My email to Mr.Mukesh D.Ambani is now an OPEN email to Mr.Mukesh D. Ambani

From:
Shakir Roshanali Virpurwala
3/10 The Hajiali Municipal Officers CHS Ltd, Govt. Colony Road, Nr.
Lala Lajpatrai College, Haji Ali Park, Mumbai – 400 034 (INDIA) Tel:
8898041648 Mobile: 8097960591 / 9221108353 email:
shakirvirpurwala@gmail.com, shakirvirpurwala@yahoo.com

Email To:
Mr. Mukesh D. Ambani
Chairman – Reliance Group of Industries
Email: Mambani@ril.com

Ref: My visit to Reliance Fresh Signature Store, Shop No.5 Tirupati
Apartments, Off Mahalaxmi Temple, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai
400026. On 10th August 2013 at 2.00 p.m.

Sub: Unbecoming, rude and humiliating behavior of the Security personnel.

Respected Sir,

I have always believed and as is generally perceived, that the
Reliance Group of Industries, especially the retail consumer catering
chains like Reliance Communications and Reliance Retail Limited have
always held protecting the profit margins as the mainstay/priority in
their primer of corporate/work philosophy/ethos. Often this is at the
cost of customer service and satisfaction. But my recent experience to
Reliance Fresh Signature Store, Shop No.5 Tirupati Apartments, Off
Mahalaxmi Temple, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai 400026 on 10th August
2013 at 2.00 p.m. went far beyond this.

A little introductory background is necessary before I proceed to my
core complaint. I am a post-graduate (M.A.) in English Literature. I
have a 61 year old bonafide handicapped (with a history of spasticity)
sister, who I stay with at the above address. Since October 2012 she
has been, bed-ridden initially and then confined largely to the
wheelchair due to left femur fracture for which she was operated
twice. I am the only caretaker in the house and she cannot be left
alone for extended period of time. I used to do my groceries, fruits &
vegetables shopping from the Byculla or Dadar market, but since our
ailing mother expired in 2012, I was forced for economy of logistics
to shop from nearby Reliance Fresh Stores at Tardeo, Mumbai Central
and Bhulabhai Desai Road. The Tardeo store closed some years ago and
the Mumbai Central store is quite far. The most accessible store for
us is at Bhulabhai Desai Road, off Mahalaxmi Temple, to which I can
easily wheel-chair my sister in a few minutes. I normally park her
wheelchair on the side of the road, under the shade of a tree from
where she can view the inside of the store. I am constrained to leave
her outside because Reliance Fresh Signature Store, Shop No.5 Tirupati
Apartments, Off Mahalaxmi Temple, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai
400026 is not a handicapped-user-friendly store.

On 10th August 2013, I reached Reliance Fresh Signature Store, Shop
No.5 Tirupati Apartments, Off Mahalaxmi Temple, Bhulabhai Desai
Road, Mumbai 400026 at about 2.00 p.m.with my sister on the wheelchair
Since there were cars parked along the whole side of the road, I took
her onto the footpath and parked her wheelchair unobtrusively on the
footpath, carefully avoiding obstructing the Entrance & Exit of the
store. No sooner had I done this, the security person came charging
and bellowed that ‘Yahan nahi khadaa rakhne ka, aap udhar-uidhar
(pointing) aage lagao’ There was something in his tone, which I could
not detect at the time.I asked him why and he said ‘Nahi, yahan hamare
sab customers aate-jaate hai. Tum udhar aage lagao.’ I told him that I
have parked the vehicle in such a way that neither the customers
entering nor those leaving will be inconvenienced. But, he still
repeated what he had said earlier. This time I sensed what his tone
was implying. He had somehow jumped to the conclusion that we were a
begging-couple seeking alms! I looked at him squarely in the eyes and
asked ‘Aap spasht roop se kahiye. Aap kya kehna chahtein hain?’ Now he
wavered a little and started realizing his mistake. One of the
employees of the store also came and whispered something to him. He
changed his stance and tone suddenly. He said that my sister cries and
asks for me and this disturbs the customers. But by then the damage
and humiliation was done. I said I am a customer, too. By way of right
my handicapped sister should also be granted access to the store. But
the store architects and designers never seem to have given a thought
to this and maybe this should be brought to (your) Mr. Mukesh Ambani’s
notice.’

The smaller issue which this incident raises is: A customer coming to
a Reliance Fresh Signature Store in a car is a valued client and one
who comes in a wheelchair is a beggar? Was the security person, at the
store, justified in the conclusion that he jumped to? And why should
the Reliance Fresh chain of stores not be handicapped-user /
wheelchair friendly?

