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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Why people go for pirated VCD's and DVD's

You must be wondering why people go for purchase of pirated cd's of movies? Here is one of my first hand experiences!!!

The title of this blog post should have been actually Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie review.  But, what made me to choose this heading?

My son and daughter are avid Harry Potter fans.  I have even bought them, the entire collection of the novel series for good reading.  So, when my son hears that, the last and final part of the movie has been released and is shown at the cinemas; naturally, he wanted to watch the movie version too.  That is when the disaster struck.

In India, this movie is released in two formats : 1. 3D format for the metros
                                                                       2. 2D format for the rural areas

As we hail from the rural and remotest part of south Tamil nadu, we had to go for the best available theater.  The ticket itself, cost us Rs.40/- apiece.  The movie started after a delay of 15 minutes.  At first the movie was hazy.  I thought some thing was wrong with my eyes.  After some 20 minutes, the movie became distorted and very dark.  We thought, as the movie was filmed in the dark, it is like that.  This went on till the interval.

During the interval, my son bought a carton of Popcorn, a can of Pepsi for the after the interval viewing.  I settled with just a coffee.  All this left me dearer by Rs.50/-.  I complained to the person at the theater office, about the quality of the movie being filmed.  The ignorant fool said that, ' this is the print quality we have received and it will be like that only'  he further added that 'if the projection is done "QUBE" the output would be better'.  Saying so, he locked his office and went some where?

The post interval movie, became bad to the worst.  As Potter was fighting with Draco the screen started to twitch and shake.  The movie brightness was reduced to nothing.  It was just akin to watching a movie through a pirated medium.  The audience made a huge hue and cry over the screening.  The theater operator was yelling at the top of his lungs.  All this happened because, the screening came to an abrupt halt???

The audience were shouting and yelling.  They were hell bent on a refund or the re-screening of the movie from the beginning.  After some 10 minutes, the screen came alive with Potter being carried away 'dead' towards his chums.  People were threatening, that they will petition the collector, complain to the police and so on.  I sagely said; 'this is the reason why people do not come to cinema theaters'!

Expenses:
Ticket Rs.80/- for me and my son
Snacks Rs.50/-
Parking Rs.5/-
I paid Rs.135/- for the whole unpleasant experience.  The coffee, I bought at the theater was served only 3/4th of the cup, the Pepsi can priced Rs.15/- outside was given at a price of Rs.25/-, Popcorn was astronomically priced at Rs.15/-

All this happened at the Krishna Theater complex, Theni, Tamil Nadu, India.



Thursday, July 14, 2011

Good Morning

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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

A Tsunami victim's true account

A lot of people are asking me how was it during the 9.0 magnitude and a more or less 20 meters tsunami. We were about 300 kilometers away from the affected area but the earthquake was really frightening.

I had the worst case of hay fever that day so I went to the doctor. He prescribed me with a very strong medicine that would send me off to sleep and has to be taken before bed. After eating lunch my husband told me to drink the medicine coz I'm not going anywhere anyway. His company advised him to take the day's off coz he was too tired and exhausted in that whole week. Juday was sick and she also went to the doctor, Yoshi went to school and he's coming home at 3pm. After taking the medicine I was so sleepy so I went to bed. My body isn't used to drugs. I palpitate and am having heart burn all the time. And so as I was lying in bed I felt it vibrating. I thought it was my heart pounding and then the shaking and it's not stopping. Although I'm afraid of earthquakes I got used to Japan's frequent shakes. But they are short and small quakes. This time it's almost 5 minutes. Can you imagine to be just laying in bed and being shaken for minutes and you were just waiting for it to stop? So when it stopped we turned the TV on to check on the magnitude and other information. There in the 44 in screen is the rushing wave of tsunami sweeping everything on it's way. The broken bridge where cars were stuck and the drivers oblivious of what's happening then they saw the water suddenly climbing the bridge, they took a u-turn. The truck which was too big and too long couldn't do it (I just hoped that the driver was able to flee the disaster that was coming) because we just rely on the camera from the helicopter that was trying to show all the parts of the tragedy.

