Toll Free Numbers in India

Toll Free Numbers in India , Please forward it to all you know in India .

Airlines
Indian Airlines -1800 180 1407
Jet Airways - 1800 22 5522
Spice Jet - 1800 180 3333
Air India -- 1800 22 7722
Kingfisher - 1800 180 0101
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Banks
ABN AMRO -1800 11 2224
Canara Bank - 1800 44 6000
Citibank - 1800 44 2265
Corporation Bank - 1800 443 555
Development Credit Bank - 1800 22 5769
HDFC Bank - 1800 227 227
ICICI Bank - 1800 333 499
ICICI Bank NRI - 1800 22 4848
IDBI Bank - 1800 11 6999
Indian Bank - 1800 425 1400
ING Vysya - 1800 44 9900
Kotak Mahindra Bank - 1800 22 6022
Lord Krishna Bank - 1800 11 2300
Punjab National Bank - 1800 122 222
State Bank of India - 1800 44 1955
Syndicate Bank - 1800 44 6655
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Automobiles
Mahindra Scorpio -1800 22 6006
Maruti - 1800 111 515
Tata Motors - 1800 22 5552
Windshield Experts - 1800 11 3636
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Computers/IT
Adrenalin -1800 444 445
AMD - 1800 425 6664
Apple Computers - 1800 444 683
Canon - 1800 333 366
Cisco Systems - 1800 221 777
Compaq - HP - 1800 444 999
Data One Broadband - 1800 424 1800
Dell - 1800 444 026
Epson - 1800 44 0011
eSys - 3970 0011
Genesis Tally Academy - 1800 444 888
HCL - 1800 180 8080
IBM - 1800 443 333
Lexmark - 1800 22 4477
Marshal's Point - 1800 33 4488
Microsoft - 1800 111 100
Microsoft Virus Update - 1901 333 334
Seagate - 1800 180 1104
Symantec - 1800 44 5533
TVS Electronics - 1800 444 566
WeP Peripherals - 1800 44 6446
Wipro - 1800 333 312
Xerox - 1800 180 1225
Zenith - 1800 222 004
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Indian Railway Enquiries
Indian Railway General Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Central Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Reservation 131
Indian Railway Railway Reservation Enquiry 1345,1335,1330
Indian Railway Centralised Railway Enquiry 1330/1/2/3/4/ 5/6/7/8/9
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Couriers/Packers & Movers
ABT Courier -1800 44 8585
AFL Wizz - 1800 22 9696
Agarwal Packers & Movers - 1800 11 4321
Associated Packers P Ltd - 1800 21 4560
DHL - 1800 111 345
FedEx - 1800 22 6161
Goel Packers & Movers - 1800 11 3456
UPS - 1800 22 7171
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Home Appliances
Aiwa/Sony -1800 11 1188
Anchor Switches - 1800 22 7979
Blue Star - 1800 22 2200
Bose Audio - 1800 11 2673
Bru Coffee Vending Machines - 1800 44 7171
Daikin Air Conditioners - 1800 444 222
DishTV - 1800 12 3474
Faber Chimneys - 1800 21 4595
Godrej - 1800 22 5511
Grundfos Pumps - 1800 33 4555
LG - 1901 180 9999
Philips - 1800 22 4422
Samsung - 1800 113 444
Sanyo - 1800 11 0101
Voltas - 1800 33 4546
WorldSpace Satellite Radio - 1800 44 5432
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Investments/ Finance
CAMS -1800 44 2267
Chola Mutual Fund - 1800 22 2300
Easy IPO's - 3030 5757
Fidelity Investments - 1800 180 8000
Franklin Templeton Fund - 1800 425 4255
J M Morgan Stanley - 1800 22 0004
Kotak Mutual Fund - 1800 222 626
LIC Housing Finance - 1800 44 0005
SBI Mutual Fund - 1800 22 3040
Sharekhan - 1800 22 7500
Tata Mutual Fund - 1800 22 0101
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Travel
Club Mahindra Holidays -1800 33 4539
Cox & Kings - 1800 22 1235
God TV Tours - 1800 442 777
Kerala Tourism - 1800 444 747
Kumarakom Lake Resort - 1800 44 5030
Raj Travels & Tours - 1800 22 9900
Sita Tours - 1800 111 911
SOTC Tours - 1800 22 3344
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Healthcare
Best on Health -1800 11 8899
Dr Batras - 1800 11 6767
GlaxoSmithKline - 1800 22 8797
Johnson & Johnson - 1800 22 8111
Kaya Skin Clinic - 1800 22 5292
LifeCell - 1800 44 5323
Manmar Technologies - 1800 33 4420
Pfizer - 1800 442 442
Roche Accu-Chek - 1800 11 45 46
Rudraksha - 1800 21 4708
Varilux Lenses - 1800 44 8383
VLCC - 1800 33 1262
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Insurance
AMP Sanmar -1800 44 2200
Aviva - 1800 33 2244
Bajaj Allianz - 1800 22 5858
Chola MS General Insurance - 1800 44 5544
HDFC Standard Life - 1800 227 227
LIC - 1800 33 4433
Max New York Life - 1800 33 5577
Royal Sundaram - 1800 33 8899
SBI Life Insurance - 1800 22 9090
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Hotel Reservations
GRT Grand -1800 44 5500
InterContinental Hotels Group - 1800 111 000
Marriott - 1800 22 0044
Sarovar Park Plaza - 1800 111 222
Taj Holidays - 1800 111 825
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Teleshopping
Asian Sky Shop -1800 22 1800
Jaipan Teleshoppe - 1800 11 5225
Tele Brands - 1800 11 8000
VMI Teleshopping - 1800 447 777
WWS Teleshopping - 1800 220 777
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Others
Domino's Pizza -1800 111 123
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Cell Phones
BenQ -1800 22 08 08
Bird CellPhones - 1800 11 7700
Motorola MotoAssist - 1800 11 1211
Nokia - 3030 3838
Sony Ericsson - 3901 1111

