Dear Valued Taxpayer

Got an interesting mail today.

Dear Valued Taxpayer, We regret to inform you that your tax refund request was NOT processed successfully. This is beleived to have been caused by the submittion of incorrect/inacurate account information. However, after the last account audition, the total refund payable to you is now 42,320.00 INR. Please follow the link below to re-submit a refund request and this time, endeavor to fill in your Information accurately to avoid further delay in the remittance of your tax refunds into your account CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A REFUND REQUEST (Hyperlink removed) Note: Your request will be processed within a period of ten (10) working days We appreciate taking the time to learn about our tax refund. It's one more way Income tax department can make your tax payment experience better. Tax Refund Department Department 0f revenue, Ministry 0f finance, lndia

Now the mail is obviously a scam, but for a second I was almost taken in because of the email ID: refunds.net112@incometaxindiafiling.gov.in 

That's almost official sounding. But if you go through the trouble of making this website or email ID, why don't the spammers also redirect me to a more official sounding link when I click on the 'CLICK HERE' link which instead led to a completely unofficial sounding http://socialbusinesslearning.dk/wp-content/plugins/wordsocial/inc/sc.funct.php?check=3&action=refund (Please don't click that)

Also, the 'Of' in the signature is spelt with 0 (zero) instead of O. And silly spelling mistakes. Oh, and also, there's no way I can qualify for that much refund, but I see the appeal. Its a nice, middle-of-the-ballpark figure for a mass mailer.

Surely you can do better guys? 

Facebook, Divorces

With all the brouhaha about FB's IPO and the dud that followed, here's something else for us married folks to chew on: Does Facebook Wreck Marriages?

More than a third of divorce filings last year contained the word Facebook, according to a U.K. survey by Divorce Online, a  legal services firm. And over 80% of U.S. divorce attorneys say they’ve seen a rise in the number of cases using social networking, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “I see Facebook issues breaking up marriages all the time,” says Gary Traystman, a divorce attorney in New London, Conn. Of the 15 cases he handles per year where computer history, texts and emails are admitted as evidence, 60% exclusively involve Facebook.

I'm feeling better about not being an avid FB user already... 

How to buy Happiness

Money can, in fact, make you happy, but not quite in the way you think it will. Spending on others makes you far happier than spending on yourself.

Here's an interesting TED talk on this...

Short Review: The Corporation that Changed the World

The Corporation that Changed the World: How the East India Company Shaped the Modern Multi by Nick Robins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book is a good read; unfortunately, I found the first half too confusing. The timeline would often jump 30-40 years forward and backward which made following the narrative a bit difficult. Reading becomes easier in the second half. Nevertheless, an interesting read, especially to understand about how the company was looked at (and operated) from a British point of view. Although it runs under 200 pages, its not a quick read, there's a lot of information packed within those pages.


View all my reviews

'The Tiny Wife'

The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fantastic little book, fantastic as in a tale of wondrous fantasy. Wonderfully imagined and written, the book is a perfect little meal in itself. As Goldilocks would say, 'The book is just right.'


View all my reviews

A Wall. The Wall.

Consider for a second, a wall.  

When you see a wall, you know it to be a wall. You have a general idea of what a wall looks like, indeed, even of what it should look like. I suppose the first thoughts that passed through your mind on reading this question included the stereotypical characterization of a red brick wall. But that is not what I ask. I ask you to consider the basic nature of a wall. Why do walls exist? Why do we need walls? What do walls do? 

The ever-reliable Wikipedia tells us that "A wall is a vertical structure, usually solid, that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air." Simply put, for any entity, a wall defines, supports and nurtures. Take a space, take a creation and the wall is its Brahma and Vishnu. It creates, it protects. A bad wall destroys. A bad wall is Mahesh. 

Walls are reliable. Walls are solid. Walls support us. Walls protect us.

Now think of a cricket team, specifically the Indian Test team. Think of our opening batsmen. An attacker and a berserker. Think of when they make a century opening stand at nearly a run-a-ball and then one departs. Think of the man who used to come in after them, and how you groaned. "Abey yaar, yeh toh out bhi nahin hoga." Think of a green pitch, a seaming pitch, a bouncy pitch when one of them invariably departed almost as soon as he had come in. Think of the relief you felt at the sight of the man coming in after them. "Abey yaar, yeh toh out nahin hoga." 

Writing the Textbook

Rahul Dravid. The Wall. 

There seems to be a general consensus that somehow, 'The Wall' isn't an appropriate enough nickname for the greatest No. 3 batsman of our time. That perhaps it needs a 'Great' as an appendage. That perhaps it needs to reflect his roots as "The Great Wall of India" or even "The Great Wall of Indore". The general consensus is wrong. 

A good wall defines. More than perhaps any other cricketer, Rahul Dravid has defined the structure of the Indian cricket team. A team of stroke-makers built around a man who was as gifted as any one of his peers and who had the added skill of simply not getting out. The longer you stayed at the crease, the more you scored. Rahul Dravid stayed. This is not to say he was not as talented as his peers; indeed, I think he was rather more talented than we usually give him credit for. Rahul Dravid defined. In Adelaide, in Jamaica and so many more... 

