“Save our Tigers” by Aircel: Is it a little too late?

One fine morning I was greeted by a nice cute ad showing a young tiger cub being the centre of an emotional scene and with Dhoni, Kiran Bedi, Suresh Raina and actor Surya claiming that they fully support Aircel’s newest initiative to Save our Tigers whose numbers they claim stands at only 1411.

Lets go a little back to the era of the Raj when maharajas and nawabs used to go hunting for what not and this addiction was passed onto the invading East India Company’s footsoldiers. These people hunted the kings of the jungles so badly that the majestic Cheetah went completely extinct from India and is now restricted to only the African Savannahs.

I am sure the generation x, y, z, bla bla won’t even know that the Tiger is the national animal of the nation. 15-20 years from now, I imagine people will identify it only from vintage pictures in books or stuffed carcasses in museums.

I still remember Bill Clinton visiting the Ranthambhor National Park in Rajasthan in 2000 while on a visit to the country. The tiger last attracted the people’s attention at that time. Now I remember reading news articles in leading newspapers that tigers have been exterminated from that National Park. Another national park Sariska has been added to that wonder list where tigers have miraculously vanished to the surprise of the local authorities.

More surprising is this became known to them when not even a single pug mark was recorded in Tiger census record. The Kings simply fled the country for their lives, or they might have vanished into thin air or some deep rooted smuggling mafia have put an end to their hapless lives in this country.

Just two weeks back I read in another popular news magazine that the famous Corbett National Park, the success story of Project Tiger is now a favourite haunting spot of urban kings, who organise night shows and all sorts of nuisance parties. Not a surprise as I feel they know that no tigers will come to haunt them as they are already dead by now.

I don’t give Aircel’s initiative much chance of success as it will fizzle away too quickly amid all this confusing chaos our nation is under.It might be a marketing ploy in this age of cut throat competition or their owners might have soft corners for our national beast. However I think it has all come a little too late. It is high time we get conscious of all the dangers the varied flora and fauna of this land are facing and should extend every possible help for their conservation. otherwise, the tiger will join the cheetah in becoming a dodo in this nation and our wise politicians will have one more arduous task in their hands to choose a new national animal.

An Open Letter to HP: Part II

Dear Sir,

With extreme regret I am writing my final letter to you. I wrote my earlier letter in the 3^rd week of September,2009 with full details of services endured by the notebook dv9312tx between July 2007-September 2009. The warranty is valid till November 2010. For your reference I am re-uploading it to Rapidshare as it was 3 pages long.

http://rapidshare.com/files/289767949/hp_original_letter.docx

I won’t deny it but HP India contacted me soon after I posted the above letter. Two customer care executives spoke to me over phone. Inspite of my repeated statement that the notebook suffers from perennial problems and even 4 services couldn’t rectify the defects, they continued to stress on the idea that I should once again take my notebook to the nearby service centre. This would have been my 5^th service. Already the notebook is using its 3^rd system board with nvidia graphics,2^nd LCD panel,2^nd Fan and 2^nd optical drive.

However, taking into account the endless loss of productivity and business hours which I have incurred on account of this notebook, I have decided not to go for any more service as it would only temporarily rectify the problem and delay the motherboard failure which is imminent after every 4-5 months.

What has frustrated me is that each time an executive contacts me I have to explain them everything and begin from level zero. And each time they have said that I need to go to the service center. Sorry but I have run out of patience. Even after spending Rs 72000(Rs 65000 for the notebook and additional Rs 7000 for extension of warranty), I have not got the desired level of satisfaction from the product which I purchased based on my prior positive experience with HP from 2001-2002(2 printers and 1 notebook).

I am extremely saddened to inform you that I have to opt for a new notebook in future as it has become virtually impossible for me to store my valuable data in a notebook which is so unreliable. Moreover I work in a private sector bank, so a reliable machine is very crucial for my day to day work.

Hoping for a patience reading.