One of the larger issue lies in the way of the world. When it comes to
taking, exploiting, benefitting (call it what you may) the world
squeezes every ounce of juice out of you and then, like dried pulp,
leaves you to waste? They say life is the best teacher. My variegated
experience-filled life has taught me many things. As an individual, as
a friend, as a teacher I have shared these ‘Teachings of Life’ most
generously, for I have always believed that insights / knowledge
shared does not diminish/reduce/lessen but it only
increases/multiplies manifold and when translated into positive
feelings, thoughts and action makes humanity at large, evolve. Today,
my world is limited to the care and improving the quality of life, of
my handicapped sister, which brings me to the prime issue of attitude,
towards the handicapped, of Society at large which is epitomized by
the thoughts and actions of the security person in the incident I have
related. A handicapped individual is a stereotype, a beggar, to be
kept away. The welfare of the handicapped is the concern of the
government and NGO’s. But that will not change anything significantly
until the attitude, the feelings, the thoughts for the handicapped
change at the base level with individuals and translate positively
into helpful action.

--
Warm Regards
*Shakir Roshanali Virpurwala* *M.A. **( English Literature )
*E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E S K I L L S E N H A N C E M E N T
*English Teacher / Online Spoken & Written English Tutor / Personal Trainer
/ Copywriter*


PAYMENT OPTIONS: CASH/CHEQUE DEPOSIT AT ANY BANK OF INDIA BRANCH IN
INDIA OR BY NEFT.
BANK DETAILS GIVEN BELOW:: BENEFICIARY NAME- SHAKIR R VIRPURWALA,
BENEFICIARY BANK A/C
NO.002810110001297,
BENEFICIARY BANK-BANK OF INDIA, MAHALAXMI BRANCH,MUMBAI
400026.
BANK IFSC-BKID0000028,
BENEFICIARY PAN CARD NO.-AESPV5815J


*Cell* *+918097960591 or**+918898041648
**Home Mobile*:+*919221108353 ****Email
**kalamroh@yahoo.com*

*shakir.shakir.virpurwala@gmail.com*
*Blogs:* *http://shaktish.blogspot.com/**
**http://shaktish-genesisshakirvirpurwala.blogspot.com/*

The Top Five Songs Sung by S.D.Burman

SHAKIR SELECT My favourites of Burmanda!

Bismillah ir rahman nir rahim

More than two decades ago my father told me on more  than one occasion  'Just saying Bismillah ir rahmanir  raheem should suffice.' It took me almost 22 years and traveling more than 6500 kms away from home, to realise what exactly he meant.

At the cloak room of Lisco's Misurata Training Centre, one sunny afternoon in December, 2011, I came across the Libyan canteen manager doing 'wuzu' or 'wudu'. I asked him what 'kalaam' / words he said while doing 'wudu'. He replied 'Bismillah ir rahman nir rahim. It was then that I realised what my father was trying to tell me more than 22 years ago !

INSTALLING HUSBAND !!!

A woman writes to the IT Technical support Guy

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and I noticed a distinct slowdown in the overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewellery applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NEWS 5.0, MONEY 3..0 and CRICKET 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and House cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.
What can I do?

Signed,
____
Reply frm Co -

DEAR Madam,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme. Html and try to downloadTears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewellery 2.0 and Flowers 3.5..

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Silence 2.5 or Beer 6.1.

Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance.

We recommend: Cooking 3.0 and Good Looks 7.7 and Sex 9.0!

Good Luck

PARAPROSDOKIANS

PARAPROSDOKIANS (Winston Churchill loved them) are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous.

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left...

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

18. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

19. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

20. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

21. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

22. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

23. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

24. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

25. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

26. Where there's a will, there are relatives.

Remarkable piece of Writing!

A letter that copywriter Robert Pirosh wrote on wanting to become a Hollywood screenwriter.

Dear Sir:

I like words. I like fat buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady. I like solemn, angular, creaky words, such as straitlaced, cantankerous, pecunious, valedictory. I like spurious, black-is-white words, such as mortician, liquidate, tonsorial, demi-monde. I like suave "V" words, such as Svengali,svelte, bravura, verve. I like crunchy, brittle, crackly words, such as splinter, grapple, jostle, crusty. I like sullen, crabbed, scowling words, such as skulk, glower, scabby, churl. I like Oh-Heavens, my-gracious, land's-sake words, such as tricksy, tucker, genteel, horrid. I like elegant, flowery words, such as estivate, peregrinate, elysium, halcyon. I like wormy, squirmy, mealy words, such as crawl, blubber, squeal, drip. I like sniggly, chuckling words, such as cowlick, gurgle, bubble and burp.