Pick any of your favorite memories of the last decade (and more) involving this Indian team, and there is a very good chance that you will find some involvement of his in it. Propping up an end for hours and hours and then some more? Done that. Kept wickets? Done that. Even bowled a few overs? Yup, done that too. Caught well-nigh everything that's come his way? Of course. Opponents came in droves, and The Wall kept them all out. He gave them a target to attack at and unrelentingly blunted them. Imagine for a second, as a bowler, you've given it your all, rushed in, attacked the stumps, bowled short, bowled yorkers and then some and the man at the other end simply refused to leave. Politely, but firmly rebuffed. How would you feel? 

Immovable

A good wall supports. When others crafted masterpieces, he supported them. Gave them the space, the freedom to create. He supplied the materials, kept out the sounds, made sure they were well-fed, absorbed their tantrums, massaged their egos, took away their worries and let them express. In the process, he created mini-masterpieces of his own, but someone else took away the limelight. It didn't matter. He did it all over again with someone else. Rahul Dravid supported. In Kolkata, in Headingley and so many more...

A good wall protects. Cast your mind to the future, to the next test which India will play. Imagine an early wicket falling. That chill that passed through your spine? That was the realization that Rahul Dravid will no longer be walking out to the pitch, no longer be bloody-mindedly occupying the crease. With Rahul, there was peace, now there will be insecurity. 

A bad wall destroys. When The Wall was bad, the whole structure crumbled. When The Wall had a crack, not even the Gods could save us. 

That is why The Wall is the perfect, and the only required sobriquet for Rahul Dravid. It is not meant to belittle him or his achievements. Rahul Dravid was not the Wall at which something stopped, he was the Wall at which everything began. Knowingly or unknowingly, we have given him our ultimate respect. We have chosen Rahul Dravid to embody everything that is good about the basic foundation of any structure created by any man. We have chosen to be surrounded, to be protected by Dravid all our life. What higher honour can we bestow? 

P.S.: If I were ever asked to come up with an alternate nickname for Rahul Dravid, it would be Gandalf. More often than not, if Rahul decided you would not pass, then you would not pass. Thank you Rahul, for deciding in our favour so many times. 

P.P.S.: Tried to send this to SportsKeeda, but apparently they can't publish it because "it's too late to do so". Oh well. 

An afternoon (not so) well-spent...

Been too long, eh?

So this is how I spent my Saturday afternoon. 

3.15 pm - Go to local police station to report lost mobile phone. Its probably the cheapest piece on the market right now, barely breaking into 4 figures, plus I've been using it for more than a year, so I don't really want to go through this hassle, but the local Reliance outlet ladies tell me that I can only get a new SIM card if I can give them a copy of a police complaint/FIR. I figure 'Fair enough', so I go to the police station. 

Hawaldar-type fellow/some other guy asks me receipt for the phone. I tell him its a really old piece, I'm not really bothered about it, I just want to lodge a item missing complaint. They (also kinda reasonably) tell me that until they have some proof for proving that the item missing is mine, they can't register the complaint. Ask me to at least get proof that the SIM card was registered to me. I guess that shouldn't be a problem. 

3.40 pm - At the Reliance mobile store. They're reasonable too and give me a printout of some screen which shows my name next to my mobile number and some other information. I ask them to put some kind of stamp and/or sign it. They tell me that's not possible and since the screenshot shows the company name, that should suffice. I'm not convinced, I know the cops are going to ask for it. I ask them again, again I'm refused. I'm beginning to get a little irritated.

4.05 pm - Back at the police station. Same fellow asks for stamp on the paper. I'm laughing at myself now. I tell him the 'gallery' people aren't giving it and are being unreasonable. He goes on for a 2-minute rant, ending with the usual 'Saab se baat karo'. I'm like, 'Fine, at least its moving ahead.' Saab is a pretty nice guy, asks me where I lost the phone. I tell him at the railway station. Saab is very pleased at this and says that's not our jurisdiction, go to the railway-wala police station. Helpfully tells me where the 'thana' is located and that the railway police at Thane have caught some big gang of mobile thieves and hopes I find my mobile amongst their loot. I'm smiling, he's smiling, everyone's smiling even though nothing is being actually done. 

4.30 pm - Its not very far away, so I decide to walk down to the station and speak to some police fellow. Be aware that this is Mulund station we are talking about. Fellow there again sympathetically listens to everything I have to say and then tells me I'll have to lodge a complaint in Kurla. I'm like, WHAT? He tells me they fall under Kurla's jurisdiction, so they won't be able to give me the certificate or complaint copy or whatever else. Another fellow tells me 'Sab sahab log wahaan pe baithte hain, toh aapko sign karke wohi denge, hum nahin de sakte.' Now I'm truly irritated. I ask them once more if its not possible for them to do something at Mulund, they say sorry, no. All very nicely, I must add, but that really isn't helping me.

4.45 pm - I'm out of the railway police station and I'm buying sevpuri, because I like sevpuri. I've dealt with the Kurla railway police station before and its definitely not something I look forward to. Not to mention, its a half-hour train journey from Mulund, which I have no intention of taking on a holiday. Suddenly, I get a brainwave and call up the Reliance helpline, and ask them the procedure for canceling my number. Its not a number I use much and I haven't given it to many people either, so I'm perfectly OK with stopping the service. I come to know that for completely stopping the service, I require only a few documents which I'm already carrying on hand. I'm feeling better now. 

5.15 pm - I'm at the Reliance store again. I tell them I want to cancel my number. Suddenly, it appears that I, in fact, don't need a police complaint to get a replacement SIM card. Fifteen minutes later, I walk out with my new SIM card.

Derive your own conclusions. (10 mark question)