Perfect Agri Management Corporation - Do not use for Landscaping in Trivandrum
June 13, 2008
We used the services of Perfect Agri Management Corporation (PAMC) for landscaping our house premises. The problems we faced with them were:
1. They do not study the area carefully - they lay grass (lawn) where there is not enough sunlight - The grass does not grow well and you end up having to remove it later and put something like baby chips, gravel, etc. This shows their lack of expertise.
2. They do not have much knowledge in different types of plants. They have a standard set - heliconia and some creepers. These they force upon you saying that it will look great. You will end up having a mini forest of Heliconias.
3. They do a standard set of things for all projects - they do not show any creativity in coming up with new ideas. So unless you are willing to micromanage the design and layout, they will do a terrible job.
4. Their monthly maintenance is extremely poor. Do not even consider signing an annual maintenance contract (AMC) with them. They will take your money and give you scant service for the full year. If you have some issues, there is a government like red tape to ensure that it is taken care of in the lease efficient way. You need to give the complaint to them in writing. They will get the complaint (through their sub contractor) after one month and then decide if to take action on the issue! - all this are written based on my experience with them
5. If you are not careful, they will try to use expensive items and charge you a fortune for them.
6. As Perfect Agri is doing big projects from govt and other private companies, they are unlikely to give house type projects much importance. This is reflected in their overall service and efficiency.
We had to do all the designing of the landscape region ourselves. Perfect Agri was OK in executing what we had designed. We did not have to micromanage the everyday operations. However, that is the only thing positive about them. In all other respects they are terrible.
If you plan on getting your plot landscaped, the best option might be to get a gardener and make him do all the work under your supervision. If you need to have larger scale landscaping try to go with some of the other small companies that are starting out in Trivandrum these days instead of Perfect Agri Management Corporation.
Posted by liveit at 9:31 PM
Taj Green Cove Curries Restaurant - Thumbs Down
July 29, 2007
One Sunday afternoon, we decided to try the buffet lunch at the Taj Green Cove Curries Restaurant. The service was good, but the food was not good. No where near the standards of The Leela, Kovalam.
So if you have to decide between Taj Green Cove and The Leela for buffet lunch, it is a no brainer - The Leela wins it hands down.
Posted by liveit at 9:07 AM
Maruti Driving School Trivandrum - Stopped before proceeding!
Driving simulation, lady teachers for ladies, clean looking cars, eye catching advertisements, an overall professional look - these were some of the images in our mind when we thought of checking out Maruti driving school for my wife.
She had a drivers license, but it was a few years since she had last driven a car in India and she needed a refreshing of her India driving skills. We had been in the US for sometime and she had gotten used to the automatic Accord and US driving conditions.
The receptionist at the Maruthi Driving School explained the options we had. My wife could do a 22 day regular course for about Rs. 5000 or do a 8 day refresher course for Rs. 2000. MDS teaches driving in one of 3 cars - Maruti Esteem, Alto or Wagon R. The cost for the Esteem course was slightly higher than that for the other two. The 22 day course would have 3 theory classes, 5 simulation classes and the rest would be on road teaching.
We decided on going for the 22 day course with Esteem. The receptionist mentioned that the next batch was starting on the coming Sunday and the first class would be a theory class. She asked us to call on Saturday evening or Sunday morning to find out the exact time for the class.
So far the experience was OK, but this is where all the trouble began.
When I called the school on Saturday evening at around 6:30, the person informed me that all the instructors had already left and I can call the next day at 6:30 in the morning to find out the time for the class. So the next day I call them at 6:30 AM and the lady at the other end has no clue as to when the class is to begin. She tells me something like "T3 is at 3pm - is that what you are asking for?"!! Well what is T3? I had not clue, but I guessed it might be Theory Class 3.
Once I explained my situation again, she asked me to call at 9:00 to know the time of the class. When I call at 9, the lady who answers still has no idea of when the class is to begin. She however takes my phone number and promises to call be back.
