Next proceed to Auroville village and report to Visitor Centre. You could do some shopping at the visitor centre - auroville handicrafts etc
3. Once done, exit from the other side of Auroville, which would be Marakkanam road. Take a right turn here to head back to town
4. Auroville beach at the above exit - though not mandatory
5. Head back to Pondicherry and have lunch at Suruguru / Hotel Saravana Bhavan
6. After lunch, head to Chunnambar Beach Resort and take an Island trip. The last trip is before 4:00 pm. This trip takes you across the backwater / river to reach a neat and clean beach. Caution: the beach is treacherous, so be careful and stay close to the shore all time.
7. Get back to hotel freshen up and reach beach road and spend evening

Day Two

0. Don't miss the sunrise at beach road. Typical Sunrise is around 6:00 am
1. Head to Manakula Vinayagar temple. Plan for break fast near the temple .. A2B?
2. Proceed to Aurobindo Ashram building
3. Central park, which is close to beach road and hosts the Pondicherry emblem
4. Visit Museum if interested
5. Could visit Jawahar Bal Bhavan garden - there used to be a toy train - not sure if its functional now
6. If interested in shopping - visit MG Road , you get good deals for cotton dress at Thiruppur summer collection near the petrol bunk in the beginning of MG Road from the temple side
7. Leave Pondicherry by around 3:00pm
8. Visit Thiruvannamalai temple. This place is about 2 Hours from Pondicherry
9. Head back to bangalore

There are stuff like Dolphin watch etc [I have never done this]. If you have more time, this might be a good activity. Contact the Pondicherry Tourism department in the Beach road. Another place of archaeological interest might be Arekemedu Excavation center. Again I have never been here - its about 1 hour from Pondicherry towards Cuddalore. You would find the excavated articles in Pondicherry Museum.

You would find most of the Hotel Names / Numbers in the Pondicherry website mentioned in the beginning.

If you would like to enter Matri Mandir, you would need prior-appointment. Else Matri Mandir in Auroville could only be sighted form a viewing point. Particular areas in auroville are motor vehicle free. You have to either walk; senior citizens can take battery-operated transportation vehicle or you could rent a bi-cycle.

If you are staying in the town, try to go around the town by walk or tempo. Finding Car parking might be tough in weekends. Try to go to the town beach either late in the night or early morning. Beach road would be crowded in evenings in weekends. Beach Road is traffic free between 6:00 and 9:30 pm. In fact try to take a bi-cycle on rent!! You could checkout in the Cycle Repair shops for renting.

Within the town our favorite would be to be take a walk in Beach road after 9:30 pm; and head to the ice-cream / coffee shop at one end of the beach road [to the right side if you face the Beach].

Food in general is good in most hotels. Non-veg you may want to try Hotel Mass; Anandha Inn; will quote a few more later.

Started commuting!

2009-11-01T01:01:00.001+05:30

My long awaited wish/goal of commuting to work by bike came to reality about a week back

Distance: about 11 kms one way
Traffic : medium to high
Time taken: about 35 minutes

Logistics were the only hurdles: 1. to carry the laptop bag or not 2. no shower at work place 3. Carrying change cloths/towels

Made an unplanned first commute - just took off with the laptop bag; lunch and in regular dress - carried the required inners to be changed. Decided to ride cool and slow so that I don't sweat too much. It wasn't pretty tough in my route [murugeshpalya - airport rd - inner ring road - koramangala - dairy circle] except for the road block in EGL - otherwise would have preferred going through EGL instead of Airport rd. The roads have decent ups and downs and luckily the traffic was't bad on the first day. Reached about 5 minutes earlier than my usual commute in car!

Made the next two commute trips with better planning - left the laptop / change cloths at work the previous day. It definitely was much easier - but guess I have to get used to carrying the laptop bag along.

