Iceman’s Realm

March 14, 2010

Still keeping my fingers crossed

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 3:52 am

Following a bank transaction failure at the ATM in my locality quite a long time back, I wrote this letter to a person who promised he would assist me in the best way possible. It has been more than a month since I wrote it and I still haven’t heard  a word from him. Here’s the letter verbatim -

Hello Sir,

This is to apprise you of the unsuccessful transaction recorded on the 9th of November, 2009 and the incidents thereafter. While trying to withdraw Rs 5300 from the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) , Madipakkam, the ATM failed to respond - the screen went blank and a couple of seconds later, the debit card popped out. The transaction, it seems, had happened but the money, I’m quite sure didn’t return from the ATM. Or the transaction slip either. I enquired to the security who was seated there, to which he responded that the HDFC site would have been down. A few minutes later, I received a text message on my mobile stating that ‘an amount of INR 5,300 debited to account’. Without any delay, I contacted the HDFC customer care and briefed them on the incident. The phone banker jotted the information down and promised it would take 12 days to get back to me. The stipulated time elapsed but I didn’t get any response from them. When contacted them again, they had already closed the case with a proof saying the transaction was complete. I called up another phone banker the very next day and she too had the same thing to say. Futile, I thought it was to argue with these phone bankers, so I directly approached the HDFC branch at Gopalapuram. After relating the entire incident again, the woman at the help desk asked me to fill up a form. She promised it would take another 12 days to look into this case and come to a conclusion. Here again, the specified time elapsed and they were callous as always. Annoyed at the miserable response, I decided to get things done somehow and this time, I approached HDFC’s branch manager at Gopalapuram on the 18th of January, 2010. I requested him to look into this matter seriously and get this issue sorted out.  Predictably, the branch manager promised it would take a couple of days’ time but he got back to me on the very same day only to say that the transaction was complete. Meanwhile, I visited the Oriental Bank of Commerce and spoke to the Manager over there. He wasn’t inclined to help but for some unfathomable reason asked me to write down my bank account details and the date when this incident happened. Issues relating to an individual’s bank account should be dealt by the respective bank only and that they were free from blame is what I could gather from the conversation. He further added that OBC’s ATM at Madipakkam doesn’t have a camera installed yet, so it was in no way that they could offer any assistance on this matter. More than 3 months have passed by and I still haven’t got my hard earned money back. I can’t wait any longer and I kindly request you to assist me on this issue.

Yours truly,

Sarin Gopan


February 20, 2010

Respectfully yours

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 11:54 am

Move over, priests and godmen. A nag temple in Himachal Pradesh is inundated with visiting cards from devotees. On the cards are the devotees’ wishes, too, mostly profession related or the desire for a male child. Those without visiting cards leave their name, address and their fervent desires behind on a piece of paper. Those whose wishes are granted return to give thanks and remove their visiting card. Perhaps, the others need to include self-addressed envelopes.

February 10, 2010

Out of range

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 2:08 pm

Talking may remove barriers. But what will remove the barriers on talking? The banning of prepaid SIM cards in Jammu and Kashmir had incurred the wrath of one and all. Just in case you’re wondering what’s the real purpose, well it was to stop militants from misusing the service. But the move failed to prevent the Lal Chowk attack. Also, tapping prepaid SIMs helped security forces do away with more than one militant. Now the ban is revoked, however the formalities required to obtain a prepaid card outnumber those required for a passport. Plus, service providers are demanding Rs 200 a month even from existing subscribers to renew validity, apart from the advance payment of Rs 500 - Rs 1900.

February 5, 2010

His holy mess

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 4:57 pm

Children often are made to suffer for the sins their parents commit. Take the case of a Kanchipuram temple priest, Devanathan, who was arrested for seducing women devotees in the sanctum sanctorum, no less. Even as police were collecting evidence from the women who fell prey to the holy casanova’s lures, a private school decided to punish him by dismissing his two daughters. Devanathan’s lawyer says the family is tying to convince the school authorities to take the kids back.

January 26, 2010

More than a mouthful

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 2:23 pm

Pizza can sometimes land you behind bars. Five youths were so consumed with the desire for a slice that they called Domino’s Pizza and placed an order for 12 pizzas. As the delivery boy turned up and handed over the boxes and a four figure bill, the youths pushed him, lept into their car and fled with the pizza. The delivery boy called up the police right away and briefed them of this bizarre incident. It wasn’t that had chasing them down because these guys were relatively newbies to this activity. Poor youths, they are in jail right now. Biting off more than what one can chew, did someone say?

Wrong medicine

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 1:20 am

You can fool all of the government some of the time and some of the governments all of the time. Munir Khan based in Himachal Pradesh, produced fake certificates saying he was a doctor and bought land from the government of Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to manufacture his miracle medicine Body Revive. He convinced them that it would cure everything from rash to cancer. Finally, a man whose wife was not cured filed a complaint against Munir Khan exposing the quack!

January 14, 2010

When opportunity misfired

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 3:57 am

Instead of a ring, try proposing marriage with a baby. Sounds ridiculous but not for this married female. Gouramma (name changed to protect identity), a married woman in Bangalore asked her lover to marry her, claiming to be pregnant. The lover, a law student, left for his home in Tamil Nadu and they didn’t meet for a year. Gouramma who always has an act up her sleeve didn’t hesitate to come up with one. Guess what Gouramma did this time. She kidnapped a 11 month old baby and turned up at her lover’s doorstep, claiming the baby boy was theirs. The scandalized family fixed a wedding date, but the baby’s father, who was actually her former neighbor informed to the police. Poor Gouramma, instead of enjoying a blissful life with her partner, she’s now behind the bars.

Burning cold

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 3:51 am

Snow in winter drives the tourist industry in Kashmir and ensures plenty of water for the summer. But it is also the season when the number of burn cases goes up in the state. To keep themselves warm during winter, Kashmiris carry the kangri - an earthen pot with a wicker casing - under their pheran (the winter gown). As the kangri is filled with burning coal, even a very small incident can lead to serious buns.

The boy who cried fire

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 2:10 am

An unknown lad thought it was a good idea to call up police control room and report fire in a bus at Outer Ring Road, Delhi. Frantic cops rushed to the spot to find a lower-floor bus but no smoke and no fire. The driver appeared ignorant about the phone call, the youth, the fire and the smoke, when questioned by the unamused policemen. Attempts to trace the lad with the weird sense of humor are on.

January 5, 2010

Caught red handed

Filed under: Say what? — Iceman @ 4:35 pm

Congress leader Rajmohan Unnithan has perished by the sword he drew. He has often pummeled his political rivals by pointing fingers at their extra marital relationships. Last week, a group of communist supporters caught him with a married woman at a rented house in Manjeri.  If reports are anything to go by, it seems they lodged a complaint for immoral trafficking and the duo was arrested. The crowd also informed the media which had a field day covering the event. Unnithan, whose dhoti was once yanked by rival camp followers in his party is yet to find cover.

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