Swapping searing Delhi for cool hills

Took a small four-day break in the hills last week. Actually, more like two-and-a-half days - as the rest was spent driving up the hills and coming back to Delhi.

As with most of our holidays, this too was planned at the last moment. The accommodation advice came courtesy of a friend. He recommended this estate called Sonapani, which is in the Nainital district of the northern state of Uttarakhand.

A quick search on the internet for Himalayan Village revealed an interesting destination. The website said - Situated at a height 2000 metres, Sonapani hosts an orchard of apricot, apple, plum and peach while oak, rhododendron & pine jungle surround it from all around.

The only problem was it is almost 30 minutes' walk from where the car could be parked, which could be a problem with a four-year-old.

"Don't worry. We have ponies to ferry the luggage and little ones," the owner Ashish told me over the phone. More importantly, he had a room available from Sunday. So, I booked the room for three nights, with the possibility of extending the stay if need be.

That left the issue of transport to be sorted out. Summer is a bad time for train journeys in north India. Not because of heat, but because the schools are closed for summer. There is no chance of getting reservation on any train headed anywhere. I have learned this the hard during the past month or so.

Luckily, Nainital is only 280-odd kilometres from Delhi. So, I checked with the local taxi guy if we could hire a car-with-driver. He had one available and we agreed mutually-acceptable terms.

On Saturday noon, the taxi guy called up to say his car had developed some problems. "Would you mind travelling in a smaller car?" he asked me. Of course, I did, considering the journey was likely to be more than eight hours.

A few more phone calls later, another car had been arranged and we were all set for our 4.00 am set about to Sonapani.

I was half-expecting the driver not to turn up at the agreed time and wasn't disappointed. On calling his mobile, a sleepy voice said - Sir, can you give me directions to your house? I will be there in 10 minutes. That actually meant 30 minutes and we were on our way by 4.30 am.

A little while later, I realised we were driving along the wrong highway. On checking with the driver, he said - "This highway goes to Haridwar and Rishikesh and we can make our way to Nainital from there".

I couldn't understand the logic of taking a crowded and longer route when we had a more direct and easier route available. But talking to Jat gentleman from Haryana isn't easy. It needed some strong words to get him to change the route and come to NH24, which goes past Hapur, Moradabad and Rampur before reaching Haldwani at the base of the Kumaon hills.

NH24 turned out to be quite different from the highways encountered during my earlier trips. Most of the stretch is single-lane and one particular bit, near Rampur, had a two-mile long traffic jam about 10 in the morning.

We took a small break after getting through the jam. Had some sumptuous stuffed paranthas and tea on a roadside eatery.

By 11 we were at the foothills. Ashish from Himalayan Village had asked us to call him on reaching Haldwani. "It will take you another three hours from there," he said.

The distance isn't that much but 40-odd kilometre from Haldwani is an uphill climb along really narrow road. Along the way, the little one felt mountain-sick once or twice, but did not actually throw up.

We got to Sonapani around 2.30 pm or so. Unfortunately, this was earlier than Ashish had assumed it will be, so no ponies were available. The walk to the Sonapani Estate seemed longer than usual after a nearly 10 hour road trip.

But the place was absolutely stunning. Surrounded by woods and an orchard, the property consists of eight cottages - with their own private front yard. The rooms are tastefully done and the bathrooms are equipped with gas-fired water heaters.

The guests come together in the dinning hall and the barbecue area, which are located on the same level as Ashish's house. On a clear day, you have a clear view of the snow-capped Himalayan mountain range from here.

Ashish is a natural host and enjoys entertaining people. His staff is quite well-trained and cooks some really amazing food - Indian and continental. All of them work really hard, from about 6 in the morning till midnight, but always smiling.

Almost all the stuff used in the kitched is sourced locally and the place does some really interesting concoctions for herbal tea. There is no TV and no newspapers, just natural sounds, your family and possibly a book for company.

Needless to add, we had quite a pleasant stay at the property. The little one found many girls her age to play with, while my better half and I could go for walk in the woods.

It was painful to come back to searing Delhi, but don't we all wish that vacations would last forever.

Vote C for Crap!!

My phone buzzed the moment I switched it on, on Saturday morning.

It was an SMS from the World's Local Bank.

"Your feedback 200xxxxxx6 has been resolved. Please rate the complaint resolution by typing A for Good, B for Satisfactory or C for Needs Improvement to 5676717".

The invite was enticing, but I wasn't aware of what the said resolution was.

Almost two weeks ago, I had called their helpline about a particular transaction. I wasn't sure if that was my transaction, so needed more details about the vendor's location etc. The nice guy at the other end asked me to give him "a couple of days to get some more information about the transaction".

When I called later that week, I was accidentally disconnected by the helpline.