Issues faced on the road:

1. In a traffic jam, it wasn't easy to pass through and over take the jammed traffic [unlike what I thought before]
2. Took onto the walk path [either pushing or riding] to go ahead of the regular traffic when stopped [was helping in avoiding the eunuchs - who seem to become more troublesome in traffic for bikers]
3. For sure was planning to go along with the traffic. Was a bit confused about crossing the traffic when its red - but then got comfortable to wait and move when its safe
4. Autos are even more terrible now!
5. Taking a right turn in signals - getting ahead of the stopped traffic from the left and moving to the centre seemed to be a saner choice
6. Crossing the road - decided to just go ahead and take a U-turn instead of crossing the median with the bike [I just don't get how people cross the meridian at EGL!! these folks have to get a walkover bridge!! this place is one example of gross neglect from private / govt bodies!]
7. Slow moving vehicles mostly fail to switch on indicators while already on left and are trying to park
8. All the time was travelling during peak times [9-10am; 5-6 pm] - looks like a pollution mask is a must - planning to get a totobobo next week [missed the appointment this week]. Also have to try to re-schedule my commute timing.

Thanks to all the folks who have contributed to the Commute section in BZ

Hoping to commute 2 days a week going forward

My First Ride on ACT 110

2009-10-05T15:40:00.007+05:30

Some how was just hesitating to go on it till everything was ok. This again was a long weekend! Decided to go for another shopping at Decathlon :-) Which motivated me enough to decide that I would take the bike and Sandy could come by car to ORR Coffee day.

Plan was to buy the front fender as well. My brother Jag too wanted to buy couple of things for his bike [Hero Octane]. We decided to take the route from Murugeshpalya - Wind tunnel road through belandur lake to ORR.

Came out of the house and realized I forgot something - oh yeah thats the helmet!! .. Didn't feel that very odd wearing the helmet -btw, this is the first time I'm using a Helmet in my life to ride any bike!!

The roads were pretty good till CABS. The handling was pretty good - except for the small ditches - the shock got directly transferred to the palms and the hands. Started riding a bit more carefully and loosened the grip whenever I hit such pot holes. [already had some discomfort in wrist - probably due to working style - have to get some ergo done]

Once we reached the lake front, there were no more roads :-( it was just rubbles of granite stones- they are just about laying a new road. Wasn't sure how my bike is, which is more of a road bike, going to take it. But then decided to go ahead anyways. Ride was peaceful enough once we crossed the lake and hit Belandur village. All the way through I was meddling with the gears to the right combination. Once inside the village, tried to speed up a bit to catch up - but landed up in gear one in the front again! which slipped and the chain came off!

Omg .. what do I do now .. vaguely remembered using broken sticks to put the chain back in olden days. Got one too, but realized it wasn't necessary, I had to just place the chain in the lower side of the small sprocket and reverse spin it in stand position. And luckily it worked.

Reached CDay and we locked our bikes together to a pole. There were a few curious kids playing around, who started to play with the levers right in front of us! They asked for a rupee, to start with, and then cake to take care of the bikes!!

We sat outside to ensure the kids don't play around too much with the gear system - which they eventually did - what can you possibly do to them? So warned them again and left them alone. They don't seem to be doing anything more. We awaited Sandy.

Observed few more arranged dates here! - Looks like with all the s/w companies and apartments around, this Cday was a popular shaadi.com joint!!

Sandy came in finally finished the coffee - gave a piece of my mind to the cday guy - the glass he served in had a big crack. And walked out.

This time Sandy opted out of riding the bike!! So took off from there all the way to Decathlon. Bought couple of Organic cotton Tees [300] and the front fender [400]. Picked up a mineral water bottle and we decided to head back - it was already dark.

Switched on the front and rear lights and started off. The front light wasn't focusing correctly. Have to align it to focus on the roads. The ride back was pretty good - with the weather being so pleasant - luckily not much traffic as well [probably holiday effect].

After reaching close to Multiplex in Marthahalli, realized its going to be a tough climb till the bridge. Had set the front gear to 2 and back to 4. Half the way moved to 1 in the front. Was moving slowly and steadily. Jag warned that the road is going to have good amount of gradient from Marthahalli to HAL.

By now my palms were paining and I was starting to feel numb - was just wondering that this cycle should have had a front suspension to take all those small bumps. After reaching the top felt relieved - there was a bit of descent [towards HAL] till we reached end of shopping places. Once we crossed this, the gradient again started to increase - very gradually. By now was totally tired and was wondering how on earth can I reach HAL!!

