Real Estate

Seena had fallen in to the most common trap set by real estate marketers namely, over-promised amenities and the seemingly low advertised prices which do not include the taxes and fees. The expo was modest in terms of the flat designs that were offered and the pictures of the neighbourhoods looked okay. The common theme throughout the Kanteerava stadium, where the expo was being held, was the deceptively low advertised prices which would bloat to high prices once you include the extras. 

Seena went around several stalls laid out by various vendors until he came across one vendor's offer which he could not believe at first, but the sales person in that booth was all set to deliver his pitch in a calm and professional manner. "Hello there, my name is Prabhu and I am representing Heavenly Estates. Whom do I have the pleasure to talk today?"

"My name is Seena. The stuff that you are advertising over on that corner is weird and interesting at the same time", Seena was pointing to the right corner of the booth. 

"Oh! That's our brand new offering but let's first get started with our popular stuff. We have a new construction coming up just fifteen kilometres from the city center and conveniently located close to the Northern metro line.  Also very close to the airport, just thirty minutes sir! We have 1bhk, 2bhk and 3bhk homes available at thrift prices."

"That's very impressive. So, is the advertised price of thirty lakh rupees, that of the 2bhk home?", asked Seena. 

"No, Sir. That's our studio apartment, but we are currently not offering it since none of our customers have shown any interest in studio apartments".  

Seena was wondering, how the hell could they advertise something that's not offered, but that's the kind of marketing game most of these companies had been playing. "How much does the 2bhk home cost?", enquired Seena. 

"Sir, that ranges from sixty lakh to eighty lakh rupees, depending on which direction and floor you want. If you want it fully finished it's going to be ten lakh rupees extra", Prabhu answered.

"Fully finished meaning with cabinets and appliances?"

"No sir, fully finished meaning tiles and doors will be fit"

Seena wondered what the f*** was going on but tried to keep his calm. "I cannot afford any of your offerings; even your non-existent studio home is not affordable for me". 

"Sir, don't worry. Now let's come to our next offering which many people can afford and I am pretty sure you can afford too. We are one of the first in the market to offer such a product. Don't worry if you can afford a place right now for living, but you can have a nice gorgeous place to finally rest in peace! We offer lake view spots, hill-side spots, you name it!"

"How big are these spots?"

"Six by three; people can buy multiple spots to rest comfortably based on their affordability". 

"How much does a spot cost?"

"You pay one thousand rupees monthly for each spot."

"And how long is the payment?"

"You would keep paying until you are ready to occupy the spot!"

"What? That's going to be a lot of money over the life-time"

"Yes sir, we understand. That's why our company has some good offering for youngsters like you, which is that you can qualify for a thirty year cap if you are under 30" 

"Would you guarantee that a spot would be available when one is ready?"

"Absolutely sir! You just need to give a call to this number and we will make sure that the spot is ready", Prabhu was pointing to a number on one of the fliers. 

This marketing pitch was reaching completely absurd levels. Seena was wondering how the hell would one know when he/she is ready, but he was determined to guage the absurdity co-efficient of this pitch by letting it reach its completion. 

"And you can even give a spot as a gift to your friends and family", Prabhu continued.

Seena's head reeled and had reached its patience limit. Prabhu had more to offer since his face seemed to light up before he started, "If you sign up today, you can enter a raffle to win a spot next to this famous personality". Prabhu was pointing to the photo of a famous personality who was currently in exile.

"Aiyo Prabhuve!", cried Seena.

"Excuse me sir?"

"No, not you Sir. I was just remembering my god. Your company is aptly named 'Heavenly estates'!". Seena bid adieu to the stall and hurried out of the Kanteerava studium. 

Pondicherry

Supposed to be a travelogue!

Pondicherry - One of the seven union territories of India. I had developed interest in this territory since I read about it during my school days that French is one of its official languages. Moreover, it was under French rule until 1963(as I remember). Had planned to go there from a long time. The plan materialized when my friends arranged for a trip to Pondi.
Five of us - myself, Ranjith, Ankur, Utpal and Iqbal decided that we go on a weekend to Pondi. We went via Chennai through the ECR. One could see the seashore all along the ECR. It was a wonderful view - brown and blue colors were demarcated as if someone had drawn a line. There were many beautiful beaches on the way. Some were owned by resorts which have come up in recent times. It was about noon when we reached Pondi. It was a hot and humid day; with perspiration all over the body. Our organiser, Iqbal had booked a guest house. It was a modest guest house with air-conditioned bedrooms. It was only after switching on the AC that we felt the weather conditions that we had accoustomed to in Namma Bengalooru. We got freshed up, had lunch and took some rest. It was planned that we would visit the beach in the evening.

