I'm now Dr. Saro Velrajan - What a journey!

I’m happy to share that I've completed my Doctor of Philosophy - PhD at Hindustan University! I finished a journey that I started 4 years and 11 months ago. My research is about "QoS-aware Service Migrations in Multi-Access Edge Computing". I'm thankful to Dr Thangakumar J (my research guide), Dr.V.Ceronmani Sharmila and Dr. Vallikannu Alagappan, who kept me motivated, pushed me to reach newer heights and lent a helping hand whenever I was stuck in the journey. Yesterday (29th Aug 2025), my viva voce was completed. I defended my thesis in front of an expert panel, qualifying to receive the Ph.D degree.

Why did I even sign up for Ph.D?

Let me take you back to the year 2020. I had some spare time during the Covid lockdown, I started writing a few blog posts about 5G. Then I asked myself "You are already known as a blogger. Why not just author a book?". I started authoring a book on 5G networks. It took me nearly 6 months to finish the book and I published the book via Notion Press and Kindle Publishing Platform in July 2020. Little did I knew at that time that the book would be later-on picked by leading universities such as Anna University, Bennett University and Christ University as a text book in their syllabus.

While I published the book, I felt that many authors were "Doctorates" and I didn't have the "Dr." initials. Around the same time, a friend of mine (Dr. Sundararaman Chintamani) completed his Ph.D at the age of 60. I thought age is no barrier to pursuing our academic goals and signed up for the Ph.D program at Hindustan University, Chennai.

The Journey

The initial journey was quite easy... as most tasks were done online. I completed the course work (studied and wrote assignments/exams for 4 subjects) and published my first survey paper in an IEEE conference in the first year.

The journey became difficult after that... finalizing a research topic, getting the research environment ready etc., took a lot of time. I got the idea for my research by attending several online viva voce sessions. One of the researchers had used Particle Swarm Optimization in their research work. Out of curiosity, I read more about PSO... and found that I could do research in Edge Computing using PSO. I learned Python and wrote nearly 2000 lines of Python code to create my simulation environment. That was quite a bit of learning. Once I had the simulation environment ready, then performing the tests, getting the results, benchmarking against other state-of-the-art algorithms became easy.

I published my research articles in journals and conferences, meeting the minimum eligibility requirement (2 journal papers + 2 conference publications) for Ph.D by April 2024. Unfortunately, my guide had to move out of Hindustan University. I was assigned a new guide... as per the "unwritten process", you have to publish a new paper under the guideship of the new guide to complete your Ph.D. It took me another 1 year to get another conference publication under the guideship of the new guide. I completed my synopsis/thesis submission by April 2025. I received the comments from the reviewers in August 2025 and finished my viva voce also in the same month... on the 29th August 2025.

I always tell others that for faster goal achievement, you need to have 3 people - a role model (who has already accomplished the goal), a mentor/guide (who guides you to achieve the goal) and a buddy (who is also pursuing the same journey). My role model for Ph.D was Dr. Sundararaman Chintamani. My mentor/guides were Dr. Thangakumar, Dr. Ceronmani Sharmila and Dr. Vallikannu from Hindustan University. My buddies were Musthafa Sheriff, Jinu Sainudeen and Michael Dinesh. All of these individuals had a direct impact on the successful completion of my Ph.D journey.

The Message

Quite often we sign up for something... but, while we make progress we find obstacles, hardships and challenges along the way. When my heart told "Saro! It's not your cup of tea... just give up and move on", my mind said "Saro! You should be a role model for others.. most importantly, your children. Just hold tight and finish your journey". Whenever I fell down, I jumped back up, dusting off the dirt, pushing myself hard.. almost limping to the finishing line.

Today, it feels as if I moved a mountain. When I reflect upon the journey, I feel that I've now developed more capacity to handle greater challenges. The new "Dr." initials that I've acquired would remind me of the Dream, Drive and Determination !

My sincere thanks to everyone who played their little part in helping me to complete this journey.

COVID-19 Vaccination Experience in Chennai

Booking a vaccination slot in India through the CoWIN portal was similar to booking a H1B Visa appointment in US Consulate (not sure if that has changed now!) or similar to booking the ticket for a FDFS (First day, First show) for a Rajini movie. Government of India (GoI) has developed this wonderful portal CoWIN - which is used for advertising vaccine availability, booking a vaccination appointment and for tracking the status of vaccination, in India. Having used multiple online services offered by Governments, I should say CoWIN is truly world class. It is fast, simple to use and works all the times. 

When GoI opened up vaccination for the 18+ category, I was the first few people to "register" in the CoWIN portal. However, when you open up the flood gates all of a sudden, the gushing water may even blow up the flood gate and that's exactly what happened when they opened the services for 18+ category. CoWIN crashed. I guess the IT team worked hard to fix the problem soon. In about an hour or so, I tried a few times and finally managed to register. Then started the fun - though the vaccination program was opened up for 18+, none of the hospitals or government health centres opened up the services for 18+. I didn't bother going to the CoWIN portal for the next 2 weeks. 

On 20th May, Tamilnadu government launched the vaccination program for the 18+ category people. A friend of mine walked to a UPHC (Urban Primary Health Care Center) near to her house in Ashok Nagar and got herself vaccinated. She was persuading me to get vaccinated soon. I was hesitant to leave home and travel long distance to get vaccinated due to the lockdown in Tamilnadu. That's when I learned from a friend that there is a Telegram Group (U45 Chennai) for getting notifications regarding the available vaccination slots, as soon as it gets published in CoWIN portal. Immediately I joined the group and was amazed by the volume of vaccinations done per day by the private hospitals in the city. However, by the time I saw those notifications and logged into the CoWIN portal, the slots would be full. It happened continuously for a day and then I realised that I have to be super quick. So, I increased the notification alerts volume in my phone and was keenly looking for a slot near my home. To my luck, I found a slot near to my house in a private hospital - the new MGM Hospitals. 

On the day of the vaccination, I drove my car to MGM, thinking that I can find a parking space. To my surprise, there was a long queue of parked vehicles on either side of the road. Roughly, some 100+ cars would be parked along the road side in Nelson Manickam Road. I couldn't imagine seeing so many cars parked along the road side on a regular day - but, due to the lockdown the roads were almost empty and hence, it benefited the people who came in their cars. I parked my vehicle outside and walked into the hospital for the first time. I was awestruck by the crowd. It appeared as if I walked into a cinema theatre. There were so many people (some 200+) waiting in queue and multiple security personnel managing the crowd. After doing the initial screening for temperature and filling some forms, they are escorting 10 people at a time on a lift to another floor. The lift opened its door into a ballroom. It was a large hall and there were some 50+ people sitting in that hall. One by one, people were asked to make payment, verify their personal information and were vaccinated. We were asked to wait in a lounge for about 20 minutes. The lounge looked like an open air cafeteria that you would see in IT parks - with a pantry area for coffee and snacks. I waited there for a few minutes and started going downstairs. Despite the huge crowd, in about 60 minutes, the whole process was over. I was amazed by the way in which MGM had organised the camp and speeded up the whole process. They charged Rs.950 for a Covishield vaccination. But, I felt that they still may not make a huge profit - given the number of employees they've deployed and the infrastructure/ambience of the hospital. For people, who are looking for a hassle free COVID vaccination, MGM hospital in Nelson Manickam Road is good. If you can afford it, you should consider getting vaccinated in a private hospital, so that Government's free vaccine can go to the poor and needy. After coming back home, I logged into the CoWIN portal to download my vaccination certification. 

