The Changeover

This blogpost was somehow lost in the drafts - had written 2.5 years back, publishing now!

When I came to Delhi in December, it was cold and at nights it was very much cold. The temperatures continued going down, till one more sweater had to be added by the end of December, and a shawl over it by the end of January. February promised to be pleasant, however second week of February also played spoilsport and turned out cold.

February end was pleasant, and I thought that now I can enjoy the famous spring season weather. Holi came on 1st of March, and with the bonfires that we all had lit, nature seemed to have taken the cue. Suddenly from the second of March the temperature turned hot...the warmth disappeared and the sun merrily blazed down on all. The woolens were thrown out with a gusto and cotton came out to battle the heat. Fans were turned on and heaters were packed off. Welcome to the Great Indian Summer ...

What surprised me was the dramatic changeover ...there was no indication, no signs...it just happened all of a sudden! It seems nature has its own whims and fancies, to which we mortals are subjected. Bow to thee, Nature!

Bouquet

The other day, when I had to leave Delhi for Bangalore, my client gave me a small farewell - where I was presented with a memento and bouquet. The memento was gift wrapped so I did not open it and put it away in my bag. The bouquet was exquisitely made with different kinds of flowers, ribbons and various other things. It looked very pretty.

I took my bag, purse and scooped up the bouquet in my hands as I walked out of the client's office. The moment I stepped on the road I saw strangers looking at me. I realized it was more towards the bouquet, rather than me! The huge, beautiful bouquet attracted people's attention towards it and then towards me.

A bouquet symbolizes that the person carrying it is either very important or has achieved something substantial or is carrying it to present it to somebody important or successful. The bouquet provides a personality which nothing else can give.

Bouquets evade our life at almost every occasion. On birthdays, marriages, marriage anniversaries, inaugurations, felicitations, farewells and many other occasions its the perfect gift to give. While visiting a patient, one may carry a bouquet (provided hospital administration permits), which will fill the white/green hospital rooms with vibrant colors. Bouquets are also given at funerals. The color, vibrancy and size of the bouquet is varied appropriately as per the occasion.

A bouquet full of beautiful flowers, leaves and other natural ingredients juxtaposed against man-made articles like ribbons, baskets etc. provides a very fresh and colorful picture. It showcases how natural beauty can be enhanced through different arrangements and man-made additions.

While I was carrying the bouquet that day to home, I picture how it would look the next day. The flowers would wilt away and the ribbons, baskets etc would go limp without the flowers. Flowers are the main character of the bouquet. A single rose flower, draped in a foil or plastic and tied with a red ribbon packs in more emotion and passion than any other gift would.

Bouquets are beautiful indeed!!!

Bangalore!!!

We have been in Bangalore from 9th April 2012. My husband has got an admit to the EPGP course at IIM-B, which started from 16th April. It has been more than 15 days here and we have settled down very quickly. The accommodation has been provided by the Institute and all things are included in the course fees. I have traveled to some places in Bangalore and I have loved the city very much.

The weather is very pleasant in Bangalore and the Bangaloreans say that this has been the hottest summer. Coming from NCR/Delhi, I am loving the weather. I havent yet experienced the traffic yet, which is the sole pain in the neck in Bangalore. But what I have seen is the probable reason for traffic - the width of the road. In Bangalore major roads are as wide as a small lane outside my parent's home in Mumbai! With such narrow roads, there is bound to be traffic jams all over the place. The other day, while I was waiting at the bus-stop on a similar two lane major road, a truck had failed bang in the middle of the road and there were huge traffic snarls on both the sides.

Bangalore authorities should work on a two-pronged strategy to reduce the traffic:

1. Undertake road - widening on major roads
2. Disallow vehicles with single commuters - fine heavily if such vehicles are found. This would not ease the traffic but also reduce some pollutants and give the left-over greenery some space to breathe in the oxygen.

Most of the people understand Hindi and some English words, so communication has not been a major problem. There are some instances when communication is a problem, but people go out of their way to understand through hand sign or by getting someone who knows the language. My maid understands Hindi, but cant speak it - so was I told. One day I asked her to change her timings to 6 am instead of 8 am. Next day, she came at 8 am. Again I told her that this was late and that she had to come at 6 am. Next day she again came at 8 am. Now I was exasperated and called up dad, who knows speaking in Kannada, to find the phrase "Come from 6 am tomorrow". Dad told me the phrase and also said that he shall speak to her on phone and explain. She again came at 8 am but had another maid with her. This second maid understood and could speak in Hindi. She clarified what I wanted and explained to my maid. Next day onwards she has been coming at 6 am. I love this enterprising spirit of the people here.

Bangalore promises to be a very vibrant, green and enterprising city, looking forward for an eventful stay here!!!

Bikanervala - Operations Management

I visited Bikanerwala on 7th March 2012, i.e. Holi day, and a day before Dhulivandan. Holi is major festival in North India and sweet shops witness a major rush. I too had gone to purchase sweets and was amazed at the change in operations they had undertaken.