There was a funny incident. Iqbal wanted to watch the sunset in the evening. It was very difficult to convince Iqbal that we could not see the sunset (near the horizon adjoining the sea). Even after explaining to him that sun sets in the west and we were on the east coast, he was still optimistic of viewing the sunset.

It was about five in the evening when we went out to visit the beach- it was called "Paradise" beach. We reached there on two wheelers which we had rented from the guest house management. It was a scenic beauty. Fine grains of sand, some ships in the horizon, the light house a bit far away. It was a wonderful place. The sea was taciturn. It was strange for the sea to be so silent on a Full moon day. We were able to see some fishermen returning to the shore with some good yield. They had caught varieties of fishes, lobsters, crabs and prawns. Their nets had many other kinds of creatures which I suppose were not edible because they were just being removed by the net and thrown away. As we were watching the fishes and the fisherman, Utpal who had been observing the sea came running at us. He told us to look at the sea.

We were awestruck to see what was visible. We were able to see huge waves on the horizon. Even the fishermen were taken by surprise to see the giant  waves. It was wonderful to watch; but it wasn't very difficult to realize what was about to happen. The fishermen screamed at all of those present at the beach to vacate the place. All of those who were present at the beach started running away from the beach. We too ran towards the two wheelers and as we started the vehicles the waves were very near the sea. The height of the waves was about 30 feet, near the seashore!! It was huge by all measures.


We started our vehicles and went riding towards the city to find some high place. The vehicle that I was riding had some problem and it stopped all of a sudden. Murphy's law had once again proved to be true, that too at this point of time. I had read about these kind of waves in my high school. If I were true, these are called "Tsunami". Even as this was going through my mind, I was doing all that was possible to make the vehicle start. Ranjith, who was riding pillion with me started running and I too left the vehicle at the mercy of the waves and started sprinting. I knew that I was running for my life but I did not know that I could run this fast! And as we ran, the unthinkable happened; the waves overtook us. All of a sudden, I was under water. I was not able to feel the land below me. I thought even Ranjith would have met the same fate, but I could not see what had actually happened. All I could see was turbid water. I hoped that at least others would be safe.


After sometime, I was swimming in the sea, and I could see a piece of land which was full of palm trees. The island was like a paradise; one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen. I swam towards the island and to my surprise a couple of heavily built men came towards me, as if they were waiting for me! They took me to one of the several huts present on the island. There were many people like those men, heavily built and dark-skinned. The place looked like a paradise; with several beautiful trees and flowering plants. There were also normal people like me. But there was one person who was very different from all those present there. He was white and had a white beard and hair. I was given some food to eat- fruits, some juices, etc. I wasn't sure where I had reached. I had never heard of such place.

After the food, I told them that I wanted to make a phone call and asked them where I can find a phone. To my surprise, the two men who had escorted me, told me that there was nothing like that in that place. I insisted that I had to make a phone call and asked them whether I could go to any nearby island to find a phone. But they told me that there is no island nearby. I started getting worried and raised my voice, insisting that I had to make a phone call. So, they took me to the white guy with the white beard. I told him that I had to make a phone call and that I had to go home. He told me that this place is my home. I got irritated and told him again that I had to go to my home which in India. He told me to take a deep breath and told me that I have come too far to go home. He slowly told me that I had reached the land of no return! I was shocked. I did not know what that guy was talking. I wanted to run away from that place. He gradually convinced me that I cannot ever return home. Never Ever. This was the place where the time was actually given a break, meaning the time stood still in that place. I was torn apart. I did not know what to say. I was still wondering what might have happened to me. But I realized that the fate had taken me over. I couldn't digest the fact. Soon, I looked around for familiar faces, but I was glad not to see any familiar face!


The next morning when I woke up, I was still in a shock!!!

HIGHLAND REVIEWS

Volume 1

Once Billa, Peelu and Rahu had been to a nearby hill to enjoy the cool breeze. It was already dark and the moon was near the horizon. All the three of them began staring at the sky. Billa was keenly concentrating on the moon. Peelu was the first to break the silence. 

  He said, "I have been staring at the sky for sometime wondering about the billions of stars and galaxies, their composition and God knows what else . But has it ever occured to anyone of you that some living being in some other world would be looking at us at this very moment, if it is staring at the sky above its world". 

