This is so common these days that I chose to write about it. Emails have become a crucial part of our life now. All communication now happens via emails. People applying for jobs, applying for higher studies, asking for information, and many more. Ever wondered what happens if you miss attaching an important file to your email?

I get job application day in and day out. Many fail to attach their resumes/CVs. Question is: Do they know they haven't attached their resume? Will they ever come to know?  

What do I do?

How can I help? Do you expect me to write back to you asking for a resume? Sorry, that is simply not possible. I get 100s of them and I don't care if one or two don't have their resumes attached. They are straight away sent to trash with no second thoughts. It might not just be job applications. People think different in different parts of the world. What will they think of you when you miss an important attachment?

My Message: Get hold of your lives... organize and double check before you send that very important email.

The train to York from London was late as usual. Got off the train, stood in the queue for taxi,... got in a taxi and said, "XX Hobgate please.". Yes. York was once my home. We used to live in Hobgate. This time round I visited York on business much as a tourist. Every street I passed, every bar I crossed, the walls, the minster, everything brought back profound memories I can never forget. Felt very nostalgic. A few snaps for remembrance.

I met Jennifer after almost 6 months and from what I discovered, I had to write something about it. This is a log of events that have made life terrible for Jennifer. I know Jennifer for almost two years now. She was our very sweet and special landlady when we were residing at Hobgate in York. Life keeps changing and we permanently moved to India.

This was during the peak recession period in the UK (end of Dec'08). Jennifer obviously didn't want her house to remain vacant for longer. For all her previous tenants she used to manage the property herself. She got fixed all repairs or maintenance work. Increasingly it was getting more and more painful for her to find the right people and get things fixed.

So naturally, this time, she chose to subcontract the management part to a letting agent. For only a minor charge per month (50 GBP / month) she would be relieved of all the hassle - is what she thought. :) The agents initially promised her all sorts of non-existing services just to make her commit to them. The deal was signed and a new tenant occupied her house. Jennifer was bound to the contract wherein she was stuck with whatever tenants the agents brought in until the tenant left themselves.

Now, despite being the owner of the house Jennifer (who is pretty old) couldn't evict her tenants. Now comes the real effects of recession. The first month past, she didn't receive the rent in her bank account. On calling the agents they said there was some error and would set it right ASAP.

Eventually she received the money after a month. She thought this was a one off and let it go. However, the same thing happened with the second, third and fourth month rent as well. She keeps calling their office... they keep giving her lame excuses, transfering call from one person to the other... adopting the usual phone harassment techniques.

This time I met her, she was in very bad shape, utterly disturbed and complained of unnecessary stress due to the agent.  She has a heart condition and getting old each day. Is this how one treats a simple and honest house owner.

To the agents: Hey guys... is recession that bad that you have actually forgotten human values? How about some innovative thinking? perhaps a new business idea? Stop stealing... whats not yours is really NOT yours.

It was one of those rare Saturday afternoons when the clouds were at bay and the sun shining upon us (a bit too hot for York). Me, Ian and Johnathan chose to take a short walk after lunch. Through the loch, we came upon a Church which we found was totally unmanned when we entered. It was the only church in Elvington (I think) and Ian showed me around when we chanced upon the organ. I am a bit of a player myself (never learnt it formally) but didn't feel brave enough to have a go that day. Ian started to play something very simple and slowly turned up the tempo... He is amazing at it... great entertainment to end the visit. I couldn't resist it, I had to capture it on my camera. Here's a video snippet of one part of the show. Thanks Ian. :)

It was a chance meeting arranged by my Sis that day. It was hot that summer afternoon and we had to leave in a hurry. Me, Harshad and Pinks went to a person we know in Camp area Belgaum who had this cutie pie for us. I spent most of my childhood around pets.

Me and Pinks were very fond of animals and used get home anything we found cute. Our Pet journey started when I was too young (II standard) while in Goa, at the time - we brought home two cute little mice.These were the laboratory ones (white fur with red eyes) - the knockout mice as they are called. I wish we had digital cameras then... would have definitely posted their photo here. :-).

Anyway, after the mice in Goa we moved home to Deogiri (in Bellary district) where we slowly moved on to Birds. We brought home injured birds, wild birds like sparrow, wild parrot (one that does not talk like us), bullbull, etc. Our job was to wait until the bird healed and then let it free! It was great fun... at school the only thing on my mind would be - "what my little pet would be doing right now?". Then came squirrels, rabbits, and of course three dogs one after the other - Rocky, Bunty, and another - the only female doggy who got robbed even before we named her. :-(

Then we moved to Belgaum and had to concentrate on studies and career. Our granee wasn't interested in pets at all so we had entertain ourselves petting others pets. :-) At the time, I told myself - "I will definitely have a cute doggy when I grow old". Even before I realised, I was through with two years into a software job and I left India for UK to do my Ph.D. at the University of York. Taming and feeding myself was in itself a huge burden (a far fetched dream) and so I forgot about our little friend to be.

Voila! Start of 2009 and we permenantly moved back to Belgaum (my home town). "Can I now have a pet at home please?" - were my thoughts. Just a week back we all had witnessed the gracious Dog show in Belgaum and I knew - "Getting my own pet at home wasn't too far from here".

So here we are - Tanisha named it Bruno and thats how we brought home our new family member.

People always used to ask me - "Is India a poor nation?". And my quick response was - "What they show on the tele is only a small percentage of India. India today is way beyond any developed country in terms of technology and infrastructure...". It is true. Most TV programs (documentaries or news reports) shown abroad portray India as a poor nation and its people starving to death. Having lived in the UK for the past 5 years I never realised how one gets used to their new found home (mine was UK at the time).

It was 31st of December 2008 when we embarked onto the journey back to my motherland... once for all.. never to look back... to start a new Life with my family and friends. Intense heat welcomed us at the Chatrapati Shivaji Airport in Mumbai as we struggled to find our pre-paid taxi. As it was our last trip, we certainly looked like someone who had squeezed in an entire house into our suitcases.  

Our first problem: The Taxi didn't have a carrier on top to carry our heavy luggage. :-( "Never mind", said the taxi driver and started piling them one on top of the other in the boot of the car. The car which looked generations old gave me a suspicious look. All the way from the airport to our relative's house, I cursed my luck, the driver and the taxi for not having a carrier. I was only counting minutes until one of the bags should give way and create a big mess for vehicle following us. The driver was reckless in his driving... this is how you should drive here sir was his response when I suggested that he drive carefully. Surprisingly we made it home without a scratch.

I figured I had to learn a lot about this part of the country and its ways of trade. :)