Napoleon Hill once said "Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting". The only weapon that we have in our fight against COVID-19 is the vaccination. I would strongly encourage everyone to take vaccination. We can fight COVID-19 only when most people get vaccinated. The second wave of COVID-19 snatched the lives of 3 of my dear friends. They were all healthy people - leading a happy life. But, COVID-19 came as a tsunami and shattered their families (and of course, friends). Their loss is irrecoverable. Dear friend... if you are reading this post, please get vaccinated asap. Even after vaccination, it is important that we follow the COVID-19 precautions such as social distancing, wearing masks and sanitising hands regularly.  Together, let us fight this evil virus and get it out of our community and country. 

Election Commission India's Voter Helpline app - a Great tool !

Election day in India is always like a festival. You can see autorickshaws offering free rides to the elderly and disabled people from home to the polling venue. You can see people queuing up early in the morning at the polling booths, to avoid long queues. You can see party members getting ready and setting up their "May I help you" kiosks around the polling venue. 

It's election day in Tamilnadu, today. This time, all of us in my family got our voting slips, except for my wife. If you don't know what a voting slip is... it is a slip that helps the poll booth officer to quickly identify your voter record in the ledger (which appears like the Chitragupta's book of records). The voting slip has serial number that helps the poll booth officer to tracer your voter record in the ledger. This serial number is different from your "Voter Identification Number". If you go to the polling booth without the voter slip, the poll booth officer would take a longer time to identify your voter record and it may unnecessarily delay your voting process. Normally, the different parties that are contesting in the election would give you a copy of the voting slip, at your door step. There are elections where we had 4 or 5 copies of the same voting slip in our hand. However, this time, none of the parties distributed any voting slip. Probably, they were trying to go green or they were busy distributing cash :) A government representative ended up handing over the voting slips to my family members - but somehow, my wife's slip was missed out. 

I thought we can get the voting slip in one of the "May I help you" kiosks setup by the party functionaries, outside of the polling venue. I went to one of those kiosks. They said, I've to visit the kiosk in my street, to get my wife's voting slip. We rushed back to our street, but didn't see any kiosk in our street. When we checked with a couple of people in my street, they redirected me to the next street. Finally, I found a kiosk in the next street. The guy in the kiosk took my wife's Voter Id and scanned through the different pages in the ledger... and after spending 10 minutes he said, "Sir! We couldn't find your wife's record. But, you can still go to the booth and cast your vote". I felt like the Kamalahaasan in Indian movie, who gets tossed around to different government departments, to get some basic stuff done. 

We again rushed back to the polling venue. By this time, the morning sun has pierced my skin to get the juice flowing out of my body. I made my wife stand in the voters' queue and quietly sat under a tree nearby with my mobile phone. I was searching in Google for voter's slip. I found a website, http://www.electoralsearch.in/, but it was incredibly slow. It reminded me of the days, when we used to type "http://www.yahoo.com", in Internet Explorer, go to college canteen, have a tea and come back to see the page fully rendered. After nearly 10 minutes, the page displayed. I filled all the details of my wife's Voter Id and was about to click the "Search" button. The webpage asked me to enter a "Captcha" without showing any "Captcha". I hit the refresh button again. This time, it showed the Captcha properly. I entered all the details properly and hit "Search". After taking 10 minutes, the website reported that the record could not be found. I was disappointed and frustrated with the experience. 

I started Googling again, and found the "Voter Helpline" application. I downloaded it from the app store in a few seconds and punched-in my wife's Voter Id details. It immediately displayed the Serial Number of my wife's voter record in the ledger. I took a piece of paper, wrote the Serial number and handed it over to my wife, who was still in the queue, which was crawling like a wounded snake. The poll booth officer was able to quickly identify her record in the ledger, using the Serial number. Voter Helpline app is a great tool for the voters. I wish they make a computer or a mobile phone with the Voter Helpline app loaded, and keep it outside the polling venues. It will greatly help the voters and save a lot of time for the voters and the officials manning the polling booth. 

Airtel Store in Ekkattuthangal, Chennai - Poor Customer Service

In Airtel Store at Ekkattuthangal, Chennai, right from the store manager to the store representatives, nobody cares for the customer. I've been an Airtel customer for the last 10+ years. I had used the Airtel stores in Ashok Nagar and Nelson Manickam Road in the past and they were very good. My fate, I landed up in the Ekkattuthangal store recently, and I had a terrible experience. Over the last 10 years, I would've easily paid them Rs. 1+ lacs for service and I'm totally disappointed with the treatment that I received. No wonder why Airtel is continuing to lose its market share / profits to Reliance Jio.

I had to change my phone from a post-paid corporate account to a pre-paid personal account. It took me nearly 20 days to finish the process, got tossed around to 3 Airtel facilities, with 4 visits to the Ekkattuthangal store, several follow-ups over phone calls (which seldom got a response) and eventually they said, they can convert it only from post-paid corporate to post-paid personal account. Every visit to the shop costed me nearly 2.5 hours, as I had to commute from Choolaimedu (the place where I lived) to Ekkattuthangal.

At first, I reached out to the local Airtel booth in my office to initiate the corporate/postpaid to personal/pre-paid account transfer (with all the documentation), The rep in the booth said, I'll have to go to a Airtel store to do the same. I went to the Nelson Manickam Road store for help. They said, they are a franchise store and I'll have to go to any of the Airtel owned stores to do the transfer. Hence, I landed up in the Ekkattuthangal store.

Visit #1: The store rep in Ekkattuthangal Airtel store (Mr. Srinivasan) collected my application form. I told him specifically that I had been already bounced to 3 different stores... and I don't want to go through any more hardships. He said "Once your corporate settles the outstanding bills, we can finish the transfer the next day". I followed-up with my corporate and after a week, they confirmed that they had settled all of the outstanding bills. I tried calling the store rep, but didn't pick my calls at all.

Visit #2: I again went to the shop. But, this time, the person to whom I gave the application was absent... and others couldn't trace my application at all. They said they'll search offline and get back to me. They also warned that I'll have to submit a fresh application with proper documentation. After a few days, I didn't get any calls from the store. I again called them. They asked me to come to the store with all the documentation.

Visit #3: I took photocopies of documentation and visited the store again. This time, I spotted Mr. Srinivasan and he found my application again. He said, he doesn't have the login name / password for the portal to initiate the transfer. He said, he'll complete it and confirm to me by evening. I waited, waited and waited... and no calls/confirmation from Mr. Srinivasan. When I called him again in the evening, he said I had to convert only from post-paid corporate to post-paid personal, as the IT application has a technical glitch. They asked me to come to the store to file a fresh post-paid application.

Visit #4: I reached the store with a lot of frustration. When I raised the voice, the store manager Ms. Saranya started showing some sense of urgency. But, they couldn't complete the conversion. They said, they'll have to reinitiate the KYC process again for my post-paid connection and it will take at least a day for the transfer to be complete. I told them, I had been a customer in the past, I have neither changed my phone number or residence for the last 10+ years and moreover, I furnished my Aadhar too... and couldn't understand why a new KYC is needed. I had to escalate to the Zone Manager Mr. Narayanan (Ms. Saranya's boss), to accelerate the KYC process. They managed to finish the process in 2 hours, however, my phone number is still to be converted to post-paid/personal account. I hope the number will get converted tomorrow.