   Peelu replied, "Yes, I have wondered about looking life on other worlds from outside. If anyone sees our own earth from outer space it seems to be very calm, everything seems to be orderly and peaceful. There will be no visible signs of our existence. Actually for the observers in outer space the life doesn't exist at all. But if someone zooms into our world, slowly he would come across the signs of life, of man and his creations. The onlooker may not observe the different intricate processes of life. To him everything done on earth adds on to zero. There is no change in the overall composition of earth; Only forms change. 

  The onlooker from outer space might also not give any significance to human feelings and emotions. They are non-existant for him.

  Man or any animal for that matter doesn't actually need these to live. And what makes human different from animals is that he can express his feelings in more than one way and have emotions, which the animals supposedly lack."

  Billa objected," Without any emotions and feelings we will not be called humans. It's not only the ability to think that differentiates us from animals, but also these traits such as love, affection, etc which are different from parental instinct; parental instinct can be seen in animals but most of the creatures in the animal kingdom have no more than parental instincts."

  Rahu was still watching the sky. The other two turned to him and asked for his opinion.

  Rahu replied," Well, you people started with the idea of people from outer space staring at us and reached to somewhat boring things like emotions, feelings, etc. It is considered inhumane if one doesn't have feelings or emotions. But it is the liberty of an individual to be devoid of such things. What matters is how one shapes up his/her life; the foundations of one's thinking ability.

   When we look into the history of various civilisations, art has always been a part of human life; even before the advent of any known civilisation, we can find traces of some paintings in the caves which supposedly housed stone-age men. It was just a way of expressing his ideas and feelings. 

   Though we can't find the roots of art, we can guess that when man began to live as a community, he needed some way to express himself. So he might have started creating sculptures, paintings, music, etc. It also has an added advantage; he could have attracted more females with his artistic way of life. Though flirting has been a part of human life, I do think that art is something more than that. Art demands creativity. I think what differentiates us from animals is creativity. We can express ourselves creatively."

   Peelu was somewhat satisfied with Rahu's reply. He said, "However we interpret our life to be, it just goes on. We may not get an answer for why we are here, but we can certainly make our mark in this world, a mark that can be seen from the outer space!!"

 

(Hope) to be continued....

Whattosay?!

First Love?! Second Phase!

    I was strolling in the campus on a warm afternoon when I saw her. She was wearing a blue dress with a whitish tinge. She had such beautiful eyes that one would get lost in them. It was a bit cloudy and the sun was not very active; it was not so bright and the shadow of the tree, the combination, along with her made their way throug my heart and into the void. I was struck at that moment and couldn't recover. She made her way silently and i was standing there, watching her with both of my eyes wide open. It took sometime for me to recover from that sudden jolt. I don't remember how long I had been standing there, but I just remember that it all happend at the spur of a moment. I had lost my sense of the fourth dimension.

     All of a sudden a I felt a hand on my shoulder and I remembered that I had a class to attend. It was one of my classmates and I went to the class with him. But I could not take her off my mind; she kept running through my mind, or rather my mind was running around her like a wild horse(any running animal can be compared with!!!).

     It was the end of the day, and my mind had not slowed down. I had a strange nostalgic feeling. It was the second time that it had happened to me.

    The first time was when I was in high school. She was standing outside the classroom with her friends, when I saw her for the first time. The young heart was poken hard, but somehow I managed to get into the classroom and find some place to sit.

   [It was a long time ago and I only have vague memories. Later she became my best friend and I may not tell the story how my heart healed itself]

    I don't remember exactly how I got out of the pathetic situation, the first time. The sudden burst of nostalgia gave some rest for my mind; after about eight hours I was able to get rid of her for two minutes on a stretch! Later I was struggling to get sleep, and after some time my mind gave in and I slept peacefully :-).

    The next morning I was roaming in the campus just to get a glimpse of her. I had come a bit early to the college and I roamed near the bank and the canteen. I gave up and was on my way to the class, when she was coming down towards the bank. She dressed to kill with a saffron dress and I followed her to the bank. I took some form and stood in a queue behind her. Even God showed mercy and sent a friend of mine to the bank; he was there to pay some fees and I volunteered to pay , which I would have never done under normal situations. I was waiting for an opportunity to talk to her. I thought of asking a pen. I made up my mind to talk to her, and when I was about to utter the first word someone talked to me from behind; he asked me for some clarifications in the form and during that time she finished paying her fees and went away. I returned the form to my friend and left the bank! It was already time for the class and I went to attend my class, she went to her class.

SOME of the facts in the above article are TRUE.