The talks...

Not having anything to talk about either means you have shared all your "talks" with someone else or you have reached a stage where "talks" just don't matter anymore... Which one is it I wonder...

Ramblings of a brand-victim!

Ok. So I am the latest victim of a big brand and its pathetic after-sales service. I have had two very bad experiences with two very well known brands. Sounds familiar?! Huh, read on.

Story 1

You see, I consider myself an intelligent buyer and hence feel all the more cheated! I DO NOT buy anything without thoroughly researching it! Especially if that something would cost me a bomb! So when, I got myself a defected piece of beauty worth 18k, it really broke my heart. More so because I had spent months researching about just the perfect NEXT PHONE for me, once which would suit all my needs (or most anyways) and wouldn't make a whole in my pocket (it did!).

I have been a devout user of Nokia all my life. More so, because I just started working 2 years back and the phones I had earlier were either passed on by my sister or bought by parents - typical kahani in lotsa Indian households, or was some years back atleast! So whenever I got an opportunity to buy a phone, I got myself a Nokia, knowing it would last me. I am someone who'll keep the phone on her lap while driving and drop it when I disembarked from the car. I am someone who knows the moment I'm away from my phone it would ring, even though it can stay sleeping almost all the rest of the time. So I rather keep my phone on me all times than be told later on I didn't pick someone else's call :P So Nokia fit the bill - mobile internet wasn't that much in demand back then and the college kids like me needed a phone to just "Stay Connected".

The experience was fine. As is with most Nokia phones. You know it won't just conk off like that. You can keep on dropping it n number of times and NOTHING would happen to it (trust me, this comes from experience). So even though I could not experience then all the cool things that you can at a cost of 5k today, I was pretty content with what I had.

Then came the "Working Girl" phase. I was independent - financially! I don't know how many people truly connect with this term, but I am someone who's been born and brought up with the sense that one should be financially independent if nothing else! You shouldn't be dependent on ANYONE. And so even though what I was earning was meagre, it felt as if I was earning a million bucks!

One job led to another and a lil growth, monetarily as well! Now, it was time to end the life-long relationship I had shared with Nokia. With hesitation, I took the BIG STEP. I researched and researched, not even going into "Can I buy an iPhone" phase bcoz well... An iphone is an iphone! I kept dangling between the obvious choices of Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson.

I talked to friends, I went to shop after shop, I read articles, checked out reviews, post-mortemed THE PHONE from every angle and FINALLY decided to go for the kill! OOOOHHHHH  - What a thrill!! My phone has till now been one among my top 3 BIG PURCHASES (Yes, I consider 18k to be BIG!).

My romance with Android began and the honeymoon was simply mind-boggling! Sadly, it lasted 10 days! Now not having been married in real-life ever, I do not know if the actual romantic honeymoon also lasts this long only, to give way to a sour after-marriage experience!

Okay okay. FOCUS!

So, off goes my phone one day. BLANK. Empty! I tried every trick in the book to revive it. Nothing happened!! My heart goes thuduk thuduk.

So off I go again to Google baba, find out the the nearest suthorized Samsung service ceentre and put it in my To Do list.

But wait a minute! There's another villian in the story I haven't introduced as yet!

The Mobile Store!!! The name sounds familiar,eh? The Red signboard with those ddumb creatures sitting inside. I knew I was making a mistake sumhow, trusting an authorized The Mobile Store retail shop over some unknown private mobile shop. So what happens? They guarantee me this and that and all that jazz. Promising to be at my service any time, so if ever there's a need to get ANYTHING repaired/serviced in my phone, I DO NOT have to go personally to a samsung service centre. That did it! That just closed the deal. After all, I am a busy working woman now, with no time to spare for family or friends (grrrr...). Howsoever would I find time to go to a service centre.

Coming back to me story and the essential importance of a useless Mobile store is that as soon as my phone concked off, I remembered this ass of a man who had told him to pass the phone 2 them to get repaired. Once I reached that very man at that very SUPER USELESS The Mobile Store, The man refused - point blank! To add insult to the injury, they told me if I dropped my hone in wwater, they still might be able to TRY but this was something they can't help me with. WHAT THE FISH!!

Seriously guys, please shut down your joke of a mobile store and go inside  one of the phones as an app killer!!! Bluhdy idiots.

Anyways I go to the nearest samsung service centre and voila! They are equally USELESS!!!

After requesting them profusely, talking to thee brand manager, area manager, even district manager, all theey tell me is "Ma'am we only replace the phone within 1st 4-5 days, uske baad we can only repair it"

Is this a circus that's going on? Anything lasts the first 4-5 days. Reality seeps in only later on!

I still agree, after being assured of a complete "alright" phone in the manager's words.

Again the relieef lasted only 2 DAYS. Yess... that's the maximum time I could seamlessly enjoy my phone. Since then, either it shuts down suddenly, or it deletes my song from the playlist, or shows some stupid black  where my camera pictures should be or just doesn't GO BACK!!!

