I am blocked !

Okay. So that’s a huge setback. My laptop or to be precise my antivirus/internet security software has blocked ma site. So each time I try to login it says I am trying to access my site its blocked. The reason? The word crap in it.

Well this post is not to let you guys know that I bought myself a laptop.  Compaq presario. with Turion…..

Just like I was saying this post is not to let you guys know that I bought a laptop (I am repeating that again aint I?), but that like myself many others who are trying to access my site would be blocked not cause of it contents (which according to me is suitable for all ages) but cause of the blog name.

Well that just sad.

80 Shut Downs in 18 Months

Cross posted at mutiny.

80 shutdowns in 18 months, on an average 4 every month. This figure is haunting as this is after the courts have banned bandh and ‘forceful hartals’. While the political parties have given assurances that the hartals will be peaceful and there wouldn’t be any ‘forceful’ closure of shops or disruptions in traffic, it’s seldom followed.

Kerala witnessed yet another hartal yesterday with all major institutions, offices closed down. There were stray incidents caught on camera where the activists forced shopkeepers to close down and abused people who took their vehicles on the road. In one incident a cab with foreign tourists were stopped and the driver was manhandled. The terror in the tourists’ eyes was clearly visible. No wonder these warnings are part of standard country specific documents in foreign government sites.As the two parties try their hand at blaming each other, the people are left tormented. While students enjoy their holiday, there are thousands of travelers left with no other choice but to ruin their day at bus stations.I see no end to this unless the politicians themselves come with a new form of protest and give people the ‘choice’ to take part if they want to.

Dry days in God’s own Country

Cross posted at mutiny.

(This post is not to debate on the health issues as a result of alcohol consumption but yes, alcohol consumption is injurious to your health.)A long queue, thick crowd and a traffic block. Yes that’s a state owned liquor shop. Wish I had a photograph to prove it.On my visit to my home town in Kerala during Christmas I found this sight pretty amusing. Not that I am seeing it for the first time, but because of the anguish in the eyes of the people waiting in the queue.Ever since AK Antony (now Defence Minister) banned Arrack in 1996 and closed down all private owned liquor shops in the state, the ‘dry days’ for the people of Kerala had begun. At one end the move was to protect the interest of the families whose lives were ruined due to domestic violence. Looking at the other end of the story, we find more illegal arrack being smuggled into the state (or manufactured within the state) and heavy pricing on alcohol.The burden is on the lower middle class or the laborers who drink, has to shell out twice as what they had to earlier. Thanks to the 100% tax on alcohol. But did the consumption come down? No. Lesson learned? Increasing the prices do not reduce the consumption.Now if it’s any festival, you find people waiting in long queues to get themselves a bottle. Why can’t the government (any one of them, during their term) just give away with the regulations? Reason? Revenue. (Tax collected through the liquor sales was Rs. 15 billion in 2006; it is Rs.18 billion in 2007)

All government controlled liquor shops and bars are closed on 1^st of every month. Reason? That’s the government’s way to control its citizen from spending all his salary on alcohol. If he needs to get himself a drink he is at the mercy of a watchman at the nearest Bar. (Bars sell liquor with their back door policy on dry days at extra charge.) End result? He would shell out more money on a dry day.All the regulations in place, Kerala still tops as the most liquor consuming state in India. Liquor sales in the state have gone up from Rs.20 billion in 2006 to Rs.23.11 billion in 2007. Kerala has the highest per capita liquor consumption in the country.

I can’t find any reason why the government shouldn’t take away the regulations. Well it’s not in interest of public health or welfare of families that the regulations are in place (then the government should regulate cigarettes as well). While people in other states enjoy the benefits of buying liquor from supermarkets, Kerala is still far behind, with government controlled liquor shops. The regulations if any should be uniform in all the states.While how consumption can be controlled is a different story all together, the government (s) have learned their lessons that these regulations just won’t help in reducing the number of consumers.

My ‘tax’ story.

I pay taxes.

There are two people who eat up my salary one is the IT department and the next is my landlord.The difference would be that the landlord is someone I can change. 

I use my tax paid money to buy groceries on which I am ‘sale taxed’. And then I am taxed calling it ‘Value added tax’. I find no value but simple tax. 

I use my tax paid money to buy fuel, which is again taxed as a result I pay around 60% tax on it and a surcharge on every litre that my age old motorcycle drink. Gulp. 

In addition to that to get my motorcycle on road, I have to pay up the state government on road tax. And India is said to be a free country, but not for my vehicle. If I move to another state with my private vehicle, I have to pay a dozen toll booths for the new highways and bridges that the government has ‘newly’ installed for me. Sometimes these poll booths are permanent like the one next to my home town; it has been there for 4 years now.Once done and I reach my new place, I can’t use my vehicle for more than 11 months. (in Karnataka you have to pay road tax to use your vehicle after 11 months even if you have paid life time tax in your home state. (It’s the case everywhere)). So I end up paying tax in two states. Wait what if I am off to a new place? 

 Back to my ‘ taxed’ story…. I take a loan and the bank charge me something called the service tax.  I take a mobile connection, the network provider promised me Rs 199/- rental, but am charge at 11% of something called the service tax. I pay them from my tax paid money. I go out to see a movie, I use my tax paid money to get a ticket, am charged something called the entertainment tax. I settle for a DVD, I am still taxed under sale tax. I go out for dinner, I am ‘service taxed’. I buy a bottle of whiskey for my dad ( in Kerala its almost 100% tax on Alcohol which makes alcohol twice as costly in kerala than rest of India ) I have to pay up excise duty and sale tax, well indirectly.I buy a car; I am taxed on the sale and luxury.I am not complaining. ( or am I ?) I walk down the street toward a pani puri vendor. No! Am not taxed here. This would be one of the places in India where am not taxed.