Thanking You

Yours sincerely,

Pranjal Patowary

pranjal1984@gmail.com

An Open Letter to HP : Part I

Sir,

I have been somehow holding off my feelings for the last one year or so but suddenly it felt so overpowering that I had no other option but to write a letter to you conveying my experiences with HP in the recent past. I have been using HP products for the last seven years. The product portfolio as of now includes inkjet printer and two laptops. My satisfaction with the printer and the Compaq notebook assured me of HP’s quality and forced me to go with HP yet again. As a result, considering the reliability of HP products and their superiority vis-a vis the other market competitors, I decided to purchase an HP Pavilion dv9000 series notebook. That series was one of the highest end consumer laptop models in the summer of 2007. Since I am an enthusiast user of notebooks, I purchased the gleaming new HP Pavilion dv9312tx from Dotcom in Chennai, India. The purchase date was 1st July, 2007. The notebook came with the following features:

Intel Core2Duo T5300, 1024 MB DDR2 RAM, 240 GB dual hard disks, 256 MB GeForce Go 7600, Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit OS version, 17 inch screen(1440x900), DVD+RW burner, Intel 3945 abg Wi- Fi capability, 1.3 MP camera, HDMI and 4 USB 2.0 ports.

Serial Number: CNF7190LQB

Product Number: GJ156PA

Total cost of the laptop was Rs 65260.00 plus one old Toshiba Satellite A60 notebook.
I bought this notebook primarily for its multimedia capabilities although occasionally I would play a few games as well. However, since I joined an MBA programme in the same month, I felt it would be a worthy companion since the large storage capacity would help me in storing high quality management videos and the large screen would help me in preparing attractive presentations.

All went well for the first six months. I could watch high definition videos and play games due to the GPU and also was involved in quite a lot of presentations. Also because of the HDMI port I could connect it to an external LCD and view HD content.

1st Service:

Gradually the laptop started overheating and the keyboard became loose. One of the keys even came out. I took the notebook to HP Service Center, Peters Road, Chennai on 16-01-2008. That was exactly 6.5 months from the purchase date. The fan and keyboard was replaced. I received the laptop back on 19-01-2008. Case number was 2216429725.


2nd Service:

In the month of September, 2008 the laptop went dead. There was absolutely no display on the screen and on turning it on, the LCD remained dark. There was no BIOS display. I read in many web forums like Anand Tech, Notebook Review and even HP’s own Business and Consumer support forums about the faulty Nvidia Graphic cards which led them to overheat and burn prematurely. But I resisted the temptation of doing further experiments of my own and took the notebook to HP Authorised Service Centre, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore on 26-09-2008. I had to wait till 03-10-2008 to receive my laptop. However it was repaired with a new system board and I was tense knowing fully well that it will only be a matter of time before the new board burns out too. I was informed by many individuals that HP has extended the warranty by another 1 year on certain notebooks with specific product numbers. I visited the HP site and was disappointed to know that my product number was not listed. However I enquired HP India and they told me that my warranty is valid till November 2008. Case number for this service was 2603259966.

Renewal of warranty:

Knowing fully well that it would be dicey to continue with this “premium” laptop without an extended warranty, I purchased a 2 year Care Pack on 31-12-2008. The Care Pack number is G05UINAC908A. That was again after I was e-mailed by HP India several times that now I have the option of renewing my warranty within 90 days of expiry of my 1 year original warranty.

3rd Service:

Hardly 3 months had passed since I bought the Care Pack that my DVD Writer died. I was amused simply because I had used it only twice in the nearly 2 year period: for creating HP Recovery Disks. I normally don’t burn DVDs and prefer to carry all my extra data in external hard drives which are much more reliable in my opinion. In addition to that the Quick Launch Buttons died without a reason. The case number for this service is surprisingly missing. I don’t know why. May be the service centre’s carelessness or my own indifference.

Again I took it to the HP Service Centre, Coimbatore on 17-03-2009. The notebook was returned on 27-03-2009. By this time I was frustrated as I didn’t spend more than 65,000 bucks to get a lemon laptop that seemed to develop one problem or the other over a short period in addition to the already defective system board/GPU combo which fries every year although I am using a notebook cooler. Money is hard earned Sir and before making a purchase decision, I normally sit down and do a thorough analysis of all brands before selecting a particular product. It may simply be anything-a digital camera, a notebook, an LCD TV, a washing machine or even a refrigerator. There are factors like reliability, consistency, price/performance and finally product reviews which go into the customer’s mind when he/she makes their decisions. At least for the record I follow this process and I expect the company on the other side to honour the commitment and faith reposed by me on its products. However the saga with this notebook doesn’t end here. One latest addition makes the list truly complete.

