Indian Airlines - 1800 180 1407
Jet Airways - 1800 22 5522
Spice Jet - 1800 180 3333
Air India – 1800 22 7722
Kingfisher - 1800 180 0101

Banks

ABN AMRO - 1800 11 2224
Canara Bank - 1800 44 6000
Citibank - 1800 44 2265
Corporation Bank - 1800 443 555
Development Credit Bank - 1800 22 5769
HDFC Bank - 1800 227 227
ICICI Bank - 1800 333 499
ICICI Bank NRI - 1800 22 4848
IDBI Bank - 1800 11 6999
Indian Bank - 1800 425 1400
ING Vysya - 1800 44 9900
Kotak Mahindra Bank – 1800 22 6022
Lord Krishna Bank - 1800 11 2300
Punjab National Bank - 1800 122 222
State Bank of India - 1800 44 1955
Syndicate Bank - 1800 44 6655

Automobiles

Mahindra Scorpio - 1800 22 6006
Maruti - 1800 111 515
Tata Motors - 1800 22 5552
Windshield Experts - 1800 11 3636

Computers/IT

Adrenalin - 1800 444 445
AMD - 1800 425 6664
Apple Computers - 1800 444 683
Canon - 1800 333 366
Cisco Systems - 1800 221 777
Compaq – HP - 1800 444 999
Data One Broadband - 1800 424 1800
Dell - 1800 444 026
Epson - 1800 44 0011
eSys - 3970 0011
Genesis Tally Academy - 1800 444 888
HCL - 1800 180 8080
IBM - 1800 443 333
Lexmark - 1800 22 4477
Marshal’s Point - 1800 33 4488
Microsoft - 1800 111 100
Microsoft Virus Update - 1901 333 334
Seagate - 1800 180 1104
Symantec - 1800 44 5533
TVS Electronics - 1800 444 566
WeP Peripherals - 1800 44 6446
Wipro - 1800 333 312
Xerox - 1800 180 1225
Zenith - 1800 222 004

Indian Railway Enquiries

Indian Railway General Enquiry       131
Indian Railway Central Enquiry     131
Indian Railway Reservation     131
Indian Railway Railway Reservation Enquiry     1345,1335,1330
Indian Railway Centralised Railway Enquiry     1330/1/2/3/4/ 5/6/7/8/9

Couriers/Packers & Movers

ABT Courier - 1800 44 8585
AFL Wizz - 1800 22 9696
Agarwal Packers & Movers - 1800 11 4321
Associated Packers P Ltd - 1800 21 4560
DHL - 1800 111 345
FedEx - 1800 22 6161
Goel Packers & Movers - 1800 11 3456
UPS - 1800 22 7171

Home Appliances

Aiwa/Sony - 1800 11 1188
Anchor Switches - 1800 22 7979
Blue Star - 1800 22 2200
Bose Audio - 1800 11 2673
Bru Coffee Vending Machines - 1800 44 7171
Daikin Air Conditioners - 1800 444 222
DishTV - 1800 12 3474
Faber Chimneys - 1800 21 4595
Godrej - 1800 22 5511
Grundfos Pumps - 1800 33 4555
LG - 1901 180 9999
Philips - 1800 22 4422
Samsung - 1800 113 444
Sanyo - 1800 11 0101
Voltas - 1800 33 4546
WorldSpace Satellite Radio - 1800 44 5432

Investments/ Finance

CAMS - 1800 44 2267
Chola Mutual Fund – 1800 22 2300
Easy IPO’s - 3030 5757
Fidelity Investments - 1800 180 8000
Franklin Templeton Fund - 1800 425 4255
J M Morgan Stanley - 1800 22 0004
Kotak Mutual Fund - 1800 222 626
LIC Housing Finance - 1800 44 0005
SBI Mutual Fund - 1800 22 3040
Sharekhan - 1800 22 7500
Tata Mutual Fund - 1800 22 0101

Travel

Club Mahindra Holidays - 1800 33 4539
Cox & Kings - 1800 22 1235
God TV Tours - 1800 442 777
Kerala Tourism - 1800 444 747
Kumarakom Lake Resort - 1800 44 5030
Raj Travels & Tours - 1800 22 9900
Sita Tours - 1800 111 911
SOTC Tours - 1800 22 3344

