Though i watched Avatar, the movie, some time back but some thoughts stay with you. they just surface every now and then tying knots to some instances and weaving a context in ones mind.
I was especially touched by the phenomena of making the connection, the connecting - once the bond is formed even the birds are ready to lend themselves for humans to ride. The whole feature and message seemed extraordinary the moment we really connect the organism opens up and no rules apply then even animals are ready to oblige one - just for that connection that is made. Without the connection everyone lives as an island where only logic and analysis works. But once you connect as physically demonstrated in Avatar then no rules apply. Its realm of the heart or soul or better still something we cannot capture in words to describe ....
In real life i think this works at a mental level or psychological level or maybe when people say chemistry that level. When we connect to people in the real sense get under their skin and connect then they are ready to give their lives. Then no calculation of what received and the proportion to be returned is calculated. Every action that follows becomes innocent and reactions happen out of that innocence.The heart so to say opens up like flower to reveal its core. Its true i feel everything is interconnected ........everything .......all of it ! - Avatar an excellent demonstration.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Customer cheated on Service charge in South Delhi Restaurants
Hi All !
Well just to highlight the service charge menace especially prevelant in restaurants in South Delhi. Almost all the restaurants in Defence Colony charge charge you a service charge on the bill amount after adding the VAT. While the Rule Book and common sense says that one has to pay service charge on the principal amount one pays for the food bill. This include Swagath where the manager informed that this was what their Federation of Restaurants in Def Col has decided - its building votes and cheating in unison, more the better.
Again in GK 2 Ruby Tuesday not only they charge an obnoxious 15% SC whereas norm is 10% most places but also cheats the same way and when the manager is approached there is a one line answer to it that all our branches do it. Upon reminding them about the rule book they will give you a discount to absorb it in your case.
This tendency to align or make groups or herd together to cheat and justify the cause of cheating is sadly a very self gratifying excuse. So friends beware and when it comes to unjustified malpractices then one has to put a stop Rs 25 or 250 or 2500 is not the point.
Well just to highlight the service charge menace especially prevelant in restaurants in South Delhi. Almost all the restaurants in Defence Colony charge charge you a service charge on the bill amount after adding the VAT. While the Rule Book and common sense says that one has to pay service charge on the principal amount one pays for the food bill. This include Swagath where the manager informed that this was what their Federation of Restaurants in Def Col has decided - its building votes and cheating in unison, more the better.
Again in GK 2 Ruby Tuesday not only they charge an obnoxious 15% SC whereas norm is 10% most places but also cheats the same way and when the manager is approached there is a one line answer to it that all our branches do it. Upon reminding them about the rule book they will give you a discount to absorb it in your case.
This tendency to align or make groups or herd together to cheat and justify the cause of cheating is sadly a very self gratifying excuse. So friends beware and when it comes to unjustified malpractices then one has to put a stop Rs 25 or 250 or 2500 is not the point.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The learning might help you all - Banking Ombudsman comes to rescue
Well this is regarding a small win i had with Banking Ombudsman a body deployed by RBI to attend and mediate the harassment and related issues faced by customers from banks.The Office of Banking Ombudsman has considerable powers http://www.bankingombudsman.rbi.org.in/
The Banking Ombudsman (BO)Office is housed in the RBI building at Sansad Marg. The case was that in 2006 i had made a final settlement of my credit card payment with ICICI bank to their agents and got a full and final settlement receipt from them. After 4 years, last September i found my saving bank account in the same bank impacted by some Lein charges notified to me by regular post hardcopy mail. The bank had charged my savings account to claim Rs 8000 against their self proclaimed dues against the surrendered credit card without any prior notification or my approval.. I immediately wrote to the branch manager of the GK branch with the scanned copy of the receipt. For first few times he did not acknowledge my mail giving some excuse or the other finally when he did that he asked me to reach his debt department, he even in undertones tried to warn me that i should not be aggressive giving me some lame excuse. After first few calls he stopped answering my phone and the person in debt department did the same. This was a very frustrating experience. I reached out to a friend who is well versed with registering complaints regarding consumers and he told me about Banking Ombudsman.
Mid November after 1.5 months of following up with the bank i reached BO office through a mail putting my case and scanned copy of my documents. They laised with bank and i received a response from Bank in Feburary through the BO office which i contested. The bank was again quoting their rule book completely glossing over the receipt and the gap in their communication with their collection agency. I charged them with cheating me of the trust i had in putting my money in their saving account and they impacting it to recover funds they deem fit without my approval. The BO office called for a face to face meeting at the RBI office. I went there to present my case with all original receipts.