She calls back in about 20 minutes and it was my wife who answered the phone as I was driving. The lady tells her that there is no new batch starting that day. So my wife wants to know when the next new batch will start. The lady seems to take a guess and say "Wednesday". However, she wants us to go to the school right away and register.
When my wife informs her that initially we were told that we needed to join only on the day the class was to start, the lady asks her to come and register on Tuesday. Why on Tuesday? They wanted to give the schedule. Why can't they not give the schedule on the day the class starts? The lady gets irritated and says curtly "OK, Come on Wednesday".
Since the classes were not being scheduled as they had mentioned why should we pay fees upfront and wait indefinitely?
So here is the bottom line - The Maruti driving school is not professionally run - the people there have scant idea of when the classes and batches start. The people you interact with does not have the courtesy of even talking to you in a professional way. Avoid Maruti Driving School, Trivandrum
Posted by liveit at 6:17 AM
IDBI Bank Trivandrum - Beware of opening Fixed Deposits
May 4, 2006
I have an account with IDBI Bank Trivandrum. If you bank online with IDBI Bank, there is a provision at their website that enables you to open fixed deposits online. I was happy with this facility as this meant less paper work & more efficient use of time.
Still, I was not ready for this surprise. I had been booking 15 day FDs for a couple of months and everything was going on as usual. Then suddenly one day, I found that the money was not credited to my account after the FD period. I checked the online summary of fixed deposits and it showed that the maturity period was after one whole year!!!
Well, I contacted IDBI bank Trivandrum through email and the reply I got is that if I do not contact them when FD matures, they AUTOMATICALLY renew the FD!! In my case they had renewed it for a year! Well what nerves they have to take decision on their own with my money!
I have asked them to immediately solve the issue and credit the amount to my account. Lets see what comes of it.
Anyway as of now IDBI bank tvm seems to be highly unprofessional.
Update May 09, 2006
Its been a week since I last got an email from IDBI Bank on this issue. In the meantime I have sent them 3 emails (one every other day) asking for some form of action/response. Zilch, Nada, nil, zip, zero response!! I have resolved to ensure that this review gets good web presence. Anyone searching for IDBI Bank Trivandrum should come across this account of my experience before they decide to open an account.
People, there are other good banks out there. HDFC Bank Trivandrum (I have account at the Pongummoodu Branch) for one is good. They do not play with your money as IDBI Bank Trivandrum does!
Posted by liveit at 3:14 AM
Bimbis Trivandrum - Bad, Avoid
May 2, 2006
Bimbis at Ernakulam (EKM) has always been a sure bet when you are in mood for some good, especially veg food. So I was delighted to find an ad in the newspaper announcing the opening of Bimbis at Trivandrum (TVM) - the place where I live. Unfortunately that feeling of delight was the only delight I was to have with Bimbis Trivandrum.
Bimbis at Trivandrum is located at East Fort near the Ganapathi temple. It's only a couple of mins walk from the East Fort bus stand.
So what's wrong with Bimbis, TVM? To start with, there's not enough parking space. It is located in a very crowded place - but if that was the only problem, I wouldn't have been writing this blog.
The place is dirty - it has the sticky smell of ice cream - I'm sure you know what it is. The tables, ketchup bottles, water cups are all dirty.
There's only ONE person to serve the entire restaurant!!! Can you believe it? He appeared to have serious problems too - maybe he's overworked! He's the one who takes orders, cleans tables, provides you with water and other stuff and serves your orders! We thought that maybe since it was a Sunday, the staff was less - but then while on our way back, we enquired at the cashier and the lady there informed us that, no, this is the case on all days. The service is really slow - well can you expect a fast service with just one waiter?
We ordered 2 dosas, 1 sambar vada, 2 milkshakes to have and then some items as parcel. The waiter served us 2 dosas and then brought us the parcel. He then asked if we were ready for the bill!! What happened to the other items? When I asked the same, he said that as the power had gone, the milkshakes were not possible (ok) and he forgot about the sambar vada (!).