I must say I LOVE MY PHONE but I AM SUPER SICK OF SAMSUNG!!

Such a bad product and such pathetic after-sales service - from both Samsung and mobile store - they should take a reality check and understand - they are losing out on some key customers. I would definitely not let my friends and family buy a Samsung even though it has Androidified the world!

Enough of this BIIIG Brand. Another love affair with another equally useless - but online- brand would soon follow!!!

The angst of Self!

2 months and not a post. 2011 gave way to 2012 yet I maintained a stoic silence. Was it for want of words? Or lack of stories to write home about?

Not really. So many times I picked up my laptop and starting writing away mindlessly.. pouring my heart into words.. Either what I wrote could'nt be put in a blog or it was something I  left mid-way, not sure myself how to carry on.

I do not have anything to write today. Or may be there is soo much I need to express that my feelings struggle for priority. Yet I fail to understand what is it really that I want to write. Have I lost the power to express my angst? In trying to put my feelings under a cold grasp, have I lost the ability to express even the most innate feelings.

Again my answer comes to a naught!

What's wrong with them anyway?!

DISGUSTING. REPULSIVE. SORDID. REVOLTING.

No, I'm not trying to improve my vocabulary here! That can happen even without practicing on these upsetting terms. However, there are some times in your life when you are forced to pull all your strength and deep dive into your vocabulary to try and find terms which, even if not precisely, somewhat pay justice to your feelings and bring out things from the abyss of your heart.

23 years and counting. Yes, that's the amount of time and life I have spent amidst men - excuse moi - creatures who are popularly called men. Every day brings yet another facet of these creatures to the fore and every day is yet another blow to your faith in justice. Justice to humanity. Justice to mankind.

Don't worry. I am not a man-hater. Nor am I here ranting relentlessly just for the fun of it. Trust me, at the end of a tiring day, the last thing you want to do is act like a cry-baby. However, this couldn't wait. Not any longer.

Last night was yet another night when I could let loose my words (read : swear-words). Already having been worried into a late-night working sister who doesn't pick up your calls or sms'es back saying she'll be even later than 11pm working late into the night in back to back meetings, the last thing you want is to hear that her car got rammed! BLUHDY HELL!!! You cannot help but be thankful to someone, somewhere that she's reached home - safe, unhurt.

However, later when you hear the details, about how a rowdy and impatient cab driver, driving like Schumacher from the wrong way on a one-way street rams the car, backs the car and runs off like a rat into his hole, you can feel your blood pulsating and feel like killing that son of a gun (mind my language).

How this previous para fits into the essential theme of this particular blog post isn't quite as illogical as one might be thinking actually. One might argue that a woman might have been doing exactly the same thing and I wouldn't have uttered a word just because of the gender in question. However, the fact that every second man on the street drives like he owns the road is something which irks me to no end.

Despite this apparent I'll-drive-like-mad-i-own-the-road phenomenon, there is yet another thing which is limited to Indian men. Yes, the very own male species of our patriarchal society. Actually, somehow, when they were young or in their early childhood, they must have been told by their parents/family/society that it is their right to urinate - in front of the whole world. After all, privacy can go to hell. I'm sure they must wonder every day which idiot thought of coming up with a decent, civilized toilet. The road is their relieving zone my friend.

Why can't these seemingly normal humans understand that their bladder works pretty similar to that of a woman. When women can control and hold it in, why can't they. Even if the bladder completely revolts and forces them to go find a place to pee, would it bee too much of an effort to find a secluded place, away from the hustle and bustle and close vision of the world.

If there's anything worse than a man peeing on the road-side is a man who pees there and is proud of it. These men have a degree in Masters of Disgust. They pee on the road, constantly scratch their balls, dig a hole into their noses and burp/fart in public as if people are waiting for another round of disgust from them.

Why are we like this? One can't even say these qualities are limited to the uneducated, illiterate people. They still might be excused, for no one taught them basic hygiene and how to act/behave when in public. But what about those driving-in-civic-still-spitting-paan-out-of-the-car people? What about the expensive-suit-and-boots-flaunting people who burp loudly before entering into a meeting with their corporate honcho.

Why are we like this? Would it be too much of an effort to TRY and being CIVILIZED and DECENT.

An early morning sms from my sister brought me a hearty laugh and at the same time a sense of irony of how we have got used to, what else but disgusting behavior from our NCR men. This is how it read :

" A group of men peeing the side of the national highway, chests thrust out like a peacock in heat, looking around proudly to see who's noticing. Who dare beat the NCR man in disgust factor?"

No one, I'd said. They win hands down!!! Sad, but true.

A sorry is just another word!!

When a sorry cannot undo the damage already done..
When apologies don't mend a bleeding heart..
When the bullet's already outta the gun..
When all you do is mourn and shun..
The very being which caused the greatest hurt..
The winds have blown over..
The trees don't dance no more..
A sorry becomes just another word..
Another excuse for the big, bad world...