Guess what before i could enter the BO room the ICICI representative a 55 - 60 yrs old gentleman reached me in the reception area and told me that he was sorry and that they were losing a lot of customers because of the credit card department and that we should settle the case outside without the presence of the BO. He asked me what i wanted i informed him i wanted my money credited back and my account closed with ICICI for good. He gave it to me in written to remit my money back within 4 days and helping me close the account. The written agreement was shown to the BO and i was told that in case the bank does not comply i should reach back to the BO office again. The concerned debt officer was also present and the only answer she had for BO was that she receives 200 calls a day and she cannot attend all unmindful of the 5 months and botheration the customer went through.
I am wondering how many of us keep receipts that long and how many of the customers the bank must be cheating. Not many people bother to reach BO office or really know that one exists. In the meanwhile the bank simply meets its accounts by hook or by crook.
The Banking Ombudsman (BO)Office is housed in the RBI building at Sansad Marg. The case was that in 2006 i had made a final settlement of my credit card payment with ICICI bank to their agents and got a full and final settlement receipt from them. After 4 years, last September i found my saving bank account in the same bank impacted by some Lein charges notified to me by regular post hardcopy mail. The bank had charged my savings account to claim Rs 8000 against their self proclaimed dues against the surrendered credit card without any prior notification or my approval.. I immediately wrote to the branch manager of the GK branch with the scanned copy of the receipt. For first few times he did not acknowledge my mail giving some excuse or the other finally when he did that he asked me to reach his debt department, he even in undertones tried to warn me that i should not be aggressive giving me some lame excuse. After first few calls he stopped answering my phone and the person in debt department did the same. This was a very frustrating experience. I reached out to a friend who is well versed with registering complaints regarding consumers and he told me about Banking Ombudsman.
Mid November after 1.5 months of following up with the bank i reached BO office through a mail putting my case and scanned copy of my documents. They laised with bank and i received a response from Bank in Feburary through the BO office which i contested. The bank was again quoting their rule book completely glossing over the receipt and the gap in their communication with their collection agency. I charged them with cheating me of the trust i had in putting my money in their saving account and they impacting it to recover funds they deem fit without my approval. The BO office called for a face to face meeting at the RBI office. I went there to present my case with all original receipts.
Guess what before i could enter the BO room the ICICI representative a 55 - 60 yrs old gentleman reached me in the reception area and told me that he was sorry and that they were losing a lot of customers because of the credit card department and that we should settle the case outside without the presence of the BO. He asked me what i wanted i informed him i wanted my money credited back and my account closed with ICICI for good. He gave it to me in written to remit my money back within 4 days and helping me close the account. The written agreement was shown to the BO and i was told that in case the bank does not comply i should reach back to the BO office again. The concerned debt officer was also present and the only answer she had for BO was that she receives 200 calls a day and she cannot attend all unmindful of the 5 months and botheration the customer went through.
I am wondering how many of us keep receipts that long and how many of the customers the bank must be cheating. Not many people bother to reach BO office or really know that one exists. In the meanwhile the bank simply meets its accounts by hook or by crook.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Good learning experiences in the last three weeks
Hi !
Well starting 3rd week of Feb till the first week of March i have taken two trainings. The first one the Landmark Forum an exhaustive 3.5 full day workshop gifted by my dear sister and the second one a two day workshop on Stephen R Covey's book " 7 Habits of Highly effective people" which i opted for with IBM learning.
Landmark Forum provided insights into unleashing the potential each one of us have in us to be able to accomplish ANYTHING we dream by showing ways to remove the self constructed mental obstructions which hinder us from experiencing and expressing Life and relationships to the fullest. Further they hold us all with ONE binding value that is INTEGRITY. We all suffer because we compromise on our integrity to ourselves in some way or the other, the emphasis to live in the Present, to examine incidents separate from ones own interpretation of it, the world we create by our word and the value of living our word. Any change that takes place takes place in a moment and that moment is ALWAYS NOW. The moment we truly resolve to do it and live to the commitment of our spoken word. Very experiential training not aimed at adding on or changing oneself but aiming to transform ones self through awareness of how one is right now, take responsibility of ones words and actions. Also this enables one study the behavior of others why they behave the way they do.