Most of the patrons had the tired waiting expressions. We asked the people seating at the nearby table if it was their first time there and they said that they had made the mistake of trying this place out. Some of the other people cancelled half of their orders and left ASAP.
The food was not bad but its not worth it when you consider all thats wrong with this place.
Anyway, the bottom line - Avoid at all cost, Bimbis Trivandrum
Posted by liveit at 8:45 AM
Painting the house
April 23, 2006
One of the final steps in renovation of a house is painting. For our house, there are three main parts to this process.
The first is what they call putting the 'putty'. This is a substance that gives a smooth finish to the walls. After it's application, the putty has to be scrubbed with sand paper. If the ceiling paint is to be changed the ceiling also might need to be scrubbed.
The second phase is the first coat of wall paint and all coats of ceiling paint. This phase also includes polishing of wooden doors, windows, cabinets, etc.
We had used Teak for our new furniture and had decided to stain it a dark color similar to rosewood finish. To get the wood to this color, there is quite a bit of work. First the wood is cleaned with a blade (shaving blade!), then scrubbed with sand paper. Then a coat of sealer is applied and scrubbed again. One more round of polishing ensues and then it is ready for application of stain.
To get a good finish it is better to use a spray painting machine. This also ensures that the work goes on fast. The spray machine cannot be used in narrow areas and those need to be hand stained.
The third phase of painting involves the second coat of wall paint and the painting of grills and doors & windows (that are not polished).
If you need to lay floor tiles, it is usually done after the first coat of wall paint. If there are electrical fixtures to be fixed, that is also done after the first coat of wall paint. The second coat of wall paint is kept to the very last so that any dirt or spots that result from the other work is erased with the final coat of paint.
We used 'emulsion' for the interior paint and 'apex' for the exterior paint. Usually the exterior painting is done after the first coat of interior wall paint as this time can be used for laying floor tiles inside the house.
Posted by liveit at 7:47 PM
Vitrified tiles for house floor - Marbonite from Amset, trivandrum
April 21, 2006
After considering granite for a few days, we changed our minds and decided on laying vitrified tiles for our house floor. Though granite has a few advantages like it's a natural hard stone, the color selection available in granite was not meeting our expectations.
We had visited Benoy marbles at Pallipuram, near Trivandrum to check the colors available in granite. The one color we liked was not in stock and they also warned us that when it comes in stock, it might not be the exact color. Besides, the light colors available in granite was not pleasing enough.
Once we had decided to go with vitrified tiles, we visited some shops and shortlisted a few designs and types. We also got estimates for the ones we selected for the area of our home - about 1450 sq feet.
If you are looking for quality tiles, there are two main choices - Marbonite and Nitco. Most of the shops have only one of these available.
We got quotes for Marbonite from Amset, Nalanchira and from another shop in trivandrum city (I forgot the name & place). We went with Viva Marfil design of Marbonite. The one shop in the city quoted Rs. 57/sq ft and Amset quoted Rs 55/sq ft. Amset has some extra charges for loading and transportation. Still they turned out to be cheaper and hence we bought from them.
One another stuff you might need for laying tiles is the adhesive. As per recommendation of the tile laying contractor, we went with Balendura brand Gold star. Each kg of the adhesive is good for about 3 sq ft.
We had decided on using adhesive instead of cement because the tiles were to be laid on top of old mosaic floor. If we were to use cement, the mosaic floor will have to be dug up.
Anyway, the tiles will be laid starting next Tuesday. Do check back to see how it comes out. (Hope I get the time to update :) )
Posted by liveit at 7:41 AM
Muthoot Plaza Trivandrum - Good Food, Nice Ambiance, but low on promises
February 20, 2006
Some days back I noticed an ad in The Hindu mentioning that there's a sea food festival going on in the Muthoot Plaza, near Statue, Trivandrum. So we decided to give it a try.