That was the moment when you will just cry and pray. And then I realized Yoshi is in school and he will be coming home anytime. Will they send them home? Or wait til everything is stable and safe. Because there were still aftershocks every now and then and you'll never know what might happen while the school children are walking the streets for almost 30 minutes. During disaster we are not supposed to pick them up by car. What about the tsunami? I am not familiar with our location. Are we near the open sea? Yes we're just 30 min. away from Yokohama where I can see vessels coming in and out. Then looking at the map I realized how lucky we are. That Chiba is covering us and there were some parts affected by tsunami.

Yoshi reached home safely and since we were in Japan I never thought of panic buying. We had enough food for a week, just the drinking water and gasoline were in critical condition.

The following day, I have to shop for milk (Yoshi doesn't drink water, he can consume 2 packs of fresh milk everyday) and I was surprised to see the supermarket almost empty. What happened here? The government announced not to worry because the supply is more than enough. That the food companies can sustain our needs even during crisis. I thought Japanese people are well disciplined, patriots and law abiding citizen. I always brand them like robots. You have to program them and they will do accordingly.

Then I was told, yes Japanese people are disciplined, patriots and law abiding citizen. And they are like robots. And it is programmed to help their fellowmen. The food that suddenly disappeared from the racks of supermarket were bought, packed and donated to their respective city halls for the victims of tsunami. It wasn't for their own, they weren't thinking of themselves but those who are much in need of food, clothing, and medicine. Because as we are still living the normal life, our heart goes to the people who lost their family, shelter and jobs.

(To be continued)

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Mani's Hospital

This hospital was promoted by Dr. Ramkumar, M.S., M.N.A.M.S., now deceased.  It was started as a private limited company in a backward area like Theni, for serving the rural people.  It's vision was 'care & concern'.  Some of us put belief and money in the project under the good Doctor; who was a gold medalist from the Madurai medical college.

His ambitious project was cut short by lack of patients.  While the outpatient population was more, the inpatient population was a mere trickle.  This could not sustain the hospital.  The rural mass upon seeing the sheer structure of the building, considered it to be a 'corporate hospital' and dismissed it as 'costly'.  To draw crowd, the good Doctor brought in one husband and wife duo from Karnataka.

The Husband was an M.D., while the Wife was and Gynaecologist with an M.S.  Everything was running nicely until, the wife got greedy.  She thought that, she is been paid pittance and that she is in contract, wanted a bigger piece of the cake.  The good doctor even agreed to share ratio in the proceeds from both I/P and O/P.

The fantastic part was, the wife did not believe her mentor and guru Dr. Ramkumar and started visiting and sitting near the billing section to see the flow of billing and the percentage.  She even insisted on buying an expensive piece of equipment for the gynae department, so that, she stays put at the hospital premises.  The good doctor put in to all of her demands and inspite of that, one fine day, she upped the ante left in a huff along with her hubby.

She claimed that the good doctor owed her money, she was not paid salary, the share promised to her was not there and all nonsense to others.  This spoiled the reputation of the institution.  The duo started their own clinic in the Madurai road area in Theni.  They started minting money from then on and left to a newly constructed and sprawling campus called Gayathree medical centre at the suburbs of Theni.

The good doctor, who originally recruited them was a surgeon, that too a ganstro-enterologist, with a fine reputation with friends, colleagues, society and relatives.  He was struggling to make ends meet after the departure of the duo mentioned above.  He could not even cope with the basic bills for the hospital and resorted to borrowing.

The borrowings got worse, began to eat away into the revenue of the hopital.  He even had to borrow for his children's education, electricity bills, staff salary and even for the basic amenities.  Good technicians need not be good administrators.  Dr. Asokan of Archana Textiles is a living example and the good doctor became another example.  The bank people who undertook the hospital, threatened with a law suit in the mean time.  The doctor had borrow even more for litigation.