Healthcare

Best on Health - 1800 11 8899
Dr Batras - 1800 11 6767
GlaxoSmithKline - 1800 22 8797
Johnson & Johnson - 1800 22 8111
Kaya Skin Clinic - 1800 22 5292
LifeCell - 1800 44 5323
Manmar Technologies - 1800 33 4420
Pfizer - 1800 442 442
Roche Accu-Chek - 1800 11 45 46
Rudraksha - 1800 21 4708
Varilux Lenses - 1800 44 8383
VLCC - 1800 33 1262

Insurance

AMP Sanmar - 1800 44 2200
Aviva - 1800 33 2244
Bajaj Allianz - 1800 22 5858
Chola MS General Insurance - 1800 44 5544
HDFC Standard Life - 1800 227 227
LIC - 1800 33 4433
Max New York Life - 1800 33 5577
Royal Sundaram - 1800 33 8899
SBI Life Insurance - 1800 22 9090

Hotel Reservations

GRT Grand - 1800 44 5500
InterContinental Hotels Group - 1800 111 000
Marriott - 1800 22 0044
Sarovar Park Plaza - 1800 111 222
Taj Holidays - 1800 111 825

Teleshopping

Asian Sky Shop - 1800 22 1800
Jaipan Teleshoppe - 1800 11 5225
Tele Brands – 1800 11 8000
VMI Teleshopping - 1800 447 777
WWS Teleshopping - 1800 220 777

Others

Domino’s Pizza - 1800 111 123

Cell Phones

BenQ - 1800 22 08 08
Bird CellPhones - 1800 11 7700
Motorola MotoAssist - 1800 11 1211
Nokia - 3030 3838
Sony Ericsson - 3901 1111

Its a high time .. From past few years what kind of steps the government has taken to protect the citizens from terrorism. Every month we are hearing the bomb blasts either terrorist attacks or other groups. I am sharing my views here about the security measures of Indian government.  We are still struggling for Independence. Before Independence all Indians used to be united and resolve the issues and today no unity only Political drama and corruption is swinging in high.  We lost Pakistan from India because of bad politics. I am very petty for those who are in border either  they are Pakistani or Indian. Struggling for life’s. Coming to Kashmir, people leading their life’s in danger. No solution till today.

Recently Mumbai (Bombay) was in terror and lot of them have lost their lives and everyone are scared to live in India. India has got lot of armed forces and got sophisitcated equipments, nuclear bombs and frequently launching satellites. Why all this is required for us, if they could not able to protect the citizens. Every year huge amount is budgeted  for security forces…

Recent blasts caused in Mumbai, claimed that terrorists traveled from Pakistan to Mumbai via boats..  what happen to the border security either Navy or security satellites which is suppose to monitor around the clock.

Actually speaking the terrorists were killed because they are tried  and not slept for more than 30 hours and above. They are well trained and equipped with good armors. Why the security forces could not able to bring in control in few hours. They have taken more than 2 days to bring the situation in control.

Why cannot Army/police either throw nitrogen gas in all floors of Taj, Narman house, Oberoi hotels so that both hosts and terrorists would have faint immediately . What happen to whose camera’s where it is capable  of viewing behind the wall like X-ray. And what kind of bullet proof jackets and guns were provided to the armed forces to meet AK-47 and above ? Despite of that many officers died.  It seems not been used any modern or sophisticated Equipment. We are lacking 100 years in technology.

I am regretting the government of India don’t have any security to protest the country . All this years we are leaving in understanding . No more is said to be peaceful country. The present government is unfit..

Every month bomb blasts are happening in all major places across the country. Their is no future of this country until government changes.  I request all of them to get united, work as a team to protect our country and choose the right caliber person to run the government.

Please awake the government to protect the life’s of the citizens..  Mumbai used to be the pride of India after the blasts its no more.

]]> http://www.smellthetaste.com/2008/11/30/terrorism-recent-attacks-by-terrorists-in-mumbai/feed/ 1 http://www.smellthetaste.com/2008/05/10/a-true-american-indian-story/ http://www.smellthetaste.com/2008/05/10/a-true-american-indian-story/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 18:30:22 +0000 Kamal Namburi http://www.smellthetaste.com/?p=113 ONE BEDROOM FLAT… WRITTEN BY AN INDIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER..

A Bitter Reality

As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in  Software Engineering and joined a company based in USA , The land of braves and opportunities. When I arrived in the USA , it was as if a dream had come true. Here at last I was in the place where  I want to be. I decided I would be staying in this country for about Five years during this time I would have earned enough money to settle down in India .

