The upgraded infrastructure at the Chennai airport made for a comfortable flying experience from Bangalore. To begin with, flying out of BIAL has become quite comfortable thanks to the good condition of the access highway and the well organized check in and security facilities at the airport. Chennai has a new huge arrival lounge with ample space for the baggage arrival areas. Of course I took an early morning flight so the load was not comparable to peak ones either on the highway or in the airport, but the experience was quite decent on the whole. I hope we can look forward to more such upgraded infrastructure all over the country and not just in airports.
May 18, 2009
Left, right and centre
What a thrilling finish to the election month. Singh is King after all ! The clowns from the Left parties are probably looking for visas for Cuba or China, the only 2 places in the world where communism still exists (plus maybe in some banana republics in Africa). Good riddance to jokers like Karat, Raja and Yechury who tried their best to handicap the last government. The saffron clad mafia also took a beating in some pockets, though managed do well in Karnataka, surprisingly, with all the backlash of the attack on the women and churches. Looks like the electorate here are as illiterate about values and morals as the candidates they vote for.
In the short to medium term nothing much will change. We do look forward to some long term changes though, especially on the infrastructure front. It might be a good idea to pick up some infra stocks in the next few months.
March 24, 2009
It will never happen in India
The pathetic quality of service and training was evident recently when I walked into a Shopper’s Stop outlet to buy a couple of items. Entering on the men’s wear level, I asked the nearest store employee whether they had linen trousers. The person pointed me to some vague corner of the store. There I had to look for another employee who said he didnt know, but I could try the formal trousers section, sending me back the way I came from. There I had to wait a bit for a third employee to show up, and when I asked the question, the answer was that no, SS doesnt stock linen trousers.
Next, I went to the ground floor, to buy a pair of sunglasses. The counter which has four sides, was busy on two sides with two customers already being attended to . I walked round to another side and found two employees talking to each other. Interrupting their no doubt interesting conversation I asked if they would care to show me a particular brand of sunglasses. Without saying a word, they disappeared round the corner. One appeared soon enough, walking off towards some other counter ! The other then reappeared and asked me to come round to other side where one of the two customers had by now finished his transaction and the counter person there was freed up to talk to me.
I chose the sunglasses I wanted inside of 60 seconds. However, waiting for the bill to be written out there took more than 5 minutes. Next I went to the billing counter where while my purchase was being billed, I asked for the store manager to tell him about the customer service levels in his store. Not surprisingly, he was not in the store. His next in command was also not available then. I left my name and number to be called. No call was ever made.
Is it too much to ask for all employees in the men’s wear section to know what kinds of items they stock without sending customers traipsing around the floor? Why do some employees behave as though they are in some 1970s government office where asking them to help you is like asking for a mountain to be moved? In which department store in the world would it take longer for am item to be billed than for it to be chosen, when the entire store was almost empty? Why have managers if they are never available to resolve customer service issues ?
Luckily I never bought SS shares. Else I would have gone and sold all of them And shorted some more.
March 16, 2009
Democrazy
This week I hope to finally apply to get my name included in the electoral rolls. This will be the third attempt at this. The first time, I downloaded the form from the election commission’s website and submitted it to the chappie who came round in the house-to-house collection spree. I never heard from them again. Next I saw the ads on TV about Jaagore.com and registered there. The same form was then dutifully sent off to the address mentioned by them. It was returned by the courier saying no such office existed at the address!
Now I plan to visit the new Voter Facilitation Centre at the constituency office to submit the frickin form myself. Lets see if they exist 
January 27, 2009
Home again – Jan 25
After breakfast, I called the car agency to ask if I could return the car at the airport. They said yes, for a small extra charge. I readily agreed and set off for my final drive in the Santro. Seeing that it was still early, I stopped for a glass of feni at O’Coqueiro at Porvorim. I had wanted urak, but they didnt have any. The feny tasted good with plenty of ice and a bit of 7up. Heading off once more, I took the a right after the Zuari bridge and went past Chicalim, turning towards the airport, before gettint to Vasco, where I was tempted to go, but decided against. The drive along the Zuari was really great and I passed the church on the island where my classmate had got married 8 years ago. My flight was on time, and I used the Jet lounges since I had a business class ticket. It was pathetic compared to the KingFisher lounge in Bangalore. Though they had Macbooks, the internet speed was very slow and the toilet was filthy. The service onboard was good though, and I had a nice flight back home. This was the official end of this journey of GITA 
January 27, 2009
South Goa again – Jan 24
The car agency fixed the number plate and then I headed out once more, toying with the idea of going to Cabo de Rama, a fort in the far south. But I ruled it out, being too far and a bit boring going there alone. Again, the beach dilemma hit me, and I decided on Benaulim, which is south of Colva. I stopped in Panjim to pick up some snacks at Pastry Cottage, which I was pleased to learn, was still run by the same person we used to know. I remember running to Pastry Cottage to pick up stuff while waiting for madam to finish her hairdos at Claudina’s, opposite. On the highway once more, I again took the the inner roads after Cansaulim, and this made for a really lovely drive. Benaulim itself seemed rather hot and crowded so I decided not to hang around there, and headed back to Utorda. The staff at Zeebop greeted me like a long lost friend and after a couple of drinks there, I was back in my beach chair and then soon, in the water
Utorda beach
That evening, I planned to go to Florentine and ended up there by 9. Would you believe, I had to wait for 30 minutes for a seat for one ! But it was well worth it, and the two quarters of cafreal I ate proved it. The night seemed young, so I took off for Miramar, another destination that played an important part in my life. The road along the Mandovi past Campal and upto Miramar was superb ! I reached Miramar and noted that Foodland still existed ! The beach seemed to have its usual share of noisy tourists even at that time, so I drove onto towards Dona Paula, though I turned back at Raj Bhavan circle. Thinking it had been a great day, I drove happily back to my hotel.
January 27, 2009
Utorda – Jan 23
I woke up late, too late to catch the breakfast in the hotel, so I decided to have a coffee and head straight out. I had decided that Calangute and Baga were too crowded and I needed some peace and good and safe water to laze in. The beaches further North were not that safe, so I decided on Utorda, the beach we had been to hardly 4 weeks before. The drive there was really great and I enjoyed driving the Santro. The only hiccup was being stopped by the cops after the Zuari bridge, for not having half of the front number plate ! This was a shock to me, since I was sure it was there the previous night. The cop let me off with a warning and the passing of one note
Sunset at Utorda
I got off the highway at Cansaulim and headed to Utorda via the inside bylanes which made for a lovely drive. I reached Zeebop’s at Utorda at 2:30 and ordered for a pomfret rava fry. They didnt have Havana Club, so I had to make do with Bacardi. The fish was huge, tasty and it was all I could eat. Next I went for a walk on the beach, heading north towards the Zuari factory in the distance. Utorda is immediately north of Majorda and has 2 fancy hotels on it – The Kenilworth and Park Hyatt. I walked back and found a comfy beach lounge chair at one of the shacks, and lounged there till the sun was a bit lower in the sky, then I hit the water. It was really wonderful and I floated, swam and generally had a good time. I spotted some shack workers playing cricket on the beach and went and played for a bit with them, managing to keep my wicket intact from their best bowler. As the sun set, I headed back to the hotel. That evening I was planning to try out some lounge bar, but being tired from the drive and all the time in the water, decided on room service and movies on the TV.
