The one where I turn Thirty

So exact six months from today, I'll turn 30. This reminded me of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode (The one where they all turn thirty). So I thought of a status check - What did I and do I want to do before thirty?

Well, I dreamt of being recognized as a poet. I got to publish and also win accolades from the ones I admired. I wanted to see a lots of places, which to the desired extent has been done. Research - I've lowered my expectations to the level where they've already been met. I wanted to build a good library. I have more books than I have time for. Love - done, done, done. Marriage - done.

I reckon that I have lived a good life. I have done things, I have failed, I have succeeded, and most of all, I have loved. In fact, if I die in this moment, it will be all in good humor.

Poetic geniuses - 1

पंडित मदनमोहन मालवीय और सर सैयद अहमद खाँ जिन दिनों हिन्दू यूनिवर्सिटी और मुस्लिम यूनिवर्सिटी की स्थापना के लिये प्रयास कर रहे थे, उन्हीं दिनों अकबर इलाहाबादी साहब ने एक शेर कहा था :

शैख ने गो लाख दाढ़ी बढ़ाई सन की सी
मगर वह बात कहाँ मालवी मदन की सी

यहाँ 'सन की' शब्दों पर गौर कीजिये। दोनों शब्दों को मिला देने पर जो अर्थ निकलता है, वह शायर के हुनर की मिसाल है। अकबर साहब पं0 मदनमोहन मालवीय के मित्र थे जबकि उन्हें सर सैयद अहमद खाँ की अंग्रेज परस्ती फूटी ऑंखों नहीं भाती थी। (Copied from Wikipedia)

By the way, this is how Akbar Allahabadi himself looked like.

Two more crooks - SBI Cards and Heritage Holidays

• A fundamental principle for efficiency in the system is that property rights should be well-defined and well-protected. If the law fails to define or protect rights of each member, it leads to systemic corruption and motivation to violation of contracts.

• According to the Ease of Doing Business Index, India ranks 134th overall. Rank of India in case you want to enforce a contract is 182, barely ahead of some war-torn African nations.

Such a revisit to economic theory and then empirical evidence was necessitated not by some pressing issue of national importance but by a crooked scheme by SBICards (a division of State bank of India) and the Heritage Holidays India Pvt. Ltd. Let me explain the matter in brief for your own safety from these crooks.

I was offered the membership of SBI Privilege Circle, which cost me some Rs. 5,500. In lieu of that membership, I was supposed to get a package of one domestic return ticket, one 2.5 days holiday and a wrist-watch. Although I got the wrist watch soon, I decided to give up the domestic ticket option as all the sectors offered were pathetically short and irrelevant (mostly like Jaipur to Delhi, Trichy to Chennai, or Aizawl to Agartala kind).

However, then only I realized that even the holiday is conditions-ridden. When somehow I carved out a time-slot and sent three preferences, they did not reply for over two months. When I started calling the SBI Previlege circle helpline (all toll nos.), after long wait, I was told to call the heritage holidays people. When I called them, I was assured that tickets are in process and the trip is confirmed. One further month later, I started calling them again. After a similar ordeal, I was told that my desired slot is full now and I have to find another set of dates. As last date of offer was approaching soon, I managed even that somehow. However, since then, some weeks have passed without a reply from either of the SBI Cards or the heritage holidays.

Although I have given up the hope of any reply from those bastards now, even if they do, I am sure it will be better not to avail the offer at all. Reason - If I book flights just one week before, airfares would be so high, it is better to finance a full trip on my own. By the way, those hogwashers have the audacity to call me for offering the same scheme again, which effectively means that there is no 'privilege circle' but just a shop of thuggery.

How I wish to have a sound legal and judicial system of contract enforcement in India in order to teach these crooks a lesson. Alas! The law is in a more sorry state than the violators' wish.