The second training on " 7 Habits.." well this one identifies the 7 steps put character as the foundation of all. Character which is hidden forms 80% of the whole being only 20% is visible as personality to others as a tip of the iceberg. Identifies personal trustworthiness which radiates from center of self to the periphery and affects ones interpersonal managerial and organizational performance. It basis relationships at the heart of our success.Living to the Principles one sets for oneself is the basic edifice on which all the rest is built. the significance of emotional bank account and the Maturity continuum in relationships.
Both the trainings pointed to the same things in different ways - all blocks are in our own thinking and we create our own perception and realities and then go and live it. Integrity and character form the heart of EVERYTHING, if that is in place all will fall in place sooner or later and one can achieve anything. The reason for all misery is our own compromise on these. We all are responsible for our own state whatever good, bad, ugly and we all have the potential to make our lives a MASTERPIECE only if learn to be true to ourselves, live our own principles to the letter and keep watching ourselves every moment all the time as we create possibilities every moment, all the time and the moment is now.
Its wonderful to visit ones self once in a while - checkout and dust the cobwebs :)
Well starting 3rd week of Feb till the first week of March i have taken two trainings. The first one the Landmark Forum an exhaustive 3.5 full day workshop gifted by my dear sister and the second one a two day workshop on Stephen R Covey's book " 7 Habits of Highly effective people" which i opted for with IBM learning.
Landmark Forum provided insights into unleashing the potential each one of us have in us to be able to accomplish ANYTHING we dream by showing ways to remove the self constructed mental obstructions which hinder us from experiencing and expressing Life and relationships to the fullest. Further they hold us all with ONE binding value that is INTEGRITY. We all suffer because we compromise on our integrity to ourselves in some way or the other, the emphasis to live in the Present, to examine incidents separate from ones own interpretation of it, the world we create by our word and the value of living our word. Any change that takes place takes place in a moment and that moment is ALWAYS NOW. The moment we truly resolve to do it and live to the commitment of our spoken word. Very experiential training not aimed at adding on or changing oneself but aiming to transform ones self through awareness of how one is right now, take responsibility of ones words and actions. Also this enables one study the behavior of others why they behave the way they do.
The second training on " 7 Habits.." well this one identifies the 7 steps put character as the foundation of all. Character which is hidden forms 80% of the whole being only 20% is visible as personality to others as a tip of the iceberg. Identifies personal trustworthiness which radiates from center of self to the periphery and affects ones interpersonal managerial and organizational performance. It basis relationships at the heart of our success.Living to the Principles one sets for oneself is the basic edifice on which all the rest is built. the significance of emotional bank account and the Maturity continuum in relationships.
Both the trainings pointed to the same things in different ways - all blocks are in our own thinking and we create our own perception and realities and then go and live it. Integrity and character form the heart of EVERYTHING, if that is in place all will fall in place sooner or later and one can achieve anything. The reason for all misery is our own compromise on these. We all are responsible for our own state whatever good, bad, ugly and we all have the potential to make our lives a MASTERPIECE only if learn to be true to ourselves, live our own principles to the letter and keep watching ourselves every moment all the time as we create possibilities every moment, all the time and the moment is now.
Its wonderful to visit ones self once in a while - checkout and dust the cobwebs :)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Launching InfoBOOM in India
2009 marked the initial launch of infoBOOM!( http://www.ibm.com/businesscenter/in/infoboom), a professional social media marketing community designed for IT leaders within mid sized businesses. This collaborative effort initiated by IBM and CIO.com, was initially available within the U.S. and UK. In addition to those markets, infoBOOM! is now available in the following countries: Italy, France,India, Australia/New Zealand, Singapore
infoBOOOM! is a social networking environment for mid size IT leaders to gain real time access to expert opinions from IBM, IT analysts, Business Partners, industry influencers, and customers experts. This dynamic forums allows members to expand their network, collaborate with peers, and gain IT and business perspectives from across the social web to help them become more influential in making strategic decisions that benefit their companies. infoBOOM! groups can be accessed via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
GET GOING REGISTER and participate in the social dailogue :)
http://www.ibm.com/businesscenter/in/infoboom
infoBOOOM! is a social networking environment for mid size IT leaders to gain real time access to expert opinions from IBM, IT analysts, Business Partners, industry influencers, and customers experts. This dynamic forums allows members to expand their network, collaborate with peers, and gain IT and business perspectives from across the social web to help them become more influential in making strategic decisions that benefit their companies. infoBOOM! groups can be accessed via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
GET GOING REGISTER and participate in the social dailogue :)
http://www.ibm.com/businesscenter/in/infoboom
Friday, January 22, 2010
Absence filled ........Connect to your lost ones
Hi All
I am in Bangalore past one week and just forwarding this word for an initiative my sister Upma is driving. The name of the initiative is - "Absence filled".