All these problems took its toll on the good doctor and he died suddenly in the year 2009 of cardiac arrest.
The share holders were paid half of the original value of the share amount they had invested.  The creditors, who provided proof, were pacified, some were paid and some were promised to be paid.  The hospital, in the mean time, was sold to Thol Thiruma of 'viduthalai sirutthaigal' for a sum of Rs.3.46 crores, through a Rafique of Subham Real Estate, Theni.

Where the amount has gone no body knows.  The people who have lent to the good doctor, have been thrown to the dogs, they are not getting any answers or money.  Some have been waiting for over a period of 10 years, like the writer of this blog; for the money due to them.



Scam - National blind federation - Beware

You must be wondering what is the scam behind supporting the visually challenged?  It is actually a multi level marketing or MLM scam.  People will canvas you for this federation, citing an website address also.  They will show you proofs of cheques received by them on various dates and all.  Once you join, you are a goner.

It is quite simple.  The initial joiners have to refer people and join them under their network, they in turn canvas some people to join under them.  This goes on as a chain process endlessly.  The initial investors usually get the money or returns so that to make this whole set up credible or to lure more and more people.  Cheques in the name of UTI bank came in the bundles.  The bank itself opened a branch at Theni and was later christened as Axis bank.

Only the late joiners like me got nothing in the bargain or as the number of people joining the network or as the chain slackened the money dried out and cheques stopped.  When inquired about the lack of money or cheques then only the representatives will say the story.  The answer I got was; 'when you agreed to join, there was clause that the money goes to a charity organization and there is no guarantee that the entire money or incentives will be refunded'.

There you go people, another MLM scam and money gone down the drain.  Atleast, be satisfied that the money goes to the blind people.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The person I admire most

The person I admire most is Dr.A.P.J.Abdul kalam.  He is the first scientist-president of India.  He is a man of principles.  He is a great role model.  He is a great teacher.

Dr. Kalam hails from a poor family in Rameshwaram.  Even from his childhood days, he was very much interested in space science.  He wanted to be a space-scientist and a teacher.  Inspite of his poverty, he realised his goal.  It was possible, because of his hard work and preseverence.

He played a vital role in promoting India's space technology.  We should be very thankful to him for India's achievement in this field.  India is competing with other super powers, because of great minds like Dr. Kalam.

He has great visions for India.  He hopes that we the youth of India can do wonders for out country.

His great hope is that students can eradicate corruption.  If we compel our parents not to accept bribe, then it is possible that India can be rid of corruption.

His advice for the youngsters, has four cardinal rules.  Firstly, we should fix our goal.  Then we should achieve  this goal by moral means.  Thirdly, we should update ourselves, And fourthly, we should work hard.

If we follow his advice, we can remove poverty, illiteracy, corruption and all other evils in India.

Dr. Kalam is very much interested in interacting with the students.  By this, he hopes to pass on his message to one and all .

He loves teaching.  So, as soon as he retired from the post of The President of India, he resumed teaching.

During his tenure as the president, he introduced many innovations.  Unlike some other presidents, he acted independently.  He is also humane.  He is very simple and humble.

These are the qualities that attracted me.  I will follow his foot-prints.

Source:
N. Sukumaran
Dept. of English,
C.P.A. College,
Bodi, T.N., India.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Indians against corruption


Government of India put a condition tat 25 CR of ppl support is needed to implement 'LOKPAL-BILL'
For this we just hv to GIVE A MISSED call (Free) to the following no. frm ur Mobile -
‘’022 61550789’’ (Authentic number given by none other than Kiran Bedi)
After giving a missed call 2 this no. You'll recv a thanks msg.
Fwrd this to as many as possible 2 make India corruption free!!
 
I've already made my call, Will you?