Credit Card Really Becoming a Burden

I was introduced to credit cards around 5 years back by one of my friend. Actually I was not willing to push hard to get a credit card at that time. One of my friend applied for a credit card through an executive of a well know private bank. At the same time he introduced me to the executive and the guy came to meet me the next day itself. After talking with him, I too agreed to apply for a credit card.

After one month, I got a courier at my office in NOIDA and I was much delighted to see the credit card when I opened the parcel. I was really over the sky as I considered myself a proud owner of a credit card. At that time credit card was not such a common thing and the irony is that my friend's credit card application got rejected.  My friend told me that I was lucky enough to get the credit card and also warned me to use the credit card in the proper way.

In the first 6 months I never used the credit card and  after around 6 months, I was forced to purchase something with the credit card. The purchase was urgent and I didn't have enough cash in my bank account and I had to rely on the credit card for the first time. The feeling was awesome as I was able to purchase the product with the credit card.

For the next few months, I spend my time paying the EMI and after 4 months, I again happened to wander around a famous shopping destination in Delhi with my friend. It was the end of the month and both of us had not yet got our salary. But both of us got stuck on some items in the shopping center and we could not resist us from buying them. At that time also the idea of credit card came into my mind and we purchased the items through the credit card.

This was the beginning of a much bad habit and such incidences started occurring frequently and as a result my EMI started to increase. It was at this time that I applied for 2 more credit card and got both of them. Now I started using the new card once the limit on my first card was reached and as a result I ended up paying a huge amount of my salary as EMI. Ever since I am controlling my credit card usage, but credit card is like an addiction and it is really hard to control its usage.

For the last 5 months, I have not used any of the credit cards, but just paying the heavy EMIs from my salary. The credit card has really become a burden and the unwanted hidden charges imposed by the banks makes it more worse.

If you are planning to apply for a credit card, think twice. Apply only if you are confident enough to control the usage, or else you would get drowned in the eternal debt

Routes of Volvo Low Floor A/C Buses in Ernakulam

There are around 41 Volvo low floor a/c buses plying throughout in Ernakulam and more buses are expected to start their services in the near future. The minimum bus in these low floor a/c buses is Rs. 10  and after that Rs. 1.50 per kms will be charged as of now. The low floor Volvo ac buses are a huge blessing and a great solution to the transportation woes of the people in Ernakulam.

I would like to provide you the the route information of the Volvo low floor ac buses in Ernakulam, which I have got from another source on the net.

Routes:
Fort Kochi - Cochin Airport (Via Thoppumpady, Kundannoor, Vyttila, Bypass, Aluva bypass) - 4 buses
Fort Kochi - Cochin Airport (Via Thoppumpady, MG Road, Kaloor, Aluva bypass) - 1 bus
Aroor - Angamaly (Via Vyttila, Bypass, Aluva Bypass) - 5 buses
Aroor - Angamaly (Via Thoppumpady, MG Road) - 2 buses
Fort Kochi - Infopark / Aluva (Via MG Road, Kaloor) - 2 buses
Fort Kochi - Aluva - Angamaly (Via MG Road, Kaloor) - 1 bus
Thevara/W.Island - Infopark / Aluva (Via MG Road, Kaloor) - 2 buses
Poothotta - Aluva (Via Menaka, Kaloor) - 2 buses
Ernakulam Jetty - Perumbavoor (Via Aluva) - 2 buses
Ernakulam - Moovattupuzha - 4 buses
Ernakulam - Kothamangalam - 2 buses
Ernakulam Jetty - Kothamangalam - 1 bus
Ernakulam - Koothattukulam - 1 bus
Parur - Perumbavoor (Via Aluva) - 2 buses
Mattanchery - Perumbavoor (Via MG Road, Aluva) - 1 bus
W.Island / Thevara - Perumbavoor (Via MG Road, Aluva, S.Vazhakkulam) - 1 bus
Vyttila-Vyttila Circular - 2 buses
Thevara - Aluva / Ankamaly (Via Container Road) - 2 buses
Kalady - Airport - Fort Kochi - 1 bus
Ankamaly - Aluva - Chottanikkara (Via Seaport-Airport Road) - 2 buses (will start operating soon)

Gregor Mendel's 189th Birthday Celebrated by Google

Gregor Mendel (Gregor Johann Mendel) was a well-known scientist from Austria who is famous for his inventions and discoveries in genetics science. Even though Mendel's findings were not recognized till the 20th century, later his discoveries formed a influential part towards the foundation of modern science of genetics. Gregor Mendel's famous Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment, later became known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance.