Reasons why I feel that the Airtel Store in Ekkattuthangal Chennai offered a bad customer experience:

1. No proper communication / No updates from the store rep. I had to continuously follow-up several times to get some updates. They don't give any attention to a long time customer, especially someone who have done several lacs worth of business with Airtel. 
2. Occasionally, when I get to Mr. Srinivasan, he would continuously promise me that the process will be complete in the evening or in 4 hours. But, nothing happens. He is a liar and not fit to serve corporate customers / customers who are professionals.
3. During my 4th visit, Mr. Srinivasan said in an angry tone - "Sir! You'll have to visit the store a few times like this... if you really want to get your number converted" (in Tamil "Sir! number change pannanum-na indha maadhiri than naaalu (4) anju (5) thadavai alayunum"). The last time I heard such statement was in an RTO office. I worked for a leading service provider and if I had made such a statement to the customer, I would've been fired the same day. 
4. Store manager Ms. Saranya tried to justify what happened to the customer instead of listening. When she was not in action for 3 days... she didn't handover the login name / password to anyone. Did she assume that no customer will come for a post-paid to pre-paid conversion request, for 3 days?
5. There is no ledger or process in the store to properly track the incoming applications / service requests. They didn't even give me a service request id or challan to track my application. I was shocked when they said my application is missing and it couldn't be traced. 
6. Even the customer care numbers are not of use. When you call them, they redirect you back to the store. Customer lands up in a helpless situation. 

Hope Airtel will do something to fix these gaps in the Airtel Ekkattuthangal store.

[Update from 1/6/16: My phone number was finally converted to my personal account. Ms. Saranya followed-up with me to confirm that]

Kovilpatti Railway Station - Super Clean !

It is a common sight in railway stations to see coffee cups on the railway tracks, empty chips/biscuit covers/wrappers on the platforms and most importantly, overflowing trash bins. But, Kovilpatti Railway Station is an exception. Kovilpatti is a well known city in South Tamilnadu. Recently, I boarded a train from Kovilpatti Railway Station. I was amazed by the cleanliness of the Kovilpatti Railway Station.

There was absolutely no trash in Kovilpatti Railway Station - be it on the platforms as well as on the railway tracks. I always believed that rules alone cannot change people’s behavior. In addition to coming up with rules, you need to educate people, and make it simple/easy for people to follow the rules. For example, in Kovilpatti Railway Station, I noticed that there are multiple sign boards educating the passengers to keep the railway station clean. In addition, there were trash bins kept at least once every 100 ft. This makes it easy for people to dump trash in a trash bin, nearby.

Any shop that sells food items has a trash bin nearby. Also, there is a sign board that clearly lists down the various rules which have to be followed by the food vendor - as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) policies. They have also mentioned the owner’s phone number and FSSAI phone number for filing a compliant - if the passengers found that the shop keepers are violating any of the rules.

Also read: A ban on spitting pan in public places - who enforces it?

It is not just the cleanliness of the station that stood out. The authorities have worked hard to provide a great overall experience to the passengers. The station has a good parking facility and they charge just Rs.10. There is a chart on the wall near the entrance of the railway station which clearly describes the location of various coaches in the platform, for different trains. There is also abundant seating space in the railway station. In fact, they have a separate seating area for second class passengers. That facility is well maintained too (including the rest rooms that are maintained very clean). If there is one challenge, it is the number of mosquitoes. You cannot escape from the mosquito bite. I don’t know what authorities can do for that, given the vegetation around the station.

(Also read: Traveling near restrooms in Train isn't fun)

The drinking water taps at the station are functional too - which is again a rare thing to see in such railway stations.

I get thrilled when I see a clean public place... as it takes lots of efforts/support from both the authorities and the public. I hope Kovilpatti Railway Station - continues to be super clean. Waiting for a day when our Chennai Egmore and Chennai Central becomes like Kovilpatti Railway Station.

(Also read: If I don't care, who will care)

Power of Aadhar - True potential to be unlocked !

Last week, we decided to upgrade my wife's phone connection from a pre-paid to a postpaid plan. After swirling around the town, we landed up in a showroom in Ashok Nagar. The showroom was
very busy and filled with people. All of the representatives were quite engaged in conversations with customers.  In fact, the store had a token system for customers to be serviced in order, by the Airtel representatives. We took a token and patiently waited for our turn. While waiting for our turn, my wife told me "I don't have a passport sized picture. Would that be a problem?". I gave her a stare, not knowing how to react to that.

Also read: Coimbatore Airport - Lost & Found

I looked around and saw some applications hanging off the shelf in the wall. I pulled a postpaid upgrade application form from the shelf. It was longer than the application form to apply for a H1B visa in US consulate. They had a place to affix photograph. "Oops!" I thought. I made my wife to sit inside the store and walked out to check if there is any instant passport photo shop nearby. I couldn't spot one. I walked back into the Airtel store with disappointment.

Around that time, one of the representatives called our token number. We walked to him and occupied the chairs in front of him. He looked at us and asked for the application form, photograph, address proof and ID proof. I told him with a "sorry" face "Sir! We don't have a passport sized photograph. We just have the Aadhar card. Would that be enough?". He said "No problem sir ! That would be enough". He pulled out a small finger print reader, connected it to his mobile phone... and opened an application from the mobile. He entered the Aadhar number and asked my wife to put her thumb on the finger print reader. The mobile application immediately pulled all of her information from the Aadhar database - picture, address etc., He entered the old pre-paid mobile number, selected the basic postpaid plan and clicked submit. He said "Sir! The transaction is complete. You'll receive an SMS in another 4 hours and the migration to a postpaid plan would be complete".

Also read: Money need to R2I

"Wow! No application form... no signatures ... no photocopies of proofs "... I was spellbound when I saw that. The experience that I had in the Airtel store was on par with some of the mobile activation experiences that I've had in the US (or even better than that). I was amazed by the power of Aadhar. I'm now quite excited to see other Aadhar integration applications. I'm hoping that we will soon live in a world, where we don't have to remember two dozen usernames and passwords. On one side I'm excited of the simplicity of Aadhar and on the other side, I'm nervous about its security features. In a country like India, it is very hard to protect online services from hackers. Hopefully, Nandan Nilekani had done a thorough job on the security of the Aadhar services, too. I feel that India is very well positioned to enable digital identity verification and digital payments with services like Aadhar based validation and UPI payments. We have the potential to leap frog some developing / developed nations in digital payments / customer identity validation.

Coimbatore Airport - Lost & Found

Last week, I had been to Pollachi to attend a Industry Institute Conclave in Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology (MCET). It was almost a full day event and there were participants from many industries, all over South India. After the event was over, I returned back to Coimbatore

Airport to catch my Spicejet flight at 9.15 pm. I reached airport by 6 pm and the checkin counter wasn't open at that time. I spent an hour in the lobby catching up with emails and phone calls.

At 7 pm, I checked-in at the Airline counter and stood in the queue for security checks. The security personnel asked everyone to keep their laptop and iPad in a tray. Normally, I keep all of my electronic gadgets in one tray, including laptop, iPad and mobile phone. On that day, I had carried with me my iPad and mobile phone. I kept just the iPad on the tray and kept the mobile phone in my bag. After clearing the security checks, I picked up my bag and moved to the seating area. I didn't realize that I had forgot to pick up my iPad from the tray.