I called up the restaurant in the afternoon just to make sure that the ad was right and to get the location of the hotel. They confirmed that the sea food festival will begin at 7 in the evening.
We reached the hotel at about 7. There's ample parking space so drive without worry. When we reached the hotel, a bell boy came and asked us what were there for and when we mentioned the sea food festival, he told us that its not on this evening!!!
Well, I headed to the reception and the person there was not of much help either. He said that the sea food festival was cancelled for that evening. He tried to see if I would leave at that but when I expressed my displeasure, he asked me to wait in the foyer.
After a few minutes, a Mr. Gopu arrived and apologised for all the problems. He mentioned that there was a change of plans in the evening and apparently the roof garden (where the sea food festival was to be held) was booked for a corporate event.
Maybe they crunched the numbers and figured that they'd make a few bucks extra if they gave in to the corporate booking. Whats a few upset customers?
Anyway, this Mr. Gopu informed us that we could try the restaurant where they had a buffet (regular - not the sea food festival buffet). He also offered us cocktails on the house for the inconveniences.
So much for the bashing. Now for the compliments.
The restaurant is called Tiffanys and true to its name, is adorned with stained glass paintings. This was interesting as my wife also does some stained glass artwork. Besides, stained glass is hardly seen in TVM.
The ambiance of the place is good. The food was good too - with enough delicious varieties - and so was the service. We enjoyed the food, service and the cocktails. I should give them an A for all these.
They also show you some sea food and you can ask them to cook it as per your directions. This is not part of the buffet, but as a la carte. I do not like to direct how the food is to be cooked - well in that case I would as well cook at home!
Anyway, though we were a bit disappointed at not having tasted the sea food festival items, we did enjoy the evening.
Posted by liveit at 1:05 AM
Arya Jyothi Trivandrum - Good South Indian Food
February 17, 2006
At first I was hesitant to try it out, but after some coaxing & cajoling from my wife, I finally agreed to go to Arya Jyothi. I'm glad I did, bcoz we found to our surprise that the food there exceeded our expectations.
Arya Jyothi is near LIC, Pattom. They have 3 floors. From what I could make out, they serve regular meals in the ground floor, special meals & other stuff in the first floor. I'm yet to go to the second floor. May be tomorrow.
The first time we went there, my wife had chilly porota and I had masala dosa. My wife is a big fan of chilly porota and had been trying it out at every restaurant in trivandrum to find a place that serves one to her liking. After tasting the very first spoon, her eyes lit up and I knew that she had hit the jackpot. The masala dosa also turned out to be pretty good.
One thing that I should mention is the service. They have a very efficient and pleasant service system. It's not one of those fancy restaurants, yet we were very much impressed by the service. In particular, the waiters notice if you run out of chutney or sambar and in no time you'll find a catora on your table.
We usually have a slightly higher level of salt in our food and when I asked the waiter for salt, he wanted to know which dish was lacking in salt. That was a pleasant surprise - to know that they cared. Of course, we had to explain to him our liking for the higher than usual level.
Anyway, we've gone there 4 times in the past 2 days! The other dishes we tried are: Putt + Kadala, Tomato Uthappam, Roti + Mushroom masala, meals. My wife mentions - most of their dishes have a home made flavour - something like what mom makes - well there's no better compliment, right?
Posted by liveit at 8:05 AM
Bathroom Tiles, Sanitary Ware, Tub & Jacuzzi
February 7, 2006
We intend to remodel the bathrooms in our home as a part of the renovation. For that we needed to choose & buy tiles for the bathroom & sanitary ware (closet, wash basin, etc). In one of the bigger bathrooms, we plan to install a tub with jacuzzi too.
We chose & bought most of the tiles & sanitary items from JAJ Enterprise, Keshavadasapuram. The staff there are quite helpful. You will be able to get some discount if you are willing to bargain a bit. For one of the bathrooms alone, we took tiles from Amset, Nalanchira.
