Support to Anna

Ever since Anna Hazare's publicly come out to bully all the corrupt in the government, the UPA government's been terrorised as if it is under some serious threat. Everytime Anna speaks against corruption, Congress, DMK, and NCP speak against his policies and ideologies. Congress, who itself promotes Gandhian policies, has been acting surprisingly against Hazare, who has been the biggest supporter of Gandhian policies in the past 20 years.

DMK's A. Raja,Karunanidhi and family, NCP's Sharad Pawar, have been on the hitlist of Hazaare, for their alledged involvement in almost every scandal that's been unearthed in the past decade. Whether its the multi billion dollar 2G scandal, Commonwealth scandal, Cricket World Cup trophy duties issue, or food scam,Pawar's been there in all. Even in 1992, Sharad Pawar(who was in power back then) was tainted with multiple allegations, and only Anna Hazare's fast the had forced him to resign.

The Congress led government has been against this bill, and is trying to either mould it in its favour,or somehow avoid it. Kapil Sibbal's been trying to somehow avoid the bill. It really surprises me. Why are they resisting this bill if they've done nothing wrong!

Asdays pass, congress and the UPA government's showing really shrewed antics which show that the government is INFESTED with corrupt guys. Its high time that the government should be removed.

Aircel taking the AT&T Way

For some three months now, i've seen Aircel taking a new approach towards the Indian market. It has been an old player, but the policies that it is following in the recent past seems new to the Indian industry.

AT&T, one of the world's oldest players in telecom, has been following the policy of increasing customer base by offering subsidised and locked handsets with a contract. Ever since the launch of Apple's iPhone, followed by iPhone 3G, 3GS and the iPad, its presence has increased. A pal of mine, who lives in Granada Hills, LA, has been using Verizon, and tells me that he used to have an AN&T connection, but quit due to bad service. Poor network, and frequent drops have been a feature of AN&T, but still it exists in the market , all because of some locked handsets and services.

Aircel has been following AT&T's policy lately. It recently launched Huawei Ideos - a good Android smartphone for around US$200(all inclusive of duties and taxes),and is providing special data plans for it. Aircel also has plans for releasing iPhone 4G in India soon(and that too when 3G has just been implemented well). 4G being out of sight for sometime now, Aircel's tactic of luring customers with a cheap good handset is quite evident.

I completely disagree with this policy. A network operator should emphasise on providing good mobile connectivity and service, and notselling some handsets. It would be just like if Shell would be selling cars for using with its petroleum products. Its a completely wrong approach. Its always the hen which lays the egg, not the egg which lays the hen !

Aircel has been providing really bad service in the Delhi, NCR.I had an Aircel number which i used to browse the internet on. Forget about the internet, just to make a recharge, it would take me hours to reach the IVR. And calling the cuswtomer care in situations of difficulties - a nightmare. It would take me atleast half anhour to get to talk to the customer care executive, and that too when the network won't drop the call, and the call would get connected to the customer care IVR(which itself would take atleast 50 attempts to get through). In order to bypass this nuisance, i had also visited the Aircel stores in Kalkaji ,South Extention and Noida. And what do i find - the executives there keep on chatting to each other, and not care at all about the customer whose been standing there for hours.

Companies like Aircel should learn from Vodafone and Reliance. Vodafone and Reliance GSM offer very attractive data and voice plans for specific handsets which you would buy from the open market. For example, Vodafone's offering 2Gb month free internet for six months to Nokia E7 users, Reliance GSM is offering the same for Samsung Galaxy series phone and tablet users. Vodafone's network is one of the most seamless network wherever it is present. Now that is a good deal. Two 3G provider companies offering really good tariff options. No wonder why Airtel's fearing that these two organisations might surpass its enormous wireless services customer base soon.

And for companies like Aircel, they need to look into their organisations. Being named in the INR 1,76,000,000,00,00 scandal, and facing a legal notice for cancellation of its GSM operation lisence in 4 circles, it seriously need to work out on some real good strategies for the long run, rather than the "lure and capture" policy.

