So I have booked a ticket finally, with Air India, to travel from Frankfurt to New Delhi!

There was a confusion about how much baggage allowance will I get as a student.

So obviously I tried calling the customer care service, but as you would guess, there were lots of bottlenecks in such a complicated mission!

So while I was waiting on one of the phone calls I made, I decided to write an angry mail about it to the Air India offices... Here it goes:

Dear Employees of Air India,

I would like to bring your attention to the deeply flawed service commitments of Air India. 

Which is the prime reason why people don't like flying with you, which as an Indian, I feel deeply ashamed of.

Because its not the infrastructure you have which is causing the problem, but the attitude of the employees!

Please read carefully and imagine yourself in this situation. 

The context is, I was calling from Germany to inquire about baggage allowance for students. 

Here are some facts which I noticed in last 30 minutes flat,

1. the frequent flyer's calling desk numbers given on airindia.com are wrong. 

2. I called the other numbers given above that, they are mostly busy, and even when they ring, your employees don't simply pick up the phone. I had to call like 10 times to get through. 

3. Then the person who addressed the call did not have any information about the international flyers helpline center, not even any contact number. 

4. So I called the Mumbai office where I got the phone number (+9122 22796666), where the operator put me on hold. I was on hold for around 4 minutes, when the line disconnected. 

5. I called again the above number, asked for a transfer to international flying queries, where I was very politely told that they also don't have any information on the international baggage allowance and that I should call Frankfurt office for further information. They put me on hold for another 5 minutes, while I was writing this email, and now I have got the phone numbers of Frankfurt office. I sincerely hope they can be of any use. 

6. Ok, so I called the number they gave, which was again wrong, so I got the reservation manager's number from there. The issue has been solved, but totally against my interest and satisfaction.

7. I was told that I would get a student luggage allowance of 46 kgs only if I have booked my tickets via a travel agent. Since I booked it online there is no such possibility. I am extremely sad about this over all. I thought booking from Air India website would be better for Air India's profit. YES, I am that big a patriot!

8. As far as I know, there will be minor delays in flight as well, as most of the Air India passengers have told me. Still I wanted to fly with you. 

9. Finally, I do not think I wanna go through these problems again ever, 1 hour wasted in telephone calls only! I don't think I would like to travel by Air India again.

I sincerely hope things would change from your end. It kills me to see how poorly the national airline is operating; its like a shame for the nation. 

Its not just about the prices, its about relationships. How I wish all my queries would have been solved in one phone call! 

Oh, and how I wish I could even navigate the ticket booking section of Air India, and many other countless things. 

Best wishes

A true Indian at heart

Visa Interview at German Embassy, New Delhi

Hi Fellas!

I gave the VI at New Delhi German Embassy last year (22.07.2012), and wrote about my experience.
Although it has been pretty long, I am sure you would get some help reading it.
I am just copying here as-it-is.

Cheers!

PS: I got my visa on 23.08.2012.

Hi guys...

Just out from my second VI at the Delhi Embassy. Thankfully, it went pretty well.

Please note that every consulate has different guidelines and processes. The following applies to the New Delhi Embassy.

Let me mention the details here which could be of help to you.

FIRST VI (July1)-

I had all the documents as specified in the document on the website. But they wanted even more!
Please note that the € 7900 should already be in your blocked student account in Germany before you go to VI.

What I was additionally asked to get were:

-release letter from my previous employer

-proof of funding for TWO years, against 1 yr which is written in the document. I got a letter from my dad's employer mentioning the funds available in his PF account, and that 13 lacs have been sanctioned for my education purposes

-Father's bank statement for last one year

-my account statements

Got out of the embassy, immediately called up VFS, got appointment for July 22!

SECOND VI (July 22)-

I somehow misheard or something that my appointment was at 0815hrs... reached the embassy at 0730 just to read in the list that my appointment is at 1015hrs..! So killing over 2 hrs in the delhi heat (morning time helped a bit!) was another headache. Went to Bikanerwala nearby (behind the Nehru park)

Anyways, entered the Embassy at 1015.

I was the first one called, just to make me realize they also need a sponsorship letter from my father, along with his self attested ID proof.

Dad drove down to the Embassy and gave the letter to mom who was waiting outside.

In the meantime I was asked to arrange the documents in a specified order.

Now the security wouldn't even take the letter from my mom and pass it on, neither informed me, when she asked them to inform me that she has the letter ready! So I went out after an hour to check, asked my VO again to let me pass through and got the letter.

The interview went pretty smooth.

