Election Commission India's Voter Helpline app - a Great tool !

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Election day in India is always like a festival. You can see autorickshaws offering free rides to the elderly and disabled people from home to the polling venue. You can see people queuing up early in the morning at the polling booths, to avoid long queues. You can see party members getting ready and setting up their "May I help you" kiosks around the polling venue. 

It's election day in Tamilnadu, today. This time, all of us in my family got our voting slips, except for my wife. If you don't know what a voting slip is... it is a slip that helps the poll booth officer to quickly identify your voter record in the ledger (which appears like the Chitragupta's book of records). The voting slip has serial number that helps the poll booth officer to tracer your voter record in the ledger. This serial number is different from your "Voter Identification Number". If you go to the polling booth without the voter slip, the poll booth officer would take a longer time to identify your voter record and it may unnecessarily delay your voting process. Normally, the different parties that are contesting in the election would give you a copy of the voting slip, at your door step. There are elections where we had 4 or 5 copies of the same voting slip in our hand. However, this time, none of the parties distributed any voting slip. Probably, they were trying to go green or they were busy distributing cash :) A government representative ended up handing over the voting slips to my family members - but somehow, my wife's slip was missed out. 

I thought we can get the voting slip in one of the "May I help you" kiosks setup by the party functionaries, outside of the polling venue. I went to one of those kiosks. They said, I've to visit the kiosk in my street, to get my wife's voting slip. We rushed back to our street, but didn't see any kiosk in our street. When we checked with a couple of people in my street, they redirected me to the next street. Finally, I found a kiosk in the next street. The guy in the kiosk took my wife's Voter Id and scanned through the different pages in the ledger... and after spending 10 minutes he said, "Sir! We couldn't find your wife's record. But, you can still go to the booth and cast your vote". I felt like the Kamalahaasan in Indian movie, who gets tossed around to different government departments, to get some basic stuff done. 

We again rushed back to the polling venue. By this time, the morning sun has pierced my skin to get the juice flowing out of my body. I made my wife stand in the voters' queue and quietly sat under a tree nearby with my mobile phone. I was searching in Google for voter's slip. I found a website, http://www.electoralsearch.in/, but it was incredibly slow. It reminded me of the days, when we used to type "http://www.yahoo.com", in Internet Explorer, go to college canteen, have a tea and come back to see the page fully rendered. After nearly 10 minutes, the page displayed. I filled all the details of my wife's Voter Id and was about to click the "Search" button. The webpage asked me to enter a "Captcha" without showing any "Captcha". I hit the refresh button again. This time, it showed the Captcha properly. I entered all the details properly and hit "Search". After taking 10 minutes, the website reported that the record could not be found. I was disappointed and frustrated with the experience. 

I started Googling again, and found the "Voter Helpline" application. I downloaded it from the app store in a few seconds and punched-in my wife's Voter Id details. It immediately displayed the Serial Number of my wife's voter record in the ledger. I took a piece of paper, wrote the Serial number and handed it over to my wife, who was still in the queue, which was crawling like a wounded snake. The poll booth officer was able to quickly identify her record in the ledger, using the Serial number. Voter Helpline app is a great tool for the voters. I wish they make a computer or a mobile phone with the Voter Helpline app loaded, and keep it outside the polling venues. It will greatly help the voters and save a lot of time for the voters and the officials manning the polling booth. 

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Airtel Store in Ekkattuthangal, Chennai - Poor Customer Service

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In Airtel Store at Ekkattuthangal, Chennai, right from the store manager to the store representatives, nobody cares for the customer. I've been an Airtel customer for the last 10+ years. I had used the Airtel stores in Ashok Nagar and Nelson Manickam Road in the past and they were very good. My fate, I landed up in the Ekkattuthangal store recently, and I had a terrible experience. Over the last 10 years, I would've easily paid them Rs. 1+ lacs for service and I'm totally disappointed with the treatment that I received. No wonder why Airtel is continuing to lose its market share / profits to Reliance Jio.

I had to change my phone from a post-paid corporate account to a pre-paid personal account. It took me nearly 20 days to finish the process, got tossed around to 3 Airtel facilities, with 4 visits to the Ekkattuthangal store, several follow-ups over phone calls (which seldom got a response) and eventually they said, they can convert it only from post-paid corporate to post-paid personal account. Every visit to the shop costed me nearly 2.5 hours, as I had to commute from Choolaimedu (the place where I lived) to Ekkattuthangal.

At first, I reached out to the local Airtel booth in my office to initiate the corporate/postpaid to personal/pre-paid account transfer (with all the documentation), The rep in the booth said, I'll have to go to a Airtel store to do the same. I went to the Nelson Manickam Road store for help. They said, they are a franchise store and I'll have to go to any of the Airtel owned stores to do the transfer. Hence, I landed up in the Ekkattuthangal store.

Visit #1: The store rep in Ekkattuthangal Airtel store (Mr. Srinivasan) collected my application form. I told him specifically that I had been already bounced to 3 different stores... and I don't want to go through any more hardships. He said "Once your corporate settles the outstanding bills, we can finish the transfer the next day". I followed-up with my corporate and after a week, they confirmed that they had settled all of the outstanding bills. I tried calling the store rep, but didn't pick my calls at all.

Visit #2: I again went to the shop. But, this time, the person to whom I gave the application was absent... and others couldn't trace my application at all. They said they'll search offline and get back to me. They also warned that I'll have to submit a fresh application with proper documentation. After a few days, I didn't get any calls from the store. I again called them. They asked me to come to the store with all the documentation.

Visit #3: I took photocopies of documentation and visited the store again. This time, I spotted Mr. Srinivasan and he found my application again. He said, he doesn't have the login name / password for the portal to initiate the transfer. He said, he'll complete it and confirm to me by evening. I waited, waited and waited... and no calls/confirmation from Mr. Srinivasan. When I called him again in the evening, he said I had to convert only from post-paid corporate to post-paid personal, as the IT application has a technical glitch. They asked me to come to the store to file a fresh post-paid application.

Visit #4: I reached the store with a lot of frustration. When I raised the voice, the store manager Ms. Saranya started showing some sense of urgency. But, they couldn't complete the conversion. They said, they'll have to reinitiate the KYC process again for my post-paid connection and it will take at least a day for the transfer to be complete. I told them, I had been a customer in the past, I have neither changed my phone number or residence for the last 10+ years and moreover, I furnished my Aadhar too... and couldn't understand why a new KYC is needed. I had to escalate to the Zone Manager Mr. Narayanan (Ms. Saranya's boss), to accelerate the KYC process. They managed to finish the process in 2 hours, however, my phone number is still to be converted to post-paid/personal account. I hope the number will get converted tomorrow.

