Though the title of the post sounds weird, but that is exactly what the post is about. Whenever i get my Airtel Landline Bill i get frustrated and annoyed, not because of the amount but because i have a tough time opening it without tearing it apart. The bill is always properly sealed and then it always has 2 staple pins punched into it.

Why do you need to staple something which is already sealed is beyond me. The fact that Airtel keeps beating the drums about going green and then does something which is completely opposite.

Imagine this, they have a 100 million customers to which they send the bill to and 2 staples pins on each is 200 million staple pins each month. If they stop doing this, not only will they save money but also natural resources which are actually going to the dust bin.

Do you see the pic on the left, that is pretty much the state i am in. Hanging by the rope and the worst part is that i don’t even know if i am dead or alive and if i am alive then why and for how long. Recently i committed a blunder in my life and it is possibly the biggest one till now… you must have heard that saying “aapne paroon per kudh kulhari marna” , in my case it’s not just one leg but i hit the axe on both my legs. I can humor about it right now but trust me, this is the most tragic thing.

It’s one thing when someone else does something and hurts you, if you are lucky… you get an apology but its a different ball game all together when you do something yourself to jeopardize your own future… something which drastically changes the course of your of life and maybe the meaning of your existence.

I will not go into detail of what i did, it’s a long painful story but i did hurt someone very dear to me and now i don’t think i will ever get a chance to set it straight. They say that in life you always get another chance to fix your wrong doings… is it really true? How do your apologize to someone who would not even want to see your face?

In all my life i have always left my heart make a decision for me and the only time i lead my head take the drivers seat… it got me into a serious accident. Lesson of life is that with it comes to relationships be it your family, friends, g/f or b/f you should always go by what your heart says.

I lost something which was very precious to me, don’t let your stupidity do the same to you.

Two men, one American and an Indian were sitting in a bar drinking shot after shot. The Indian man said to the American, “You know my parents are forcing me to get married to this so called homely girl from a village whom I haven’t even met once.’ We call this arranged marriage. I don’t want to marry a woman whom I don’t know or love. I told them that openly and now have a hell lot of family problems.”

The American said, “Talking about love marriages… I’ll tell you my story.” I married a widow whom I deeply loved and dated for 3 years.. “After a couple of years, my father fell in love with my step-daughter and married her, so my father became my son-in-law and I became my father’s father-in-law.”

Legally now my daughter is my mother and my wife my grandmother. More problems occurred when I had a son. My son is my father’s brother and so he is my uncle. Situations turned worse when my father had a son. Now my father’s son, my brother is my grandson. Ultimately, I have become my own grand father and I am my own grandson.. And you say you have family problems???

Private companies are supplying MCD with inter locking tiles which are being put to use all over Delhi. These tiles are made by recycling old construction material from various MCD sites. Though this is a good thing that MCD is recycling but if you look into the quality of the tile you will notice that this is not going to last even a year, besides look closely and you will see that these so called inter locking tiles don’t seem to interlock at all. What a waste!

I am not big on playing Holi though i would have loved to if everyone would play with just organic colours and water, but since that hardly happen… i keep myself locked in my house but for everyone else who does play… wish you a very happy Holi!

Cribb sent in by one of our readers Ashok

In India, from our childhood, we usually come across the phrase ‘Export Quality’. Whenever we used to accompany our parents to market place to buy household kitchen utensils, cloths or similar items, we used to see a sticker pasted on the item as ‘Export Quality’ or the shopkeeper used to boast that the item is of Export Quality. It used to be general deception in the mind of people that anything bearing a tag of Export Quality should definitely be better than the similar product available in the local shops.

Sometimes ago I had a chance to attend a seminar organized by a local representative of a US based product. The product was now being manufactured in China besides USA and other European countries. The purpose of manufacturing in China was to be competitive and meet the additional need of Asian market including India. A Chinese delegation from China came and gave presentation on the product and its quality control.

As usual, at the end of presentation there was question time for the audience to clear any doubts or incase they want additional information.

After few technical questions, one of Indian representative stood and asked the Chinese representative on additional features provided in the product when it is exported to India. The Chinese representative could not understand the question and asked the Indian guest to explain as to what exactly he meant. The Indian guest elaborated that like in India, whenever we manufacture anything for export market, we take extra precautions to produce a better product with better quality control than what we manufacture for our Indian people. The Chinese delegate got stunned with this explanation. However he explained politely that they do not have this kind of double standard in China. Whatever they produce, they maintain only one standard, whether it is for local market or for export. There was a complete silence in the meeting room for few seconds.

I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Republic Day… I hope you have a fun filled day today even though it’s a dry day

Cheers!

Cribb sent in my Hardik

The company that is supposed to be the best and most widely accepted service provider in India is also a known ‘CHEAT’ when it comes to maximizing its revenues. I heard a lot about this malpractice employed by the company but didn’t believe it unless I experienced one. They had activated some ‘Jokes alert’ service on my number without my notice and when I used the SIM, after a long gap, the entire balance had vanished.