Took my DD of Rs.4000, gave me 200 back.. (yea they decreased the fee to Rs.3800)

Then she gave me a receipt containing the Visa File number, and asked me to mail it to the University to speed up the process.

Then she asked some basic questions, about the course, study duration, some courses, potential employers in India, plans for part time working during the studies etc.

She also asked me if I would complete my course in 2yrs.. as in I won't fail or sth! Funny side of her..!? dunno! :P

In the end, she wrote GOOD at the bottom of the QA sheet she was filling.

Came out of the embassy at 1245hrs..!

And thats all folks!

Hope I get the visa asap!

Earth from ISS

Hi Guys...

I recently came across this time lapse video made from photographs from the ISS last year.

I have always been an avid sky-watcher, and this video sort of substantiates my vision as to what Earth looks like, and its real! 

Couldn't help but share it on my blog!
Few things I want you to notice in this video:

• continuous irradiance from the reactions occurring in the upper atmosphere
• brilliant auroras
• lightning in the clouds
• settlements alongside Nile and east Mediterranean (2:25, 2:40)
• India Pakistan border (3:47, 4:37)
• UFOs (probably other satellites, or meteors) (3:38)

Enjoy in full screen HD... Audio is great too! 

Questionnaire from The ET!

Hi Guys,

I recently got a mail from an employee of The Economic Times, asking me to fill a short questionnaire about my study plan of Germany. Moreover, she asked me to compare it with the UK education!

Well it took quite some dear time to write a response to her questions, and now I neither have the energy nor time to re-tailor it for this blog, so I am just going to post it here as-it-is.

Hope you acknowledge with most of the points I have put down here.

1. Why did you choose Germany for your higher education? How does it compare with UK?

I chose Germany primarily because of two reasons. One being that for the field I am working in (sustainable technologies) has a profound research and development environment in Europe; and Germany is one of the leaders given its current economic backing. Second major reason is the low cost of education here.

I don't know much about the UK education system, but what I can say, it has multifold drawbacks. Firstly, the education there is very expensive, and with that, the job scenario for the immigrants in the UK is really gloomy. Second reason for leaving out UK is that the masters course in the UK are of one year only. They might be very rigorous in the course work, but I personally believe that you need to be in a University for at least eighteen to twenty four months during your masters if you are to really get a clear picture of your future, especially if your want to pursue research. No doubt that historically UK have been one of the preferred choices of Indian students for education, but I feel that the image of "German Engineering" is playing a major role in shifting this trend away from the UK.

I read your article "Guten Tag and beyond". You are quite right to note that the German governments really wants to improve its image as a preferred study destination for international students. But while UK looks at international students merely as a source of income, Germany wants to promote is exemplary education quality. It is already quite famous among the "serious" Erasmus students who flock to different countries in the Europe for basically enjoying a semester or two as exchange students. The ones who come to Germany from neighboring European countries, are not primarily here for travelling, but to study, learn German and possibly get a job here, considering the poor economic status of their home countries.

One more thing, about the possible "IT entrepreneurship hub" at Frankfurt you mentioned about in your article, I think if at all any hub comes up here, it would be very far from an IT hub, primarily because the man power is so costly here, and Germany normally focuses on the manufacturing and core engineering sectors!

2. Please share the details of your course? (she put a "?" after this "line"! LOL)

I am pursuing a Masters course in "Air Quality Control, Solid Waste and Waste Water Process Engineering" which is also fondly know as the WASTE Program!

Apparently this is quite a famous program and the students from all over the world, mostly from the developing countries apply to this course.

The coursework deals with the process engineering aspects of all types of pollution, and methods to measure and control them.

Lots of scholarships are also provided by the German government for students coming to WASTE from developing or under- developed countries.

The institute has exemplary facilities including its own power plant and a waste water treatment plant, along with Max-Plank and Fraunhofer Institutes.

3. Are you likely to remain in Germany after your studies for work?

Primarily I am here to learn the state of the art technologies being deployed in the areas of pollution control and treatment, so that I can go back to India and work for the improvement of pathetic condition of our environment and the corresponding state of human health. So, after I am done with my course, and possibly after getting a short international work experience, I am definitely going to come back to India possibly to start a venture in the waste treatment sector!

BAMBOO SHOOTS over GRASS

It is known that Bamboo shoots cleanup CO2 effectively than Grass.
So if u r planning to go for planting grass in ur yard, better go for bamboo plantation wherever possible.
Grass is also not very water efficient as compared to bamboos.
So..... go ahead.... spread the word.