Reasons why I feel that the Airtel Store in Ekkattuthangal Chennai offered a bad customer experience:

1. No proper communication / No updates from the store rep. I had to continuously follow-up several times to get some updates. They don't give any attention to a long time customer, especially someone who have done several lacs worth of business with Airtel. 
2. Occasionally, when I get to Mr. Srinivasan, he would continuously promise me that the process will be complete in the evening or in 4 hours. But, nothing happens. He is a liar and not fit to serve corporate customers / customers who are professionals.
3. During my 4th visit, Mr. Srinivasan said in an angry tone - "Sir! You'll have to visit the store a few times like this... if you really want to get your number converted" (in Tamil "Sir! number change pannanum-na indha maadhiri than naaalu (4) anju (5) thadavai alayunum"). The last time I heard such statement was in an RTO office. I worked for a leading service provider and if I had made such a statement to the customer, I would've been fired the same day. 
4. Store manager Ms. Saranya tried to justify what happened to the customer instead of listening. When she was not in action for 3 days... she didn't handover the login name / password to anyone. Did she assume that no customer will come for a post-paid to pre-paid conversion request, for 3 days?
5. There is no ledger or process in the store to properly track the incoming applications / service requests. They didn't even give me a service request id or challan to track my application. I was shocked when they said my application is missing and it couldn't be traced. 
6. Even the customer care numbers are not of use. When you call them, they redirect you back to the store. Customer lands up in a helpless situation. 

Hope Airtel will do something to fix these gaps in the Airtel Ekkattuthangal store.

[Update from 1/6/16: My phone number was finally converted to my personal account. Ms. Saranya followed-up with me to confirm that]

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Kovilpatti Railway Station - Super Clean !

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It is a common sight in railway stations to see coffee cups on the railway tracks, empty chips/biscuit covers/wrappers on the platforms and most importantly, overflowing trash bins. But, Kovilpatti Railway Station is an exception. Kovilpatti is a well known city in South Tamilnadu. Recently, I boarded a train from Kovilpatti Railway Station. I was amazed by the cleanliness of the Kovilpatti Railway Station.

There was absolutely no trash in Kovilpatti Railway Station - be it on the platforms as well as on the railway tracks. I always believed that rules alone cannot change people’s behavior. In addition to coming up with rules, you need to educate people, and make it simple/easy for people to follow the rules. For example, in Kovilpatti Railway Station, I noticed that there are multiple sign boards educating the passengers to keep the railway station clean. In addition, there were trash bins kept at least once every 100 ft. This makes it easy for people to dump trash in a trash bin, nearby.

Any shop that sells food items has a trash bin nearby. Also, there is a sign board that clearly lists down the various rules which have to be followed by the food vendor - as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) policies. They have also mentioned the owner’s phone number and FSSAI phone number for filing a compliant - if the passengers found that the shop keepers are violating any of the rules.

Also read: A ban on spitting pan in public places - who enforces it?

It is not just the cleanliness of the station that stood out. The authorities have worked hard to provide a great overall experience to the passengers. The station has a good parking facility and they charge just Rs.10. There is a chart on the wall near the entrance of the railway station which clearly describes the location of various coaches in the platform, for different trains. There is also abundant seating space in the railway station. In fact, they have a separate seating area for second class passengers. That facility is well maintained too (including the rest rooms that are maintained very clean). If there is one challenge, it is the number of mosquitoes. You cannot escape from the mosquito bite. I don’t know what authorities can do for that, given the vegetation around the station.

(Also read: Traveling near restrooms in Train isn't fun)

The drinking water taps at the station are functional too - which is again a rare thing to see in such railway stations.

I get thrilled when I see a clean public place... as it takes lots of efforts/support from both the authorities and the public. I hope Kovilpatti Railway Station - continues to be super clean. Waiting for a day when our Chennai Egmore and Chennai Central becomes like Kovilpatti Railway Station.

(Also read: If I don't care, who will care)

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Delhi - Agra - Jaipur Trip through Panicker's Travel (2 of 2)

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Also read: Delhi - Agra - Jaipur Trip through Panicker's Travel (1 of 2)

Agra - Jaipur - Mathura trip starts at 6 am from Panicker's Karol Bagh office. We got up at 4 am and started getting ready. The bus departed Panicker's office sharp at 6 am. After a 2.5 hours drive, there was a breakfast stop over at Hotel Highway Prince. Panicker's had arranged a special breakfast menu for Rs.125 each. We finished our breakfast and departed to Jaipur. We saw Birla Mandir, Jantar Mantar, Maharaja Palace, Museum and Amber Fort in Jaipur. The night stay was arranged in Hotel Red Fox within the city. We reached the hotel by around 6 pm. The buffet dinner at the hotel costed Rs.200 per head. The stay was very good. We went to bed at 8.30 pm, as the next day trip starts at 5 am.

The day 2 of the Agra - Jaipur - Mathura trip started at 5 am sharp. The travellers had a quality 3 hours of sleep during the bus ride to Fatehpur Sikri. We had a stop over at a private venue where Panicker's had arranged the breakfast. They charged Rs. 100 for the breakfast, but had a number of items in the menu. Then, we covered Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and Taj Mahal during the day.

The day temperature was very high - mostly 40+ centigrades. Each of us would've had 4+ litres of water every day.

In the evening, we were taken to Mathura, specifically to the Mathura Temple. The places around the Mathura Temple appeared as-if they belonged to the Independence era. There was absolutely no signs of development. We then headed back to Delhi. On the way back to Delhi, we witnessed dust storm on the highway. It lasted for about a minute and then, it started raining. Though the dust storm lasted just for a minute, it looked disastrous. We reached Delhi by 9.45 pm and checked-in to Hotel Sonil. We ordered dinner at the hotel and went to sleep. 

The next day, Delhi sight seeing trip started at 9 am. So, we had enough time to sleep. We reached Panicker's office by 8.45 am. The bus departed at 9 am, sharp. The quality of the Delhi sight seeing bus was somewhat average. They had a super cool luxury bus for the Agra - Jaipur - Mathura trip. We visited Qutab Minar, India Gate, Lotus Temple, Indira Gandhi Memorial,  Parliament House, Gandhi Museum, Rashtrapati Bhawan and Red Fort. The lunch was served in Tamilnadu Tourism Hotel. We wrapped up the day with a visit to Birla Mandir Temple. We were brought back to the Panicker's office by 7 pm. We finished our dinner and slept early. 

On the last day, we woke up a little late, had our breakfast and started packing our luggages. We reached airport by around 1 pm. We finished our lunch at the airport. Our flight was at 4.30 pm. So, we had a lot of time to kill. The kids spent bulk of the time in wandering around and by going up/down the travelators. We reached home by around 8.30 pm and cherished the memories of the trip.