My father was a government employee and after his retirement, the only asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat. I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling homesick and lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and speak to my parents every week using cheap international phone cards.

Two years passed, two years of Burgers at McDonald’s and pizzas and discos and 2 years watching the foreign exchange rate getting happy whenever the Rupee value went down. Finally I decided to get married. Told my parents that I have only 10 days of holidays and everything must be done within these 10 days. I got my ticket booked in the cheapest flight.  Was jubilant and was actually enjoying hopping for gifts for all my friends back home. If I miss anyone then there will be talks. After reaching home I spent home one week going through all the photographs of girls and as the time was getting shorter I was forced to select one candidate. In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I would have to get married in 2-3 days, as I will not get anymore holidays. After the marriage, it was time to return to USA , after giving some money to my parents and telling the neighbors to look after them, we returned to USA . My wife enjoyed this country for about two months and then she started feeling lonely. The frequency of calling India increased to twice in a week sometimes 3 times a week. Our savings started diminishing.   
 
After two more years we started to have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a girl, were gifted to us by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my parents, they asked me to come to India so that they can see their grand-children. 

Every year I decide to go to India … But part work part monetary conditions prevented it. Years went by and visiting India was a distant dream. After couple more years passed away, much to my children’s dislike and my wife’s joy we returned to India to settle down. I started to look for a suitable property, but to my dismay my savings were short and the property prices had gone up during all these years. I had to return to the USA …
 
My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in India … My 2 children and I returned to USA after promising my wife I would be back for good after two years. Time passed by, my daughter decided to get married to an American and my son was happy living in USA … I decided that had enough and wound-up every thing and returned to India ….. I had just enough money to buy a decent 02 bedroom flat in a Well-developed locality.  

Now I am 60 years old and the only time I go out of the flat is for the routine visit to the nearby temple. My faithful wife has also left me and gone to the holy abode. Sometimes I wondered was it worth all this? My father, even after staying in India , Had a house to his name and I too have the same nothing more.

I lost my parents and children for just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM. Looking out from the window I see a lot of children dancing… This damned cable TV has spoiled our new generation and these children are losing their values and culture because of it. I get occasional cards from my children asking I am alright… Well at least they remember me.   Now perhaps after I die it will be the neighbors again who will be performing my last rights, God Bless them.

But the question Still remains ‘Was all this worth it?’ I am still searching for an answer……………..!!!  

START THINKING IS IT JUST FOR ONE EXTRA BEDROOM???
 
LIFE IS BEYOND THIS ….. DON’T JUST LEAVE YOUR LIFE  AND MONEY…….. START LIVING IT …….

He approached the young man and calmly said to him, “How much do you earn?”
The young man was quite amazed that he was asked such a personal question, he replied, none the less, “I earn $2 000.00 a month, Sir. Why?”
Without answering, the MD took out his wallet and removed $6000.00 cash and gave it to the young man and said, “Around here I pay people for working, not for standing around looking pretty! Here is your 3 months salary, now GET OUT and don’t come back”.
The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight.
Noticing a few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner, “And that applies for everybody in this company”.
He approached one of the onlookers and asked him, “Who’s the young man that I just fired?”
To which an amazing reply came of, “He was the pizza delivery man, Sir…!”

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

You park in the driveway, but you drive on the parkway. You ship by truck and send cargo by ship.

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on. When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

And finally, how about when you want to shut down your computer you have to hit “START!!

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.

5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. If not for you, someone may not be living.

8. You are special and unique.

9. Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.

10. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

11. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world.

12. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won’t get it, but if you believe in yourself, probably, sooner or later, you will get it.

13. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

14. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know.

15. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.

A Minute

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

“Men worry about their future only after their marraige & women worry about their future only till they get married.”

Not only our technical knowledge helps, but also the presence of mind
and the right answer at right time.

Even if u don’t know the answer for a question just confuse the
questioner
Question and the Answer given by Candidates oh sorry they are IAS
Officers now.