The next attempt was answered by a guy who didn't seem too helpful. With little or no chance of making any progress with him, I asked to speak to his supervisor. He expressed his inability to do so despite my repeated request, and hung up after wishing "have a nice day, Sir".

Angry, I made my way to the World's Local Bank's local branch. Now, there is something funny about this branch. On each visit - and I have made more than a dozen thus far - I have only been dealt with by women employees.

No, not because they like me or want to calm me down. The men are mostly "Wealth Managers" - and even when there are no customers wanting their wealth to be managed - they prefer to loiter about aimlessly. For as long as 30-40 minutes.

"This could be because it is girls who are mostly in the customer-facing roles," a woman employee offered an explanation. She was referring to the receptionist, the cashiers and other similar roles.

I wondered what the thinking behind this was. Every customer walking in through the main entrance is a potential customer for a Wealth Manager. The logic is simple. Like your bank, and you'll trust them more with your money.

OK, it isn't that simple, but this is generally how it goes. Not for the Wealth Manager here or even the Branch Manager.

Anyway, that wasn't my concern. My concern was finding out where that particular transaction was conducted. The nice lady provided me two A4 sheets - one to provide my feedback about the Call Centre and the other about the transaction.

I need an acknowledgement of this feedback, I said handing her the sheet. She nodded in agreement.

Within minutes, I had a photocopy of my feedback with a reference number and bank stamp.

Later that evening, the World's Local Bank sent as SMS too - "Dear Customer, we acknowledge the receipt of your feedback. Please quote feedback reference number 200xxxxxx6 for any follow-up enquiry".

That was the last message before the interactive offer received on Saturday morning.

A visit to the bank today revealed what the resolution was. A senior member of the team had a word with the member of staff at fault. Fantastic. Amazing. Original.

Hang on, didn't I ask for a written response to my feedback? They very obviously hadn't read my feedback and were banking on me getting enamoured by the option to vote A, B and C.

Guess I should respond to them saying It Needs Good Improvement to be Satisfactory. Don't you agree?

It's yesterday once more!!

Bumped into a really old acquaintance at a marketing conference yesterday.

He used to head a big music label in north India, and I was fresh to journalism - reviewing music in my spare time.

Back in those days, there were only five serious players in the music business. And his company was the biggest with a massively rich catalogue. The trouble was making a mark with the current trends and music.

This is where Mr Music came in. He was very talented - and often very loud - marketeer. Through acquisition of music rights for films and bringing together artists from across the border for albums, he helped bring the company more in sync with times.

I met up with him every week to collect the week's releases for review. While the company arranged for the cassettes, Mr Music would talk about all the clever things he had done and how he was the messiah of the music industry.

On one such visit, he was quite angry. What have you written about the album of Dogri devotional songs? he thundered, as soon I walked in. Just that it was an average album, as I said. To be honest, it was much worse than that but I couldn't say that. Who do you think you are? If I had to get the music reviewed, I would have given it to someone else. That hurt but I wasn't willing to take it. I expressed awareness of the politician, but said he was a bad singer - even of devotional songs.

That was the end of my interest in reporting music and entertainment. The buzz of seeing the music industry from this close was great, but I was determined to work on my own terms. And at that time, there was simply too much compliance. For a free cassette. For a free movie ticket. For an exclusive interview. For a junket to a film shoot. For invites to parties.

So, where do you work now? he woke me up from my flashback. I mentioned my current workplace. You were too serious for that tabloid and I knew you would move on. This was the first time he was being complimentary to me. Had the man changed? Did he have some kind of transformative experience?

I was wrong. He was soon rattling off his achievements. I left that music company many years ago. Music business is doomed. Moved on to start the first Punjabi language channel. Recently, I have written coffee table books on 'Collectors of Modern and Contemporary Art' and 'Clubs of India'. You know, each of those books is worth 15,000 INR (approx £220). Soon I am starting my own publishing house.

The conference was about to start, so I walked away to my table.

By lunchtime, he was with me again. So, the lunch has been sponsored by your company? That is what the list of sponsors said, but I wasn't sure who in my company had paid the money.

Do you still write? I said that being in a managerial role meant the writing was done more for love than for work. Most of the time it is boring documents and proposals that I write.

So, did he miss the music business? Not at all. I did lots of things that were trail-blazers. I made stars out of many singers. I initiated the process to get public establishments to pay for music they played. I got my own company to come up with a competitive pricing strategy.

I am an entrepreneur. I did music. I launched and sold a TV channel. I have written and published books. Now, I am keen on starting my own publishing house. Possibly a marketing magazine and another magazine for expatriate Indians. Don't you miss writing?

