Is there life beyond office hours???

They spent 15 bucks...

2007-04-11T15:11:00.003+05:30

...to tell me that they did not receive 10 bucks from me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is bharat sarkar for you.

I had changed jobs in bombay (where i used to live earlier), and even after 4 years, my pf is not yet transferred from organisation 1 to organisation 2.

PF office in bangalore (where I am now) doesnt help as its not their jurisdisction.

So I decided to file an RTI application. Not sure what to do abt the prescribed fees, in whose name chq (of Rs.10) to be made etc. Get in touch with an NGO who tells me that there is a UCR division in all major postal officies, I can pay cash there, and they will submit my request to the concernend people.

I go to Jaynagar PO (nearest to my house), educate them abt this concept and do the required. Jayanagar PO forwards my application to mumbai EPFO clearly stating tht the prescribed fees has been paid under UCR etc.

EPFO rejects applicaiton saying you have not enclosed dd of Rs.10 favoring so and so, and sends the same to me via speed post!!!!!!!

Atleast now i know in whose name the dd has to be made, tho have half a mind to complain first that information is being denied even though prescribed fees has been paid.

And I hope that they atleast got a jhatka that some one used RTI to figure out what happened to his PF money.

The Born Loser Part 1

2007-02-20T22:11:00.000+05:30

Shilpa Shetty yelled "RACISM" at her work place and won a zillion bucks. My friend did the same at his work-place, and he lost his job.

As my dear friend Orwell once said, " all animals are equal, but some are...."

My photographic Expedition - Part 1

2006-12-12T18:59:00.001+05:30

I hate flowers. I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move. - Georgia O'Keeffe

For Similar reasons, when I started photography, monuments around Bombay served as my models. They came with two advantages- they didn't complain even if you took a long time to compose your shot (hurry up man, I'm tired of standing); and they came free (can you beat that!!!).

Unlike the guy in the quote above, I dont hate the monuments, though I do have a inherent dislike for all those jokers who scribble "Raj loves Raja" (Must be from the US) or treat them as some ancient Sulabh Shauchalayas.

In another post, I will post my long journey of collecting and selling of various camera gear...

I live to read

2006-12-12T00:11:00.000+05:30

Though at times i feel that i am a half baked reader.

Books have been my companion since a long long time. Countless vacations spent in the welcoming arms of novels. They are my best friends. They never judge me, never put me down , are always so willing to share and invite me to their world, and are always there when ever i want them.

I used to buy something like 4 books a year. Now i dont maintain that count... there's barely enuf space here in this tiny rat hole which i have rented out (rents in bangalore have no relation to the amt of space you get to occupy), and my wife threatens to throw my books out whenever i buy em. To my credit, in my 3 years here, i have not only purchased em, but also ensured that all 3 of us (me, my missus, and me books) live under one roof....

In Bombay, i used to buy a good amt of them from the foothpaths of Fort. Second hand stuff, with the name of the previous owner scribbled, at times words under-lined, at times comments written. These second hand books have their own "smell", their own "character"

A book i would not hesitate to recommend:
The moon is down by John Steinbeck, besids ofcourse, his Grapes of Wrath.

p.s. books are my best friends.... Sheesh.... what kind of a loser are you dude- get a life

Why this blog...

2006-12-11T23:57:00.001+05:30

... and why this name?

I had a homepage at tripod,with this. Havent updated that in a while. While a lot of people have visited that page, there hasn't been a single comment or feedback. Thought that maybe it's time to move into the blog space.

Why this name??? becoz i am, in my own little world, a superhero. Look within you, you might be one too... anyways, enuf of this spiritual ying- yang. This aint supposed to be chicken soup whatever....

I used to hold a day job (which more often than not extended into the night as well as the weekends) with a market research agency. Inspite of a hectic schedule, I managed to develop (and retain in a few cases), my interests in reading, writing, cartooning and photography. There have been times when i have "stretched" beyond what was expected of any sane person, worked 14 hrs a day, 7 days a week, 10 weeks at a stretch... never said no to any collegue wanting help....

HENCE THE NICK NAME.

Cheers