Locked In!

Excitement in the colony on Sunday .



The colony has some kind of association which has meeting every now n then which no one bothers to attend. Well that's besides some old foggies. On Sunday they met and passed a resolution saying that no 'bachelors' (thats what they call all single people) should be allowed to stay in the colony. Bullshit. I got a notice telling me I have to leave by the end of the week. I called the owner up and she told me not to worry. A group of 5 or 6 old men can't decide for the full colony. According to her most of the people in the colony have given their flats out on rent and they prefer giving it to single people since they're easier to get rid off. Hmmm..

Well I was sitting at home peaceful as could be. Called a friend over for dinner. About 20 minutes later I got a call from her asking me where I was. I told her I was at home waiting for her. She said “Well if you're at home why is your door latched from the the outside?!?” She was calling from right outside my front door! Apparently someone had latched the door from outside. Well it was lucky for me that she came along otherwise I wouldn't have known anything till the next afternoon and then it would have been hard to find someone to unlatch the door.

I'm going to remove that latch today. They might have a padlock next time!



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Hot Gossip at the Call Centre...

Long time since I've written here... Lets see, last time I told you a little about my colony. This week I'll tell you a little about work or rather the people I meet at work. Their hopes, dreams, romances,...



I work in a call centre. My shift timings change now n then. Work is ok. Deadly dull though. Selling vehicle insurance for an UK company. It's an inbound process. That means that we don't have to call up people. We just sell insurance to people who call us up for quotes. Everyone says inbound is very easy. Only people who are interested in the product will call up obviously. They say that out bound is terrible because you have to call up strange people and try to sell them stuff. Well all I have to say is that the outbound people are paid much more as incentives too. Anyway enough about work.

The workplace is pretty exciting right now. One of the guys in my batch is pretty good friends with one of the team leads on the floor so he gets to know all the hot gossip, even about the more senior executives. Some of the things he tells me are so shocking I'm not sure whether to believe him, but so far everything he's told me has turned out to be true, so I always listen eagerly. I call him my 'source'. He told me that our ops manager was having an affair with the manager of another process. I found that hard to believe. I mean they were both married and besides his wife was a sweet girl. When I first heard about it I thought it was just some spiteful gossip but then I saw them having cozy dinners more than once at various posh restaurants around town and once when they were leaving I saw that he'd his arm around her... I felt very sorry for his wife. Though for all you know she has someone on the side as well. This town is such a dirty place. Anyway all this is old news. That guy and his wife moved away, the “other woman” is still here though. I heard she'd divorced her husband. Right now she's single as far as I know though I can tell that many of the older men In the office seem to think they have a shot with her. Creeps.

Here I am babbling about old news when I've got some really hot news. Apparently AJU and Upen have broken up again. Ok I know I haven't introduced them yet but I'm sooo excited. AJU stands for Angelina Jolie Understudy. Cos that's what she thinks she looks like and thats what she tries for. She fails miserably of course, though roadside romeos would probably find her attractive enough. Anyway, her on again, off again, boyfriend is a fitting match for her. He's Upen Patel to the power of 20. Oily, smirking, feeling-girls-up creep. New girls who don't know any better find him attractive but then they learn. Funny thing is he never learns. He still thinks he's a stud. And since someone told him he's called Upen behind his back he's started strutting around like it's a compliment!

Well to get back to the story, recently a new girl has joined us on the floor. Little miss indecently short skirt, MISS for short. Well the moment Upen saw Miss he had only one thing on his mind. He's been hanging about with his tongue out for weeks now. Well apparently MISS made the mistake of going out with him. There was a huge row yesterday. AJU was crying and whining and Upen was acting all high and mighty. It started in the cafetaria but then he stalked out and she followed him so we didn't get to hear all the juicy details. But my 'source' told me that AJU found some messages on his cell from or to MISS. She blew up. Obviously she was expecting him to say sorry. But she reckoned without Upen's ego. He thinks women are secondary citizens put on earth for his pleasure. Last seen she was crying and he was ignoring her.

Anyway, time I got back on the floor. Still have so much to tell you guys...Catch ya later...



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Merry Christmas!

Opinionated Indian Wishes all Citizens of World Merry Christmas and Happy & Prosperous New Year 2009, God Bless You All.

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How India survived the financial meltdown...

I just read this article on The New York Times, titled 'How India Avoided a Crisis'.

I ain't an economist, but as an Opinionated Indian, I got my views on everything... and finance is something I like to express my views on... rather these are snippets from my Ma's (Indian word of mother) advice.



There are few things, which, we people of India do... and because of them... India's economy is still strong and unaffected by this melt-down...

Loans are BAD!

My mom always says... Son! never take a loan.. its bad... and trust me I have never taken a loan in my life. The logic is simple, when you take a loan from bank or any financial institution, you spend the money easily, but it becomes real difficult to raise the same money again and pay the debt.

As most of the the Indians, rarely take personal loan, or create debts for any kind of flimsy need. They stay out of the credit-payment net... Well, but haa! when the need will arise I will take a home loan... just like other Indians do.


Credit Card is BAD!