I knew where this might lead, so chose to stay quiet. He continued. I don't know why these people waste time exchanging cards and networking at these events. You can call anyone and get to meet them. I have never had problems of access. The topmost industrialists and art-collectors opened the doors to their collections for my book. For my Club book, I have a rare picture of cricketer Sunil Gavaskar that even the club wasn't aware of.

There was a time when I could walk into the room of Sonia Gandhi. For those not aware, she is as close to royalty as modern India comes to. The trouble with these young guys is they have no enthusiasm. They call themselves marketeers, but don't have a rounded understanding of the business.

Thankfully, the lunch break got over soon. After attending a couple of sessions, I got out before he could catch me again.

Not monsoon yet

...but the showers have cooled down Delhi.

The little one simply adores India Gate. She insisted on being taken there on Monday afternoon.

Though the water in the fountain and around was dirty, the little one and other kids and grown-ups loved being in it.

After weeks of high temperatures, who could blame them.

This morning too, a pleasant drizzle soaked Delhi in the first half of the day.

Met guys say this freak shower is because of the weakening Cyclone Phet. The sun should be out in its full glory on Wednesday.

For now though, it feels good. Here are some pictures from my Nokia E71.

Papaji refuses to budge

Tried to settle the Landlord's Statement of Account on Friday evening.

The old man was wearing his hearing aid and sat down with the assured calm of a hunter ready to spear his prey.

His smile disappeared when I mentioned my disagreement with some of expenditure. Like, the servicing of air-conditioners and costs related to electrician and plumber.

Like me, he eyes were transfixed on the two-and-half grand paid for the servicing of ACs. But you are using the ACs that have been serviced.

I reminded him that the ACs were his, as were the fridge, washing machine, cooking range and fans. As a landlord myself, I understand that the responsibility of servicing the household equipment is mine. The tenant is responsible for usage costs and for making good any damage caused by his/her misuse.

Have you read the contract? the old man demanded to know. As a matter of fact, I had and it said the same thing about the Landlord and Tenant's responsibilities.

He kept mumbling about all the money he had spent. I haven't charged you for many other expenditures I have made. When there was a water-supply problem recently, I ordered a tanker at my own cost.

Throughout the conversation, the old man's grandson and a visiting grand-daughter kept flitting into the room.

You kids stay out the room, the landlady said as she walked into the room. Then she turned to me and said - Papaji is slightly hard of hearing, so you must speak loudly.

I told her of my uneasiness with shouting out at an old man. So, she parked herself next to the old man and started playing the interpreter.

The old man, still seething at having to pick up the AC servicing costs, shouted - You asked me to get the ACs upstairs checked. Now he is saying he won't pay the costs for that.

I told the landlady the same thing about a Landlord's responsibility that had been mentioned to the old man.

Papaji is not that kind of person. He is very honest and reasonable. So much so, that some of our friends - who live in England - have given Papaji the responsibility to manage their houses here. Some estate agents said he could make crores from the Power of Attorney he has, but never did.

It did sound impressive but I was here to settle the bill. My calculation showed that the amount due was about 5,000 INR.

You know we have had a fantastic relationship with all our tenants. I don't know what you feel, but this access door along the stairway is always open. All our tenants always dropped by to see us. If you'd like to see, there are emails from all of them talking positively about their experience.

For a moment, I was tempted to read emails from "French people" and "German people" she keeps talking about. But it was too late in the evening to be indulging in such pointless things.

I reminded her that the Tenancy Agreement was a contract between them and us. I wasn't there for references, but just to settle the bill. And my calculation shows that we need to pay about 5,000 INR - but only if you pay the latest electricity and water bill.

As the old man continued to mumble but I have spent money, the lady asked me write out a cheque for the amount I thought was reasonable.

The moment I opened up the cheque book, the old man was focused again. He looked at the electricity and water bills and the cheque I was writing. Then, he asked me for his file with the statement of account.

These bills add up to about 4,000 INR and the statement of account shows a deficit of another 4,000 INR. But you are only writing a cheque for about 5,000 INR.

I explained again that the AC servicing costs and some other things had been taken out of the equation. He face twisted and he threw the cheque back at me.

This is more than what I was prepared to take. As I got up to leave, the old man turned to his daughter-in-law and said with a pained expression - "You asked me to get the ACs upstairs checked. Now he is saying he won't pay the costs for that".

The lady turned to me and said - This is how old people are, in any house. Even your own grandfather would be like this. My husband keeps asking me to come and spend time with him in Kashmir, but I need to be around for Papaji. Please don't take offence at whatever he was saying.

I couldn't remember any of my grandparents being like this, but the old man is too sweet to take offence from. The issue was one of principle and responsibilities. If he wants to keep this unresolved, I will have to leave it till another day as well.