A dedicated fiction reader, who once upon a time used to complete a 400 page book during a Bombay - Delhi - Bombay flight including the waiting time at the airports; over the past year or so found my reading habits breaking away completely, more maybe from the fact that I do not travel at all these days, a little less from the fact that have been watching more movies, tweeting?

Having said that had decided to rectify the situation this year. Flipping thru Flipkart sometime a fortnight ago, saw some Indian authors, whose books sounded simple, in terms of story & price both. Ended up ordering the following:

Love, A rather Bad Idea….All it gives is a lousy hangover by Anirban Mukherjee
Zero Percentile..Missed IIT Kissed Russia by Neeraj Chhibba
Nothing can be as crazy by Ajay Mohan Jain &
The Dork by Sidin Vadukut (heavily tweeted on twitter by his well wishers)

Whilst this was in transit, I made a trip to Malvan and picked up a book at the Goa airport - Devil in Pinstripes by Ravi Subramanian having read his earlier ‘If God was a Banker’

Then overcome with work, did not even glance at those till, last week, when glancing through them, saw that most of them were 200 pages easy to read font & decided to go for them & so began:

Devil in Pinstripes - A good book taking a look at the Banking & financial segment, boss, mentor, couple relationship etc. nudging & offering some insight of what it is all about in a superficial way.

Dork - A good enough book, that gives an insight into Management placement, Consulting industry, taking a swipe at the perception & hype created vs how actually it works.

Zero Percentile - Halfway decent writing, that takes a look at lower middle class home, destiny mish mash. A book that can be missed without missing anything

Nothing can be as Crazy A decent book on the Banking Industry with neither a complete coverage on banking or institutional politics. There but cannot be there.

Love, A rather Bad Idea - A breezy book trying to convey that IIT has everything that the world can show and friendship, love, loyalty overcomes everything.

Having said that, some common factors which are not so surprising:)

Out of the 5 authors 2 are from IIT & 2 are from IIM or combination of both.
All the books can be called “ILIT” that has sex, loyalty, destiny, family & happy ending with of course IIT or IIM as background.
A bit of superiority “we were there, we are better, and now besides we can write” comes through.
The cost of the book is sub 200/- something like ‘chiclit’ take it on the flight & throw it.

As the DNA & Sunday Midday of 22nd February says that 1000 copies is enough to break even all of them have broken even, if nothing else but through their network, loyalty, friends & relatives.

What is painful is that such intelligent (obviously with IIT & IIM tags) people have chosen extremely mediocre, flat subjects to write their novels on, truly hope that they come out of their comfort zone & contribute more.

The Question this raises now is - “Do Indian Authors need to be IIT or IIM”

BUT in the end Hey they have written, published & people read, whilst I have not, so whilst this may sound, it is NOT sour grapes.

A couple of weeks ago RTNE invited me to look at what they had achieved in the past one year.

Whilst I would have loved to travel on the Highway from Bombay to Goa, paucity of time forced me to follow their instructions and so my journey began.

If flew from Bombay to Goa where I was received by Prathmesh a young local from Kudal who has been trained as the DMC (Destination Management Company) Officer who does the local level liaison.

We drove down on NH 17 passing Kudal, Sanatwadi before reaching Malvan at around 4.30 pm. Once checked into an RTNE trusted Stay Swami Samarth a nice stay right on a private beach, was taken around to meet other home stay owners, recce their property as well as understand the philosophy.

I was stunned to see the number of home stays that had evolved and more importantly, the kind of numbers that were bandied about by the owners.

The stays were well done, clean, with nearly 3+ star category at the most economical rates possible. Amongst the ones I visited were Omkar Deluxe, God’s garden, Satguru Kripa, Sidhivinayak (of Pednekar bandhu).

Having completed the recce, went to see the sunset at Devbagh Sangam. Then a spot of relaxing, before dinner was called around 9.30 pm.

Mind you, the dinner is cooked specially for you after asked about your choices & imagine eating on your private beach with the waves crashing, bit of wind whistling & distant light. (In Goa during my previous avataar we used to charge Rs. 15,000/- ++ for something like this). The menu was amazing - Sol kadi; Golpa; Halwa rassa & fried; warm chappati; rice.

I could barely keep my eyes open after this repast. After a long time, I was fast asleep at 10pm opening my eyes at 8 am the next morning.

Some amazing kande Poha, accompanied by fresh coconut water, though I gave the malai a miss started the day just right for my drive back to Goa & then back to Bombay. With no camera, but my trusty Nokia, managed to take some photographs, unfortunately do not do justice to the place.

With the new airport coming up soon, this place is going to just take off. I recommend that you visit the place before this happens. To read more about this, click here & to book here

Disclaimer: This comparison is from purely a customer perspective & neither airline or any other airline paid for my tickets.

After a long time, I had an opportunity to fly on SpiceJet & IndiGo thanks to the organization who had invited me & booked the tickets.