Those 5 days taught me some critical words in Hindi, such as Bhai, Bhayya, Kitna, Udhar, Idhar and Lao. You can simply survive with these words. We had a very enjoyable trip to Delhi, Agra & Jaipur. The kids had more fun than the adults. We are now geared up to make yet another North India trip.

Also read: Delhi - Agra - Jaipur Trip through Panicker's Travel (1 of 2)

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Delhi - Agra - Jaipur Trip through Panicker's Travel (1 or 2)

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For nearly 10 years, I was postponing our  Delhi/Agra trip for the simple reason that I was not proficient in Hindi. Recently, a friend of mine said, she did a Delhi / Agra trip through Panicker travels (not to be confused with the Chennai Paniker Tours and Travels). I started doing some research and found that the reviews were very positive. I had never done a group package tour before, so I wasn't sure if that would work out for our family. I was afraid that we had to wait everywhere for other group members to return back to the bus after the sightseeing. But, my friend assured that Panickers maintain the timing in all the places and it is convenient even for families with kids or elders. That gave me some confidence to proceed with the booking.

I planned a 5 days itinerary - reaching on the 1st day, 3 days of sight seeing and returning back on the 5th day. Some monuments are closed on certain days, so I checked their availability before planning the trip. We chose Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon for our travel. I booked our flight tickets in Indigo Airlines. I went to Panicker Travels office in Prince Plaza, Egmore to book the 3 days sight seeing package and accommodation. They had a 2 days "Jaipur- Agra - Fatehpur Sikri - Mathura (Golden Triangle)" package. This package included an overnight stay at Jaipur. And then, I picked the 1 day Delhi tour package. I also asked Panicker's to arrange the Delhi stay for my entire trip. They helped with that. In finished the planning 2 months in advance.

In the last few years, we had check marked the usual destinations such as Ooty, Kodaikanal, Wayanad, Tanjore, Pondicherry and Coorg. Our May outings are normally with the extended family, which includes 10+ people. The kids in our family were too excited about the trip (actually, about the flight travel!). We got warnings from our friends and family members to cancel the trip - because of the sandstorm in Delhi. However, weather forecast was normal and so, we didn't cancel the trip.

Finally, The D-day came. We boarded the Indigo flight from Chennai Airport at 11 am and reached Delhi by 2.30 pm. We booked Ola Primes from the airport. Our first surprise was the CNG fitted SWIFT Dzires. The trunk space was hogged by the CNG cylinders. There is absolutely no trunk space in those cars. We ended up literally squeezing into the car, with all of our luggages. Our accommodation was arranged in Hotel Karat, Karol Bagh. When we checked-in to the hotel, we were surprised. It appeared like a budget hotel and was not so clean. We were too hungry. So, we headed out to finish our lunch at Hotel Southern, which was nearby. The food at Hotel Southern was very good, also it was very clean. We ended up having all of our meals during Delhi stay in Hotel Southern.

After finishing the lunch, my brother & I went to Panicker Travel's office, which was also in Karol Bagh. We requested them for a hotel change. Initially, they had charged Rs.1.5K for a room. They charged us another Rs.1K to upgrade to Panicker's guest house, which was nearby. I was surprised that they did the hotel change, without making a fuzz about it. We then switched from Hotel Karat to Panicker's Guest House. We spent some time taking rest in the hotel. Then, we had our dinner. We slept early so that we can wake up early the next day.

Also read: Delhi - Agra - Jaipur Trip through Panicker's Travel (2 of 2)

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Power of Aadhar - True potential to be unlocked !

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Last week, we decided to upgrade my wife's phone connection from a pre-paid to a postpaid plan. After swirling around the town, we landed up in a showroom in Ashok Nagar. The showroom was
very busy and filled with people. All of the representatives were quite engaged in conversations with customers.  In fact, the store had a token system for customers to be serviced in order, by the Airtel representatives. We took a token and patiently waited for our turn. While waiting for our turn, my wife told me "I don't have a passport sized picture. Would that be a problem?". I gave her a stare, not knowing how to react to that.

Also read: Coimbatore Airport - Lost & Found

I looked around and saw some applications hanging off the shelf in the wall. I pulled a postpaid upgrade application form from the shelf. It was longer than the application form to apply for a H1B visa in US consulate. They had a place to affix photograph. "Oops!" I thought. I made my wife to sit inside the store and walked out to check if there is any instant passport photo shop nearby. I couldn't spot one. I walked back into the Airtel store with disappointment.

Around that time, one of the representatives called our token number. We walked to him and occupied the chairs in front of him. He looked at us and asked for the application form, photograph, address proof and ID proof. I told him with a "sorry" face "Sir! We don't have a passport sized photograph. We just have the Aadhar card. Would that be enough?". He said "No problem sir ! That would be enough". He pulled out a small finger print reader, connected it to his mobile phone... and opened an application from the mobile. He entered the Aadhar number and asked my wife to put her thumb on the finger print reader. The mobile application immediately pulled all of her information from the Aadhar database - picture, address etc., He entered the old pre-paid mobile number, selected the basic postpaid plan and clicked submit. He said "Sir! The transaction is complete. You'll receive an SMS in another 4 hours and the migration to a postpaid plan would be complete".

Also read: Money need to R2I

"Wow! No application form... no signatures ... no photocopies of proofs "... I was spellbound when I saw that. The experience that I had in the Airtel store was on par with some of the mobile activation experiences that I've had in the US (or even better than that). I was amazed by the power of Aadhar. I'm now quite excited to see other Aadhar integration applications. I'm hoping that we will soon live in a world, where we don't have to remember two dozen usernames and passwords. On one side I'm excited of the simplicity of Aadhar and on the other side, I'm nervous about its security features. In a country like India, it is very hard to protect online services from hackers. Hopefully, Nandan Nilekani had done a thorough job on the security of the Aadhar services, too. I feel that India is very well positioned to enable digital identity verification and digital payments with services like Aadhar based validation and UPI payments. We have the potential to leap frog some developing / developed nations in digital payments / customer identity validation.

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Coimbatore Airport - Lost & Found

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Last week, I had been to Pollachi to attend a Industry Institute Conclave in Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology (MCET). It was almost a full day event and there were participants from many industries, all over South India. After the event was over, I returned back to Coimbatore

Airport to catch my Spicejet flight at 9.15 pm. I reached airport by 6 pm and the checkin counter wasn't open at that time. I spent an hour in the lobby catching up with emails and phone calls.

At 7 pm, I checked-in at the Airline counter and stood in the queue for security checks. The security personnel asked everyone to keep their laptop and iPad in a tray. Normally, I keep all of my electronic gadgets in one tray, including laptop, iPad and mobile phone. On that day, I had carried with me my iPad and mobile phone. I kept just the iPad on the tray and kept the mobile phone in my bag. After clearing the security checks, I picked up my bag and moved to the seating area. I didn't realize that I had forgot to pick up my iPad from the tray.