I wake up and continue paying my taxes. I pay and will pay my taxes. Who said I won’t?

Overheard

Conversation b.w two IT ‘Professionals’ (Overheard) 

Professional 1 : ‘Hey heard that you got an offer from a new firm?’

Professional 2 : ‘Yeah I did, I joined the company too’

Professional 1 : ‘How’s the package?’

Professional 2 : ‘ Well its not just the package. There is growth, new challenges and new technologies’ 

Professional 1 : ‘Oh okay. How’s the package?’

Professional 2 : ‘There is onsite too’ 

Professional 1 : ‘Wow. How’s the package?’

Professional 2 : ‘Its not bad. There is bonus too’ 

Professional 1 : ‘You can ask more, with the experience you have’

Professional 2 : ‘Yeah but they have Coke, snacks and chocolate drink in the pantry’ 

Professional 1 : ‘That’s so cool, we just have a stupid coffee’

Professional 2 : ‘Yeah? That’s so dull buddy’

 Professional 1 : ‘But we can smoke in the pantry”

Professional 2 : ‘Oh, that’s something I wanted’ 

Professional 1 : ‘How’s the package like?????’ 

Just Married

The law Commission is trying hard to bring the marriage age for boys to 18. (its 21 now for guys and 18 for girls).  I am not sure why they are thinking about this change. But I would welcome it. When you can vote at 18 I guess you can marry as well. Moreover if the girls can marry at 18 I guess the guys should as well.But why was the age fixed at 21 for guys previously? I didn’t get any information on this.

Read this debate at indiatimes. Some believe that :

: 18 is not a mature age for a guy to be married            Well then when will a guy be mature, after 3 more years? Are you sure?  He can vote and he is treated as an adult under the law. So why can’t he go ahead and marry?

: Leads to population explosion            What???? How do you clarify that?

I got married at an age where people consider it as too young for a guy to get married. There were relatives flocking to my house, to help me understand how immature I am and how inadequate are my possessions to get married. They wanted me to understand the responsibilities and the difficulties of married life.I think it’s a personal choice and it has nothing to do with age limit. In India we treat a guy as mature enough to get married when he a) owns a house b) has a huge bank balance c) is over 28 d)has a good salary.I would welcome this move by the law commission.

 If a guy wants to get married at 18, let him. If a girl wants to get married to a guy who is 18, let her.

Why techies should move to Trivandrum?

This post is also on mutiny.in Having worked out of Trivandrum for more than two years for a software company I am sure that city has everything you could ask for. I  thought of writing this post after the common response I get from my colleagues out here in Bangalore when I tell them that I am worked with a company at Technopark. And the common response is “Technopark? where?” .

Well for those who don’t know, Techno park is (source wikipedia) “the first and largest technology park in India launched in 1990, Technopark currently has 3.2 million square feet (310,000 square meters) of built-up space. Technopark is home to over 125 companies, which employ more than 17,000 professionals.”

Yes, it’s the FIRST technology park in India. While the silicon valley of India (Bangalore) gradually overtook the state in terms of software exporting, Technopark was not far behind. But then most of the companies preferred Bangalore as their outsourcing hub. The reason? Talent pool, favorable government policies and infrastructure. But then why should one (employer or employee) choose Trivandrum now?

• Living cost

This would be the best reason to move. You have to pay just 25% of the money that you now shell out as rent every month and will get twice the space. There aren’t any multiplexes, but you could see all latest movies for 35 bucks.

• Traffic

You would hardly find a traffic jam. But Technopark is 15 KMs from the city, however if you stay near, say 10 kms away from the Park, you could reach office in 10 mins, which is impossible in the major cities.

• No more crowded airports

Reaching airport would be walk in the park for everyone. You would hardly face any traffic jams on the way

• Tax

Since Technopark is outside the city limits, the professional tax levied is relatively less.

But these are changing with more companies rushing to the Tier 3 cities to set up their centers. Infosys (which already have 1000 employees in Technopark) is setting up its 70 acre campus next to Technopark. TCS has it’s main training centre working out of Technopark. Many companies like L&T are trying to push the government in getting land on lease. Many companies have already eyed the city as its next offshore hub, but then will the Kerala government comply? Will the chaos surrounding the new Tech Parks succumb? These questions may go unanswered but I am sure Kerala will be waking up with a new IT boom of it’s on in near future.

 

(Inside Bhavani building in Technopark)

The other IT park in Kerala is Infopark and the latest one planned is Technocity near Technopark.

I am sick of electronic money.

I am sick of electronic money.

Last time I was charged twice when I swiped my card at a retail shop in Kochi. I got just one slip as reference for my transaction but I was charged twice.Then it’s a game of tennis between the merchant and the bank, and I would be the ball.  The bank told me that my money is with VISA. The merchant told me that the he didn’t get any.I got my money after 45 working days (more than 2 months) with no interest paid. 

Once I booked two tickets with KF Airlines, they charged me thrice; however they didn’t claim it and the bank treated the transactions as void after I made 12 calls and sent 5 emails to the customer care.

 

Recently I booked a ticket with IRCTC, they charged me thrice (Two times after the payment, the IRCTC site went down saying ‘Service Unavailable’). IRCTC refunded the money back to my credit card. But the bank is not returning the service charge they levied from me.They say the transaction was successful for them and there is a charge for it. I am sorry, I didn’t get that. I did a transaction online which is void, which even the back accepts yet I will be charged for it? 

Now this is like I will be taxed even if I don’t get a car. Look at this hypothetical situation. I book a car and they cancel my order because of obvious reasons say, I am brown. But I still have to pay the tax applicable. 

What????And they say customer is king. A king who has to pay taxes and service charges? 

I am sick of electronic money.