Struggles of a dislocated Delhite..!!

Ever since moving into Bangalore, all I hit are road blocks, all I get are newer challenges. First it was finding a place to stay, followed by the struggle to find a flat to move into to finding the right companion to share the apartment with..!! If all this wasn’t enough, I had to get all the connections like gas, Internet and cable and list seems like growing with each passing day!!

I found a companion, a rather cool companion in Peony. We soon found a flat to stay in as well. She had a gas connection already in her name. I guess all these things that came free with her were the real things that made me happier ever since I moved into the flat..!! [:P] okkk.. I guess it was a little mean and selfish, but it was really the cherry on the cake... [;)]

We restored the cable connection people staying before us had. So it seemed going would get easier now. But the only connection that was to be set up from scratch, internet, really turned out to be the real painful experience in our lives.

We tried to restore the Airtel Internet connection she had. We felt just giving the reinstallation charges for the new address would end our plight. I have noticed one thing here; Customer care sucks in Airtel... I even feel tempted to generalise it for Bangalore as a whole though... [: P]

The connection was somehow restored after thousands of calls, threatening to drop bomb at their office by peony and the almost forceful detention of the workers coming to reinstall connection at the new address we have now.

 I wonder if we could have been arrested that night for detaining those workers. Had they logged a complaint with the local police, we might have ended in jail. We might have escaped the fate as Peo has an influential uncle. But still the thought amuses me, in jail for harassing and detaining the Airtel field workers..!! Wowwww this feels like some real psycho perverts or crazy women harassing 2 men in those lands where women feel vulnerable all the time. We could have been reorganised for our act of defiance by some NGO or women’s organisation for making women feel real powerful. All this is still hypothetical as nothing went like the way it shaped in my head..!! [:P]

The internet connection was however not stable and the laptops would disconnect from the net way too often. After many unsuccessful attempts to get someone from Airtel to resolve the issue, we decided to end our association with Airtel. Though I still wonder if no one showing any interest in coming over to have a look at the real cause of the problem we faced had anything to do with the incident of Peo forcibly holding the workers to complete all tasks before they call it EOD. Probably no one wanted to be detained in our house... [:?]

We then took internet connection from a local company named Hathway. It was a 5 MBPS unlimited plan but nothing about this plan was so called unlimited... How? Well simply because we had limits. [Have already written over this, though in a very different tone] Again after numerous unattended calls to their customer care centre, I wrote a mail to the customer support to get some explanation around the 128kbps speed we had to deal with though we took a 5Mbps plan [some real shit policy at work]. The customer care executive just knew one line, no matter what you asked him, he just retorted “company policy”... I wonder if he would say “company policy” even if we asked him the reason for being such a dumb ass...

Anyways, we were back to where we started from, no internet connection despite trying our level best to get a plan that suits our needs. I miss Delhi for the competitive nature of any service. I loved the “Customer is God” and “too good to believe” offers that were the notion of life in Delhi. But Bangalore makes “Gods feel like Beggars”..!! Here God has to take up whatever is being thrown to him… Oh! Delhi made you feel so powerful and even the middle class felt a little more valued there... I am so much more in love with Delhi now..!!

Well like a lost puppy who just got the scent of his master, we went running back to Airtel. The old connection that was disconnected was restored after a “Fuck you” and “you people don’t care” by my famous Peo. While restoring the connection we came to know the reason for the problems we were facing with Airtel in our first innings. The modem was faulty. I wish if someone came and checked it then when we were raising tickets for it, we might have saved going through the Hathway pain..!!! [L]

Anyways, what’s done is done.. We still have some concerns which are yet to be addressed. Our plan is still in the test phase and I wonder if this plan can serve us best. The previous plan she had isn’t available anymore and we are still left with wondering about the unlimited plans with thousands of limits.. These lies, these marketing strategies, I am tired of them all.. All I need is a good internet speed and a reasonable download spectrum..!!