I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a New York advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood, but before taking the plunge I went toEurope for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around.

I have just returned and I still like words.

May I have a few with you?

The Day Before 'House-Arrest'

The Fourteenth day of February - universally celebrated as Valentine's Day - held a rather different significance for me last year (2011).

At our residential facility (Camp Krupp) in Misurata, my colleagues and I were passive ear-witnesses to the detriorating situation in and around Misurata since the past few weeks. Two days ago there had been violence in the surrounding areas. It was becoming increasingly unsafe to venture out of the Camp. So there came an edict from the HR department - no one was to leave the residential enclave and go out into the city.

Now, I had not been given a laptop by my company. Neither did I have a Smartphone with Internet. I used to go to the cyber cafe outside our residential enclave and use the Internet on PC, including Net telephony. But, since the unrest began, the cyber cafe owner opened it without regularity and after a few days it shut down completely. It was then that I decided to purchase a Smartphone. It was logical to assume that things would get worse from now on.

So, despite the HR edict, I took a taxi to the city. Everything seemed quite normal when I reached. Shops were open in the market, although not all. I bought the phone at one of the shops and decided to buy some food items. As I turned into the Main Square, towards the department store I usually shopped at, I felt something amiss. Fewer shops were open and just a handful of people on the streets. But most significantly, it was quieter than usual. The silence of the city kept growing on me and I was debating with myself, whether I should turn back. I decided to carry on

I reached the department store. Although it was open, it was relatively deserted - a couple of families had come to shop. The sales assistants were present in full strength. Since I had predecided my purchase list, I headed straight for the chocolates section. I bought a pound of of chocolates. (I had read somewhere that chocolates were a very good source of instant energy and that during an engagement, the soldiers in combat, carried bars of chocolates in their backpacks, along with the bullets and other ammunition). I added four tetrapacks of milk to my shopping cart. I also bought about a dozen cups of the locally manufactured yoghurt in two flavours. I picked up a 'dish' of raw eggs (maybe they were thirty or so). I had earlier bought tomatoes, cooking oil, dry fruits and some other ingredients. I decided to hurry. I wanted to be 'home' as early as possible. I paid the bill for my purchases and stepped out on the street leading to the taxi stand.

I must have walked a few yards, when I came across a small group of men. They seemed to be just huddling together at an intersection. As I passed them, I perceived them to be heavy-set men, dressed in denim jeans & jackets, tee-shirts and wearing heavy boots. They had seen me as I approached them. I am not sure, but two of the men, may have been carrying semi-automatic weapons. I had gone, perhaps,fifty feet ahead, when I heard one of them call out in Arabic. I felt cold within, as if the blood in my veins had congealed. Had the moment of reckoning arrived? I did not hesitate or stop. My head down, as if in deep thought, I continued walking slowly and unhurriedly. My heart was hammering inside me as I kept on telling myself, "Prudence is the better part of valour. Just keep walking normally, Shakir". The same voice called out once again, but I continued to ignore it. I kept walking, still unhurriedly, head bent down in a psuedo-thoughtful posture.

Fortunately, the man who had called out did not persist and I heaved a sigh of relief as I turned the corner and headed straight for the taxi-stand. It was not until the taxi had moved out of the city, I started breathing freely! Phew! Narrow escape! These were my feelings then.

Today, when I look back on it, I think if the man was really calling me. Also maybe he was just wanting to tell me to be careful and not venture out alone! Maybe. But at that time, it was 'fear-psychosis' that gripped all of us and our perceptions were greatly influenced by it.

I reached the Camp and made 'kalamroh' - a sweet dish made of mashed boiled rice mixed with sweet curds (yoghurt) with a generous topping of raisins, almonds, pistachios, etc. I activated the Internet on my phone and bought the Internet telephony card. It was a holy night and after prayers. I shared the 'kalamroh' with my neighbour. I then called up home and spoke to my mother. I also spoke to my sister, but could not get across to my brother.

The next day we received news that after the Friday prayers, there had been widespread demonstrations in the city square. The crowd was fired upon by 'soldiers', who were later confirmed mercenaries brought in from another land. In the melee that followed, stabbings took place. At least two dead and a long list of the injured. The peace in this city, one of the first to proclaim independence, (after Benghazi), from the earlier regime through a 'bloodless' transfer of power to the revolutionaries, was shattered The Internet services were suspended. The violence was out on the streets.

From now on, we were under a self-imposed 'house-arrest'.