What do you think? Do you agree with me, or have a different opinion? Feel free to pour in your comments

Be generous, Help someone

The life is one of the most valuable gifts one has. Being there on this planet, with your loved ones is a gift we all cherish. No matter how many troubles we have, we have our loved ones who help us in times of need, and thats what helps us the most.

There are times when people try to help others out to save someone's life, but are unsuccessful because of reasons. People do their bit to save lives. The defence forces serves to those in need at times of famine, and calamity. There are NGO's too which help.

Relief India supports people who are unable to support their loved ones in times of need because of financial reasons or so. As an example, they've been working to help people with life threatning cardiac defects(As of the case of a boy, who needs an operation in AIIMS).

I would like to request all of you to assist as much as you can - in any form possible. Being involved with this noble deed would be really helpful.

Here are the contact detals for Relief India

Relief India
A369, Sector 19,
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Pin Code : 201301
Contact person : Mr Tapan
Ph. No: (+91)0120-4309547
web: www.reliefindia.org

First ride in the DTC AC Bus

First trip in the DTC AC bus

Yesterday, for the first time i got the opportunity to use the AC bus service by Delhi Transport Corporation. For a long time, i had been trying to get an AC bus to travel, but never got the opportunity to do so. So finally yesterday, when i had to travel to IIT Delhi, i finally got on it.

The bus was plying on route number 764, and was plying from Nehru Place Terminal to Dwarka sector7.

I got in, bought the ticket, and then started to observe the bus. The bus was just another TATA Marcopolo BRTS bus with some additional fittings for airconditioning. The bus must have been in service for sometime now,as it looked quite wore out. Along with the AC's, there are also fan's installed. That there is a smart move, knowing how terribly hot Delhi becomes in summer.

I stepped on board the bus at 2 in the morning, and the bus did help a lot. I didn't feel the heat outside. Initially, i did feel some heat, but after a couple of minutes, it all got settled.

Tata has designed a really good bus. It can compete with the like of the Volvo's.

The only thing which bothered me was the bar. There's been a vertical bar installed for some reason. It really irritates when you sit in the non-window seat. This bar's installed only on the second last seat of the bus. So, try not sit on the second last seat which isn't next to the window.

ticket prices are nice. Usually, IIT to Nehru Place costs Rs10, and in this ac bus, it costed me Rs15, so hardly any difference, but much more confort. No crowd, vacant seats, no wonder its a good bus to travel on. Its just that DTC needs some more maintenance on them.

Do you think the same,or have a different opinion. Feel free to write in your comments

Magazine Review - Span

The American Embassey in India publishes a quarterly magazine in Hindi, and i have been lucky enough to have a complimentry subscription of it. And this magazine has been a wonderful read.

I'm more of a magazine person rather than a book person, as books are sometimes not able to connect to the various geographical,political and historical situations currntly prevalent. Magazines there work good good. They are usually edited with the current day scenario.

Span,a publication of the American counselate in India, is published in two languages - Hindi and English(The official national languages of India and US). It has been under publication for some decades now. The magazine talks about the various sociological and political system in the two nations. Also, many factors which connected the two nations, are mentioned.

Edited by the American ambassador of US to India, the magazine is a great read. The paper quality of every edition is good. For example,the emphasis done on Jazz in this quarter's edition is quite good. Usually in India,it takes sometime to learn that much about Jazz.

One of the posts i liked the most in the last quarterly issue is the study in Us article, which talked about the scholarships that the US government and institutes give to the Indian students. An organisation called USEFI , set up by the American government , is especially dedicated for this purpose. Back in the school days, USEFI had organised a small seminar in my school , and i had forgotten completely about it. The magazine's a good read.

The magazine is the best for those who have to apply for American citizenship. The magazine's highly informative about the american lifestyle and history.