Its for a good friend

It ws a usual morning.. Getting up in the morning, yet lazing around in bed... The maid wont show up and I'll have to do the household chores.. [Its nt compulsory, but I wanted to help by doing it or mum would have to do all that alone... I m sch a nice daughter..;)]

So I got out of the bed and headed for the cell to check the messages my frnds would have sent.. Read the good night messages that came after I had hit the bed and the good morning messages that came in before I got up... Sent them all a good morning message n wishing them all a very good morning n an amazing day ahead, I headed straight to the kitchen to ask how I could help my mum who had been up since 5...

She politely asked me not to worry much as she can juggle all the various duties with great capability and precision... Bt I got onto whatever I could do without disturbing her much...

After completing the work to my greatest satisfaction, I sat down to take a look at the newspaper and again picked my cell to have a look at the messages that might have come while I ws busy completing the great task I had taken upon self ...:)... There were many messages, most of them forward messages with a cute good morning n have a great day carefully fitted in the end bt wat made me strain my mind was a text from a good frnd inquiring if the newspaper we get at home is ht [ hindustan times] or not... and the very next message asked me to read page 14, inner voice column, if I had the newspaper... I ws still not sure of what he meant as he is nt a serious kinda guy... So jst to make sure that it ws exactly wat he meant, I inquired about the page number n the column... Its not that I dont trust him, its jst that I didnt wanted to make a fool of myself by believing him jst lik that... he again texted me .. page 14, Inner voice...

So i finally picked up the newspaper n hurriedly turned to page 14 to read the column n try to understand wat it possibly could mean to him... Reading the headline of the column itself made a thousand things to run through my mind... It read " Suicide is no solution"... I wondered what ws he trying to point to by making me read the column.. Did I do anything that might have made him feel that I can do that n ws he trying to stop me from doing that by making me read the column !! ... Or was he trying to point out his state of mind by making me read it !! ... Was he indirectly asking for help?? Or was he jst trying to start a meaningful discussion? Bt why did he choose the serious topic of 'Suicide'? ... n many more question flooded my mind n I tried to figure out the possible answer by logical reasoning and elimination n recalling whatever I said to him in the past conversation n tried to analyse my behaviour from other's point of view...

The last conversation with him.. It was something lik this.. He texted me ... I texted back.. I ws a bit upset so I asked him if he weren't too busy to talk to me for sometime.. He replied - 'since we both were at our places for quite sometime, there wasn't much to talk abt.. so are we going to send blank messages'... It was definately one of his witty ways, a very funny line.. But trying to dissect it now to derive its meaning taking the 'Suicide' column in background, it could mean a hundred things..
Bt lets take it in the positive sense I took it in the begining coz I ws upset n maybe he said it to make me smile... So now I rang him up n we talked about my bad mood n he seemed too happy n relaxed.. He had bathed in the rain that noon n ws out at around 9.. So probably it was my mood that made him think that I should read the article?

Anyways, putting rest to all this debate in mind, I decided to read the article first n then decide what was going on in his mind ... The most intelligent thing to do is always the last thing to hit you.. :)

So I picked up the newspaper to finally read the article.. It started like this ..
"Its been almost seven years since a friend of mine committed suicide. He was a man of many interests - journalist, photographer, poet, film enthusiast and uncompromising to the core in all his persuits."

Oh my GOD, he was talking about himself!!!
Yes, the description of the man who committed suicide matched exactly with his!! My friend is also a man of many interests.. A photographer.. I have seen the picks he did take with his camera.. n he is brilliant.. A poet.. I have read his poetry.. they have a deep meaning, a pain, a lesson and the enthusiasm of the man ... A film enthusiast too .. A wanna be journalist too ... Oh my God, wat a striking resemblance ... I instantly reached for my cell n texted him.. 'I am not committing suicide, I am not that coward to run away from problems like that n I would never ever let u do that!'
He replied - ' Did you notice the striking resemblance.. It seemed it was written taking me in mind.. and there were times when I could do dat!!'
I again texted him - ' you aren't that coward either.. You wouldn't do it.. I know you.. I wont let you do that..'
still trying to make sure my point is got across well... Never Ever think of doing such a thing .. only a Coward can do that .. and I used the words - Never, Ever and Coward again and again to make them etched in his mind.. So that he remembers my opinion on it forever..
He now tried to explain that he was just trying to make me notice the similarity between that guy n him..
To that I jst texted- ' I would have liked it more if it had a happy ending'...

