Skyward Fire

I’m going to keep it simple this time. Those unlucky readers amongst you who might have had the pain of dealing with State Bank of India probably know what I am talking about. There are a lot of reasons why SBI sucks. Here’s a few as to why is it to.

• A year ago back in August 2009, I used my SBI ATM card to withdraw Rs. 2000 from a Corporation Bank ATM. No money came out of the machine, I got a ‘Transaction Failed’ message, no receipt came out, but my account got debited Rs. 2000. I contacted my SBI branch and they asked me to draft an application mentioning my grievance. I did so, but I never got to see 2000 INR again and I never heard from the bank regarding the same again. I live in a different country, so I came back after a year right now. I asked them about it again, and I was made to run from one Babu’s table to another.
• Since 25th of June, 2010 I have been trying to change the phone number registered with the Bank for all Internet Banking transactions. I first wrote an application, and then I was asked to print and fill up an approval form to be given to the bank. I did both, and then I was told the number registered with them for the change is different than the one I mentioned on the approval form. I asked them if I could change that on the website itself. There is no such option on the website, but the lady at the branch kept insisting that option was there. So I took a screenshot of the page and showed it to her. Finally, she agreed with me. So I filled up another approval form and submitted it. The change is still pending.
• I wrote an email to the customer care of the bank regarding the same but the only reply I ever got from them was an automatic mailer mentioning the complaint ticket number.
• My ATM card isn’t working, probably because I haven’t used in more than 10 months for withdrawing any money. When I try to use it at an ATM outlet, it says the PIN I entered is invalid. I have been using the same PIN for a while now and I got no such message. So I wrote another application asking them to change the PIN, and they say the new will arrive in at least 15 days, and I will have to come pick it up personally. What the fuck? What’s so lengthy and sophisticated about this that it is going to take 15 fucking days? And how hard is it for them to mail me the new PIN by post if they’re going to be charging me a 100 bucks for issuing me a new PIN?
• They claim to have a dense network of ATMs all across the country. Out of the 10000 ATMs they might have in the country, 8000 never work and the shutter is always down. 1500 are crowded with long fucked up line, and the remaining 500 are in such remote places that no one ever visits.

So in the end no matter how user friendly, paperless and customer caring State Bank of India claims to be, there is absolutely no truth to all that bullshit. I am going to personally do my best to avoid dealing with them in the future and would recommend the same for everyone.

Christopher Nolan in an interview has made it clear in an interview there would be no Joker in Batman 3. For some like me, that is good news. Personally, I believe there is no way another actor could do what legacy Heath Ledger has left behind with his role in The Dark Knight. The show must go on, and new villains should be explored. Best of luck to Nolan and crew for their future endeavor with the franchise.

Original source: Obsessedwithfilm

Now Playing: The Ramones – Street Fighting Man

The thing about living away from friends and family is weird. For me, it has been a decision that has eventually changed my complete lifestyle. Quieter evenings, boring afternoons, and depressingly laid-back weekends is now the story of my life. What used to be numerous lovely night-outs and charming classy evenings is now limited to staring blankly at the computer screen in the college hostel or sleeping. I speak to my friends back in India who’re in their second and first year college, have told me of similar stories of their own very similar college lives.

Frequent dining with friends is now limited to sitting on the hot cornice all by myself eating the cheapest food available. Watching movies with a wild, screaming bunch of friends is now limited to watching it alone. Sitting and talking with friends for hours without counting them is now limited to chatting online. I can’t take a stroll outside in the terrible humidity and heat outside. I can’t drive thanks to the lack of a driving license. Even if I had one, it wouldn’t make much of a difference because the way I drive would just make the Department of Traffic Fines really rich. The daredevilry will only get me into a whole lot of trouble.

Not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but the free-spirit I used to be back home is now shrunken to a blur.