(Also read: Chennai Metro Rail - Simply the BEST)

I was at the Coimbatore airport till 9.15 pm and boarded the Spicejet flight. The flight started on time (These days, Spicejet maintains on time departure ! :)). I landed in Chennai and reached home in a Ola cab. By the time I reached home, I was too tired and crashed into the bed.

The next day morning when I got up and wanted to catch up with my emails, I couldn't find my iPad in the bag. I was shocked. When I rewound the sequence of events the previous day, I realized that I didn't pick my iPad from the security. I didn't know what to do. I googled to find out Coimbatore Airport's website. There was a phone number and email id published in the website for "Enquiry". I sent an email to them and called the phone number (thinking that no one will pick up the phone at 7 am in the morning). To my surprise, a lady picked up the phone on the other side. I asked her "Mme! I was traveling from Coimbatore airport yesterday night and I missed to pick up my iPad during the security checks. Can you please check if the security officers have secured it?" She turned around and asked someone "Did you find an iPad yesterday night from the security line?" I could hear the conversation... and the other person responded back positively to her. She turned to me and said "Sir! Your iPad is safe, you can come and collect it from us showing your ID proof and copy of the boarding pass". I told her that I'm in Chennai and I can request my friend to pick it up. She said "Your friend has to come up with their ID proof and a requisition letter from you". I requested one of my friends in Coimbatore for help. I sent the documents through my friend and she was able to pick it up for me. The next I received a response to my email checking if I have received my iPad.

(Also read: Night stay in Bangalore airport - rethink)

I am positively surprised by the responsiveness of the Coimbatore Airport staff and their outstanding support. It is very rare to see such committed / sincere staff in Government institutions. Our country is still going strong, because of officials like the one in Coimbatore Airport. I'm very thankful to them. If you are flying via Coimbatore, you don't have to worry.. you are in "safe hands".

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Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) - Simply the best !

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"Showstopper" ... this is the term that you'll use to describe the rains in Chennai, which is continuously pouring for the last few weeks. The rains have brought the entire city to a grinding halt including schools, hospitals and shops. If there is one thing that keeps moving without any hiccups

Image Source: www.newindianexpress.com

for the last few weeks, amidst intense rains, it is the Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL).

(Also read: Heavy rain turned Chennai to Venice)

It was the Diwali eve. I packed my stuff from office and headed to the parking lot to take my car to home. When I got into the car, I was shocked to see that my car's gear box wasn't functional. That is when I realized that the reason could be the car's small dip in the morning, in the stagnant pool of water near my office. I decided not to spoil my Diwali mood, left the car in my office garage and decided to take CMRL to home. It is about 6 months since CMRL started its service in Chennai. I never had a chance to take a ride, even for pleasure. I thought it is a good opportunity for me to experience the CMRL service.

I walked to the Ekkatuthangal station near my office. The moment I climbed the stairs to reach the 1st level, I was astonished. The infrastructure was world class. They had a security checkpoint similar to the airports. The security guards scanned all the people and their belongings before letting them in. There were representatives at the ticketing counter who helped me to get a token (ticket) for my ride to Arumbakkam station. The ticket costed Rs.40 for a single ride. I went to the 2nd level to board the train. The 2nd level was as clean as the first level. There were security guards placed at several places. The monitors in the 2nd level clearly indicated the time duration for the next train to arrive. The count down clock in the monitor started showing "5 minutes for the next train to Koyambedu". 5 mins became 4, 4 became 3 ... finally the clock showed 0 minutes for train's arrival and I saw the train entering the station. The doors of the coach opened without making any noise, as smooth as the doors of the elevators you see in a 5 star hotel. I entered the coach and took a seat.

The coach interiors were air conditioned and very clean. There were 2 stations between Ekkattuthangal and Arumbakkam. Whenever the train approached a station, there were clear announcements made inside the coach with a clear digital sign board. It reminded me of the light rail journey that I used to take in US in 2002, to go to office. In about 10 minutes I reached the Arumbakkam station and got down from the train. I waved a bye to the CMRL and started taking the stairs to the road.

When I reached the ground level and got to the road, I felt as if I jumped from a western world to the local Chennai, with just a flip of a switch. I was amazed by the quality of the service and the CMRL infrastructure. I wish our Chennaiites continue to support the government in maintaining the infrastructure in its current form. Our Chennai CMRL is simply the best.

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Sixth R2I Anniversary - Still going strong !

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We just celebrated the 6th year anniversary of our R2I (Return to India). If I have to summarize the our R2I experience in one word, it is "Transformation". My life has dramatically changed in more than one way since my R2I. (Read: First R2I Anniversary: The journey continues)

I'm still continuing with my corporate career. When I returned back, I was working as a "Technical Marketing Engineer" at Ankeena Networks (which later got acquired by Juniper). Now, I'm the Director Technology for Aricent. It was a progressive career and I enjoy doing what I do. The work environment in India hasn't changed much in the last 6 years. But, if you are clear about "what you really want to achieve" and "what is important to you in life", you can easily strike a balance between work, family and social life. (Also read: The need for more money never ends)

My daughter got adjusted very well to the culture in India. In fact, she got adjusted faster than my wife and me. She is studying well and I can see that the schools are focusing on grooming the person overall, as opposed to just focusing on marks. Recently, she got pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week. We went through the fire drill for a week and we were back to our normal life after that. My support system at home (my dad/mom) was of great help. My wife is now working as a teacher and she has a busy life too.

My dad and mom are extremely happy that we are back. We attend a number of weddings and family events. We get to meet our relatives very often... it helps to stay connected with them. These days, our relatives treat us like "Indians". Immediately after our return, some of them thought that we will lead an American life in India. They don't have that doubt anymore :) Technically speaking, except for the infrastructure, you can lead an American life in India (KFCs/McDs, iPhones, BMWs/Audis, Porch Villas in good communities, Hotels/Restaurants, Online shopping, Shopping malls, International Schools with A/C etc.,). The life style in India has changed much that people don't peak into your personal life anymore (actually, they don't have the time for it).

Also read: Driving in Indian roads - pleasure or pain?

We visited California for a vacation, last year and had a great time visiting a few friends and going around places. In fact, we were constantly on the run and could meet only half of my friends during the trip. During my recent trip to US, I realized that US has become more "automated". Automated toll collection, automated parking lots, automated ticketing systems... these services used to be there before, but now they are seen "everywhere".

What do I miss the most from my US life? It is the ease with which you can plan your travel / vacation. In India, you would still need the support of people (travel agents, taxi wallas etc.,) to have a nice vacation.  The scenario is changing somewhat, but still have a long way to go.