4th Service:

This incident is very recent. Green lines appeared on my display and all dark colours were replaced with an ugly light green shade. I wasn’t even able to type properly because visibility was minimal. I promptly took it to HP Authorised Service Centre, U.N Brahmachari Street, Kolkata on 04-09-2009 and was given a case number 4603379253. I was told that it would be returned in 4-5 days and only the display cable needs to be changed or repositioned. The notebook was returned on 19-09-2009.
The service report says only the system board was changed for the “umpteenth” time. However I found that they have even changed the LCD display. Because the plastic generally found on top of newly bought laptops was present on the panel. Also Everest Ultimate Edition diagnoses it as Chi Mei Display whereas previously it was recognised as an LG-Philips display. Worst of all, when I talked to the service engineers, they refused to acknowledge the change in LCD panel and they claimed that only board was changed.

I didn’t argue with them as I had already made up my mind regarding my next approach. On coming back home, I found that on turning the num lock key on, even normal alphabet keys started producing numbers. I am sure while changing the system board, they might have misplaced the keyboard ends. Please be aware that it is a complete full sized keyboard as the notebook is 17 inch.

Final words:

I was once a great connoisseur of HP products and have even recommended them to my near and dear ones for years. Additionally as a part time system administrator in my organisation: The Federal Bank Ltd, I am asked to recommend brands of IT products and also to troubleshoot them. Please advise me what to tell them if any such query is asked by them.

Sir, this letter is not meant to belittle your valued company or its products considering the fact that I am an HP user myself for years. Every word of it has spontaneously resulted out of my experiences with an HP product for the last 27 months. But what pains me a lot is the fact that my investment in this high end laptop (by 2007 standards) has gone waste. I am also a staunch follower of the statement that an organisation can prosper more when it keeps count of its Triple Bottom Line and how strictly it adheres to it. I eagerly wait for your reply so that I am convinced that HP indeed cares for its regular buyers.


Thanking You
Yours sincerely

Pranjal Patowary
pranjal1984@gmail.com

Kerala Travelogue: Part II

With another Sunday on the horizon, we decided to go for a trip across Kochi. The day was 2nd August. Around 10 am, we boarded a public transport bus from Rajiv Gandhi Bus Terminus, Aluva to Fort Cochin. Each was charged Rs 17 which made us aware of the fact that the journey to Fort Cochin is definitely going to be long and arduous. The bus journey took more than an hour, however the journey was definitely a treat for the eyes as the bus snaked around the major landmarks like Marine Drive, Shipyard, Naval Base INS Dronacharya, Mattancherry before stopping at Fort Cochin Bus Stand.

Fort Cochin is a nice and tranquil place with the cool sea breeze constantly hitting our faces which swept away the tiredness and anxiety from our minds. The sentry which greets any visitor to that place is the Santa Cruz Basilica just adjacent to the Bus Stop. The nearby backwaters made for a perfect backdrop to the innumerable stories and legacy of this spot. Chinese Fishing Nets can be seen from a very close viewing distance and natives say that they were installed there in the 15th century itself. The sea looked very rough and ferries were plying all over it. We proceeded to the Beach area which was tiny. A large portion of the sea shore is rocky in nature. So tourists were frolicking in the limited available beach space. The beach was, nevertheless, littered with coconut fronds and maybe due to the offseason, wasn’t maintained properly. The distant horizon was marked with boats and ships of varying shapes and sizes. Marine Drive can be seen from Fort Cochin itself and the skyscrapers looked like tiny matchboxes. Our next stop was St. Francis Church. Excitement soon turned into despair as we found it locked as it was a Sunday and we were a tad late.

