Please read it here at Jyothi’s Recipes. 
Tag Archives: Kerala
Kadala Curry
Please read it here at Jyothi’s Recipes.
Vodafone Blackberry
The experience with blackberry services in India has not been a good one for me. I had written about my experiences with Airtel , but I managed to recharge and activate the service two days after that, without further issues other than the initial hiccup.
The story with Vodafone was the other way round. I had no issues when I walked into their office to apply for a new sim card. I submitted the necessary documents and acquired the card and also added enough money into it to activate the blackberry service. I was told the card would be activated in 15 mins and then I can send SMS for the Blackberry service. Feeling content with the service, I walked out of the office. I had earlier been to their office for my mother’s sim card and I was pleased with their service. They had given a contact number to call back then. I am so glad I saved that number!
It took almost two hours for the card to be activated. After that I send the SMS for Blackberry Service. I got an acknowledgement SMS. I waited for four hours for the activation SMS. Once I got the SMS I removed the battery and sim and replaced them as I was directed by their office. The small letters “edge” turned into capital “EDGE” and I smiled. But that smile didn’t last long!
When I checked, I realized that the service had not been activated and the money was already deducted. I called up the office and told them about it. They said they will ask the blackberry dept. to call back. After an hour or so, I got a call from the techie and he asked me all kinds of questions. He then said he will send the request to the main office and they will do the needful.
The next morning, when I didn’t get any response from anyone, I called up the techie again. He said that my case was closed and the reply had come from the main office that the service is active. That’s when I lost it. Even then, I kept clam and told him that the case is not closed. He said to call the call center at 124 and register a complaint.
I spent the entire afternoon on the phone with the customer service. Spoke to 4 different people who gave me four different things to try. Still no connection! I received an SMS asking whether I was satisfied with the service of one of those four people. I promptly replied “no”. Within an hour’s time, I got a call from their Bangalore office!
This new guy asked me the same questions again and then told me that he will look into it and call back. He did. He asked me to do some settings on the phone and then asked me to reboot. I did. Still no change. He says he thinks there might be something wrong with the sim card. He said he will call back after checking again. And there was no call.
The next day morning I got a call from the kochi office and after saying the same things to this guy, he said that he cant see all the details of my sim card and hence advised me to go to their office here and replace the card.
I went into their office and put in the request, they said they would replace it free of charge. But they did have problems with replacing the card. I spent an hour there till I got an SMS stating that my card has been replaced and Rs. 50 has been deducted. I was told that they would refund that amount later. I was told that old card would get deactivated in half an hour and then I can try the new sim card.
It took 28 hours for the new card to be activated! Even then, no Blackberry Service. Today morning, I called up the office again and told them to register the complaint again.
At around 1 pm today I got a call from the Bangalore guy. He told me to check if the service was working now. And it suddenly was!
Thus ended my traumatized experience with Vodafone Blackberry service people. The guy was absolutely rude when he spoke last.
Applied for the service on 17th and got it on 21st that too after all this headache! But I guess I should be happy that I DID get the service. They didn’t tell me what the problem was till now! I guess that will remain a mystery.
Rs. 50 has not been refunded yet. Do you think I will call back to get that refund? Not in a million years!
( The Vodafone coverage in Kerala is good, that is the only reason I opted for them)
SEWA and Me
When my mom was faced with a dilemma of not having a reliable household help, she was introduced to an organization called SEWA . The main issue with mom was that she used to travel up and down between Dubai and Kerala all the time and getting a permanent help at home was an issue. Initially, there was a lady from my mom’s hometown who came to stay with her and help her. The lady had to leave, when her own mother was unwell and needed assistance. Mom registered for SEWA’s services.
SEWA sends ladies for household help too. The ladies are chosen, hired and trained by SEWA with all the necessary cleanliness and work routines. We can chose if we want them to come on a daily basis or alternate days. There is, I presume, a set of rules for either kind.The ladies get all the holidays too. We do not pay directly to the person. We make payments at SEWA’s office and they make a monthly payment to the ladies depending on the number of days they work.
The advantages of this method are many. If we do not like the person we can always ask for a change. If the person doesn’t like us, they can ask for a change too. This I think keeps both parties at their best behavior. You need to pay extra if you need them to stay overnight.
I am not sure what the rates for hiring help around here are like these days. It’s not easy to find one anyways. SEWA is boon for people like me. I just need help for a few hours in a day! No responsibilities, no hassles!
The other thing about these ladies, is that they don’t consider themselves as maids. They are employees. That is a positive attitude and a step towards gaining dignity of labour.
Now , if we could find the same dignity of labour for people with farms and agricultural work, we could be moving towards a society where everyone is treated with respect and dignity irrespective of their chosen/forced upon profession. And also, the nature and greenery would be preserved too in the process.
I think this a positive sign of development, do you?
Maggi With Scrambled Eggs And Cricket
Serves 2
Ingredients:
Spring onions – 2
Maggi curry flavor – 2
Eggs – 4
Pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Urad dal – 1/4 teaspoon
Mustard seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves – 4-5
Oil – 2 tablespoon
Water – 3 cups
Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. When they splutter, add chopped spring onions and sauté for a while. Add water and bring to a boil. Add the Maggi noodles. While it cooks add in the curry sachets and mix well. When the water dries up, remove from flame.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add in the spices and salt and blend it well. Heat oil in a pan. Add the egg mixture and scramble the eggs.
Serve both these on a plate, place a fork and continue watching cricket in less than 15 mins.
(There was no point to this effort at saving time, KTK lost. And what a loss it was! 
)
Coconut Country
The swaying coconut trees are a trademark of Kerala. I don’t think any Malayalee will ever tire of it. Every picture, every post, every vacation memory of “God’s Own Country” will have these magic trees in the background.
The coconut tree is famous for quite a few things in Kerala.
The tender coconut makes a refreshing and healthy drink.
The coconut scrapings are used in making delicious chutneys and curries.
The outer covering (husk)of the coconut is used to make coir.
Dried coconut meat(Copra) is used to make coconut oil, which is used in cooking and is also good for applying on the hair for long lustrous black hair that is so common to a typical Keralite girl.
Though Kerala is marred with a whole lot of issues, it’s ethnic beauty will always invite tourists from all over the world. My home is in a place where technology may take some time to reach, but it still maintains the green beauty in it’s old grandeur.
Yet, I surf using hi -speed broadband services which quite suffices my needs for being a part of the world community.
I guess when you shift to a new place, you seem to search for all the good things about the place. But, this place has and always will feel like home to me.
(The pic was taken at dusk, and hence not too clear)