What do I enjoy the most in my R2I life? It is the time that I spend with youngsters in India, in helping them to groom their career and personality (through Toastmasters). I get a sense of satisfaction that I'm able to contribute something back to the society. Of course, I enjoy meeting & spending time with my relatives at weddings / family functions :)

Today, a few of my friends have already R2I'd and I'm quite sure that the count will continue to increase.

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Gingee (Chengi) Fort - My best hike ever in India !

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Last month, we had been to Pondicherry for summer holidays. On our way back, we visited Gingee Fort (pronounced as "Chengi" in Tamil). Gingee Fort is at about 1.5 hours drive from Pondicherry and 3.5 hours drive from Chennai. If you love to hike, this is the place that you should visit. We reached there on a holiday weekend (May 1st, 2015) and wasn't sure if it would be open for visitors. We were positively surprised to learn that Gingee Fort is open throughout the year. This information isn't publicly available anywhere. There was one employee at the tickets counter. He mentioned that Gingee Fort comes under the Tourism department and hence, we can get information about Gingee Fort from Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) in Chennai. There was enough parking space in front of the fort and there was a nominal parking fee.

We reached one of the 3 forts (yes! there are 3 separate forts) and learned that the hike to the top will take about 1 hour. My dad/mom weren't very motivated to climb (in fact, the hike is strenuous. I wouldn't recommend it for folks who are old and having knee problems) . My wife, daughter and I took about 1 hour to complete the hike with multiple stops in between. We carried just 1 water bottle and realized at the end of our onward hike that it isn't sufficient. There was a guy selling some snacks + water bottles at the top (Hey! Its India...). If you are lucky on your day of the hike, you may find one also... but, don't bet on it and carry a water bottle with you. There are no shops near / on top of Gingee fort. By the time we reached the top, we were gasping for breath. But the view at / from the top was amazing. At the top, there were some leftover remains of the fort. I saw groups of youngsters carrying their lunch packs and having their food there. Like most attractions in India, Gingee Fort was also polluted with water packets, plastic bottles and plastic covers. Thanks to the common sense of our people who litter wherever they go.We spent about 30 minutes at the top of the fort and started walking down. We were able climb down very fast (it took just 30 minutes).

There were 2 more forts near by. But, we were told that the hike to those forts may take 2 - 3 hours. We decided to do those hikes some other day. If you are in/around Chennai and looking for a hiking place, consider visiting Gingee Fort.

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Swachh Bharat - Just a Dream?

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A few weeks back, I was returning in the evening from my office in Thoraipakkam. I saw a Honda City car driving past me. In a few seconds, I noticed the window glass from the Honda City getting

rolled down. A small hand popped out of the car's window, threw a dairy milk chocolate wrapper and rolled up the window glass, again. Out of curiosity, I drew a little faster to see who is inside the car. There were two kids sitting in the rear set of the car and a gentleman in his early 30s, wearing a cooling glass, driving the car. I got a little annoyed and I wanted to pull my car in front of the Honda City, stop them and give them a piece of my mind. I refrained from doing that, just to avoid creating a nuisance to the public, by creating a traffic jam.

Also read: A ban on spitting pan in public places - who enforces it?

Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the Swachh Bharat program on 2nd Oct 2014 and nominated a few folks from across the country to propagate the message. We immediately saw a number of "photo-ops" from stars and celebrities. Social and print media was filled with such pictures. Many citizens complained that this initiative doesn't have wings and lacks a solid plan of action/budget. However, I was somewhat positive about the initiative. At the minimum, the initiative would at least raise the awareness and importance of maintaining our surroundings clean. Well, the incident that I ran into a few weeks back can be treated as an exception.

I have noticed some visible changes in our country, since Swachh Bharat campaign was launched. First of all, you can see trash bins in every coach in trains. There used to be trash bins in certain coaches in trains, in the past. However, now they are present in every coach. I'm a regular visitor to the Chennai Marina beach. I noticed that the trash bins have popped-up again in our Marina beach. Also, I heard that the enforcement officials are mandating the proper disposal of waste created by the stalls that sell food in Marina beach. Despite this, I continue to see broken wine / beer bottles in the sand. You can't imagine running on the sands of Marina beach with bare foot... since the sand is filled with glass pieces. I read in the newspaper today that some kids have come up with a robot that can clean-up garbage from Marina sands. I feel that automation of garbage collection in Marina is the only scalable and sustainable method to ensure a clean Marina (of course, in addition to trying to change the behavior of people). Happy to see that Swachh Bharat is triggering some innovation, too.

I believe Swachh Bharat campaign is a step in the right direction. In fact, in my recent train journey I saw an elderly person in his 60s throwing trash out of the window. I politely told him that there is a trash bin now in every coach after the Swachh Bharat campaign. He apologized for his act and promised to throw trash into bins, in the future.

Together, let us make Clean India ... not only a dream, but also a reality.

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Chennai Book Fair - More time, the next time !

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In the last 6 years since I returned to India (yes! It is almost 6 years since I R2Id :)), I have seen advertisements/promotions for the Chennai Book Fair, every year. In fact, I have crossed the book
fair venue several times in the past (when the book fair was happening) and I never got a chance to make a visit. 2015 broke the spell ... Thanks to my close friend who visited me on January 10th, 2015.

We were talking about work, family etc., and literally ran out of some productive topics to discuss. We had two easy options at hand... watch television or take a quick nap. The thought of Chennai Book Fair suddenly came to my mind and I bounced it with my friend. He also got excited with the idea. We immediately jumped into my car and traversed our way to YMCA, Nandanam. They had good parking facilities there. The whole place was in "festive" mood - there were sellers of toys for kids, a number of eateries and picnic areas (actually, our people made open space into picnic areas). The entire YMCA ground was filled with people like bees in a hive. There were literary discussions/debates happening in another side of the ground. Chennai Book Fair was much more than just a "Book Fair" for a nominal entry fee of Rs.10.

Also read: Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is World Class, but people's behavior is still local class

We got the tickets and entered the place where the books were displayed for public to purchase. I was taken by surprise when I entered the large venue. There were several 100s of book sellers and several 1000s of books in each shop. I got reminded of the popular phrase from our Tamil literary "Kattradhu Kai Mannalavu... Kallaadhadhu Ulagaluvu" (meaning "What you've learned is as small as the sand in your palm, what you've not learned is as big as the world"). I went to the first book stall and spent some time glancing at the books in the stall. I was amazed by the number of Tamil books at display - covering all the subjects under the earth. I bought some books written by Dr. Irai Anbu from the stall and we moved to the 2nd stall. By the time we covered 15 stalls, we had already spent 2 hours and bought nearly 5 books each. My friend had a return flight in the night and we had to leave the venue soon.

