Welcome to Navratri in Ahmedabad Tuesday, October 23, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Bolo tara ra come the strains from a building complex. Now everyone knows that Daler Mehndi has not yet become Dalerbhai, that his music is not part of the 'garba' tradition and not even part of Gujarati tradition. But so what? A lot of Navratri is about having fun and judging from the number of children dancing their hearts on, the tune was working.
Welcome to Navratri in Ahmedabad. It may not be 'sanskar nagri', but it is Gujarat's biggest city and Navratri here covers the gamut, from Mumbai-ishtyle 'dandiya dhamaka' to traditional 'ras garba'. An evening at the Hutheesing Centre showcases the folk dances of Gujarat and Rajasthan and sets the mood for the festival.
Next door, the CEPT ground resounds to the beats of the dholak and the sounds of the first invocation to Goddess Amba lead you into an older time. The dancing starts in a small circle around a collection of 'diyas' on a open brick altar. The circle slowly grows and then another larger one forms around it. In the corner, a boy gets a quick refresher on the steps. Soon, concentric circles sway and swirl to the music. From afar, it looks like a colourful field of grass on a windy night.
Out on the highway, though, it's goodbye 'diyas' and pots and welcome to high decibels and bright lights. At the Amitara grounds, Jayesh Panchal and his group take the dancers to a frantic pitch. On the huge lawns, groups do an energetic hudo, no delicate movements here. High energy, high adrenaline and an audience charged up for more.
The dancers, too, perform to the crowds as they form circles, moving around their collections of shoes and bags. Kathiawari dress dominates for the men and 'kedio' and 'dhoti' can be seen in every colour and combination. Indeed, for sheer brilliance and style, the men compete with the women, backless cholis, banjara-style bangles and carefully applied make-up notwithstanding.
But it's not necessarily the same story everywhere. Some grounds, along the highway, are so well organised that people are practically attacked by security men, armed with whistles and sticks. Rules are meant to be strictly adhered to here, but only for some people. "You can't go into the rink in a sari," this correspondent is told. "That's not a traditional dress."
Which would be all right, except for the fact that the sari is the national dress for women in India and that the rink is full of women in salwar kameezes, certainly not the traditional dress of Gujarat. So much for the YMCA. "We will fix it tomorrow," promises one of the rosetted men. Politeness lessons for the security staff would help.
Then there's the Hindi film music, the varying degrees in quality in sound systems, the increase in disco dandiya... but enough grouses. From the clubs like the Sports or Karnavati and Rajpath, to grounds like Zarna and Nova Village, to building societies across the city, Ahmedabad is throbbing. From 8 pm onwards, the little children are seen, in their festive gear. being ferried from place to place by harried fathers. More than anything else, it is the children who make the lasting impression.
And the fact that come Navratri, Ahmedabad rocks. A little tradition, a little razzmatazz, a little Mumbai, a little Vadodara. A good bhelpuri of customs, traditions and fun.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Customer is king till purchase is made Tuesday, October 23, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
VADODARA: In a market-driven economy the 'customer is supposed to be king'. Could be, till the time the purchase is made. After that, very often the proverbial king is treated like a pauper.
Once the goods are bought, customers' grievances seldom get addressed. Their complaints are rejected and they are blamed for making nagging queries and wasting the company's or the shop's valuable time.
The ones who are left in lurch are not only the typical middle-class or the lower middle-class buyer, but also those who quite often fly in premier airlines.
"I selected British Airways because I thought it was the best, but soon realised that I had made a wrong decision. Right after boarding, I faced lot of problems," says Afsha Safree, Gujarat Setco Clutch Limited general manager. Safree had boarded flight BA-138 of British Airways (Mumbai-London) on September 14.
"My hand luggage weighed 5 kg extra. I paid Rs 4,500 for the extra weight. I requested the officer that since I was on a business trip, they allow me to carry some of the files I had in my hand. But that request was rudely turned down," Safree said. She said more than the extra payment what bothered her "was the lack of courtesy and an understanding of the practical problems".
"I faced problems during my return journey too. I had informed the change of dates nine days in advance, but yet was made to pay œ16 extra. Moreover, the officers made me throw chocolates worth œ60. I requested that the chocolates were for children, and that it meant a lot to me, but despite that they behaved rudely and forced me to leave them," Safree said, adding that she has written to the customer service manager of British Airways in New Delhi, Gurgaon and Vadodara, but has not got any response.