For the tub + jacuzzi, we had to go to JAJ at Thampanoor to see the one on display. There is only one twin tub (that's what we want) on display. The tub and jacuzzi are not kept in stock. If you give an advance (about 30%) they'll order the items for you.
The tub and jacuzzi have to come from Delhi. On the way, they are assembled at Hyderabad. It'll take about 15 days (after some pushing and prodding) for the items to get here.
We went with a 1.5HP, 6 water jets + 10 air jets model for the jacuzzi.
The tub & jacuzzi together comes to a bit over INR 1 lakh. After some bargaining, we were able to get it down to Rs. 93,000.
Posted by liveit at 2:45 AM
Timber, carpentry, etc
January 25, 2006
After considerable search we were able to find an architect/ interior decorator for renovating our house. And after much pushing and nudging, the architect took the first step of procuring wood for the work.
We decided on using 'Burma' teak. Apparently Kerala teak is much more costlier and not available readily. So, on Monday evening, the architect, carpenter and myself went to the timber depot - Malackal Timber at Peyaad, Trivandrum. There we looked over the available logs and the carpenter decided on two pieces - one big and one small.
The big piece was Rs. 1700/cubic foot and the small one was Rs. 1500 per cubic foot. We had to take about 58 cubic foot of wood. The total expenses including tax and sawing charges came to about Rs. 1,06,000.
The next day carpenter went to Malackal depot and oversaw the sawing process. He then came with the wood load to our house in a Mini lorry. As expected, local loading/unloading guys came along with the lorry - this is a practise that is prevalent in Kerala. You cannot use outside help to unload the lorry - you either have to do it yourself or let the union (loading/unloading) guys do it.
The loading/unloading people charge you exorbitant rates and even after much negotiation, you will end up paying through your nose. Anyway, since I knew some of these guys, we ended up paying Rs. 1000 for the unloading task and the guys did a pretty good job of it.
Now we have to wait for about a week and half for the wood to dry.
Only then can the carpenter begin his work.
Will keep the blog updated as the work progresses.
Posted by liveit at 5:12 AM
New Theatre - Trivandrum
January 6, 2006
The New Theatre, Trivandrum is located near the Fly over at Thampanoor. It is close to the Railway station and the Bus station at Thampanoor.
We went to see the Mamooty hit move Rajamanikyam at New Theatre. The New Theatre is a sort of "second class" theatre and the crowd is not the best. I would not categorise the New Theatre as an ideal family theatre.
One thing annoying about the theatre is that the gates are opened to cars and motorcycles only about 30 mins prior to the film. This, I think, is because of the fact that they want to make sure that the vehicles parked there for the previous movie have left before the ones for the next movie goes into the parking spots. They should come up with a better system than to cause such inconvenience to patrons.
We took tickets to the "Dress Circle" (like the Balcony) and had an enjoyable experience watching the move. The movie was good, but the theatre has lots of room for improvement.
Posted by liveit at 9:45 PM
IDBI Bank Trivandrum Branch at Statue - Parking Impossible
January 2, 2006
IDBI Bank has only one branch in Trivandrum - as of this writing - and it is at Statue. The branch is situated at one of the busiest places in the city and there is absolutely no parking facility available.
So if you are about to open an account with IDBI Bank, Trivandrum, make sure that the absence of parking facility is ok with you.
I mentioned this problem to the branch manager and he acknowledged the fact that it is a problem. He countered saying that customers hardly ever have to visit the branch - I'll have to find out if thats true - as the relationship manager will be able to send someone to your house for most of the requirements.
Well, if you have to access the locker facility, you'll have to go to the bank - I do not see any alternative.
Posted by liveit at 2:29 AM
Baba Studio Trivandrum photo restoration - Bad & Avoid
December 29, 2005
Among all the junk that had accumulated over the years at my house, I found a few photos that brought back memories from decades back. These were not junk, but true treasures.
So, I set out to get them restored - with the years, the photos had gathered dust and mold. I saw some ad on TV mentioning Baba studio, Trivandrum as specializing in photo restoration.