As per this intitiative Upma is a facilitator to connect you to the right activity and the Ashram activities you choose to support. Read through the below format and feel free to reach Upma directly in case you are interested to participate or want to know more.
I am in Bangalore past one week and just forwarding this word for an initiative my sister Upma is driving. The name of the initiative is - "Absence filled".
As per this intitiative Upma is a facilitator to connect you to the right activity and the Ashram activities you choose to support. Read through the below format and feel free to reach Upma directly in case you are interested to participate or want to know more.
Participation choices: You are invited to own your loved one again by seeing them in the eyes of an old age home resident. One has the below mentioned choices:
1) Pay for the monthly expense of a resident
2) Spend time with them
3) Arrange a cultural evening for them
4) Take them out once in a month
The homes in Bangalore
1) Little Sisters of the poor , Hosur Road– 140 residents
2) Anand Asharm, Bennerghetta Road
3) Aasharya, Banshankari – 10 residents
Steps towards Things to do
1) Enrollment is open till 26th Jan 10. Ask for the enrollment form from Upma at upmashrian@yahoo.co.in
2) The first meeting will be held at the respective homes within a month of your enrollment confirmation.
Initiative Owner: UPMA SHRIAN, Bangalore , India
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Visiting Haridwar after a couple of decades
This was an experience in its self. I was invited to meet Guruji and i usually would not let go of such opportunities. So we went for a 2 day trip by train to Haridwar. We were just 2 days short of the maha Kumbh mela to start on Jan 6th. The place was abuzz with preparations to receive the throngs of people from all walks of life on the Maha Kumbh.
Well to mention about the ashram and Guruji. Guruji was waiting for us and welcomed us with a beaming smile a very unassuming, smiling persona. The Ashram houses 100 rooms, a huge kitchen garden, a temple, a cow stable and couple of huge halls for prayers. The entire facility was spic and span and i was impressed by the discipline everyone followed. One sould see dignity of labour as senior swamijis also sweeping the floor and helping in cooking. The atmosphere was all in all serence and welcoming after the madness of city life. I felt like living in first gear after the fifth.
Haridwar has a flavour of its own walking the banks of Ganga throws into myraid of moods - sometimes one gets caought by the Ganga flowing other times by filth around. Sometimes by devout devotees who turn a blind eye to all practical trivialities and are wrapped in their own spiritual climate. Number of poojas happening simultaneously, million of myths and stories surrounding each temple or idol there.
We got lucky to spend an hour plus in the company of Guruji who seemed to be a practical, very sharp and well travelled person. He seemed a karamyogi in that since 2005 he spent 35 crores on doing various charitable deeds opening colleges, schools making ashrams and other similar obligations. Good part was i could see that the learnings from abroad put to action here in India, in Haridwar. There was a section of the ashram made without pillars on the basis of a design Guruji saw in Japan, he uses a treadmill and advices people on business decisions, knows exactly how many days each of the south east asian countries take to give visa - meeting such a person and the brief interaction i had was a bleassing in itself :)
Well to mention about the ashram and Guruji. Guruji was waiting for us and welcomed us with a beaming smile a very unassuming, smiling persona. The Ashram houses 100 rooms, a huge kitchen garden, a temple, a cow stable and couple of huge halls for prayers. The entire facility was spic and span and i was impressed by the discipline everyone followed. One sould see dignity of labour as senior swamijis also sweeping the floor and helping in cooking. The atmosphere was all in all serence and welcoming after the madness of city life. I felt like living in first gear after the fifth.
Haridwar has a flavour of its own walking the banks of Ganga throws into myraid of moods - sometimes one gets caought by the Ganga flowing other times by filth around. Sometimes by devout devotees who turn a blind eye to all practical trivialities and are wrapped in their own spiritual climate. Number of poojas happening simultaneously, million of myths and stories surrounding each temple or idol there.
We got lucky to spend an hour plus in the company of Guruji who seemed to be a practical, very sharp and well travelled person. He seemed a karamyogi in that since 2005 he spent 35 crores on doing various charitable deeds opening colleges, schools making ashrams and other similar obligations. Good part was i could see that the learnings from abroad put to action here in India, in Haridwar. There was a section of the ashram made without pillars on the basis of a design Guruji saw in Japan, he uses a treadmill and advices people on business decisions, knows exactly how many days each of the south east asian countries take to give visa - meeting such a person and the brief interaction i had was a bleassing in itself :)
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