(Also read: Chennai Metro Rail - Simply the BEST)

I was at the Coimbatore airport till 9.15 pm and boarded the Spicejet flight. The flight started on time (These days, Spicejet maintains on time departure ! :)). I landed in Chennai and reached home in a Ola cab. By the time I reached home, I was too tired and crashed into the bed.

The next day morning when I got up and wanted to catch up with my emails, I couldn't find my iPad in the bag. I was shocked. When I rewound the sequence of events the previous day, I realized that I didn't pick my iPad from the security. I didn't know what to do. I googled to find out Coimbatore Airport's website. There was a phone number and email id published in the website for "Enquiry". I sent an email to them and called the phone number (thinking that no one will pick up the phone at 7 am in the morning). To my surprise, a lady picked up the phone on the other side. I asked her "Mme! I was traveling from Coimbatore airport yesterday night and I missed to pick up my iPad during the security checks. Can you please check if the security officers have secured it?" She turned around and asked someone "Did you find an iPad yesterday night from the security line?" I could hear the conversation... and the other person responded back positively to her. She turned to me and said "Sir! Your iPad is safe, you can come and collect it from us showing your ID proof and copy of the boarding pass". I told her that I'm in Chennai and I can request my friend to pick it up. She said "Your friend has to come up with their ID proof and a requisition letter from you". I requested one of my friends in Coimbatore for help. I sent the documents through my friend and she was able to pick it up for me. The next I received a response to my email checking if I have received my iPad.

(Also read: Night stay in Bangalore airport - rethink)

I am positively surprised by the responsiveness of the Coimbatore Airport staff and their outstanding support. It is very rare to see such committed / sincere staff in Government institutions. Our country is still going strong, because of officials like the one in Coimbatore Airport. I'm very thankful to them. If you are flying via Coimbatore, you don't have to worry.. you are in "safe hands".

Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) - Simply the best !

"Showstopper" ... this is the term that you'll use to describe the rains in Chennai, which is continuously pouring for the last few weeks. The rains have brought the entire city to a grinding halt including schools, hospitals and shops. If there is one thing that keeps moving without any hiccups

Image Source: www.newindianexpress.com

for the last few weeks, amidst intense rains, it is the Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL).

(Also read: Heavy rain turned Chennai to Venice)

It was the Diwali eve. I packed my stuff from office and headed to the parking lot to take my car to home. When I got into the car, I was shocked to see that my car's gear box wasn't functional. That is when I realized that the reason could be the car's small dip in the morning, in the stagnant pool of water near my office. I decided not to spoil my Diwali mood, left the car in my office garage and decided to take CMRL to home. It is about 6 months since CMRL started its service in Chennai. I never had a chance to take a ride, even for pleasure. I thought it is a good opportunity for me to experience the CMRL service.

I walked to the Ekkatuthangal station near my office. The moment I climbed the stairs to reach the 1st level, I was astonished. The infrastructure was world class. They had a security checkpoint similar to the airports. The security guards scanned all the people and their belongings before letting them in. There were representatives at the ticketing counter who helped me to get a token (ticket) for my ride to Arumbakkam station. The ticket costed Rs.40 for a single ride. I went to the 2nd level to board the train. The 2nd level was as clean as the first level. There were security guards placed at several places. The monitors in the 2nd level clearly indicated the time duration for the next train to arrive. The count down clock in the monitor started showing "5 minutes for the next train to Koyambedu". 5 mins became 4, 4 became 3 ... finally the clock showed 0 minutes for train's arrival and I saw the train entering the station. The doors of the coach opened without making any noise, as smooth as the doors of the elevators you see in a 5 star hotel. I entered the coach and took a seat.

The coach interiors were air conditioned and very clean. There were 2 stations between Ekkattuthangal and Arumbakkam. Whenever the train approached a station, there were clear announcements made inside the coach with a clear digital sign board. It reminded me of the light rail journey that I used to take in US in 2002, to go to office. In about 10 minutes I reached the Arumbakkam station and got down from the train. I waved a bye to the CMRL and started taking the stairs to the road.

When I reached the ground level and got to the road, I felt as if I jumped from a western world to the local Chennai, with just a flip of a switch. I was amazed by the quality of the service and the CMRL infrastructure. I wish our Chennaiites continue to support the government in maintaining the infrastructure in its current form. Our Chennai CMRL is simply the best.

Sixth R2I Anniversary - Still going strong !

We just celebrated the 6th year anniversary of our R2I (Return to India). If I have to summarize the our R2I experience in one word, it is "Transformation". My life has dramatically changed in more than one way since my R2I. (Read: First R2I Anniversary: The journey continues)

I'm still continuing with my corporate career. When I returned back, I was working as a "Technical Marketing Engineer" at Ankeena Networks (which later got acquired by Juniper). Now, I'm the Director Technology for Aricent. It was a progressive career and I enjoy doing what I do. The work environment in India hasn't changed much in the last 6 years. But, if you are clear about "what you really want to achieve" and "what is important to you in life", you can easily strike a balance between work, family and social life. (Also read: The need for more money never ends)

My daughter got adjusted very well to the culture in India. In fact, she got adjusted faster than my wife and me. She is studying well and I can see that the schools are focusing on grooming the person overall, as opposed to just focusing on marks. Recently, she got pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week. We went through the fire drill for a week and we were back to our normal life after that. My support system at home (my dad/mom) was of great help. My wife is now working as a teacher and she has a busy life too.

My dad and mom are extremely happy that we are back. We attend a number of weddings and family events. We get to meet our relatives very often... it helps to stay connected with them. These days, our relatives treat us like "Indians". Immediately after our return, some of them thought that we will lead an American life in India. They don't have that doubt anymore :) Technically speaking, except for the infrastructure, you can lead an American life in India (KFCs/McDs, iPhones, BMWs/Audis, Porch Villas in good communities, Hotels/Restaurants, Online shopping, Shopping malls, International Schools with A/C etc.,). The life style in India has changed much that people don't peek into your personal life anymore (actually, they don't have the time for it).

Also read: Driving in Indian roads - pleasure or pain?

We visited California for a vacation, last year and had a great time visiting a few friends and going around places. In fact, we were constantly on the run and could meet only half of my friends during the trip. During my recent trip to US, I realized that US has become more "automated". Automated toll collection, automated parking lots, automated ticketing systems... these services used to be there before, but now they are seen "everywhere".

What do I miss the most from my US life? It is the ease with which you can plan your travel / vacation. In India, you would still need the support of people (travel agents, taxi wallas etc.,) to have a nice vacation.  The scenario is changing somewhat, but still have a long way to go.

What do I enjoy the most in my R2I life? It is the time that I spend with youngsters in India, in helping them to groom their career and personality (through Toastmasters). I get a sense of satisfaction that I'm able to contribute something back to the society. Of course, I enjoy meeting & spending time with my relatives at weddings / family functions :)

Today, a few of my friends have already R2I'd and I'm quite sure that the count will continue to increase.

Chennai Book Fair - More time, the next time !

In the last 6 years since I returned to India (yes! It is almost 6 years since I R2Id :)), I have seen advertisements/promotions for the Chennai Book Fair, every year. In fact, I have crossed the book
fair venue several times in the past (when the book fair was happening) and I never got a chance to make a visit. 2015 broke the spell ... Thanks to my close friend who visited me on January 10th, 2015.

