Think twice before booking a Tatkal ticket

Profit and Loss is part and parcel of Life, but booking a Tatkal ticket in Indian Railways is a sureshot loss if opt to cancel it.  It so happened that my Dad asked me to book a ticket to Hyderabad just 5 days prior to the departure date. Since this is the peak season there was no chance of getting a Confirmed berth. My Dad insisted on booking the ticket in Tatkal which had about 10 available seats.

Indian Railways charge Rs. 150 per ticket as Tatkal charges. So, I had to pay Rs 313 + 150 = Rs 463. Just about 2 hrs later, due to unavoidable circumstances, my Dad told that he would cancel his trip to Hyderabad and asked me to cancel the ticket.

Just as I pressed the cancel ticket button, I got a shocker. 25% of the total fare charged on the ticket would be 25% of Rs 313 = Rs 78.25 is all that was refunded. Now, isn’t this fraud? This is open theft straight from the customer’s pocket.

Cancellation of a ticket booked under Tatkal -

A flat refund of 25% of total fare charged on ticket,excluding Tatkal Charges is granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets, which are cancelled up to 24 hrs. before the schedule departure of train.

A hasty decision from the traveller’s side cost him Rs 384.75. Thats a huge loss in just 2 hours I strongly feel that this is harsh on the customer for booking a ticket in Tatkal and then cancelling it. It would have been fine if the Railways kept the Tatkal charges for itself, but taking away 75% of the fare is just insane.

Now that the money is gone, nothing much can be done about it. A lesson for the future – Book a wicket in waiting list when your trip is tentative.

The sad state of Indian media

This is one such newspaper that revolutionised the printed media in Bangalore. It was Mirror all the way. People started moving away from traditional newspapers like The Times of India and Deccan Herald. Initially the sleek layout of Bangalore Mirror made it popular among travellers. It contained a lot of masala stories that attracted many youths. You would find this one paper always busy in my college library while the traditiional ones had no takers.

Too much of success is not good. Bangalore Mirror started publishing non-sense news offlate. The headline would be a theft or murder that happened in some remote village. For example, The headline of 27-Nov-2008 did not have the Mumbai attacks of 26/11.

Yesterday, I came across this new section “Vote Maadi” – an election special section that provides the lastest on the Lok Sabha elections due in 15 days time. I was shocked to read POLL DANCE by Aakar Patel in there. I do not know whether this was written for fun or anything else, but this surely hurt me. The column said Top 10 things BJP will do for you.

Mr. Aakar Patel, do you ever know the consequence of writing such non-sense. If you cannot write good about somebody shut your f#^king mouth and drop that damn pen down. BJP is no way involved in attacking/beating up women. How on planet earth did you conclude that BJP will set Kashmir on fire? Why would a party that believes in peace and harmony go and bomb Pakistan? I fail to understand why people associate BJP with such criminal activites and anti-society deeds. And finally, why would BJP ever copy Manmohanomics that does not have a single achievement to boast of.

Shame on you Mr. Patel and Bangalore Mirror for publishing such columns. This indeed is the sad state on Indian media that journalists like Patel and editors of such major newspapers behave in this manner. My sincere request to the people of INDIA to ignore such misleading newspapers and elect BJP for a progressive nation.

May the saffron rule.

Brothers’ day out

It was just that kind of a day when four brothers made it for their respective teams. When the Hussey brothers did the winning act for Australia, India found their answer in the two Pathans, with Yusuf and Irfan scripting a thrilling three-wicket win in the T20 game. At these times when Team India is on a winning streak one would not have expected to them lose, but thanks to a fight put up by Sri Lanka, we witnessed a thriller of a match.

What a moment it was for the Pathan Family and what a match we got to see. Heard a burst of crackers for 15 minutes straight after the match. Live Long T20.

The Pathan Brothers

You are not safe without terror either

A week after the Mumbai blasts, UPA’s main agenda has been nominating Maharashtra’s new Chief Minister. The anger and emotions of Indian public has not moved even a single nerve of the Gandhis, the Singhs or whomsoever it concerns. Infact security of VIPs has been puffed up. What ever be the case India stands United in the war against Terror and Paki$tan.

Proud Indian Flag

We pay our taxes, we demand the right of livelihood. We do not demand luxury, basic amenities, employment. We demand a safe place to live.

The road is not safe. The park is not safe. The school is not safe. The Hotel is not safe. Four and a half years of corrupt, useless governance by the UPA. Come on India, lets vote for a BJP rule in the center and live safely and peacefully.

Mr. Politician, Not Bullets or Bombs, but a train will hit me if you still do not wake up