Usually, when one wants to purchase sweets at Bikanerwala, one has to make the payment at cash counter, take the bill and token and present the token at the respective sweet counter. At the sweet counter, the attendant weighs the sweet, puts in box, packs the box in a plastic sheet and seals it by passing it through a machine. Packing and sealing takes considerable time.

For that particular day, the packing and sealing operations were separated and put up in the open space outside the store. The sweet corner attendant, weighed the sweets and put in the box and gave them to customer. There were some more attendants helping customers carry the boxes outside, get them packed and sealed. This ensured two things - less crowding at the sweet corner and high turnover time in sweet packing. Additionally, once a customer gets the box in his/her own hands, there is a sense of satisfaction of having got the sweets. The service was quite efficient and I liked the change they had done to tackle the seasonal rush!

Additionally, Bikanerwala could have done one more thing. "Gujia" is a special sweet prepared for Holi and the store had around 16 types of Gujia - all stacked at the same place. Being a Holi special sweet, there was a huge rush at Gujia counter. The Gujia counter should have been separated from the sweets counter and spread across with more space and more attendants, which would have reduced the rush at the counter.

The store attendants wore traditional dresses on the Holi day and free color was also distributed over a certain bill amount.

All in all, impressive operations management!

Big Bazaar Exchange offer

Yesterday I went to Big Bazaar to purchase a travel bag. The salesperson was very helpful in showing me different travel bags, explaining the offers, the exchange offers etc. Once I selected the bag, he asked me whether I have any 'Exchange Offer Coupons'. I did not have any.

Big Bazaar has an exchange offer scheme, wherein BB buys all old household stuff starting from newspaper raddi to furniture and electronics and issues coupons for the same. Lets say i have 10 kgs of newspaper raddi, then at rate of Rs. 30/kg, BB issues me Rs. 300 worth of coupons. Now, I can't just buy Rs. 300 stuff at BB. In order to use this Rs. 300 coupons I have to spend a min. of Rs. 900 - why? Because, a maximum of 25% of Offer Price can be availed through Exchange Coupons. So if a Bag costs Rs. 1000, I can use Rs. 250 in exchange coupons, but will have to pay Rs. 750 as cash. Obviously the entire scheme is to increase sales! And to top it the exchange coupons are valid only for a week - to ensure that anyone who comes to sell raddi, turns into a customer in the same visit.

When I said, I dont have coupons, the sales representative suggested that he can get coupons in exchange for some cash. My bag costed Rs. 4000, so I could use Rs. 1000 exchange coupons. He would provide me Rs. 1000 coupons for Rs. 500, thus enabling me to save Rs. 500. Imagine this at BB!!! I thought why not try it out and asked him to get the coupons, but by the time he came back I changed my mind and told him I dont want them. When he had come back with coupons, he was behaving in a very fishy manner and I realised that there is major scam going around here!

I moved on towards the billing counter and another gentleman/customer approached me asking what is the cost of bag, whether I had exchange coupons and then offering me the same. I just walked away towards the counter and got my bag billed and moved away.

I am intrigued by the way the schemes function and mal-function!!! Hope BB takes note of the same !

Goggles and Shawls

On Saturday, i.e. 3rMar2012, I was travelling by the Metro towards Karol Bagh in the ladies compartment and I could observe a change in the clothing of women. The winters are making a retreat and the sun is out shining. Goggles have come in a blizzard - one out of every three women was sporting a goggle. Simple goggles, designer goggles, brown ones and black ones - all are back on the head - some working more as head-bands rather than goggles.

More surprising was the presence of shawls - women were still wearing/carrying shawls - an indication that winter is still here and one might need a protective layer of shawl anytime. It was interesting to see the blend of summer and winter accessories - Goggles and Shawls!!!

Big Bazaar Visit

Today I had gone to the Big Bazaar (BB) in The Great India Place (TGIP), Noida. My sole agenda was to buy some groceries and browse to find out if there are any attractive deals.

The moment I entered the store, I sensed there was something amiss. Firstly, there was no security check. Secondly, no trolleys or carry-bags were available and people waiting for trolleys had turned into a mini-crowd. There were some who ventured and got a trolley from the exit gate. When I enquired with the guard, he said that I would have to wait for 10 mins to get a trolley. I was carrying a back-pack and asked the guard whether I can take use the same for making purchases. He asked if it was empty (did not check at all) and thankfully said yes. When I entered the store, I found some carry-bags (ones with wheels, to be carried inside the store), however, these were extremely dirty and the moment I picked it, i threw it. Had these been kept in a better condition, some of the people at the entrance could have used these for shopping.

The store was very much crowded, much more than anybody would like it. The aisles near the soap/shampoo and grains sections had absolutely no place, while most of the other sections were relatively empty. I am sure, BB team could have done some re-arrangement for stocking up of things as they would have observed these trends in the past many months. Additionally, fruit and vegetable shopping turned to an absolute no, as one has to get in queue twice, once to weigh it and again at billing counter. Whatever in the size of crowd, BB has only two counters for weighing fruits and vegetables, adding to the exasperation.