I realized that 2 hours isn't just enough for you to cover the entire book fair. You can easily spend 1 full day at the Chennai Book Fair. I didn't take my wife and daughter to the book fair, this time. I decided that I should take them also along, next time and spend at least 5 hours at the Book Fair. While I was thinking that the number of hours people spend on reading books have diminished, Chennai Book Fair challenged my thinking. I read from the newspapers that Chennai Book Fair had record collections, this year. I learned that on an average, a seller makes 20% of his yearly sale at the Chennai Book Fair. Happy to see that our Chennaiites are continuing to buy and read books. This is definitely a trend to welcome. Happy reading... folks !

Also read: Semmozhi Poonga - The Greenway in the heart of Chennai city

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Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple - Well maintained & managed

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Last month, I had been to Madurai with my family. I had a chance to go to Madurai Meenakshi Srirangam Temple and Tirupathi. So, I was expecting a similar experience at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.

The temple amazes me everytime that I visit. It has been nearly 4 years since I last visited the temple. Whenever I visit large temples, I get annoyed by the way in which they are maintained/managed. I had bitter experiences during my visits to

They say "first impressions are the best impressions". The management of Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple has done a remarkable job of creating the best first impressions. There is good parking facilities closer to the temple. You'll have to walk for 100 mts or so to get to the temple from the parking lot. Vehicular traffic closer to the temple is restricted. So, you can comfortably walk to the temple without getting bumped by an autorickshaw or a two wheeler.

There is a facility near the temple to collect your foot wear and that too, the service is provided for free. They've clearly mentioned the amount given to the contractor for taking care of the foot wear of the visitors. If I remember it right, the government pays Rs.14 lacs or so per year to the contractor for taking care of the visitors' foot wear.

The temple had clear directions / sign boards. The booth that sells tickets for darshans was located near the entrance and in a visible location. They had a good infrastructure for managing the queues. I should appreciate the tremendous job done by the policemen in managing the queues. They don't allow anyone to bypass the queues (unlike Srirangam Temple where I saw people continuously bypassing the queues and policemen were supporting that).

After a 30 minutes of waiting in the queue, we got a glimpse of the deity for a few seconds and came out finishing our prayers. The temple tank was filled with water, which was a rare sight. I was told that they had filled the tank with water for an upcoming function/event.

When we came out and collected our footwear, one of the employees working in the footwear collection facility quietly asked for "tips". I just smiled at her, collected the footwear and walked away. I got reminded of Actor Vivek's dialogue in one of the movies ("Neenga yellam ethanai Periyar vandhaalum thirundha maateenga da..." meaning, "You folks will not change... no matter how many Periyars come into existence").

I believe that the reason for going to Temples is to reinforce your beliefs on your goals/ambitions/needs and to get some peace of mind, more than anything else. I lean more towards atheism than spiritualism. When a visit to temple is not peaceful and enjoyable, it defeats the fundamental purpose of visiting the temple. Thankfully, the visit to Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple was more enjoyable / peaceful than my visits to other temples in the recent days.

Also read:

Golden Temple in Sripuram, Vellore - Marvelous 
Ayyappan Temple in Trichy - The BEST that I've ever seen 

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Chennai Kidathon - A well organized show

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It is nearly 6 years since I had been to a marathon. Wait ... Wait... I'm not a marathon runner. But, I regularly participated in the marathons as a "walker" ... signing up for 5K walks... whenever it happened in the bay area in USA. Recently, there were several marathons organized in Chennai. But, I didn't register for any of them.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter had brought a few brochures about Chennai Kidathon from her school. We enrolled her in that marathon, just to give her the "marathon" exposure. When I enrolled her in the marathon, I didn't have high hopes about the quality of the show or the organization of the event. But, I was pleasantly surprised when I started receiving emails from Eventjini.com. The organizers kept us well informed about the following:

• The specific timings of the event
• The parking space available (in fact, the organizers had partnered with Uber to provide free rides to/from the venue)
• Time/Venue to come and collect the bibs (since my daughter enrolled through her school, the bib/T-Shirt etc., was delivered to her in school)
• Route map to the event 
• etc.,

I was very impressed by the thoroughness of the organization. I was doubly surprised, when I reached Nandanam Arts College, Annasalai to park my vehicle. They had a great line up of volunteers guiding us to find spaces to park our cars in all the nooks and corners of the college. There were nearly 200+ cars parked in the college and the experience was hassle free. I didn't notice any organizer/volunteer quarelling with the participants. They had arranged shuttle service which moved participants between Nandanam Arts College and YMCA in Anna Salai. Since the parking space was near to the venue, I took a brisk walk. In YMCA, they had clear sign-boards and banners directing the participants to the assembly point. They had arranged a carnival area filled with food / play structures. There were several dust-bins and trash bins to collect water bottles. Despite the fact that they had separate trash bins to collect water bottles... some of the kids had dropped the water bottles on the roads. (Read: Plastic ban in India, gaining momentum)

They conducted a warm-up exercise for the kids and started the program on-time. That was again a surprise to me. Since the program involved kids, I was expecting a 30 minutes delay. But, they started the marathon sharp at 7.45 am (the advertised time). I was so happy to see several 100s of children, wearing yellow T-shirts, enthusiastically participating in the program. I met a few of my ex-Juniper friends and my Toastmasters in the Kidathon.

When the kids finished the marathon, they stood in queues and collected certificates. That was also coordinated well by the volunteers. I'm glad that I made my daughter to participate in the Chennai Kidathon. The quality of the show was really "world class". It was on-par (in fact, above par) when compared to some of the marathons that I participated in USA. Great show Chennai Kidathon organizers !!

Also read:

Srirangam Temple in Trichy - Poor Management
Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class, but people's behavior is still local class

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Srirangam Temple, Trichy - Poor Management

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We went to Srirangam Temple in Trichy, last week and had a horrible experience. My previous bad experience during a temple visit was in Tirupathi. I completely stopped going to Tirupathi after that. Srirangam ranks next in my list of "temples that you should not to go to".