By now I was totally tired, every meter felt like a km! Was hungry and thirsty .. drank some water [was craving for a gatrode!] and decided to pull on as much as possible. I have always passed through this stretch in 60+. With the bike i was hardly able to cross 10kmph!! Kept on meddling with the gears to see what would be more easier. Then decided to leave the front to 2 itself and do the ascend. And once reaching the Helicoptor division, it was like some energy pumping in from some where! Got up from the seat and pressed hard to gain some speed and eventually reached HAL!! -- What a relief!! .. from then on its just descent all the way home :-)

Checked the stats - Max speed was about 32 [in descent] and total distance covered was about 34Kms!! Total time [may not be accurate] was about 1.5hrs. No wonder - never thought it would be this distance when we started off. Sat for some time, took a cold wash of the feets. Had a lemon soda to refresh and cooled down!! Had a luke warm showerand then moved on to Wake up Sid movie :-)

Had a decent sleep - the only time I felt odd was while climbing the stairs. Felt pretty cool - unlike after the majaa run in Sunfeast marathon, wherein, could feel the strain for couple of days.

Summary:

The ride was pretty good - was happy with ACT 110 [I better be :-)]. Ride was tiresome but wasn't too straining. Felt numbness in palms / fingers at the end of the ride - front suspension might have helped; was slightly uncomfortable in groin [will try some saddle adjustments]. No back / neck or leg pain so I think the height adjustments have been pretty ok.

Bike & Accessories Story!

2009-10-05T15:32:00.006+05:30

Next day was Pooja day .. so the bike got the required blessings :-) Evening loaded the cycle to my car. Plan was to pickup Sandy and then go to Decathlon store to buy accessories. Idea was to DIY the accessories to get familiarized with the bike.

Picked up Sandy and stopped at ORR Coffee day. Shortly Jason too joined us. It was interesting to see at least 2-3 couples on arranged date here. We had some fun watching them. Dates with their parents or relatives in the adjacent table etc!!

All of us decided to head towards Decathlon from there. Sandy decided to take a spin on the bike and eventually he rode uptil Decathlon! En-route the chain came of the front sprocket while moving to gear 1 [small]. He fixed and followed.

Sandy thought the bike was pretty good. Its only that the seats were not correctly adjusted for his height - the easy release lock didn't lock tight enough to hold his weight. He thought he would buy this bike if only it suited his height.

Eugene at Decathlon assisted us in picking up the accessories - he was quite helpful in explaining and he went ahead and tried to see if it would fit my bike [the accessories are typically for BTwin bikes]

Bought the following:

RockRider Helmet [1700]

Decathlon Wireless Comp [1700]

Lock (set of three) [250?]

Rockrider Rear fender [400]

Btwin Bike cover [600]

Light set - Front and back [850] {made Sandy to pay the same ;-)}

Rockrider Saddle bag [400]

Front fender - Eugene tried the spare ones - it didn't seem to be fitting .. so didn't take it at this time.

Took few more pictures of the bike at Decathlon and left. We had to reach movie hall soon [Wanted - hindi], so loaded the bike back to car and went back home.

It was a long weekend, so Monday was off too!! .. so decided to fix all the accessories.

What followed was very good learning. I don't know whether I have ever used the Allen keys before - even when I had a bike. Most of the parts were removable using the Allen keys. They were so tiny and it took some time to get used to positioning and gripping the same!

Was doing it very slow since the whole thing was new for me! Got stuck while trying to fix the back fender. The top screw of the V-brake kit is suppose to come off so that it can be replaced with a longer screw to affix the fender. But it had been screwed so tight the kit got unscrewed from the frame!! Even singer oil didn't help in releasing this screw.

I had screwed up the front wheel release mechanism as well [ the lock wasn't closing so banged it and bent it]. Had removed the release lever completely and wasn't sure how to put in the springs as well. With whatever fix I did, the breaks were rubbing against the front wheel.

Took some time to figure out why the cyclo comp wasn't reading any speed - RTFM - the magnet and the transmitter are to be at a max distance of 5mm at the time of contact!!, I had happily set it up about 2 inches away!!

So except for this, everything else was fixed at the end of about 4 hrs!! [what would have been a 30 min job for a pro.

Following weekdays were pretty busy and was raining too. One of the days, took the bike back to RR. Rakesh obliged to get it repaired. The service guys had some oil which helped in removing the screw from the back v-brake kit. This time they tightened the kit so that the screw on top is easily removable. That night, replaced those screws with the one which came along with the fender. Finally the fender snugged in neat!