We were talking about work, family etc., and literally ran out of some productive topics to discuss. We had two easy options at hand... watch television or take a quick nap. The thought of Chennai Book Fair suddenly came to my mind and I bounced it with my friend. He also got excited with the idea. We immediately jumped into my car and traversed our way to YMCA, Nandanam. They had good parking facilities there. The whole place was in "festive" mood - there were sellers of toys for kids, a number of eateries and picnic areas (actually, our people made open space into picnic areas). The entire YMCA ground was filled with people like bees in a hive. There were literary discussions/debates happening in another side of the ground. Chennai Book Fair was much more than just a "Book Fair" for a nominal entry fee of Rs.10.

Also read: Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is World Class, but people's behavior is still local class

We got the tickets and entered the place where the books were displayed for public to purchase. I was taken by surprise when I entered the large venue. There were several 100s of book sellers and several 1000s of books in each shop. I got reminded of the popular phrase from our Tamil literary "Kattradhu Kai Mannalavu... Kallaadhadhu Ulagaluvu" (meaning "What you've learned is as small as the sand in your palm, what you've not learned is as big as the world"). I went to the first book stall and spent some time glancing at the books in the stall. I was amazed by the number of Tamil books at display - covering all the subjects under the earth. I bought some books written by Dr. Irai Anbu from the stall and we moved to the 2nd stall. By the time we covered 15 stalls, we had already spent 2 hours and bought nearly 5 books each. My friend had a return flight in the night and we had to leave the venue soon.

I realized that 2 hours isn't just enough for you to cover the entire book fair. You can easily spend 1 full day at the Chennai Book Fair. I didn't take my wife and daughter to the book fair, this time. I decided that I should take them also along, next time and spend at least 5 hours at the Book Fair. While I was thinking that the number of hours people spend on reading books have diminished, Chennai Book Fair challenged my thinking. I read from the newspapers that Chennai Book Fair had record collections, this year. I learned that on an average, a seller makes 20% of his yearly sale at the Chennai Book Fair. Happy to see that our Chennaiites are continuing to buy and read books. This is definitely a trend to welcome. Happy reading... folks !

Also read: Semmozhi Poonga - The Greenway in the heart of Chennai city

Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple - Well maintained & managed

Last month, I had been to Madurai with my family. I had a chance to go to Madurai Meenakshi Srirangam Temple and Tirupathi. So, I was expecting a similar experience at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.

The temple amazes me everytime that I visit. It has been nearly 4 years since I last visited the temple. Whenever I visit large temples, I get annoyed by the way in which they are maintained/managed. I had bitter experiences during my visits to

They say "first impressions are the best impressions". The management of Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple has done a remarkable job of creating the best first impressions. There is good parking facilities closer to the temple. You'll have to walk for 100 mts or so to get to the temple from the parking lot. Vehicular traffic closer to the temple is restricted. So, you can comfortably walk to the temple without getting bumped by an autorickshaw or a two wheeler.

There is a facility near the temple to collect your foot wear and that too, the service is provided for free. They've clearly mentioned the amount given to the contractor for taking care of the foot wear of the visitors. If I remember it right, the government pays Rs.14 lacs or so per year to the contractor for taking care of the visitors' foot wear.

The temple had clear directions / sign boards. The booth that sells tickets for darshans was located near the entrance and in a visible location. They had a good infrastructure for managing the queues. I should appreciate the tremendous job done by the policemen in managing the queues. They don't allow anyone to bypass the queues (unlike Srirangam Temple where I saw people continuously bypassing the queues and policemen were supporting that).

After a 30 minutes of waiting in the queue, we got a glimpse of the deity for a few seconds and came out finishing our prayers. The temple tank was filled with water, which was a rare sight. I was told that they had filled the tank with water for an upcoming function/event.

When we came out and collected our footwear, one of the employees working in the footwear collection facility quietly asked for "tips". I just smiled at her, collected the footwear and walked away. I got reminded of Actor Vivek's dialogue in one of the movies ("Neenga yellam ethanai Periyar vandhaalum thirundha maateenga da..." meaning, "You folks will not change... no matter how many Periyars come into existence").

I believe that the reason for going to Temples is to reinforce your beliefs on your goals/ambitions/needs and to get some peace of mind, more than anything else. I lean more towards atheism than spiritualism. When a visit to temple is not peaceful and enjoyable, it defeats the fundamental purpose of visiting the temple. Thankfully, the visit to Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple was more enjoyable / peaceful than my visits to other temples in the recent days.

Also read:

Golden Temple in Sripuram, Vellore - Marvelous 
Ayyappan Temple in Trichy - The BEST that I've ever seen 

Chennai Kidathon - A well organized show

It is nearly 6 years since I had been to a marathon. Wait ... Wait... I'm not a marathon runner. But, I regularly participated in the marathons as a "walker" ... signing up for 5K walks... whenever it happened in the bay area in USA. Recently, there were several marathons organized in Chennai. But, I didn't register for any of them.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter had brought a few brochures about Chennai Kidathon from her school. We enrolled her in that marathon, just to give her the "marathon" exposure. When I enrolled her in the marathon, I didn't have high hopes about the quality of the show or the organization of the event. But, I was pleasantly surprised when I started receiving emails from Eventjini.com. The organizers kept us well informed about the following:

• The specific timings of the event
• The parking space available (in fact, the organizers had partnered with Uber to provide free rides to/from the venue)
• Time/Venue to come and collect the bibs (since my daughter enrolled through her school, the bib/T-Shirt etc., was delivered to her in school)
• Route map to the event 
• etc.,

I was very impressed by the thoroughness of the organization. I was doubly surprised, when I reached Nandanam Arts College, Annasalai to park my vehicle. They had a great line up of volunteers guiding us to find spaces to park our cars in all the nooks and corners of the college. There were nearly 200+ cars parked in the college and the experience was hassle free. I didn't notice any organizer/volunteer quarelling with the participants. They had arranged shuttle service which moved participants between Nandanam Arts College and YMCA in Anna Salai. Since the parking space was near to the venue, I took a brisk walk. In YMCA, they had clear sign-boards and banners directing the participants to the assembly point. They had arranged a carnival area filled with food / play structures. There were several dust-bins and trash bins to collect water bottles. Despite the fact that they had separate trash bins to collect water bottles... some of the kids had dropped the water bottles on the roads. (Read: Plastic ban in India, gaining momentum)

They conducted a warm-up exercise for the kids and started the program on-time. That was again a surprise to me. Since the program involved kids, I was expecting a 30 minutes delay. But, they started the marathon sharp at 7.45 am (the advertised time). I was so happy to see several 100s of children, wearing yellow T-shirts, enthusiastically participating in the program. I met a few of my ex-Juniper friends and my Toastmasters in the Kidathon.

When the kids finished the marathon, they stood in queues and collected certificates. That was also coordinated well by the volunteers. I'm glad that I made my daughter to participate in the Chennai Kidathon. The quality of the show was really "world class". It was on-par (in fact, above par) when compared to some of the marathons that I participated in USA. Great show Chennai Kidathon organizers !!

Also read:

Srirangam Temple in Trichy - Poor Management
Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class, but people's behavior is still local class

Movie watching is now entertainment + experience

No more standing in queues... no more buying ticket in "black" ... no more paying exorbitant money to buy tickets... This is one of the biggest positive changes that I noticed in India, after my return from USA.