Q.How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
A. Concrete floors are very hard to crack! (UPSC Topper)

Q.If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it?
A. No time at all it is already built. (UPSC 23 Rank Opted for IFS)

Q.If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?
A. Very large hands.(Good one) (UPSC 11 Rank Opted for IPS)

Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
A. It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one hand. (UPSC Rank 14 Opted for IES)

Q. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
A. No Probs , He sleeps at night. (UPSC IAS Rank 98)

Q. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?
A. It will Wet or Sink as simple as that. (UPSC IAS Rank 2)

Q. What looks like half apple ?
A : The other half. (UPSC – IAS Topper )

Q. What can you never eat for breakfast ?
A : Dinner.

Q. What happened when wheel was invented ?
A : It caused a revolution.

Q. Bay of Bengal is in which state?
A : Liquid (UPSC 33Rank ) Interviewer said “I shall either ask you ten easy questions or one really difficult question. Think well before you make up your mind!” The boy thought for a while
and said, “my choice is one really difficult question.”

“Well, good luck to you, you have made your own choice! Now tell me this. “What comes first, Day or Night?”

The boy was jolted into reality as his admission depends on the correctness of his answer, but he thought for a while andsaid, “It’s the DAY sir!” “How” the interviewer asked,
“Sorry sir, you promised me that you will not ask me a SECOND difficult question!” He was selected for IIM!

*”Technical Skill is the mastery of complexity, while Creativity is themaster of presence of mind”

“START BY DOING WHAT’S NECESSARY, THEN WHAT’S POSSIBLE, & SUDDENDLY YOU ARE DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE”

I am not the BEST but I am not like REST!!

It’s a fine sunny day in the forest and a lion is sitting outside his cave, lying lazily in the sun. Along comes a fox, out on a walk.

Fox: “Do you know the time, because my watch is broken”
Lion: “Oh, I can easily fix the watch for you”
Fox: “Hmm… But it’s a very complicated mechanism, and your big claws will only destroy it even more”
Lion: “Oh no, give it to me, and it will be fixed”
Fox: “That’s ridiculous! Any fool knows that lazy lions with great claws cannot fix complicated watches”
Lion: “Sure they do, give it to me and it will be fixed”

The lion disappears into his cave, and after a while he comes back with the watch which is running perfectly. The fox is impressed, and the lion continues to lie lazily in the sun, looking very pleased with himself.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the lazy lion in the sun.

Wolf: “Can I come and watch TV tonight with you, because mine is broken”
Lion: “Oh, I can easily fix your TV for you”
Wolf: “You don’t expect me to believe such rubbish, do you? There is no way that a lazy lion with big claws can fix a complicated TV”
Lion: “No problem. Do you want to try it?”

The lion goes into his cave, and after a while comes back with a perfectly fixed TV. The wolf goes away happily and amazed.

Scene :
Inside the lion’s cave. In one corner are half a dozen small and intelligent looking rabbits who are busily doing very complicated work with very detailed instruments. In the other corner lies a huge lion looking very pleased with himself.

Moral :
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY A MANAGER IS FAMOUS; LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.

Management Lesson In the context of the working world :
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY SOMEONE UNDESERVED IS PROMOTED; LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Story # 2

It’s a fine sunny day in the forest and a rabbit is sitting outside his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter.. Along comes a fox, out for a walk.

Fox: “What are you working on?”
Rabbit: “My thesis.”
Fox: “Hmm… What is it about?”
Rabbit: “Oh, I’m writing about how rabbits eat foxes.”
Fox: “That’s ridiculous ! Any fool knows that rabbits don’t eat foxes!”
Rabbit: “Come with me and I’ll show you!”

They both disappear into the rabbit’s burrow. After few minutes, gnawing on a fox bone, the rabbit returns to his typewriter and resumes typing.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit.

Wolf: “What’s that you are writing?”
Rabbit: “I’m doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves.”
Wolf: “you don’t expect to get such rubbish published, do you?”
Rabbit: “No problem. Do you want to see why?”

The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes, and goes back to typing.

Finally a bear comes along and asks, “What are you doing?

Rabbit: “I’m doing a thesis on how rabbits eat bears.”
Bear: “Well that’s absurd ! ”
Rabbit: “Come into my home and I’ll show you”

Scene :
As they enter the burrow, the rabbit introduces the bear to the lion.

Moral:
IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW SILLY YOUR THESIS TOPIC IS; WHAT MATTERS IS WHOM YOU HAVE AS A SUPERVISOR.

Management Lesson In the context of the working world:
IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW BAD YOUR PERFORMANCE IS; WHAT MATTERS IS WHETHER YOUR BOSS LIKES YOU OR NOT