Today is the 189th Birth anniversary of Gregor Mendel and Google ,the biggest and most popular online search engine has celebrated the birthday of this great scientist with Style. Today's Google Doodle is dedicated to Gregor Mendel and upon seeing the Google Doodle in the morning; I could not really figure it out. But upon observing the Google Doodle more carefully, I came to know that it was dedicated to the 189th Birthday of Gregor Mendel.

Even though I am not into genetic science or anything related to that, I am pretty aware about the contributions that Gregor Mendel has provided to the world. Hope that his findings are utilized in the best way and I also wish a great Birthday to Gregor Mendel from my side. Happy Birthday GREGOR MENDEL!!

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 4

 The second half of the third day was the most interesting one as we got the opportunity to visit the famous Vellore Fort which was just inside the city of Vellore. The Vellore Fort is a 16th-century fort situated in Vellore city  and  once it was the headquarters of the Vijayanagara Empire.  The Fort is famous for its ancient sculptures, scenic and artistic beauty.  It was in this fort where Tipu Sultan's family were held as royal prisoners along with a Sri Lankan King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha.

 The fort is a huge one and has a lake surrounding it which makes the fort more beautiful. There is a Christian Church,  a Hindu Temple and a Mosque inside the fort.  The best time to visit the fort is in the evening time as it would be too hot in the day time. We started our visit from the main entrance and we slowly started visiting each and every section of the fort.

 The background of the Fort gave an amazing view of the Vellore city along with beautiful hills. A lot of people gathered there in the evening with friends and family. Walking around the sides of the Fort gives you an ample view of the lake and the city. The sad thing about this beautiful lake is that a lot of wastes are being dumped on a particular part, resulting in the lake losing its charm and good look.

  The Temple inside the fort, known as Sri Jalagandeeswarar Temple is dedicated to Jalagandeeswar and is noted much for its sculptures and splendid craftsmanship. The Mosque inside the Vellore fort was constructed during the last Arcod Navab's period, while the Church inside the fort was constructed during the early British period. There is also a Muthu Mandapam and a Government Museum inside the Fort which makes it more interesting. The Government Museum is maintained by the Department of Museum Government of Tamil Nadu.

It took around more than 2 hours for us to completely explore the Vellore Fort, but this was one of the brightest experiences for me as far as my trip was considered. Even though we spend more than 2 hours, we could not visit the Church, the Mosque and the Government Museum as we ran out of time. Hope to cover them when I visit for the next time. We had to rush to our room as we had to catch the train to Kerala the next day itself.

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 3

The third day at Vellore also started with a busy schedule as we had to rush to CMC for the personal interview at 8 AM and the venue was the Room No.9 at the Radio Therapy block. We had a light breakfast from a hotel near our lodge and after that we hired an auto to CMC Vellore. The personal interview for M Sc Medical Phsyics Started exactly at 8 AM and didn't last too long as the interview for all the candidates were completed by around 9 AM and fortunately all of them got selected. They were asked to sign in the acceptance letter next day to the Registrar at the Bagayam Campus.

We all were free by around 9 and as a result we had  a big amount of time with us to spend that day. In the meantime we me some of our relatives and friends who were working there at the Christian Medical College and spend some good time with them. Still we had enough time infront of us before the lunch time and we decided to spend the remaining time at the top of Asha Educational Building in the CMC Hospital campus.

The top of the Asha Educational Building was really amazing as it had a small open garden at the terrace along with a small tea stall. The top of the Asha Educational Building at CMC Vellore provided an amazing view of Vellore city and I couldn't resist myself from taking snaps. The view of the hills in the background of the city was really amazing and it was at this time that I realized, how big the city of Vellore was.

Eventhough it was hot, we really enjoyed our stay at the top of the Asha Educational Building. We had tea along with some snack, and there were also other people who were also spending their time out at the top of the building. We spend their till noon and then decided to move back to our rooms and return back to visit the famous Vellore Fort..