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Impossible Credit!

Why is it so difficult for a credit card company like Citibank to give a woman a credit card? Sure if the husband of the same woman asks for an add on card he will get it. If she tries to get one for herself, they won't give it. If this can happen to a self employed woman, namely myself, my sympathies to the mere "Housewife".

The male mentality is to consider a woman a credit risk. The media pushes that image by showing women to have no financial acumen. The movies paint pictures of women totally dependent on their men. In general if a woman wants to look after herself the society as a whole stands up and says "No, let your husband do it for you."

It is impossible to reason with society and after three abortive attempts with Citibank, I have finally given in to the pressure. My husband has mailed them for an add on credit card for me. We expect to get it withing ten working days. The bitter sweet taste of defeat lingers.

Now I’m waiting for a Woman in the Oval Office

All the excitement and furor over the first black president is finally over. Obama is officially in the Oval Office now. People are talking about the high expectations from him in view of the tottering economy and the war on terrorism that he has inherited. If he succeeds they will say it pays to have a change. If he fails they will say that’s why we never trusted a black man with power in this nation before.

Every president has his supporters and distracters, but with Obama each action will be held out and examined in detail. Self proclaimed experts will give their opinion on the hows and whys of his each action. Then grand debates will ensure that no one knows for sure exactly how well he performed. Some positive will be highlighted and lot of negative will get thrown around in the media. The world will wait with baited breath to see what his policies will mean to their country.

The trouble with all this is that - its getting boring. I am fed up with the three ring circus that they offer each time a president gets elected. I am tired of each predictable move and counter move that the opponents put up. I am actually waiting to see a new contest. The one that almost happened this time and whose trailer we saw in the initial stages. I am waiting to see the American people choose between a male and a female candidate.

Its quite funny actually that this so called great democracy has not yet elected a female to its main office of power. So called third world countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have had women Prime Ministers, not to mention both India and Pakistan. Mynamar has a woman leader of considerable note. United Kingdom had Margaret Thatcher, so Europe is not that badly off. Africa I’m not too sure about, so I can’t comment, but America? The glaringly obvious statement is that they don’t believe that a woman is good enough.

So when a woman of Hillary Clinton’s stature has such a tough time becoming a candidate for the election, it makes me wonder just what kind of democracy are they running there? Now since I am a woman, I know just how difficult life can be for one in the male dominated society. I am talking about the patriarchic society rules that most of us blindly follow. Any woman who questions them gets termed a trouble maker. And that is just what I want. A trouble maker woman, sitting in the Oval Office and sorting out men’s views on world peace and economic crisis.

Let’s hope I live to see the day!

Bush Gets the Boot!

It has to be the most Indian thing that I have seen on the International Chapter so far. What is so surprising about the whole matter is that he missed! Guess Bush has finally learnt to duck in the face of oncoming missiles. One is so used to his opening his mouth and shooting them out that this makes a pleasant change. Kind of reminds me of the usual day in the Bihar Lok Sabha. No one would even bat an eyelid if it happened there.

The true measure of the feelings of the people of Iraq flew with that forlorn footwear in futile fury at Bush. That’s what every kid on the street on the street in Baghdad would like to do, but will never get the opportunity to do. I know that the man got imprisoned and all that but I’m hoping against hope that he’s getting served caviar in prison for his amazing feat of bravery. It truly was a rallying point in the low spirits of the Iraqi people.

Given the fact that the farewell visit was something of a formality that neither side was truly interested in, it sure became the talk of the town after that incident. Every major newspaper and news channel is milking that footage and story for all its TRP ratings. There will hardly be a man, woman or child with access to a television who will not have heard that story by the end of the week. For a pair of size ten boots that’s quite a debut.