India is a country where only 2-3 percent people have any kind of credit card, sounds unbelievable? yeah, but its true!

I got my first credit card just couple of months back, and I use it very carefully. I make sure that I got hard cash in my bank account, before I spend a rupee (counterpart of US dollar) through credit card. Rather most of the Indians prefer to pay hard cash rather then pay by check or credit card. Well, unintentionally, it helps them.

As they pay all cash, it helps them in remaining debt-free. Where as, people who have credit card, swipe the plastic and get into debts.


Saving money, SAVES!

One of the many words I often hear (just like other folks in India) from my Ma is 'SAVE', every time I visit her at her home, she unfailingly tells me to save money... make a fixed deposit in a government bank.

Indians, have this good tendency to save for bad times, this is one of the cornerstone of Indian culture. Any middle-income family in India, at any given point of time, has savings worth more then their yearly income. Also the Indian Income Tax Department (counterpart of IRS) gives tax benefits if you save money.


Invest in Real Estate and Gold

Indians often invest in Real Estate and Gold. Statistically its proven, that regardless of the downturn in economy, the value of these two things doesn't fall below 20 %

And these two assets, can be liquidated easily, without much depreciation in times of dire financial need.


Don't spend on unnecessary stuff!

Whenever I buy anything, My mom instantly tells me not to waste money on unnecessary thing.

Indians use a TV set for at least 10 years... Well, barring few exceptions, a TV set is something which is as a short-term home appliance in US. The underlying point is, Indians make maximum use of the stuff they have, and avoid spending on something which they don't need or can be avoided.

Whereas, folks in US spend unnecessarily on things which they don't really require... Say a iPhone 3G! I don't understand why its so hyped device in US, to spend 199 US$ (and a binding contract!) ? a normal GSM phone works just fine... as it does for me.

As I said, I ain't a economist and my Ma is not even a high school graduate. But what she understands and practices, most of people and businesses in US didn't...


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This is me...

My "column" in the blog is going to be a fictional account of an anonymous girl.

That's me. The Anonymous Girl.

I've lived in Goa, Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi and Pune and I don't know where I'll be this time next year.

But today I am where I am... in a little anonymous colony surrounded by weirdos. The colony where the woman in the next building just waits till her husband goes to work before her boyfriend shows up, the colony where two young guys share a flat and have 2 girlfriends each, the colony where the watchman either comes to work drunk, or doesn't come to work cos his son beat him up, the colony where the odd job man seems to be manic-depressive...

I could go on and on... I am surrounded by strange people and strange happenings... and trust me you're gonna hear about them all... because this is my life, these are my opinions, and I don't really have anything else to write about...


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Mumbai after the smoke... They say a picture speaks more then a thousand words...

Click on the Picture to Enlarge

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A song close to my heart...

Here is a song, which is close to my heart, sung by a young guy with profound voice.

This song has meaning which touches the heart, in fact he wrote it after someone he loved the most, passed away...

So here is the Punjabi song Tere Bin by Rabbi Shergill (with English Translation)

Tere bin / besides you

sanu sohnia / my love

koi hor nahio labhna / I shan't find another

jo dave / who'll give

ruh nu sakun / peace to my soul

chukke jo nakhra mera / and indulge me

ve main sare ghumm ke vekhia / I have gone and seen it all

Amrika , Roos, Malaysia / America, Russia, Malaysia

kittey vi koi fark si / there wasn't any difference

har kise di koi shart si / they all had 'some condition'

koi mangda mera si sama / some asked for my time

koi hunda surat te fida / some were fascinated with my face

koi mangda meri si vafa / some demanded my fidelity

na koi mangda merian bala / none wanted my demons

tere bin / besides you

hor na kise / no one else

mangni merian bala / wanted my demons

tere bin / besides you

hor na kise / no one else

karni dhup vich chhan / shall shade me in the sun

jiven rukia / (the) way you paused

si tun zara / slightly

nahion bhulna / I shan't forget

main sari umar / all my life

jiven akhia si akhan chura / you said, looking away

"rovenga sanu yad kar" / "you shall weep in my memory"

hasia si main hasa ajeeb / I laughed a strange laugh

(par) tu nahi si hasia / but you didn't

dil vich tera jo raaz si / you had a secret in your heart

mainu tu kyon ni dasia / why didn't you tell me

tere bin / besides you

sanu eh raz / none shall tell this

kise hor nahion dasna / secret to me

tere bin / besides you

peerh da ilaaj / what druid

kis vaid kolon labhna / has the cure to my ills

milia si ajj mainu / I found today

tera ik patra / a note of yours

likhia si jis 'te / on which you had scribbeled

tun shayr varey shah da / a varis shah couplet

park ke si osnu / upon reading which

hanjnu ik duliya / a teardrop fell

akhan 'ch band si / what was locked in the eye

seh raaz ajj khulia / was revealed today

ki tere bin / that other than you

eh mere hanjnu / these tears of mine

kise hor / won't be kissed by

nahio chumna / none else

ki tere bin / that other than you

eh mere hanjhu / these tears of mine

mitti vich rulnha / will wither in the dust...

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