810...sounds like calling some prisioner..but that's how a few people have identified me in the last one month. I had never ever imagined that shifting from one city to another could be such a hassle. Living in Coimbatore, I had to shift my luggage from Bangalore to Bokaro. In these 3 yrs of stay in B'lore, my luggage had increased from 2 baggages to 12 (excluding TV, Refrigerator and other furnishings which I had bought for the house). Knowing my incapabilities of travelling by train with so much of luggage and the exorbitant charges of extra luggage in flight, I decided to send most of my luggage by a movers and packers agency. Little did I know that this decision of mine would cost me 10k and my peace of mind for the next 45 days.
With the help of google, I contacted a few of them. One didnt even know the place Bokaro!! Finally I zeroed in for the agency which sounded helpful and confident of delivering my luggage in good condition to Bokaro within 10 days. On a bright Sunday morning, they came to my place, packed my luggage and vehicle and set off from my house. They demanded full payment before taking my luggage and said they wont deliver until full payment is done. So I shelled out 10k with the hope of seeing my luggage at my hometown without any hassles.
So far so good. I chilled out for 9 days before the actual ordeal started. On the expected date of delivery of my luggage, I called them to check for the time when they wud give my luggage.
'Kuch kam roshan hai roshni
Kuchh kam geeli hai baarishein'.... starts his caller tune ( for rest of the post, I would refer this guy as 'roshan hai roshni'). Finally he answers the call but cannot recall me. I then quoted my consignment no 810 and this is how he refered and remembered me for all the future calls. After reminding him of his promise of delivering my lugagge within 10 days, he gave me the contact no of a person in Kolkata and asked me to contact him and check with him.
I called this second person (with no caller tune and who seldom received my call) and asked about 810. He told me that its already reached and would be delivered at my house the next morning. Reassured with his answer, I congratulated myself for shifting luggage so peacefully. It was after a couple of days when I realized that this no caller tune guy had just one answer... the one which he had told me the 1st time. From 11th day onwards, calling 'roshan hai roshni' and 'no caller tune' guys became a part of my routine.
After calling for 2 days, there was a new twist. 'No caller tune' guy stopped answering my calls. Pissed off with him, I called up 'roshan hai roshni' and blasted him. He then gave me the contact number of the manager of Kolkata office. I called him up and was taken aback by the caller tune.
'Bhala kisi ka kar na sako to bura kisi ka mat karna
Pushp nahi ban sakte to kante ban kar mat khilna'... Misled by the caller tune, I thought that this guy would be helpful. If not good, he won't do bad to me atleast. After calling him some 10 times a day, my luggage was delivered on the 15th day of dispatch!! But to my surprise (rather shock), one of my suitcases was misplaced and some one else's suitcase was delivered.
After calling up 'bhala - bura' guy for 2-3 times, I was told that probably, the suitcase got exchanged while loading in Kolkata godown. Along with my consignment, another consignment for Guwahati had also been dispatched from B'lore. In kolkata, both the consignments were separated and the suitcases was misplaced. They assured me that they had identified my suitcase and that it would reach my house within 7-8 days.
Knowing how much they adhered to timelines, I started calling up the 'no caller tune' and the 'bhala-bura' guy from the 6th day itself. For 2-3 times, they said it would reach in 1-2 days max, but after that they stopped receiving my calls. I called up the 'roshan hai roshni' guy and expected him to bring some roshni to the whereabouts of my suitcase. He said he would follow up with 'no caller tune' guy and get it delivered within 3-4 days. Everyday I used to call him and like my calls, even his replies became a routine. And by each passing day, my anger and frustration increased and the hope of getting my luggage back decreased.
Mann me hai vishwas...pura hai vishwas...hum honge kamyab ek din!! Finally after 45 days of dispatch, at 5 in the morning, I got a call from a person saying that he is standing outside my house with my suitcase! In spite of having come back late last night from an exhausting trip to Ranchi, I was more than happy to get up at 5 in the morning for my 810/7.
After completing the verification and signing formalities, I eagerly tried closing the door, but that person refused to step out. My dad, just up from his sleep, gave him a rude look. That person replied in a soft voice 'Sir, kuch chai-pani ke liye....'. 'Ek to mahine bhar se hume apne saaman ke liye pareshan kiya... upar se paise maang rahe ho...bhago yahan se' was my dad's reply in a strict voice. I closed the door with a smile on my face. That poor guy got blasted right in the morning, not only because of delivering my suitcase after 1 month, but also because of disturbing my dad from his sleep!!
Finally I don't have to listen to these horrible ring tones and identify myself as 810!!
PS - A piece of free advice.. never ever contact Times Packers and Movers for any shifting [http://www.timespackers.com]