BB has a variety of items kept near the billing counter to entice the customers standing in the queues do some last-minute impulse shopping. But somehow, these racks are loaded with discarded purchases of the customers, which makes it look like a waste-bin. It also reduces the space for the customer to stand.

One comment that I overheard while standing in the billing queue - "Big Bazaar aane par jyada paise kharch hote hai. Jo cheeze nahi chahi hai wo bhi le lete hai". I am sure this would bring a wide smile to BB promoters, as this is the strategy of supermarket/hypermarket. However, one should take a note of this, as there would one wise person in the family who will point this out and the middle/lower middle class would stop visiting BB. Value provided by deals should be great enough to cover the travel cost and other expenses entailed by visit to BB.

Since the ban put on plastic bags, BB allows customers to carry their own bags (which I did today, for the first time). However, there was no check on the bags carried inside (probably due to today's rush) and when at the billing counter, the attendant just put my purchases in the bag, without checking the emptyness of the bag. High value items could be easily taken out through different pockets of bags. Scanning of bags should be done before filling them with purchases.

I have visited 2-3 BB stores a number of times. These include the ones at Lower Parel and R-Mall,Mulund (Mumbai) and the TGIP one. The Lower Parel store has the crowded look each and everytime. R-Mall and TGIP have variable crowds.

I like BB, however, now-a-days I am finding it slightly uncomfortable to shop at. I intend to keep posting on this blog about my experiences at BB and hopefully someone will take notice of the same.

Yet to write...but story is in making

It was June when I was deliberating on whether to write or not to write and the verdict was - To Write, I havent yet started writing, but I have a faint idea on what I am going to write on. Today is 1st Mar 2012 and I believe by end of this month, the story would have a detailed outline and I would be able to complete the first chapter of my book. Wishing me all the best :)

I now have many of my classmates as authors of various books, some of them have written two books - looks like once you get over the first one, you can get on a roll!

Let me start by writing atleast one blog per week :)

Bhandara and Durga Puja at NTPC Township, Noida

Festivities are in the air, with advent of various festivals. In NTPC all the festivals are celebrated however, Durga Puja is celebrated with much gusto - thanks to enthusiasm and initiative of the Bong Lok!

So again, like last year, Durga Puja festivities started in the township in and near "Anandam" (community hall). We went on Sunday, i.e. "Shashti" to have darshan of devi. Food stalls were also put up, which we attacked and had lip-smacking spring rolls and Pav Bhaji.

Bhandara - community lunch was also being organized, last year we could not attend as I used to go to office in Delhi. This year, Alok's senior asked him to come as a volunteer and Alok loved the work on Monday. Again on Monday, I had to go to Delhi office, so I could not see Bhandara.

Today, I had the opportunity to go to the Bhandara. Alok was again volunteering, and even though I wanted to do the same, no lady volunteers were there, so I settled on simply having the food. When I reached the place, I was amazed to see the long queues, I had never seen so many people together in the NTPC township. I was about to run away seeing the crowds. I bumped into Alok, and he asked me to stand in the ladies queue and have food. I did not like the idea, as I wanted to have lunch with him. But he insisted, so I stood in the line.

There were four items - pulao, daal, paneer matar and rice kheer. All were prepared beautifully and sumptuous quantities were served. Some quiz competition was going on, so I sat in the Pandal, watching the quiz competition and having my food. Alok is still serving food and would go directly to office from there.

Even though I like the idea about Alok volunteering, there is a nagging feeling of his time stolen from me. I mean if we had lunch together at home, we would have been together. Guess life is full of twists and turns, frills and thrills!

I am happy to have been at atleast one Bhandara and this one was organized extremely well and food was very good. Thank you NTPC, for one more experience.

Zomato - The Foodie's website

Zomato is doing wonderfully!!! Zomato is like God, the foodie prays for something and Zomato appears to give the delightful information!!! For those who havent tried it, here is the link http://www.zomato.com (earlier foodiebay)

Coming to the feedback -

What I like most about Zomato

1. Wide range across of food joints listing across cities, cuisines, cost ranges (budgets - but wanted to continue with the CCC)

2. Wide range of search options eg. bar/no bar, happy hours, veg, credit cards - and the list goes on

3. Providing space for everyday foodies to put up their reviews

What Zomato should improve upon

1. Menus are sometimes not clear and one cant read them clearly - please ensure you have good pics of menus

2. Offer discounts to those who order through Zomato either through smses or direct info to food provider

3. Zomato should also add the small thelas and eateries which have lip-smacking food at reasonable rates and they also do home delivery - like an eatery called Sumangalam at Noida Sector 34 (its run by a lady and she does a very good job at it)

4. Have a better search result - if I ask for Sumangalam Noida - please say you dont have it, ask if I want to check other options in Noida, only then put up the list of Noida

Now that you have the feedback, kindly research on Noida and its hidden food joints and post it on Zomato - and yeah give me my IPad :)