Views, News and Cheers!
Headed to InOrbit mall this week, to celebrate Rishita’s birthday. It is my first visit to the mall and felt that it is very well maintained. Still lot of construction though. Roamed around in the mall for an hour and then settled for dinner at McDonalds.
In addition to all the nice shops there, I really like the parking facility. I also like the open food court.
Finally, got our new vehicle registration completed this weekend. It turned out to be a simple yet longer process because of lack of communication. It took two Saturdays of presence for me and Latha. Last weekend, we went there for reserving a specific number. We roamed around throughout the day for a couple of things: right documentation from dealer and PAN card in original. There is no mention at RTA (Khairatabad RTA, AP 09) that these are essential for number reservation. So we had to go to the car dealer and then home. In addition to that, I went to the bank in the last minute to get a couple of pay orders done. That took care of the entire first weekend.
Yesterday, after managing the long queue, we were told that the car dealer gave one less form in the documentation. So we had to rush to the dealer again and get the documentation searched and delivered. What could have been a 30 minute activity turned out to be a 3 hour process. In addition to that, copying the chassis number onto the paperwork is a big process for these heavy vehicles like Xylo. I had to get right between the front wheel and engine and transfer the image of the number there on to the paper using a pencil. Finally I managed to a bad job and requested one of the guys at RTA (who does it frequently) to help me there.
In this whole process, I realized that the lack of good communication and better paperwork from the dealer led to me wasting a lot of time. Also, the lack of documented list at the RTA is another cause for the delay. The processes are simple and straight forward. There is absolutely no need for bribes, brokerage or any other incidental charges to get the work done. That entire process made me feel better.
The Khairatabad RTA serves lot of posh areas and there is a mad rush for fancy numbers here. On that day, I have seen auctions for certain numbers go to the order of Rs 45,000. I spent Rs 5000 for a number totaling 9, based on Latha’s interest.
India has designated Gods and rituals for every occasion. The key ritual at the time of the purchase of a new vehicles is Vahaha-Puja, the offering to the vehicle. It is performed (mostly) at an auspicious temple that is popularly believed to be good for the occasion. One such temple in and around Hyderabad is Tadbund Hanuman Temple.
I took my new Xylo for a Puja to the temple on a Saturday morning. I am lucky to get a parking space and Puja token that morning. Imagine 9 new cars and a dozen motor bikes parked next to each other for a 45 minute Puja session. The priests walk from one end to the other end of this string of vehicles, chanting mantras and doing puja to the steering, engine, wheels and other key parts of the vehicle. It is a nice experience!
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Woke up this morning and heard this buzz that is unusual for the season. To my surprise, there is a decent drizzle out there. The wind chill is still high and the temperatures are still low. But it is good to see a nice drizzle that hopefully cleans up things a bit.
Today is one of the coldest days of the season. I got up at 4.00am to go to Secunderabad Railway station. I picked up a couple of cousins who arrived from Coastal Andhra. The temperatures are a lot low when compared to earlier days in the month. I could feel the chill even with a thick full sleeves shirt.
I voted today in the Hyderabad city elections. Went to the polling booth at about 8.20am, before heading to work. Me and Latha are the only voters during our presence there, for all the 3 booths being operated there in the premises. Looks like the voter turnout is really bad. Latha said the right punchline: “Looks like there are more police than voters”
Today is Hyderabad 10K Run. We really enjoyed last year’s run. This year, due to the after effects of viral fever, my wrists and ankles are not back to good condition yet. So I stayed away from the run this year. Spurthi headed there with her schoolmates though. Sitting home, I am missing the run very much.
Fever has hit our home. Three of us (my dad, Latha and Surya) have fever conditions of different severity. Spent some time at the hospital last night for getting my dad seen by a doctor. Every patient in the out-patient ward has come to see the doctor with flu/fever conditions. It is really scary how severe the fevers are making rounds in the city.
Heavy rains on Monday evening caused severe traffic jams and power outages in most parts of the city. Luckily, both myself and Latha reached home early enough. It is a nightmare situation for many folks who are stuck in traffic.
We spent Sunday at Pragathi Resorts near Chilkur. Latha’s coworkers arranged this family outing. Even though we reached there very much on time, we had to wait for others to join. The pre-lunch hours are spent on games, soccer and cricket. Surya fared well in both soccer and cricket. Spurthi made new friends, as usual. Post lunch hours are spent in the swimming pool.
Overall, the place is well maintained. Non-veg food is okay, but vegetarian menu is not that good. High tea is good. Greenery and ambience is good. Swimming pool maintenance is okay. Locker/changing rooms are bad.
Latha fell sick by the evening. So she had to take some medicines and for the evening.