(Also read: Ayyappan Temple in Trichy - The BEST that I've ever seen)

Here are some issues that I noticed during my visit to Srirangam Temple on 27-Dec-2013:

1. Poor Crowd Management – No proper queue for people who opted for Rs.250 dharshan. People were dashing with each other and treated like buffaloes. There was no proper partitions or dividers for the queue. There was hardly any space to stand / breathe for people. Children and elderly people were finding it difficult since there was a stampede whenever the gates were opened.
2. Poor Communication of the timings for Dharshan – People were let to stand in the queue for nearly 2 hours and then we were told that the Dharshan is closed. Different signboards / digital displays were communicating different timings. Temple authorities were conveying a different time and police managing the crowd were conveying different timings for Dharshan. People were totally confused.
3. Irresponsible Temple Management & Police – When we insisted to meet the Temple Manager to file a complaint, nobody was willing to give his/her contact number. We were asked to go to the office to file a complaint. The folks in the office pretended that they did not belong to the temple and were not ready to accept the complaint. They did not even have a complaint form. They were not ready to call the Temple manager also. They asked us to go and search for him in the Temple. Police offered “No support” and were treating people with “arrogance”. None of the officials showed interest to either accept a complaint or solve our problems.
4. Police / Temple Representatives / Poojaris focusing only on “Special VIPs” – When nearly 200+ people were standing in the Rs.250 dharshan and when nearly 500+ people were standing in Rs.50 & free dharshan queues, police / temple authorities / Poojaris were letting several VIPs to bypass the queue. In fact, many of them were not just VIPs. The people who were escorted to bypass the queue were either ordinary people who had “contacts” in the temple/police organization (or) people who gave cash to the workers. Most of the Poojaris & policemen were busy spending their time in escorting such VIPs. None of them were ready to listen to us. Nearly 75 people were let to bypass the queue, by officials.

The following are certain actions that the temple managers should do :

1. Provide proper partitions & structures for queues – especially when they are charging Rs. 250 for a special dharshan.
2. Install clear sign boards on the temple Dharshan Timings (the sign boards should not be contradicting each other). 
3. Install clear sign boards on where tickets for special dharshan have to be bought. 
4. Temple Manager & Asst Manager’s contact information should be publicly displayed 
5. Complaint forms / box should be available & accessible in the temple for general public
6. Punish government employees who are escorting people other than REAL VIPs such as MLAs & MPs. 
7. Sensitivise and train public servants about the need to patiently listen to “public” and the need to “serve” people without displaying their arrogance/power.

Also read: Tiruchendur Temple - Poojaris Demanding Money

After making a lot of protest, I wrote a complaint letter and got signatures from nearly 30 people who went through the hardships on 27-Dec-2013. Immediately after returning back from the trip, I filed a complaint online in CM Online Grievances Registration Cell & in Hindu Religious Endowment website. To my surprise, I got a call immediately the next day from Mr. Raja Additional Commissioner, Hindu Religious Charitable Endowments Department. They officially registered the complaint and requested the Joint Commissioner for Srirangam Temple to take action. I also got a confirmation receipt for my online petition / complaint.

I was positively surprised by the pace at which the administrators of Hindu Religious Endowment website responded to my complaint. I'm hoping that they'll take the proper action too, to set things right at Srirangam Temple, in Trichy.

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Ayyappan Temple in Trichy - The BEST that I've ever seen

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Ayyappan Temple in Trichy is one of the BEST temples that I've ever visited. The temple is located about a kilometer from the Central Bus Stand and the visit is worth the time that you spend in traveling to this place. Here are the highlights of the temple:

Also read: Tirupathi Tirumala Visit - May be the last?

1. This is the ONLY temple that I've seen which doesn't have a Hundi 
2. Absolutely no noise in the temple, though the temple had nearly 150+ people
3. Temple is maintained very clean
4. Very spacious (can accommodate 500+ people)
5. Place for meditation
6. Plants all over the temple
7. Writings all over the temple about the importance of respecting parents/teachers, tips about worshipping God, tips about leading a good life, stories and letters from common man etc.,
8. Signboards clearly telling the devotees (what can be done & what cannot be done). In fact, one thing which I want to commend about the signboards are the "positivity" in the language. Instead of saying "Don't pluck flowers", the signboard would say "Let us refrain from plucking flowers" or "Let us not disturb the plants" 
9. No Poojari's doing any archanais or expecting coins on their plates. In fact, in all the temples that I've visited the Poojaris will treat people with partiality. If you put a Rs.10 note on the plate, they'll do additional archanai and give you flowers in addition to vibhoodhi. If you just drop a Rs.1 coin, they'll just give you vibhoodhi alone... but "generously". If you don't drop any coin, they'll give you just a "pinch" of vibhoodhi. 
10. Free of cost service for taking care of the slippers. They had proper partitions for people to queue up even to leave slippers in the stall.
11. Volunteers to guide the devotees in a friendly manner
12. A place where you can get Sandal Woood Paste, Tulsi leaves & Tulsi water

Also read: Thiruchendur Temple - Poojaris demanding money

We go to temple to get peace of mind. At least, I go to temples only for that. However, in most of the temples you get a very unpleasant experience - either because of the lack of cleanliness, or excess noice generated by visitors/loud speakers or because of the way in which temple administrators treat devotees. Ayyappan Temple in Trichy is an exception to all of that. The experience that we got in Ayyappan Temple in Trichy is in stark contrast to the experience that we got in Srirangam Temple. If you are in Trichy, definitely visit this temple - I can guarantee that you'll get peace of mind. I wish we have many such temples in our community.

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Movie watching is now entertainment + experience

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No more standing in queues... no more buying ticket in "black" ... no more paying exorbitant money to buy tickets... This is one of the biggest positive changes that I noticed in India, after my return from USA.

You can book your ticket online comfortably from your home and watch a new movie on the first day of the release. Thanks to the growing number of multiplexes in Chennai. The movie watching experience is now very pleasant when compared to what it used to be, a decade ago.

When I started my IT career, my friends & I used to go to movies almost every weekend. I still remember the days when we used to pay Rs.200 for a Rs.30 ticket - when we buy it in "black". The cost of a ticket in the "black" market becomes exorbitant when you want to watch a brand new movie. In fact, we were once cheated by a guy who was selling tickets in the black market - he sold the previous show's ticket to us. In a hurry, we missed to see the show timings and went inside the theater. We were shocked to see that our seats were already occupied. That is when we realized that we were cheated. More than the money that we lost, we were disappointed because we weren't able to watch that movie :)

Today, the maximum amount that you'll have to pay for a ticket is just Rs.120 in Chennai. If you are booking it online, there is a service tax of Rs.20. Of course, the multiplexes charge you an arm and a leg for Pepsi & Popcorn. I believe that is where they make the money. You can get all kinds of snacks today at the theater - nachos, burgers, cookies, icecream etc., in addition to the traditional Popcorn + soda. 

Any new movie is shown in almost all the theaters in the city and that too in multiple screens and multiple shows. If you go to a multiplex, you'll notice that the movie is run in at least 3 or 4 screens simultaneously during the opening week of the new movie. (Also read: PVR Cinemas in Skywalk - World Class)

Another interesting aspect of online booking is, you don't have to stand in queues. Those days, I hate to stand in long queues in many theaters - most of the times, the ticketing counters are just cages where they arrest people for long hours. The sultry environment, the smell from fellow queue mates... Oh! my God... our country has definitely changed for the good in the last several years. Many of the theatres have a ticket booking website of their own or they've partnered with services such as ticketnew.com. It allows you to book tickets online for mom & pop theatres also.  