Mona Nanavati, an NRI, had come to Vadodara from US on a brief visit, but left the city with a bitter taste. "I had bought a dress from Vichitra Rachna in Alkapuri. It cost me Rs 1,500. The dress had an embroidery defect. For 45 days the shopowner misled us, made promises to replace the garment, made us come to the shop over and over again. After all this, he blamed us for the defect," Nanavati said. She added that it was only when one of her relatives threatened the shopowner of legal action that the defect was rectified. "The moment we spoke of legal action he rectified the defect in two hours. This means he unnecessarily kept us harassing for over a month," she said.
Atul Upadhyay is another troubled consumer. "I had bought a Kinetic Style (GJ6QQ-6081) in November 1999. In then last six months, I have got so fed up that I have decided not to purchase anything from that company ever again in my life," Upadhyay said.
His woes began with a petrol-cock defect. He got it fixed, but soon the oil started leaking into the silencer. He got that done too but hardly had he finished briefing the dealer Western Motors of frequent technical problems, the vehicle developed a crack near the mouth of the petrol tank. "I showed it to a number of mechanics and all came to one conclusion that the defect was a manufacturing fault. Western Motors, however, evaded my complaints, made me false promises and simply ignored the problems," Upadhyay said. He pensively observes that he had purchased the vehicle from his savings. "The cost of the vehicle for them might be less but for me it is big. I had bought the vehicle hoping it would make my later life comfortable, but the opposite has happened," Upadhyay said.
Manisha Shah's faces a similar problem. She had purchased a Kinetic Style (GJ16L-6615) in February 2000. Since then she had written a couple of letters to the company office in Pune and for umpteen times contacted the dealers N K Motors complaining about the problems she has been facing with the vehicle, but all this to no avail. "They had promised to send a company engineer who never came. N K Motors is simply not interested in answering our calls. We feel cheated and hurt," Shah said. Private mechanics have told Shah that the vehicle had developed a crack in the petrol tank. "Several times the vehicle went out of order midway through my journey. We wrote about the problems to the dealer as well as the company, but there has been no attempt to solve the technical snag," Shah laments.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Consumer court or consumer redressal forum? Tuesday, October 23, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
There are about 2,300 cases pending with the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum of Vadodara. Observers feel that the long list of pending cases is due to certain practices adopted by the Forum that result in an inordinate delay and considerable waste of time, both for the consumer and the Forum machinery.
In order to dispel confusion in the minds of the jury of the redressal forum and its president as well as to ensure that the objective of setting up forums is met, National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission president Justice D P Wadhwa had written a letter recently.
The letter says that a "consumer forum is not a civil court". "It is not bound by the strict rules of Evidence Act or Code of Civil Procedure. Basic requirement is only that the principles of natural justice are observed. Consumer is not interested in legal attainments. His only concern is that due consideration be given to his complaint. Reasons no doubt are necessary in the orders, but brevity should be the rule," Justice Wadhawa wrote in his letter.
He further wrote "if a consumer forum is to become a parallel civil court, the whole purpose is lost. Better, we follow the objects of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, and are not swayed by technical rules where a consumer feels that there is no difference between a consumer forum or civil court," Justice Wadhawa said in his letter.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Bhatt submits anthrax plan to Centre Tuesday, October 23, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
GANDHINAGAR: State health minister Ashok Bhatt said he has submitted his well-worked out anti-anthrax action plan to Union health minister C P Thakur.
"I am expecting a positive reply within a couple of days. We in Gujarat know anthrax as black fever though there have been no deaths in the state because of the disease in the last two years," he said.
After a two-day workshop with senior physicians, the action plan was prepared and submitted to Thakur. "We expect modern laboratory equipment and technology. I'm sure, Gujarat being a border state, Thakur will take up the matter seriously and co-ordinate with the defence ministry," he said.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Junagadh :: Ration cards distributed among villagers Tuesday, October 23, 2001
JUNAGADH: Computerised ration cards were distributed to villagers of Bhesan by authorities at a function inaugurated by Junagadh MP, Bhavna Chikhaliya. The authorities said plans are on to provide computerised ration cards to all those eligible in Bhesan taluka by November-end.