You can book your ticket online comfortably from your home and watch a new movie on the first day of the release. Thanks to the growing number of multiplexes in Chennai. The movie watching experience is now very pleasant when compared to what it used to be, a decade ago.

When I started my IT career, my friends & I used to go to movies almost every weekend. I still remember the days when we used to pay Rs.200 for a Rs.30 ticket - when we buy it in "black". The cost of a ticket in the "black" market becomes exorbitant when you want to watch a brand new movie. In fact, we were once cheated by a guy who was selling tickets in the black market - he sold the previous show's ticket to us. In a hurry, we missed to see the show timings and went inside the theater. We were shocked to see that our seats were already occupied. That is when we realized that we were cheated. More than the money that we lost, we were disappointed because we weren't able to watch that movie :)

Today, the maximum amount that you'll have to pay for a ticket is just Rs.120 in Chennai. If you are booking it online, there is a service tax of Rs.20. Of course, the multiplexes charge you an arm and a leg for Pepsi & Popcorn. I believe that is where they make the money. You can get all kinds of snacks today at the theater - nachos, burgers, cookies, icecream etc., in addition to the traditional Popcorn + soda. 

Any new movie is shown in almost all the theaters in the city and that too in multiple screens and multiple shows. If you go to a multiplex, you'll notice that the movie is run in at least 3 or 4 screens simultaneously during the opening week of the new movie. (Also read: PVR Cinemas in Skywalk - World Class)

Another interesting aspect of online booking is, you don't have to stand in queues. Those days, I hate to stand in long queues in many theaters - most of the times, the ticketing counters are just cages where they arrest people for long hours. The sultry environment, the smell from fellow queue mates... Oh! my God... our country has definitely changed for the good in the last several years. Many of the theatres have a ticket booking website of their own or they've partnered with services such as ticketnew.com. It allows you to book tickets online for mom & pop theatres also.  

We watch movies only in theaters these days because of the "experience". It is very hard for all of us to be at home continuously for 3 hours. We get interrupted by our household chores or by guests. Theaters provide an environment for us to relax, unwind and watch movies, peacefully. Moreover, my daughter enjoys eating popcorn and icecream during the break. In fact, she comes to theatre only to have snacks and not for watching movie :)

Talking on mobiles when driving (even with a handsfree) is illegal in India

Last Friday, I was driving to work in the morning. I was busy talking to a friend over the phone with my

hands free connected. I was stopped by a traffic police man near Thoraipakkam signal. He asked me to pull over and lower my window. He asked, "Are you talking to somebody?" I didn't want to lie and told him "Yes!... But, I'm talking with my hands free connected".

Also read: Self-adjusting traffic - a miracle on Indian Roads

The police man smiled and said "Sir! Talking over the phone when driving ... with or without hands free is banned in India. Don't you know that?". I was shocked. I said "Sir ! I didn't know this". He asked me to get down and give my driving license. He said Rs.1,100 will be the fine for talking when driving. "Oh! My God.. that is a hefty amount". I asked him, "Sir! Are you sure it is Rs.1,100?". He nodded "Yes!". I didn't want to beg him to lower the fine. The Gandhian in me was not interested to bribe him. I said, "OK! I'll pay the fine". I thought, "Anyways the money goes to the government. So, I'm OK". The policeman punched in the vehicle and license details in the hand-held device and gave me a receipt. I paid him the money, got into the car and started my vehicle. 

Also read: Driving on Indian roads - pleasure or pain?

Somehow, my mind became restless. In fact, I was more focused on the traffic when I was talking over the phone and driving. However, my thoughts were running all over because of the hefty fine amount that I paid. "Why me?!" was the question that was going on in my mind. I have seen a number of two wheeler riders talking when driving... that too without a hands free device. Why haven't they been caught? What if there is a co-passenger sitting beside me and he is talking with me constantly? Is that illegal too? What is the difference between talking with a hands-free and talking to a co-passenger in the car? In fact, the latter is more dangerous because you'll have to look at the co-passenger once in a while when talking.

I can completely understand the rationale behind asking people "not to talk on phones, when driving". However, having paid Rs.1,100 as the fine amount, I couldn't convince myself without finding answer for the questions that were popping in my mind. I reached office and got settled in my desk. The first thing that I did was to google to find out "how much is the fine for talking when driving in India". I confirmed that the policeman can charge up to Rs.1000 as fine for talking when driving. I also learned that "playing music in the car" is also illegal. The fine amount for that is Rs. 100 :)

Also read: Share shuttle/van services in India - Hard to find

If the traffic policeman start to enforce the rules strictly, Tamilnadu Government can make a lot of money from drivers than by selling alcohol in TASMAC bars. 

Shared shuttle/van services in Chennai - hard to find!

I recently moved to a new job and my office is in Thoraipakkam, now. For the last 2 weeks, I have been desperately looking at various commute options to work. Right now, I'm driving my own car and I end up spending approximately 2 hours on the road everyday. The following are some options that I'm exploring:

Also read: Self-adjusting traffic - a miracle on Indian Roads

1) Employing a driver - Costs approximately Rs.10,000 a month. However, the driver wouldn't have anything to do during the day time and he would just idle around in the car park. Moreover, I don't want him to sleep in my car or switch-on the A/C (i.e., engine) when the car is not in motion. I'm afraid of the problems that may come with the driver :)

2) Renting a driver - Renting a driver to and fro also costs approximately the same money. There are a number of "call a driver" services in Chennai. They charge approximately Rs.250 for 4 hours. However, I do not want different drivers to drive my car everyday. Moreover, I'm worried about 'how they would handle' my car and the safety aspects (Since, they are typically paid by the hour, I'm afraid that they may drive fast)

3) Using Call Taxi services - This option works out to be very expensive for now. I am thinking of considering this as a last resort.

Also read: Driving on Indian roads - pleasure or pain?

4) Bus Services - There are indeed a few Chennai MTC buses connecting my home with my office. However, getting a seat in the bus is not guaranteed and I can't imagine standing with my laptop and lunch bag for an hour :)

5) Shared shuttle services - A number of IT companies are running their own shuttle services for employees. They subsidize the transportation cost for their employees. I do see a number of private vans/vehicles carrying passengers on the road in the morning and in the evening. However, an Internet search doesn't reveal any of those services. I did get a couple of leads through my contacts, however they are not operating from Choolaimedu/Nelson Manickam Road to Thoraipakkam. I am still on the lookout for Shared Shuttle/Van/Cab Services. If you know of any, keep me informed :)

Gemini Circus, Chennai - Not worth it !

"Let us go to Gemini Circus, today". When I said this, my daughter got very excited. I took my family to Gemini Circus in Chennai, today. We were hoping to have a stellar experience. However, I was totally disappointed by the end of the show. In fact, after an hour into the show, my daughter asked "Dad ! When are we going back home?".