For more information on Span, click here for Wikipedia Listing

So the next time you visit any nearby American centre, get your hands on Span.

Album Review - Hindustani Gangster

Recently i came across a site whose name seemed interesting to me. So i decided to check the site out. Little did i know, it was the official website for an album.

Hindustani Gangster is an Indian adaptation of the american flick American Gangster's soundtrack by Jay Z. The original tracks have been mixed by a group of Non-Residential Indians putting up the the US who work under the name 'Music Without Borders'.

The album consists of fifteen full length tracks. I listened to the tracks one by one, and they seemed quite nice.

"Intro" is an introductory track, which consists of Hindi punchlines. My favirote "kisi ki zindagi ko samajhne se pehle, zaruri hai unki zindagi jeena". Typical hindi mafia don dialogue.

"Pray" is a good track. It has really great beats mixed with Jay's lyrics. The music mix is good,so is the sound engineering. Can be played at any lounge. Typical RnB track which has a sound of gangster rap. You simply cannoty miss this track on this album.

"American Dreamin' " seems like a Chinatown mix. Another RnB mix. This one's good too. Those who like T.I's sound will surely like this track. The sound at occasions reminds of 99 Problems.

"Hello Brooklyn" features Lil Wayne along with jay Z. Its a laid back rap. Just DJ mixing, no Indian element's added to it.

"No Hook" starts with lines from soem hindi movie. The beats for the track are good, kinda 70's movies. Another good RnB track, can be played at any coffee shop. At occasions,the track seems funny because of some clumsy lines.

"Roc Boys" starts with the typical noise one can expect at the Indian highways, but edited musically. Then the real track starts. The track has beats like those of Black Eyed Peas's Don't Phunk with My Heart(which was adapted from a hindi track), with tunes similar to Kanye West's Stronger. A nice listen.

"Sweet" has some good guitar work mixed. Its also a nice track.

"I know" samples a clippet from some hindi track, and then mixes beat to evolve something new. The track is something Timbaland can take inspiration from.

"Party Life" samples a clip from "laila o laila" from the 1978 hindi classic "Don". The song coyld have been better, the tempo seems a bit unusual for the track. It is one of those International fusion types.

"Ignorant Shit" starts with the sitar recital, which later turns to a typical jay-Z'ish track. Another Blue rap, nice experiment.

"Say Hello" seemed like a typical RnB track. It sounds like Lil Wayne's "On Fire". A track you'll have no issues keeping in your ipod playlist.

"Success" uses tabla beats to sample along with the sitar. Tre track is just functional.

"Falling" is where the track starts sounding like Tupacish Gangsta Rap. Its a typical oldskool rap track. Nothing very big about it. The mix could have been better.

"Blue Magic" seems to be inspired from 'Raghav'. The sound seems to be inspired from "Angel Eyes" and "Naino Waali". The lyrics are good. This one's a smoothie jazz.

The last track is "American Gangster". Its good. One of fav's on the album. You simply cannot miss this track when you're going through the album. The song ends with the line which started the album - "kisi ki zindagi ko samajhne se pehle, zaruri hai unki zindagi jeena". Good work

Jay Z is usual good as he is. "Music Without Borders" has done a good job. As they say in their release, Inspired by Indian cinema of the 70's and Jay-Z's critically acclaimed concept album, "American Gangster," "Hindustani Gangster" tells the passionate tale of a Mumbai hustler's sordid lifestyle.

Through the culmination of Jay's great story. The tracks are nice, good RnB for the food joints and sports lounge cum bars out there.

A good cross-cultural album. This is where Hollywood meets Bollywood. Indians and Americans of Indian origin would be able to easily connect to it. A good concept album.

My rating for Hindustaani Gangster - 3.5/5 for innovation, maintaining the originality and using the Indian tunes well

To download Hindustani gangster, click here, or log on to http://www.hindustanigangster.com/