I got a recharge done and observed my balance day after day. Everyday there was a minimum deduction of Re. 1/day and sometimes Rs. 3/day without even using the SIM at all during the day. When I complained about this, they gave elusive replies on activation which was never done from my side – In fact I checked up all SMS / outgoing calls for past 1 year and there was no such activation done.

When I ask for the refund on email, even the nodal officer (Karnataka) writes back after a week ‘We regret the inconvenience but cannot do anything’ In fact one of my friends had to literally go and fight with the executives at an Airtel office to get a refund of such mysterious deductions. I have already changed my SIM and am using Tata Docomo services and their response is quite satisfactory on customer queries. If you have an Airtel SIM, please keep a check on your balance, else they may be eating away your money on your back.

Wishing everyone a very happy Lohri 2010

History of Lohri and How is it celebrated:

Lohri, is celebrated every year on 13th of January. It is a festival to worship fire. Lohri Festival is celebrated with great pomp in North India. At this time Earth starts moving towards the sun marking the auspicious period of Uttarayan. First Lohri is very important for the newly wed and the new born babies as it marks fertility. At night, people gather around the bonfire and throw til, puffed rice & popcorns into the flames of the bonfire. Prayers are offered to the bonfire seeking abundance & prosperity. People make merry by dancing & singing traditional folk songs.

It saddens me to write this but i have come to the conclusion that India has truly gone to the Dogs. Today while i was watching the evening news, i saw the story of the 10th girl who committed suicide in the past week, all because she could not stand what her mother would say as she did not go good in her exams. I read an article in the paper today about a man being stabbed multiple times in Gurgaon all because he did not want to give out his ATM pin number to crooks who cornered him when he had pulled off the road to take a call. A doctor’s son was kidnapped and then murdered in his own car. Police has still not be able to trace the 3 pakistani terrorist who escaped, the blame game is on and a report as been duly commissioned.

The above was just a days news, this is an every day affair and this makes me very sad. It’s already hard to work and make a good life for yourself and your family and now you need to worry about schools putting so much burden on kids which makes them take such extreme steps. Even if your kid survives the school what guarantee is there that he / she is safe from thugs / kidnappers. Why is the police so helpless in catching criminals or are they hand in glove with them? Why are the most corrupt politicians given the most number of security guards? Why are murderers given ministerial positions where they can never be touched? Why are innocent peoples taxes going towards protecting a terrorist who killed their loved ones (Kasab, the Mumbai Terror attack) Why does a molested girl commit suicide while her “powerful” molester smiles on the way out of court.

There are so many why’s that i can keep writing and there will be no end to it. I am so fed up of seeing so much wrong going on in India that it sickens be to the stomach, is it not the same for you?

One of the most anticipated events of the year is the Delhi Auto Expo which is being held at Pragati Maidan. Auto Expo is the Complete Automotive Show in this part of the world, organized jointly by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The first Auto Expo was held in 1986, the second in 1993, and the third in 1996. Since then, Auto Expo has been institutionalized as a biennial show.

Some of the exhibitors include:

Asok Leyland, Audi India, Bentley Motors, BMW India, Eicher Trucks, GM, Harley-Davidson India, Hero Honda, Honday Seil, Yamaha India, Kranti Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Renault India, Mercedes-Benz, Mahindra, Skoda, Tata, Toyota, TVS Motors, Volkswagen India, Volvo Trucks, Reva Electric.

Exhibition Schedule:

January 5th, 2010
Media Day
Goodwill Day: Special arrangements for visit of Physically Challenged

January 6th, 2010
Official Opening Ceremony
Special Invitess:1000hrs-1900hrs

January 7th, 8th & 11th, 2010: (Weekdays)
Business Visitors:1000hrs-1500hrs
General Visitors:1500hrs-1900hrs

January 9th & 10th, 2010: (Weekend)
Trade / General Visitors: 1000hrs -1900hrs

I got this mail as a forward from a friend and it was important enough to be posted on cribb.in

Airtel users need to exercise caution while answering calls from random numbers!

Recently, there have been a spate of calls received on Airtel phones from numbers with +92 area code. The callers claim to be from Airtel Dubai or Calcutta and say that you have won an obnoxious amount of money through some lottery. TO avail the cash prize, they ask you to purchase some Dish TV coupons and ask for personal details including bank account numbers etc so that they can transfer you the money. Let me tell you, it’s all a fraud. There is no Airtel office in Dubai. Airtel is not running any such lottery scheme at the moment… and the Dish TV coupons are apparently useless. In fact, the +92 area code is for Pakistan! After attacks like 26/11, we would be stupid to overlook such events. This could very well be an elaborate terror plot where your phone number or bank account could be used for committing horrible crimes. If you’re an Airtel user, you must try avoid taking these calls in the first place. In case you do, be sure to avoid giving out any personal details. Please also lodge a complaint with Airtel and intimate the police. A letter in writing from both sources might help you clear you if your name is wrongly utilized ever.