Chronicles of Nikhil Baliga

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " When trust is betrayed even once, it will end with disastrous results... Just like the boy who cried wolf " This topic is something that we are so familiar with. When you go riding/driving and you are waiting at a traffic signal, you will invariably see beggars coming to ask alms from you. There are typical types of beggars - Either little children, women with infants or eunuchs. Eunuchs are those people who feel that collecting money from you is their right because they are not normal and thus feel deprived of regular means of livelihood. The children work on the simple logic of melting your heart, just like the hapless women with infants in their arms - They show poverty and helplessness and ask you for money. This article might, in the beginning, make you feel that there is a certain coldness or callousness in it, but you will know what I mean as we proceed. The important thing about these beggars is that they are hardly what they seem.

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " What's common between Vodafone call centre and Lord Brahma? Both think one day = a million years " So, what's my problem anyway? Vodafone customer care has been one of the worst nightmares that I had to face in recent times. What was the problem? I recharged my phone using netbanking twice, each time for Rs. 222. I have been doing these transactions before, and had not faced this problem before. Now, these fateful days, I recharged twice with a gap of a couple of days, and both times, I lost money from my account but my phone didn't get the money. When I called up Vodafone call centre, they asked me to go to the store, and they would fix it. So, I did... I had to show them my transactions, which I did, and that guy at the store registered the complaint. Now, he was supposed to give the reference number (transaction number) and he put both numbers in the same text box field in the software. I specifically asked him if that was okay, or