End of conversation, bt I ws still thinking abt it .. Still thinking about him.. I thought of calling him, bt then thought, I may irritate him by stressing too much on how I feel its not the right thing n how cowardly act I think it is!! and again instructing him to never ever do that or even think of it...In the end I decided not to call him n make him feel like I take him for a fool who doesn't know wat to do n wat not to!! He knows I care for him n that calling him now would have ended it either in a heated argument or he not listening with a receptive mind... But I still wonder wat all emotions the article might have evoked in him.. But I loved it wen he shared a bit of those emotions with me... This makes me have more faith in our friendship.. I now exactly know, why he is one of the guys I look forward to meeting.. Why I talk to him wen I m upset or need to boost my confidence... Why I call him whenever I feel I should talk to someone.. I know he understands.. I know he would listen.. Say those words that we all know yet wanna hear from people we care for n we know care too .. that everything would be fine, that they trust us, that they understand, that they know we'll be fine, that we can achieve it and that we can still go a mile even though we look tired and worn out...
He has always said it all n was always there to listen at the other end...
Just want him to know that I too care n I can go that extra mile with him, whenever he wants me to ... And that I trust him, have faith in his abilities n I know he would be all that he wants to be ...:)

Love u BIMS

the frantic call!!

I m awake at 11:23 pm, deeply engrossed in the mystery novel that I intend to finish as soon as possible [I usually sleep by 10] .. I hear the familiar ring tone n it strikes me after a few secs that its my phone.. I swooped out of my chair to grab it.. it ws my good frnd Shona.. I wondered wat it ws!! after exchanging the initial greetings, she said she ws wishing that I ws awake.. I told her I ws reading the novel n would hit the bed wen atleast a chapter is over.. before I could guess wat it ws, she blurted out - "I wantd to confess something.." as I hear her say those words, my mind ws running to all possible thngs that could come next!! she continued as I tried to make her jump to the point skipping all the explanatory part.. she finally spoke up - " I ws always truthful to u except on one occasion wen I lied to u.." I wanted to shout out to her - 'speak up' bt maintaining calmness I asked her - "when?" she first wanted me to think about it n not get angry n fly off the handle..[ I hate it more wen someone tests my patience this way.. by talking abt unnecessary things rather thn coming to the point..]
she reminded me of the incidence wen i walked up to a guy to tell him that she liked him.. she said she had already told him that I would do something like that n that I shouldn't b taken seriously.. she jst skipped the second sentence while telling me the things at that time..
" so what!! " I shouted out.. I tried to explain her that it ws jst hiding a few facts n not lying n that I wasn't anrgy at all after knowing this... she said she was afraid that I would do this n thus was jst trying to prevent the guy knowing that fact.. [ I felt it ws jst that she didn't want to let the guy know she likes him.. whether it ws from me or from her own mouth...] whatever may be the case, but one thing is for sure.. I wont loose temper on this!! n that too wen the matter is atleast an year old ... [ I know that she would definately b upset if I were the one confessing..] but I think time is a very big factor n after all this time, I hardly care about what the guy must have thought about my action.. I did what a friend should do .. No matter i sounded hysterical n somewhat out of my mind .. but I dont intend to make good impressions on everyone I meet !!!
the next few mins were spent in telling her that this wont affect our friendship n that I m not the slightest agitated with this.. n how foolish of her it ws to spill the beans now, when the chapter ws closed long ago!!