Thanks, no bull

During my recent trip to Guruvayoor, I noticed many signs in Malayalam that said, "Nandi", but Lord Siva's bull was nowhere to be seen.

Being a bit unlettered in Malayalam, it took me a while to figure out that "Nandi" was the equivalent of the Tamil word "nanRi" (Thanks).

Thanks, no bull.

Deccan to the skies, safety to the dogs

In a few years from now, passengers of Jet, Sahara, Indian, etc. will feel at home with Deccan - Deccan might consider building aircraft from discards of other airlines, for the familiar look to attract those passengers, and to cut costs.

The flight from Hyderabad to Chennai last Saturday didn't inspire much confidence. For the seats ahead of me, there were holes in place of the air-stream adjusters. The lone in-flight attendant mumbled something with a seat belt to a few front-benchers about how to strap it, or so it seemed.

To top it, a few seats refused to stay in their normal position and were perpetually on incline, flouting air safety norms for keeping the seat back upright during take off and landing.

As Deccan takes to the skies, safety has gone to the dogs.

Aisle of man

The amount of creativity in some people never ceases to amaze. For a new branding, Indian Airlines changed their name to something drastically different, hold your breath, Indian.

To my surprise, they called 90 minutes before intended departure and informed me of a half-an-hour delay.

To ensure that their passengers are not shocked by other changes, the airlines have decided to continue with their regular customer service. The representative at the check-in counter was asked, "Can I have an aisle seat?". He looked and finally offered a window seat.

Shouldn't be complaining, I thought. I got to my seat and found no reason to complain. My row was free - window to aisle. Wonder why the guy gave me a window seat when I had asked for an aisle seat and there were many available?

Maybe he misheard me. After all, 'window' and 'aisle' sound very similar, don't they?