We watch movies only in theaters these days because of the "experience". It is very hard for all of us to be at home continuously for 3 hours. We get interrupted by our household chores or by guests. Theaters provide an environment for us to relax, unwind and watch movies, peacefully. Moreover, my daughter enjoys eating popcorn and icecream during the break. In fact, she comes to theatre only to have snacks and not for watching movie :)

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Talking on mobiles when driving (even with a handsfree) is illegal in India

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Last Friday, I was driving to work in the morning. I was busy talking to a friend over the phone with my

hands free connected. I was stopped by a traffic police man near Thoraipakkam signal. He asked me to pull over and lower my window. He asked, "Are you talking to somebody?" I didn't want to lie and told him "Yes!... But, I'm talking with my hands free connected".

Also read: Self-adjusting traffic - a miracle on Indian Roads

The police man smiled and said "Sir! Talking over the phone when driving ... with or without hands free is banned in India. Don't you know that?". I was shocked. I said "Sir ! I didn't know this". He asked me to get down and give my driving license. He said Rs.1,100 will be the fine for talking when driving. "Oh! My God.. that is a hefty amount". I asked him, "Sir! Are you sure it is Rs.1,100?". He nodded "Yes!". I didn't want to beg him to lower the fine. The Gandhian in me was not interested to bribe him. I said, "OK! I'll pay the fine". I thought, "Anyways the money goes to the government. So, I'm OK". The policeman punched in the vehicle and license details in the hand-held device and gave me a receipt. I paid him the money, got into the car and started my vehicle. 

Also read: Driving on Indian roads - pleasure or pain?

Somehow, my mind became restless. In fact, I was more focused on the traffic when I was talking over the phone and driving. However, my thoughts were running all over because of the hefty fine amount that I paid. "Why me?!" was the question that was going on in my mind. I have seen a number of two wheeler riders talking when driving... that too without a hands free device. Why haven't they been caught? What if there is a co-passenger sitting beside me and he is talking with me constantly? Is that illegal too? What is the difference between talking with a hands-free and talking to a co-passenger in the car? In fact, the latter is more dangerous because you'll have to look at the co-passenger once in a while when talking.

I can completely understand the rationale behind asking people "not to talk on phones, when driving". However, having paid Rs.1,100 as the fine amount, I couldn't convince myself without finding answer for the questions that were popping in my mind. I reached office and got settled in my desk. The first thing that I did was to google to find out "how much is the fine for talking when driving in India". I confirmed that the policeman can charge up to Rs.1000 as fine for talking when driving. I also learned that "playing music in the car" is also illegal. The fine amount for that is Rs. 100 :)

Also read: Share shuttle/van services in India - Hard to find

If the traffic policeman start to enforce the rules strictly, Tamilnadu Government can make a lot of money from drivers than by selling alcohol in TASMAC bars. 

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Shared shuttle/van services in Chennai - hard to find!

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I recently moved to a new job and my office is in Thoraipakkam, now. For the last 2 weeks, I have been desperately looking at various commute options to work. Right now, I'm driving my own car and I end up spending approximately 2 hours on the road everyday. The following are some options that I'm exploring:

Also read: Self-adjusting traffic - a miracle on Indian Roads

1) Employing a driver - Costs approximately Rs.10,000 a month. However, the driver wouldn't have anything to do during the day time and he would just idle around in the car park. Moreover, I don't want him to sleep in my car or switch-on the A/C (i.e., engine) when the car is not in motion. I'm afraid of the problems that may come with the driver :)

2) Renting a driver - Renting a driver to and fro also costs approximately the same money. There are a number of "call a driver" services in Chennai. They charge approximately Rs.250 for 4 hours. However, I do not want different drivers to drive my car everyday. Moreover, I'm worried about 'how they would handle' my car and the safety aspects (Since, they are typically paid by the hour, I'm afraid that they may drive fast)

3) Using Call Taxi services - This option works out to be very expensive for now. I am thinking of considering this as a last resort.

Also read: Driving on Indian roads - pleasure or pain?

4) Bus Services - There are indeed a few Chennai MTC buses connecting my home with my office. However, getting a seat in the bus is not guaranteed and I can't imagine standing with my laptop and lunch bag for an hour :)

5) Shared shuttle services - A number of IT companies are running their own shuttle services for employees. They subsidize the transportation cost for their employees. I do see a number of private vans/vehicles carrying passengers on the road in the morning and in the evening. However, an Internet search doesn't reveal any of those services. I did get a couple of leads through my contacts, however they are not operating from Choolaimedu/Nelson Manickam Road to Thoraipakkam. I am still on the lookout for Shared Shuttle/Van/Cab Services. If you know of any, keep me informed :)

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Gemini Circus, Chennai - Not worth it !

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"Let us go to Gemini Circus, today". When I said this, my daughter got very excited. I took my family to Gemini Circus in Chennai, today. We were hoping to have a stellar experience. However, I was totally disappointed by the end of the show. In fact, after an hour into the show, my daughter asked "Dad ! When are we going back home?".

(Also read: Drive through McDonalds in Velachery)

Here is the list of things that I liked about Gemini Circus:

• The tickets for the show was available at various price ranges - Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.150, and Rs.250 (affordable for everyone).
• Uniformed men were selling snacks throughout the show - popcorn, biscuits, chocolates, cool drinks, cotton candy etc., 
• The gymnastic performance was very good. I was quite impressed by circus crew's potential.
• Time management was perfect - the show began and ended on time (kudos to the folks who did the back stage management)
• The background music was great
• Car parking rate was just Rs.40

(Also read: Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class, but people are low class)

Here is the list of things that I hated about Gemini Circus:

• The floor was uneven and filled with rubble and debris
• They had plastic chairs for everyone, which were put on top of the rubbles (Imagine, how stable the chair would be)
• There was no proper ventilation. There were a few pedestal fans. However, it was not adequate for 2000+ people
• Nothing has changed in the last 20+ years. In fact, it has gone for the worse. I remember the days when we used to have wooden railings for people to sit. It was very convenient. I hated those plastic chairs.
• There was no proper parking space - we have to park the cars over the debris
• Crowd management was poor - after the show, it took about an hour for us to come out of the venue
• No lion/tigers/elephants/monkeys were involved during the show (Though I was happy that animals were not disturbed, my daughter was very disappointed :))
• No online booking (you've to stand in the line to get tickets). They do have a website.
• No proper signage near the venue. We had to stop in between several times to find the place.

"Will I go to Gemini Circus again in Chennai"? The answer is a STRONG NO. I would rather watch recorded circus programs in my TV.

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