(Also read: Drive through McDonalds in Velachery)

Here is the list of things that I liked about Gemini Circus:

• The tickets for the show was available at various price ranges - Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.150, and Rs.250 (affordable for everyone).
• Uniformed men were selling snacks throughout the show - popcorn, biscuits, chocolates, cool drinks, cotton candy etc., 
• The gymnastic performance was very good. I was quite impressed by circus crew's potential.
• Time management was perfect - the show began and ended on time (kudos to the folks who did the back stage management)
• The background music was great
• Car parking rate was just Rs.40

(Also read: Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class, but people are low class)

Here is the list of things that I hated about Gemini Circus:

• The floor was uneven and filled with rubble and debris
• They had plastic chairs for everyone, which were put on top of the rubbles (Imagine, how stable the chair would be)
• There was no proper ventilation. There were a few pedestal fans. However, it was not adequate for 2000+ people
• Nothing has changed in the last 20+ years. In fact, it has gone for the worse. I remember the days when we used to have wooden railings for people to sit. It was very convenient. I hated those plastic chairs.
• There was no proper parking space - we have to park the cars over the debris
• Crowd management was poor - after the show, it took about an hour for us to come out of the venue
• No lion/tigers/elephants/monkeys were involved during the show (Though I was happy that animals were not disturbed, my daughter was very disappointed :))
• No online booking (you've to stand in the line to get tickets). They do have a website.
• No proper signage near the venue. We had to stop in between several times to find the place.

"Will I go to Gemini Circus again in Chennai"? The answer is a STRONG NO. I would rather watch recorded circus programs in my TV.

Plastic Ban in India - Gaining momentum !

In the last few months, plastic ban in India is gaining momentum. Government has taken a number of measures to promote environment awareness and friendliness among people.

I visited Vandulur Zoo after nearly 3 years. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that the government was strictly enforcing Plastic Ban in Vandalur Zoo. The officials had setup a booth at the entrance of the park. All the visitor's bags are checked and their plastic covers/bags are taken out and trashed. Visitors were not allowed to carry plastic bags inside. You cannot even carry a unopened biscuit pack. They provide you with newspapers (free of cost) and cloth bags (for Rs.5 I guess!). You have to remove the wrappers of the biscuit pack and use newspapers to pack them. If you are carrying a plastic bag, you've to switch to a cloth bag. I'm sure this exercise will improve the awareness of plastic ban among our citizens. In addition, this exercise will also educate them about the harmful effects of using plastic in a zoo (including the death of rare/precious wild animals).

(Also read: Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class but people's behavior is still local class)

In addition, the government has setup a number of warning signs inside the Vandalur Zoo that educate the users about the plastic ban.

Despite all of the hard (& smart) work of our officials, I noticed some plastic covers/bottles inside the Vandalur Zoo. The restaurants set up inside the park sell snacks/cool drinks in plastic bags/containers, respectively. Our people just throw the plastic bags/containers on the road, after use - though there were a number of trash cans, dustbins available inside the park.

(Also read: 15 things that I liked about Vandalur Zoo)

Plastic ban is quite visible in our day to day life also.

• Chennai Metro is experimenting source segregation of wastes. You can separate plastics from other wastes and they'll be collected separately by the person who picks-up your trash.
• Shops are banned from using "low quality" plastic bags which cannot be recycled  Several premium shops have switched over to "cloth" bags. 
• Customers are encouraged to bring bags from their home. This will help in either re-using existing plastic bags/containers or in promoting the use of cloth bags. 
• Customers have to pay the shop to get a plastic bag. It is not free of cost anymore.

Personally, I have done my best to bring down the use of plastic in our home. In fact, we started doing all of these things several years ago ! I told my parents that the use of plastic will result in "Cancer". That is the easiest way for me to enforce plastic ban at home :)

(Also read: A ban on spitting in public places - who enforces it?)

We did the following simple things:

• Switched from plastic water containers to a stainless steel water storage dispenser
• Installed a water purifying system at home, instead of buying can water
• Stopped using plastic plates, cups and bowls. Switched to glass or stainless steel utensils
• Switched from plastic water bottles to aluminium / stainless steel water bottles
• To the extent possible, we try to re-use/recycle plastic bags. We carry cloth bags to shops

Minimizing the use of plastic will not only help in saving the environment, but also helps in keeping the city clean. Whenever you go outside of your house, you can see lots of plastic bags/containers floating in the air and in the streets. When you get rid of plastics, you can also maintain a clean environment.

(Also read: If I don't care, who'll care)

My BIG THUMBS UP for plastic ban !

Vandalur Zoo - Infrastructure is world class but people's behavior is still local class

I visited Vandalur Zoo last week with my family. Vandalur Zoo is one of the BEST and well maintained zoological parks that I've seen in the WORLD. Our Tamilnadu government has done a fantastic job of keeping the place clean. I had several interesting experiences and observations during my recent visit and I thought I would share it with others.

(Also read: 15 things that I liked about Vandalur Zoo) 

We spent the entire day going around the zoo and having fun. In the evening, we visited the children's park in Vandalur Zoo. There were a number of play structures for kids - including swings, monkey bars, sliding structures, horizontal merry-go-rounds, and climbing structures. Kids were having lots of fun. While kids living in USA get access to these kind of structures almost in every street, good public play areas for kids is still not a common thing in India. You can see them only in newly built private communities. Government has been trying best to improve the conditions of existing parks and some of the parks are maintained really well.

While I was admiring the well maintained play structures at Vandalur zoo  I was shocked to see certain things happening inside the park. I saw a number of adults / youngsters playing on the play structures that were meant for kid. when I see someone doing harm to government properties, my adrenalin gushes; my nerves bulge (people who have watched the Tamil movie Ratchagan can understand what I'm talking about).

I made an effort to tell the adults who were using the play structures, to stop using them. Almost everybody listened to me and nobody "protested". However, I did get some interesting responses/remarks from some of them:

• "I have seen a number of adults using these structures and nobody stopped them at that time. When I start to play on these structures, you are complaining"
• "If I stop playing on these structures, will the people who are going to come tomorrow won't do the same thing?"
• "Ask government to build some play structures for adults too"
• "No kid is using this swing right now and hence, I'm using it"

(Also read: Skywalks in train stations - what are they for?)

Thankfully enough, I didn't get the usual responses that I've gotten in other parks (where I've tried to do the same thing!). They are:

• "Who are you to ask?!"
• "I'm also paying tax like you. I have EQUAL RIGHTS"
• "There is no sign board that says - adults should not use these play structures"
• "Where is the sign board that says - only kids should use these play structures"

There were a group of youngsters (college students!) who are trying to use the swings. I told them the reasons why adults shouldn't be playing with the play structures:

• Government has spent lots of money in building this play area. However, they don't allocate enough funds to maintain them. Once broken, it will take a number of weeks and even months for government to fix them
• We keep complaining that "Government does not create good infrastructure" for us. However, when they do create good infrastructure for us, we don't use them wisely
• The play structures are meant for kids. They aren't sturdy enough for adults to use. If the swing lasts for a few 1000 swings if a kid uses it, it will last only for a few 100 swings if adults use it
• It is OUR responsibility to maintain the structures well. Government cannot supervise each and every thing.

(Also read: A ban on spitting in public places - who enforces it?)

In fact, I encouraged all of them to STOP other adults who may be using the structures. The guys nodded their heads and I thought they won't use it again.

A few minutes later, I left the kids play area. I noticed that the youngsters started using the swings immediately after I left.