In the shop, Rakesh had confirmed that the RockRider front fender would work fine. But he was asking me to wait until the cyclothon is completed. He thought many people broke their fenders in the initial few days. Met my colleagues there who were planning to buy ACT 110 - Rakesh seem to have quoted 10800 now. And looks like he had another two paces stacked up somewhere!

Eventually it was weekend and the home minister reminded me that the bike is inside the home [literally] and I haven't taken it for a spin yet.

My Bike Finally!!

2009-10-05T14:42:00.005+05:30

After lots of thoughts, decided to go ahead and buy the Hercules Ryders ACT 110. Bought the same from RR Cycle mart in Madivala [on 26th of Sep 09]

The Raja Cycle mart guy told me that the bike would arrive the next week every time I called through August. The last call I made to him he said it would take 2-3 weeks - with that I gave up hopes with that shop.

RR had only one cycle left out - which was on the display [atleast thats what was claimed!]. I was just wondering whether I'm just too desperate to get the bike .. but on re-thinking, I wasn't desperate to buy, but to start cycling at the earliest.

So went to Total Mall with kids and my friend Sandy. Kids were so amazed to see so many different bikes. They were immediately attracted to all those popular cartoons used for advt.

Say after a small negotiation, settled for INR9500 for this model. The cycle was already assembled since it was in display - the sales guy tried to cleanup whatever he can and handed the bike over to me! .. it still had l traces of dust - but didn't mind. Its of course to be dirty eventually!! I hope I make it more dirty by riding!

Said no to all the accessories - didn't get anything free as well. Rakesh claimed he could sell it at 11500, but had promised me to sell it at 9500 so he is agreeing. But thats ok - he is doing his job!

Pushed the cycle to total mall and took a small spin around the mall to load the bike to my car. And headed back home after a much at Mc D and a coffee at CD - had a movie planned that night [Unnai pol oruvan].

Act110

Pathetic CS at Andhra Bank

2009-08-31T10:36:00.000+05:30

Happen to take a SuryaSakthi Loan [for solar] from this bank through SV Marketing. Had pledged an LIC money back policy with them. Once the loan got closed, they were unable to trace the FD certificate of my money back they got from LIC. Have been following up with Andhra Bank, De-costa layout for the last 2.5 years!!

This weekend met the FD department - the person handling was courteous and gave the new FD Number - again she didn't have any clue about where the certificate went!! She referred me to the so called Senior Manager - who says me there are so many discrepancies in SuryaSakthi loans and that it would take lot of time - just come back some other time. Was literally furious - but just kept cool and try to get info on what I need to do. He repeated the same old things like I'm new to this branch; I don't know you blah blah. Don't know whent he hell these people would start behaving like a corporate!

The previous manager told similar stories and told me that the FD is safe so I don't have to worry. This manager says its your responsibility and you should have got the files when you closed the loan [while the loan was closed - they just wanted to push me off from their table and they didn't have any clue as to where it was]

The only good thing is - the FD seem to exist still and renewed in my name!!

Going to give another chance to these guys before doing an RTI!

How things could have been handled better

There was no need for the manager to tell me about the indiscrepancies in the other loans - it is internal to the bank and since I had the loan closure certificate!!
He could have given me a clear appointment or taken my details so that he can call back and update me later - ie if he was really busy and interested in resolving my issue. He bviously didn't show any respect to the Customers schedules and job
All that he had to do is to find if my FD was still under pledging or cleared - if it was cleared he just had to tell me the procedure to get the duplicate certificate [I don't have any hopes that they would figure out where the first one went or the previous ones went!]

Great Customer Service with Belkin!

2009-08-29T23:27:00.000+05:30

Have been thinking of putting up some thoughts on the customer service issues I face in the shops / service stations.

Had this amazing experience with a Belkin product customer service!!

My friend had bought a Belkin 54g wireless router from US. He had bought it for $100 with a cash back of $90!! This has been working perfectly fine until recently, it broke due to a power issue.

Was looking for technical support and was very happy to see that Belkin had a toll free number for India!! Called the number provided the required details. A ticket was logged and details sent promptly with Bangalore contacts. I was informed that Belkin products have life time warranty and hence I can take the same to their frontline company to get it replaced!! I didn't have the bill for the same since my friend had bought for me [even otherwise 3+ years bill?] mentioned the same and had sent an email to the tech support. They were ok with the same as well!