Nearby was Mattancherry, hardly 2.5 kms from Fort Cochin. The major landmark is the Mattancherry Palace built by the Dutch for the Varma royal family. It has now been converted to a museum with full grants from the Archaeological Survey of India. The halls were adorned with Ramayana Paintings which described the story of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya and his war with Ravana, the demon king of Ceylon. They were very vividly made and the figures looked life like. The next hall was filled with inscriptions and cartographic references describing the history of Kochi and how it was inhabited. The rich traditions of the Jews and the biblical references are also mentioned through pictorial representations. Further down, we can see the portraits of the Varma rulers and their descendants and ministers. The royal articles prevalent during those times have also been neatly preserved which gave an idea of life in Kerala during those times.

In Mattancherry itself, located in the midst of an idyllic Jew Town is the famous Jewish or Paradesi Synagogue, one of the oldest in South Asia. It is a Jewish place of worship and located a km away from the Palace Museum. This was my first visit to any Synagogue and I wondered about the similarities of religions all over the world and how their adherents worship their Gods in a similar manner. So different we look outwardly, but how strangely similar are human nature and ways of life I thought. The entire Jew Town is littered with antique shops where collectibles are found ranging from a few rupees to lakhs of rupees. They are worthy places of visit for those interested in taking back home some nice memorabilia from their Kochi trip.
The ferry services in Kochi are another notable attraction. Countless of them ply through the lakes and backwaters carrying daily commuters, vehicles and tourists. Kudos to the state govt. For maintaining the daily ferry services between the different islands which has eased congestion to a large extent. Also the low fare of 2 rupees is attractive and many people take advantage of the facilities. For that purpose, boat jetties are located along the islands’ coastlines. The most famous of them is located near Marine Drive which is an upmarket area of the city consisting of swanky shopping malls, showrooms and the like. Various delicacies can also be seen being offered here and there which adds to the charm of the place.

Visiting Kochi is a rewarding experience in terms of the beauty and tranquillity of the city and its environs. And especially during the monsoons, one shouldn’t miss the opportunity of being drenched by thundershowers while boating in the lagoons. Definitely on my recommended places to visit list.

Kerala Travelogue: Part I

With training rigour slightly easing itself from my neck, I decided to visit some nearby places in and around Federal Heights, Aluva to unwind myself. First on the list was a quaint locale called Cherai Beach. Around 20 kms from Aluva Bank Junction, it is a long stretch of verdant sandy beach in Vypin Island, Kochi. Regular buses ply onto Paravoor, a transit point towards our destination and onwards to Cherai. Our journey date was 26th July, a Sunday and we started our trip in the afternoon hoping to catch the dying glimpses of a setting sun in the sea waters. It took almost an hour to reach Cherai from Aluva and we proceeded the last few metres on foot as a bridge was under repair. Lovely backwaters and cool breeze emanating from them greeted us. The salty smell of the sea tinged my senses as it was almost a year since I visited the Marina Beach. Upon reaching the exact location, I was thrilled to find hordes of tourists already soaking themselves in the cool waters. It was simply gorgeous and simply unexplainable to describe the view which I enjoyed of the setting Sun although it was briefly obscured by a few clouds in the horizon. The water was however a little murky which can be explained by the intermittent showers happening around this region quite recently. I also got very involved with some mouth watering delights especially fried delicacies cooked at the beach huts. By the time I arrived in Aluva, it was already 8 pm and I was satisfied and relieved knowing fully well that there are lots of exciting places to visit in Kochi. Also I was a bit irritated knowing that I have to wait another week for those peek-a-boo opportunities of slipping away from Aluva.

The media is crass, isn’t it? Or is it?

The media is an information reporting medium which brings real time events to normal public. The medium might be in the form of print media like newspapers, magazines, online media or even the most popular one, the multimedia telecast by means of radio or TV. I feel nauseated by the deluge of senseless journalism prevalent in our country, in particular. So thought of letting vent to the feelings. I believe the media has a very responsible role of shaping our minds, especially the younger generation. With values and morals plummeting to an all time low and people mistaking tradition-stickling for out datedness, the situation is expected to get even worse in the near future. So along with the education system, the print media and the TV media have a very important duty to collectively shape the virgin young minds in the same manner a potter shapes his clay pots. Rudimentary, isn't it?