The first thing that came to my mind was - "Oh! My God?! How am I going to persuade these youngsters". This time, my adrenalin gush brought me anger. I ran to the park and on seeing me coming, the guys got out of the swings. I asked, "Will you follow the instructions only when you are given a SLAP on your face. Didn't I patiently explain to you why we shouldn't be using the swings meant for kids. Can't you understand? I really don't know how I can explain this to you guys. Do let me know if there are better ways by which I can persuade you. See... I cannot police this 24x7. You guys are future citizens of India. You are the Government. If you guys are not taking care of this in a responsible way, who else will do it?". They said, "We are very sorry Sir! We won't do it again".

I'm not sure whether those guys kept the promise or not. But, one thing kept ringing in my ears for the whole evening "You cannot maintain a world class facility if people continue to behave like local class".

I think our government should consider placing "clear sign boards" that warn adults from using kids' play structures. I have seen in other countries, where they have a scale for kids to measure their height. Only if you are within the maximum height limits, you can use the play structures meant for kids. We should consider installing this in places like Vandalur zoo,  Anna Tower Park, and Semmozhi Poonga Park. I have noticed adults/youngsters using the play structures meant for kids in all these places and I have tried my best to stop them. In fact, I complained to the administrative officials in Semmozhi Poong Park and they said "they'll look into it". In the worst case, they should have a watchman there policing the adults who use kids' play structures.

It is so sad to see that our people are not good at maintaining public property well. It will be hard for Government to manage these facilities if citizens do not take ownership. How can you maintain a world class facility if your people continue to behave like local class?

(Also read: A ban on spitting in public places - who enforces it?)

Adarsh Palm Meadows, in Bangalore - A perfect residential community for R2I folks

Have you been missing your residential community in US - the green parks, the neat walk ways, and the luxurious house? If you are planning to settle in Bangalore, you don't have to miss any of those... especially, if you are going to live in Adarsh Palm Meadows in Whitefield. I had a chance to visit the community and I was quite amazed by its infrastructure. It is simply spectacular. If I have to summarize what I saw in Adarsh Palm Meadows, in just one word - It was "Luxurious".

(Also read: R2I Planning Guide)

Adarsh Palm Meadows is located in the Whitefield area near Varthur lake (roughly 1 hour drive from Hosur). The community has nearly 600 villas and each one of them seemed to be different (at least, the exteriors). The community has villas of varying sizes. The villas resemble the ones that you typically see in Palo Alto area in California. All the villas are duplexes, with neat gardens and sufficient  parking space. Small things make perfection, but perfection isn't a small thing - the architects have paid great attention to the details. The interiors had finesse and I saw perfection everywhere.

The club house in Adarsh Palm Meadows is worth special mention. It looked like a 5 star hotel - with neatly maintained swimming pools (indoor & outdoor), play structures for kids (indoor & outdoor), decent library, tennis court, a restaurant, fitness center/gym, etc., They have a mini Hindu temple inside the community. The community also has a good grocery store. There is 24 x 7 water supply, and electricity (with generator backup). There conduct all sorts of classes such as yoga, music, swimming and dance. You get all the things that you would typically expect in a Tier 1 residential community. You can do your weekly shopping in Varthur Farmer's market - where you can get fresh vegetables/fruits. (Also read: Why am I a Vegan?)

The whole community looks as if it is painted in green.  It is hard for you to see an area without trees or plants. The roads are well laid and there is walkways everywhere. You can see people  doing their morning walks and jogging, very early in the morning.

Technically, you don't have to step out of the community for anything (except to work). Yes ! They don't have offices inside the community ! :)). The community has people from all over the world - mostly expats and wealthy folks. You'll feel as if you're living in the bay area, in US. You see many Americans, Europeans, and folks from other Asian countries.

The community also has exceptional security. Visitors (including housemaids) should always go through a stringent security checks. You can see security personnel not just near the gates - but in many locations.

All of this luxury comes at a cost. I heard that each villa costs around Rs. 4 crores (& they were sold at Rs. 45 lakhs, nearly 6 years ago). If you are planning to settle in Bangalore after your Return to India (R2I), you should definitely consider Adarsh Palm Meadows.  (Also read: Money needed to R2I)

There are so many luxury residential communities listed online. For real estate, rental and property deals, you can look at websites like MyDeals India. You can also search for real estate deals online from the popular real estate websites.

I haven't visited many residential communities in Chennai. Hopefully, there are equally good communities in Chennai too. I'm very curious to find that out :)

Canon Camera Service Centers in Chennai - Scarce & Costly !

I have been owning a Canon Powershot A630 for nearly 4 years, now. Recently, the camera needed a service. The lens door wasn't closing or opening properly. I started looking for service centers in Chennai. I took the camera for service to a 'mom & pop' service center in Parson Complex (near Gemini Flyover). The shop was called V.V Camera Clinic. It looked very much like a 'watch repair shop' that you see on the road sides. After seeing the camera, he said, he'll charge Rs.950 for the repair. I was completely thrown away when I heard the price. I asked him - "Are you going to replace th entire lens". He said, "No sir! I'm going to just fix the lens door". I asked him "Can you just remove the lens door for me? Technically, I don't need a lens door as I'm keeping the camera away from dust all the times". He said "No sir ! It isn't possible". I was hesitant to leave my costly(!) camera there for service. I decided to check with a proper "Canon Camera Service Center" in Chennai. (Also read: Goods in US market - lots of options & cheaper prices)

One of my friends told that there is a Canon Service Center opposite to HCL Technologies, in Vadapalani. I took the camera there and came to know that the Service Center is taking care of only printer repairs, these days (They used to service cameras before). It looks like they've consolidated all the Canon Camera/Camcorder repair services to one location in Chennai.

The Canon Camera Service Center is located in Mylapore - right opposite to Thirumayilai MRTS/Railway Station. It is a busy area with buses flying left and right. and I had to park my two wheeler on the road near-by. The service center itself is a small shop and had neat interiors. There were atleast 3 people waiting before me. There was a board in the shop displaying the rates for various services. The minimum charge for any service is Rs.827 (Rs.750 + tax). They do a pre-inspection and will tell you "how much it would take to service the Canon camera". They'll give you a ball park estimate. After inspection, they'll tell you the exact amount for the service. If you think, you don't want to do the service, you can get the camera back. However, they charge Rs.200/- for inspection.

One of the service reps did a pre-inspection and told me that it would take Rs.950 for the service :-) [Thats when I realized why the "mom & pop" guy asked for Rs.950]. I asked the service rep "Why does it cost so much to just replace a small lens door?". He said "Sir ! Any time we open a camera for repair, we charge Rs.827. Charges for the parts will be extra". I thought "Hmm ! These guys are getting more than what I get paid for an hour of job". I didn't have much option. I decided to leave the camera there for service. They called me in an hour and asked me to collect the camera back. I couldn't go on the same day and collected the camera on the following day.

It costed me $20 to get a small lens door replaced, in Chennai. Of course, the same job would cost more in US. But, $20 still looked high for Indian standards. Considering the fact that many guys own Canon Camera/Camcorders here, having only one service center for Cameras/Camcorders was still surprising to me. Not sure if there are many mom & pop guys who are stealing "service" business from Canon. Or, the Canon cameras may not be getting faulty often :) Anyways, it was an interesting experience to me. Just thought of sharing the experience with others.

Here is the address for the Canon Authorized Service Center in Chennai. NO. 7 RK MUTT ROAD, 1ST FLOOR, MYLAPORE, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, Pin : 600028, Tel : 044-42101331/64602423. You can look at Canon India website for the latest details.

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