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 2

The second day at Vellore was somewhat a busy one, and we had to wake up early morning so that we would be able to report at the CMC at 8 AM. We got early, had a cup of coffee and we were off to the Christian Medical College in Vellore. As we were a little late, we decided not have the breakfast on that day and we reached CMC at around 7:30 AM. But upon reaching CMC we found out that we were actually asked to report at the Bagayam Campus in Vellore itself. From CMC we hired an auto and rushed to the CMC bagayam campus and within 20 minutes we reached the Bagayam campus.

We located the Community Health Training Center ( CHTC ) in Bagayam, where we had to report. It was almost 8 AM when we reached there and there were 2 more candidates who were present there. The procedures started at 8 AM with the medical checkup and blood samples of each candidate were taken and were asked to wait till 1 PM when we would be taken to the Medical College on the college bus. The blood samples were taken and we were free by around 9 AM and had to wait till 1 PM in the Bagayam campus. So we decided to roam around the campus which was spread over a large area.

The peculiarity of the Begayam Campus in Vellore is that it is almost made to be eco friendly and it is covered with trees and plants all over. We first had a light breakfast from a nearby Canteen and started roaming from one side to another side of the campus. The whole of the campus had an attractive natural beauty as trees were planted in almost all the parts of the campus, making it feel extra green when compared with other parts of Vellore.

There was also a small beautiful Chapel inside the Bagayam Campus where we spend some good time. The surrounding of the Chapel was also amazing as it had a small pool with some unique flowers in it. We managed to spend the time till 1 PM, when the college bus was ready to take us to the Medical College in Vellore for further check up. Once we got out of the Bagayam campus, we started feeling the heat of the city. It was then we realized how eco friendly the Bagayam campus was and how helpful it was to have trees planted all over.

We reached CMC hospital by around 1:30 PM and got all the medical check ups completed by around 4 PM. After that we were asked to leave for the day and to report the next day at 8 AM at the CMC hospital campus. We returned to our room and this time we got really tired and had a light coffee and spend our time at the room till 8 in the night. After that we got out and had dinner at the hotel Sastha near the Circuit house in Vellore and this time also the dinner was not of good quality. We returned back to our room and slept earlier so that we can wake earlier in the morning.

Vellore Trip Diary - Part 1

In my recent trip to Vellore in Tamil Nadu, I came across some new experience and atmosphere which I would like to share via this blog. Even though it was not a pleasure trip, I tried to enjoy the most of it by roaming around the streets and talking with the local people in Tamil language, which I am not at all comfortable. But the new way of living, new culture and other factors brought curiosity into my mind.

I reached Katpadi Junction by train at 3 AM and from there I had to hire an auto to Vellore where I was supposed to stay in a lodge. I booked the lodge from Kerala, as this lodge was listed there in the brochures send to us by CMC Vellore. The name of the hotel was Park Avenue and it was almost opposite to the Circuit Hose in Vellore. The name seemed to be superb and I booked a room over there, but the moment I stepped into the hotel, it became sure that the only thing that stood out in the hotel was its name. The facilities and other things at this lodge / hotel was really pathetic and it seems that they have not even done any maintenance on this lodge for the past 20 years or so.

There was an middle aged man who was the receptionist and he tried to provide the best service through his English skills and this man seemed to be fine. There was also a room boy, who was around 60 years of age and this guy was also good at his services. I entered the hotel at around 4 AM and the moment I stepped inside, I went to sleep. The next morning the room boy bought us coffee and breakfast, but the overall cost of those things seemed to be too high when compared with the same that is available in Kerala.

I didn't have anything to do that day as the interviews were scheduled for the next two days. So me and my sibling took a small walk around that part of the city to pass out our time. Since the climate in Vellore was too hot and dry, we decided to have coconut juice which was being sold on the road side. The quality of the coconut juice to say the least, was really pathetic. I don't know how they manage to sell these bad quality coconut juices at a price ranging from Rs 15 to 20.

In the noon time we had our lunch in a vegetarian hotel named "Sastha" hoping to get some good traditional food of Tamil Nadu. We ordered meals and soon it arrived on our table with a wide variety of recipes. But the quality of the food was really not encouraging and the price was way too ahead than we expected. We had to return from the hotels feeling disappointed at not having a good meal in the afternoon. We came back to our hotel room and spend the evening watching TV programs and sleeping. In the evening also we had to go to the same "Sastha" hotel as we couldn't find any alternative nearby. This time the hotel managed to maintain the same food quality and again we returned disappointed. We came back to room and slept earlier as we had to report at CMC Vellore at 8 AM.

TO BE CONTINUED.....