I flew IndiGo Bombay - Goa whilst Goa - Bombay - Chennai was by SpiceJet whereas Chennai - Bombay was by IndiGo.

The parameters on which I evaluated both of them were Baggage Handling, Check in, Transport, Seats, Service, Food, Flight

Baggage Handling - Both airlines were good, given the fact that space & other restrictions

Check In - SpiceJet was good in Goa, whereas in Bombay was not energetic enough. Allotted seat was different from the one asked for & confirmed. Information about Flight Delay was not forthcoming at both places. And the refrain was “Due to incoming flight coming late”
IndiGo was Perfect from both Bombay & Chennai, polite, seat allocation was perfect & Flight on time both ways.

Transport - The IndiGo buses were new, better, height of step perfect, a great help for those with knee trouble & old people. Another excellent aspect was the stairs to the aircraft, they actually had a ramp instead of stairs - very easy & convenient. SpiceJet buses were nice, but wonder if they were expecting floods everyday, since the height was very much, though in Goa there was a additional wooden step kept that helped. But the stairs, I presume were rental from Airport were horrible.

Seat & Service - Seats were equally good in both, as was inflight service. IndiGo offers water from a Jug in a glass, whilst SpiceJet offers a bottle & though having heard about water being refused a second time, this was not the case at all.

Food - The quality of food was good on both airlines, however IndiGo offered more variety, whilst SpiceJet offered discount if booked along with the ticket, which was a good idea

Flight - This was good on both airlines, with competent crew, aircrafts and all.

IndiGo gets my vote & edges SpiceJet due to On Time flight, small extras such as the bus, ramp which is welcome.

I have been using E75 from the day it was launched & found it pretty neat & nifty. But the slide out Qwerty was a bit of a pain if long mails, messages had to be typed. Also the speakerphone & camera were not up to the mark - maybe I did not know how to use them. And the metal on the side was attached, so with a couple of falls, came out.

I was toying around with Black Berry Bold or the iPhone but somehow or the other was not completely convinced, in spite of having used both in the past.

And then, I saw the photos & review of E72 decided that I need to get this phone. With launch dates fluctuating etc. I made alternate arrangements & picked up the phone in the new Earth Brown color yesterday at 8.15pm in the evening.

By 8.45 pm the contacts, calendar, notes, messages, bookmarks were transferred; emails configured; latest version of gravity downloaded & my first tweet sent.

Within the next 14 hours, checked out the entire phone & am ready to share my views:

Setup is a complete breeze whether you use the wizard or do it yourself. Found the email options in setup better than earlier models. The setup takes a bit of time but once done, you are ready to go. There are options of connectivity in terms of want to check periodically (saves on battery) or keep it on.

The navi scroll takes a bit getting used to but is good & faster. In all there are 6 application shortcuts & 2 buttons that you can configure besides 4 which are fixed.

Getting used to the Qwerty feels a bit cramped after E75 but one gets used to it fast enough. The short cut to blue tooth, web, profile works fine & the browsing is better than E75.

The camera at 5 mp is a definite improvement but would know once I take more pictures.

A better quality of cover, longer USB cable (wonder if the south west Olive cost control was applied) could have been a value add on this business phone according to me.

Will update as I use it more & find other good things or kinks.

After a lot of discussions, debates, advice I had opted for a custom DELL XPS M1330 in March 2008.

Except for a couple of small glitches (more to do with my being a technical retard) the order placement, delivery etc. was all seamless.

I loved working on it (though at times I did miss the finish of my Sony VAIO) but you cannot have everything.

In June 2009, I had done some editing for my daughter’s presentation, but before I could copy it for her, the screen went black:( And the next day we had to leave for Pune with it.

In desperation called DELL, quoted all the numbers etc. was assured that by 12 noon the next day, a technician would be there to ensure that it would work soon.

So whilst the old copy was there & started work on it again, hoping against hope that DELL would deliver. Mind it! They did - promptly at 11.45 am their technical support came with a large box & upon enquiry was told that “Sir, you had opted for 3 yr on site warranty, so I need to change the panel, including the motherboard” Wheee, it took him an hour & half but the complete new DELL was ready & raring to go!

Now only if they work out a super NETBOOK, I do not have to opt for Lenovo or Asus!

I have been a staunch Nokia loyalist from the advent of cell phones in India.

This has more to do with simplicity, choice, upsell, trade in value & their constant WOW service factor.

For my daughter’s birthday in February 2009 we got her a 5800 Xpress phone, which she loved & used it regularly & thoroughly over the past 10 months.

A couple of weeks ago, the screen display went off (a common complaint, I believe). Promptly like the kid’s of today she came with a proposal (albeit with her mother’s approval) that she should trade in this phone etc. etc.

Having complete faith in Nokia, I asked why was it not shown to Nokia care since it was still under warranty. She said they said it would cost 4,500, which is when I realized it is the Priority dealer; so giving her the address sent her to Nokia care in Andheri.