Took a print out of the same and went to Accel Systems [initially there were trouble locating them since they were in the process of moving] at Townhall. They were initially reluctant saying 1. we need bill 2. product bought in US do not have support here etc. Eventually they took the kit and gave me a receipt. Waited there for some time and loosing patience checcked with them. They told me they are delaying since they have to confirm that bill is not required. Told them I would call them another day and come back.

Eventually when I found time to call, it was ready and picked up a brand new Belkin Wireless G router!!

CS Points:

Life time warranty for the product!! Company is really serious about taking care of the customer!!
It was good that the frontline engineers took the system - though they weren't clear whether its in the process to replace the item without bill / bought outside India
Frontline company didn't have anyone to approve the required immediately - which causes delay for the customer
There wasn't a call back from the frontline company once they clarified and resolved my issue - I had to call them and check. A good customer orientation would be to call the customer and inform once problem is resolved

Hercules Ryder ACT 110 hunt!

2009-08-29T23:24:00.000+05:30

Today went to BSA go near safina plaza. I was quoted 10,600 for this cycle. Khan traders in the adjacent street quoted 10,300 [best price with bill, as per them]. Had a chance to look at the cycle in both these places.

Cycle is pretty impressive. Almost buying this.

Awaiting the availability of this cycle in town hall - this person quoted 9K though he didn't have the bike. have to follow up.

meanwhile would be visiting decathlon store in Sarjapur road to see Btwin RR 5.1 [just for the heck of it - looks like it is 110]

+++++++++++

Sandy, Jason and I checked out the Btwin cycels at Decathlon, Sarjapur road.

BT 5.1 had Rotating gear shifts which we weren't comfortable. The speed gear shift in 5.2 and above was pretty easy to operate. 5.2 is about 15.5K out there. Test ride on 5.2 was comfortable.

5.2 felt a bit lighter vs 5.1.

So the index shift seems to be a differentiator for 110 vs 5.1. Again 5.1 had regular mtb tyres. Trek-7100 too seem to have rotating gear shifts. Btwin's had front suspension Hercules 110 doesn't have.

Have to try 110 at the earliest.

Checking Out Cycles

2009-08-27T22:29:00.000+05:30

bave been busy looking for cycles!! Have been reviewing the following:

Hercules Ryder ACT 110 MRP of about Rs. 10500

Trek 7100 MRP of about Rs. 20500

Bianchi Aeron Sport MRP of about 29500

At this moment it does look like the Hercules - should be deciding soon.

Have been reviewing quite some articles at http://www.bikeszone.com -> Cycling.

Not sure how imporant are disc brakes and front suspension - both of these are available in Hercules Ryders Act 109. Need to check before deciding.

It Rains finally!!

2009-08-17T11:41:00.000+05:30

Whole of this season there was hardly any rain. This weekend and especially yesterday night the rain was damn good.

But it does come with the side effect of traffic jams the following day. Traffics blocked in regular routes withoug any notification.

Keeping it alive

2009-08-14T11:37:00.000+05:30

Looks like a pretty big % of blogs are inactive!! Have to keep my blog alive for certain number of days to figure out what I can blog. One for sure is to write about the pathetic state of Roads for Pedestrians enroute my home to work.

Have been following Mint News paper for the last few days - have to get used to livemint.com as well. I liked the news format in this paper - its more like reading on the web rather than a typical newspaper. It does cover good amount of News on Finance [which is good enough for me] and covers a lot more on other news as well. For me Mint was pretty refreshing compared to the subsidized Economic Times I used to get along with the Times of India.

At the moment the panic level of Swine flu has been steadily increasing in and around me. Yesterday bengaluru reported the first death due to Swine flu.

At office, surprisingly, there has been quite some action in the last couple of days - including setting up alcohol based sanitizers!! But the biggest threat in offices might be the door handles - need to see if they can be kept sanitized.

Today happens to be an Ethnic day at work - to celebrate Independance day. Was definitely not in a great mood to dress up ethnic!

Blogiversary!!

2009-08-12T23:11:00.000+05:30

Interesting to find that the "wee-b-log" is 10 years old!! It was a shame hadn't gotten into this blogging stuff earlier it seems!!

So this late night started this blog :-)