~~Deeksha

The other side of Delhi

We sometimes forget how beautiful some things and places are, till we see them again in times of utter silence and peace.

Since moving to Gurgaon, I'm forced to compare the two cities again and again and sadly there's not much difference between the two. The same rude, impatient and flashy people are there in both the cities. Why shouldn't they? After all, Gurgaon is teeming with the Delhi junta, either those who commute here everyday for their jobs in the sky-high fancy buildings or the others, like me, who chose not to travel in the crazy traffic everyday and have instead moved to the NCR.

Frankly, I don't miss Delhi. Not much anyways. I'm probably one of those very few Delhiites, who's not that proud of being one. Mostly because of the kind of people we are, the qualities I have listed earlier. But no, this blog isn't my frustration about the kind of people we have in either of these cities. That is for some other time.

Today, It's about the other side of Delhi. The beautiful one. One which we often miss in the dusty, pot-holed, traffic laden streets of the city during the day time. This side of Delhi is can only be discovered when most of the busy junta have returned to their homes, and are soundly watching their Just Dance or Bigg Boss or some such stuff. They wouldn't give two hoots about what's happening outside their homes.

When some crazy, moneyed, pistol-flaunting Bolero owner isn't running around the streets killing innocent toll-boothwallahs, one must roam around the city at night and be engulfed in its beauty. The wide roads, the cool breeze and dark night are so welcoming that it actually makes you fall in love again with the city.

Today was one of those nights, when despite of seeing cars here, there, everywhere even at 12am, I still could enjoy my ride. It was AMAZING! The wide, traffic free roads were a welcome change to the choc-a-block traffic that's a common sight at any time of the day.

The people were speeding even then, making zig-zags and flaunting what great cars and driving skills they owned, but for a change I couldn't bother less. I just wanted to enjoy my drive. I would've stayed home while D picked up E from the airport, but there was no way I could miss this opportunity to drive at night. I wasn't disappointed and when I saw the glowing moon in the sky while waiting at one of the red lights, I just smiled to myself. I was so much at peace with myself, with the peace around me, no crazy rush to reach anywhere.

So yes, Delhi is beautiful. It's got a certain charm about it which most Delhiites and outsiders love. But then again, why must one wait for the night to fall in order to be able to enjoy the beauty of this place? 

Dear Excel Sheet

Dear Excel Sheet

I’d like to start by saying I really love you. I mean it. After all, I spend 12 hours of my day staring at you. So much so, that sometimes, Numbers start flowing like a river, all thanks to you. I still love you.

Strange life is, is it not? For, there was a time when I had vowed to a life without you. Ok. So staying without you is really not a feasible idea today. However, more and more as I spend time with you, I realize how foolish I was.

For, you have not just become a part of my life. You are the be all and end all where my life is concerned. The 1^st thing I do when I start my day is open all the various versions of you I would need to get me through the day.

And the last thing I do when I finally leave for home is either share you with THE ONE or take home with me, sweet darling that you are. See, I can’t even think of staying at home without your esteemed and loving presence.

I have scattered your love all throughout my house. Whether it’s my personal laptop, which was supposed to be for my leisure and relaxation, or my sister’s which is supposed to be used in case of dire urgency, you are there everywhere.

My dear excel, now you must realize how much I am in love with you.

There was once a part of me, which was fun and enthusiastic. I used to THINK and FEEL.

Now also there’s a part of me that thinks and feels. But, they do so just for one and one thing alone – You, my dear excel sheet, who else but you?!

I often dream of seeing my face splashed across a brick wall, with you covering me head to toe. Beautiful it would be I am sure. For such love can only be seen to be believed.

However, my dear excel. Even though I love you so, I would never want you to spend such QUALITY time with anyone I know, who might be even a little bit such as me.

For, even though a useful and helpful little friend you are. You often make your partner forget who they are. Some keep on going through life, led on by bigger versions of you. Some halt and take a whole new different path.

I wonder what happens to either of these. Do they miss you as the sun misses the rain? Or do they cry their eyes out, staying apart from you, wondering how they would carry on with their lives without your magical guidance.

Or are there some breeds who might not give you half as much attention as you need? Do you also sometimes feel ignored, when the more snobby “creative” types, give more weight to dreams and imaginations and maybe 12 hours not solely to you?

Don’t you get sick of the talks of thinking out of the box and spending time understanding other, may be more important stuff? For surely you must think and believe, that you have all there is to know. There might not be any life beyond an excel sheet.

Do you ever spare anyone, ever? Young, fun or old? Or do you like to scratch and bite, till wounds go sore and pain no more. Uncomfortably numb as they say.

The questions remain unanswered, as so many of life’s mysteries do. But never for a moment should you believe that I’ve stopped loving you……

Yours truly