She came back happy that it would be done free of cost. Promptly 2 weeks later, yesterday she has got the phone back with complete panel changed, looking better than before.

Now you know why I still opt for a Nokia (though iPhone & Blackberry do come a close second).

Some months ago, I had encashed my I-mint points for a Phillips home theatre system; not because I like phillips (on the contrary) but was afraid of points lapsing.

It was delivered, installed, worked fine; till one day last week just stopped! Fair enough, I do not have a climate controlled house etc. etc. & phillips is finicky but?

Found the hotline number & my wife called them up on 5th November, received a promise that someone would come in 24 hours. Nope NO sign at all, called up at 5 pm, was assured that “Our engineers work till 8pm, so you can expect him to come” & they left closing the office at 6 pm

The next day it took 11 calls to the service center/hotline/engineer himself before he turned up at 8.30 pm thereby wasting the entire day, since we could not step out also. This was Day 3 - 7th November. Came & gave a cursory glance & Einstein said, will tell the service centre, because some part would have to be changed, they will give you a call back.

No news till 10th November when they called, said it would have to be taken to the service centre, sent a person who carried it away & that’s the last we have seen of it.

Today is the 14th November & they are still investigating what is wrong with it, no calls, nothing. BTW approximate cost if part is available would be 4000/- if it is out of warranty!

Hello! I do not have a bill, since it is a so called gift - No problem sir, we will check in our records!

This is the 2nd time in my life I have allowed my wife to coerce me into a stupid useless Brand called Phillips! AND it is the last.

I have been a Samsung user for the past 8-9 years. AC; Fridge;  TV and have always loved their VFM & superior customer service.

In the recent past, not really recent, but in February 2009 changed the TV. Last month watching DVD the screen suddenly went blank.

A call was made to the hotline & pronto the next day 12 noon technician turned up to inspect, made a couple of calls & said that we would need to replace the panel. With my heart in my mouth, I asked the cost & was told “Sir, it is in the warranty period so no cost but please have a copy of  the bill ready & we shall come tomorrow”.

The next day a call was received at 4 pm & question asked ” Is it OK if we come at 7pm or do you want us to come the next day morning”

They came in the evening, changed it, collected a copy of the bill & went. All of this was always followed up by a courtesy call/sms to confirm action taken.

In my books, it wins hands down! They have a lifelong customer in me.

Sometime in February/March 2009 after MTNL had finally connected my WiFi, in an attempt to curtail costs, I went on a lookout for a dongle which would connect my daughter’s desktop in the adjoining room.

Croma, Vijay Sales; etc. were checked out & prices were not exciting enough. Visiting Hypercity for something else found a good deal nearly 15% cheaper than others on Linksys.

The installation was a breeze, worked fine for the next couple of months, when one fine day, just stopped.

Called Hypercity & got the details, logged in created an account, complained online, called the number in Tardeo & were told to bring it the day after.

Being away, the wife went with the old modem & printout. Unfortunately, there was a mistake in the number, asked her to rectify it on the spot, replaced the dongle with a new upgraded one, wished her all the best & that’s it.

Smooth, minimal people interaction but WOW service. I like it very much!

Let’s eat here!

Shop No 13, Greenville, Oshiwara, Lokhandwala, Andheri (W) Mumbai 400 053

A fast food started by Mr. Jasmeet Tibbs son of the original owner, yet to officially open on Monday 3, 2009.

Passing by on our way to check out if we could get some Chaat at our old Bhaiyya, my wife suddenly saw this board & reading Sandwiches her eyes lighted up (a glutton who has to try even the worst sandwiches once at least).

Parking the car, we made our way to the bright eatery which just had 3 people sitting outside on the table, but lots of people inside.

Whilst my wife was speaking to a young lady outside, I made my way inside to take a couple of photographs. Immediately Mr. Tibbs came inside to find out, what I would be interested in tasting.

We ordered a veg grilled sandwich, a egg & veg frankie & one of their signature fries with the mustard sauce.

Waiting for it, Mr. Tibbs again personally came up & said, we are still testing it out, hence the sandwich will not be recommended, however he insisted that I share his chicken brown bread sandwich and a piece of the barbeque chicken which I happily agreed to.

Chicken Brown Bread Sandwich - Good, the bread could have been better, but the stuffing was amazing, spread completely, with just the tinge of spice which exploded with every mouthful. No sauces required = very good:)

Hot & Spicy Fries - Amazing packed in a takeaway with mayo+mustard tangy dip. Fries & dip were excellent, though the Salt could have been a bit less, which I am sure would come with practice in a day or so.

Barbeque Chicken (Tandoori chicken) - Amazingly, tingling good. The right amount of spices, just the tinge of black, hot & superbly grilled.

Veg Frankie - Nothing really to be said after their millions of frankies have been sold.

Over all a super experience, definitely a visit & must of home order.

The packing, ingredients & price are complete Value for Money.

By the Way, do not rush because they open for business only from Monday 3rd November 2009.

We were the lucky tasters:)