So continuing in the same vein, the media should be impartial in publishing news articles. So what is the progress so far? Channels like Aaj Tak have been reduced to the shadows of their former past. It has become a terrible blot in the history of impartial journalism in India. Instead of just presenting the news in a polite and unmodified manner, they force their anchors to modify it and present it as their opinionated mouthpiece. I feel very sad when I recollect those golden days when Aaj Tak was a news bulletin in DD Metro and it then garnered some of the highest ratings for any news programme in India. It had also won numerous awards. All changed in a moment when TV Today-a division of the India Today Group acquired the rights for it. Yes you got it right. This is the same group which banged itself in the wall by redesigning the legendary India Today and converting it into a piece of trash which it is today. Same is the case with some of the newer channels who want more TRP ratings instead of having a Quality Control system in place while delivering news. News of politics, entertainment, administration and sports are regularly delivered with their own “moral” admonishings and sermons as to what has been righted or wronged in the process. Who has asked for your opinions dear sirs/madams? We only want the news. Please we are intelligent enough to interpret it and form our own opinions.

We have to just look at channels like BBC or CNN to gauge the glaring differences in the presentation of objectively-filled content to present the true and accurate picture of an incident instead of the Indian disease of glamorising an incident by terming this as Exclusive and what not. True, we are not as developed as our counterparts in the other side of the globe, but the least we can do is being true to ourselves and not to produce a deceptive picture of an incident. The credibility and reliability of most of the TV channels are at stake. There is no external force behind their undoing. And what have they done to bring back the trust? A big zero. Absolutely nothing. Most of the channels have become mouthpieces of either political parties or large business houses parroting their diktats.

The print media has become even worse. Most of the front page news and editorial articles are nothing but copy-paste from their websites containing blogs by non-descript people,given a thumbs down rating previously by online readers. The same pathetic opinion pieces are regurgitated again and again till the normal reader cries out of fatigue. Large national newspapers' reporting has gone rock bottom with tepid reporting aimed at “I don’t know who.” Gross spelling mistakes give these so called “Largest Daily” papers, a pock marked look. This ruins the vocabulary of the ever growing youth. Either there is a problem with their spell checkers or there is gross carelessness on their part. Irrelevant news is highlighted unscrupulously to attract attention of the public who otherwise would have simply neglected it.

Another issue is the high decibel voice of the newscasters which would virtually make you deaf if you continue listening to their nonstop chatter at normal TV volume. You have to scale down the audio level of the device several notches down to be able to distinguish between noise and voice. I wonder where these people are being imparted training. Nasal grunts and hisses are too common in channels like Times Now where the anchors try to impress you with their unnecessary use of squeaks and squeals. This makes your news watching sessions a nightmare. TV news casting and anchoring is an art and the quality of art depends on the quality of the artists.

All in all, news and views in India has become all the more lethal agent, nowadays capable of rendering your skulls immobile by inflicting painful headaches.

Finally got rid of jobless tag!!!

After joining the Federal Bank Staff College on 19th July, it has been a really comfortable stay in the cool environs of Aluva,a suburb of Ernakulam. The Staff College is a 11 storey high rise called Federal Heights. It is located just yards away from the bank Headquarters,the Federal Towers. The roof top is a decorated rope garden and the night views are delightful. The people here are nice,simple and friendly. The food provided in the mess is simply awesome with fruits,chicken/mutton in nearly every meal with calorie rich delectables like ice creams, fried vegetables, pulaos and ethnic Malayali food being splattered here and there. The accomodations are in line with 3 star hotel facility with a room being shared by 2 officers. The lecture hall is fully air conditioned and has a gallery like seating system for the students. The faculties are vastly experienced and are mostly Fed Bank old-timers with their designations being either Chief Managers or Senior Managers. Class timings are from 9:30 am-5:00 pm. All our Amrita friends are here except Ajit and Manu who didn't join. We are having a jolly good time. On Sunday, we are planning on a reunion of our batch mates who are staying nearby.

The training period will end on 8th August after which we all will depart for our respective posting locations. I have got mine in Kolkata. Feeling a bit nostalgic since I was there for a month during my Summers in 2008. Our initial designations will be Probationary Officers and after confirmation will be Assistant Managers. That's it for now.