I won’t be surprised if in a decade or so from now the same footage is shown at an auction house in London. We will be told the story all over again by a polite Englishman with impeccable manners. Then the same shoes will go on auction for thousands of pounds more than the original value. Maybe some rich and patriotic Iraqi will silently bid an astronomical amount on it. Then we will laugh at the memory and marvel at the tenacity of the man who held on to the pair and finally cashed in on them after so many years. Such is life…

Madness in Mumbai

The first time I visited Mumbai I was six years old and visiting my Greatgrand Mother for the first time. I have wonderful memories of that visit as I was pampered by all the Uncles and Aunts around, being the only little kid there. I was introduced to the Parsi Dairy Kulfi, Mangola, and Double Decker Buses. All of which were fabulous experiences for this little kid usually stuck in small cities on the border.

On every subsequent visit over the years I saw a bit more of the city and loved it even more. When I was around eleven we used to go to Mumbai to welcome my father home from abroad. Ma and I would usually stay with her college friend and her kids and I would enjoy the summer holidays together. I remember getting up nice and early just to go to the beach when it was still cool. Then after walking to the beach, playing over there and coming back we would all be bathed and fed and sent back to bed. All in the middle of the morning.

The days that the two friends decided to go shopping together, we would be given some money to fend for lunch for ourselves. I distinctly remember eating around three ice creams for lunch once. And visiting the Hare Rama Hare Krishna ISKON temple canteen to eat a Thali once. Then of course there was all the wonderful shopping that could be done. All the latest trends and the movies that could be seen.

At age thirteen I remember going with a group of boys, all kids of my mother's school and college friends, to see Jurassic Park. I was the only girl in the group and was always pampered. They would get the seats for me in the local train, or bus that we were taking. I was always made to walk in the middle of the group. It was the feeling of pure safety.

At nineteen I was proposed to for the first time in Mumbai. I will never forget that night, even though I said no. It was one of the most romantic gestures that friend of mine ever made.

The college festival that we had gone to attend as a group was Malhar. It was an experience to be running around choupati with fifteen other friends till mid night eating bhel and then crossing the road en mass to eat ice cream at New Yorkers. I remember not getting the waffle cone that I so specifically asked for.

And in all these memories never once do I remember being afraid. Never once did I feel unsafe even at three in the morning taking a cab back from Madness after a great round of dancing.

Things are just not the same. Have you ever stopped to think what happened in Mumbai could happen anywhere? Any place that you have cherished, have had fun with friends could overnight turn into a living hell. All it needs its a few people seeped in their fanatical madness to create more madness all around.

I wish it were not so, but my child is growing up in a world where I am not sure he will live a full long life, because I don't know where the bombs will go off next.

Acid in Afghanistan

I was reading the Times of India and this piece on the Global News page caught my attention. It’s got me introspecting about the kind of world we live in these days.

A 17 year old girl by the name of Shamsia is lying in a military hospital recovering from an acid attack. Men on motorbikes used a water pistol (Pichkari) to spray acid on a group of school girls as they arrived at their school covered in burqas. She was the worst affected with the acid burning her face and entering her eyes. Her spirit is still strong and she wants the Media to announce to the world that she will continue to go to school even if they try to kill her. A sentiment not many school going children worldwide would understand.

The President Hamid Karzai has called it the work of “enemies of Afghanistan” a broad reference used to mean extremists from the Taliban. It’s the most convenient scapegoat for his government. If anything goes wrong just blame the Taliban. A reporter trying to get both versions managed a telephone call to a Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi who said that his group would “never do such a cowardly thing against girls and children.” Not exactly the response we have come to expect from a group so popularized by the Media for its extremist views and destructive ways.

The funny part is I believe that the Taliban did not have anything to do with the attack contrary to what is being accepted. The Taliban believes in big gestures remember the bombing of the Buddha Statues? How can it justify its claim that women are insignificant by going out of their way to attack them? No this was not the work of an organization rather it was the work of a few individuals. The mindset of the Afghan Man tells him that a woman is no better than the cattle he owns. Indians can understand that mindset because at one point of time they shared it, in fact in some rural areas or less developed areas this still hold to be true. So how can livestock go to school and get educated?

Worse they give themselves airs and talk about being men’s equals. If this kind of thing catches on we might never be able to keep them subdued in the house. They will want to go out in the world, they will challenge our authority. Best to nip the bud and dissuade them from educating themselves, teach them a lesson they need to learn. This is the kind of thinking that caused the attack. The men on the motorcycle will never be caught but if more men are to be discouraged from doing the same thing we need to ensure that we get to them young. Change their thinking pattern; do you know who can do it? The mother.

So yes I am happy that Shamsia is willing to brave attacks and go back to school because one day she will tell her son about it. She will explain how difficult things are for women in their society and he will be blessed with an attitude to solve this problem. In his own little way he will contribute to the change in his society by asking for an educated wife to marry and so the change will snowball. The acid eating up Afghanistan will finally be washed clean. It will take some time but I know it will happen as it has already happened in India. I wish them luck and the patience to make it happen.