I gave the studio only one photo as I wanted to see how good they are before committing to more. I gave the photo for restoration on Dec 8th, 2005 and they gave me a receipt which mentioned that I will get the restored photo on Dec 12th, 2005. I went to the studio on Dec 16th and they said that the photo was not yet ready!
On Dec 29th, I went to the studio after calling ahead and confirming that the photo was indeed ready.
The job they had done was pathetic. Some of the faces were so distorted that I could not help but laugh. I am sure that I can do a better job on it with very crude PC tools. Anyway, I paid them Rs 200 which was the fees for this mockery.
I have now given it to a different place - lets see how it comes out. If it comes out good, I'll follow up with a related post.
If you need a photo to be restored, don't try it at Baba Studio, Trivandrum!
Posted by liveit at 9:27 PM
Places to play Badminton in Trivandrum
December 22, 2005
Badminton is my favourite pastime - it provides an outlet for pent of energy that builds up with hours of work at the computer.
There are a couple of places I know of where you can play Badminton in Trivandrum. One is the Jimmy George Indoor Stadium and the other is at Shangumugham. Of the two my pick is the one at Shangumugham.
The Jimmy George Stadium is at Vellayambalam. You need a membership to play here. The membership application form is available from the office and you need to submit 2 passport size photographs along with the application. There is a membership fee of Rs. 25.
After you have the membership card issued (they say it's fast, but takes time due to various reasons as per my experience), you need to book time slots to play. In order to book you need to go there in person and book. The charge per hour for a court is Rs. 50.
Looks like they have tried to make it as difficult as possible for you to play badminton there.
The option at Shangumugham is much easier. You can call in and reserve the court. The charge is Rs. 30 per hour. No application, no membership fees, no photos, no appearance in person for booking - without doubt Jimmy George Indoor stadium needs to learn a thing or two!
Posted by liveit at 11:06 PM
House renovation & interior decoration - Finding architects, interior decorators in Trivandrum
December 19, 2005
One thing we want to do as a part of our settling down process is to renovate our house. The interior decoration for the hall needs to be changed and the bathrooms need to be remodelled. There are also other stuff like converting to a 3 phase electrical system, fitting an inverter (for power when the supply goes off), air conditioning for 2 rooms, remodelling the showcases/cabinets in the hall and the like.
Well, the first part is to find a good architect/interior decorator. This proved to be quite a job. Very few architects seemed to be interested.
There's two main reasons for this:
1. It's more difficult and less rewarding work to remodel/renovate a house than to build one from the start. So architects in general do not like to touch buildings that other people have designed.
2. The construction market in Kerala and probably the whole of India is quite hot and every one is busy doing quite a number of projects - most of them have their hands full.
So you need to look for someone who specializes in doing individual houses and take up small jobs. We were lucky to find such a person.
Now the next step is to choose tiles for floor and bathrooms.
Posted by liveit at 9:06 AM
Honda City VTEC
I chose to buy a Honda car because, I've driven Accord before and found it to be quite satisfactory. In fact I was more than happy with the Accord.
So, when I moved to India I decided to stick with Honda and go for the recently released Honda City VTEC. Once I decided on the color, I had to book it with about Rs. 30K as down payment. It took about a month for the car to be available for delivery. On the road it came to about 8.7lakhs. That is Rs. 8,70,000. This includes road tax, insurance & extended warranty.
The dealer for Honda in Trivandrum is Peninsular Honda at Karyavattom. They provide you with pretty good service. They did have a delay of about 10 days from the date they initially promised, but overall, the transaction went very smoothly.
Unlike the US, there are some tough restrictions on the service schedule. You HAVE to do the first three services within the days/mileage limit otherwise the warranty will be affected.
I've been driving the car for about a month now, and am pretty satisfied with it.
Posted by liveit at 8:55 AM
HDFC Credit Card
Obtaining a credit card from HDFC is a bit tricky if you are like me - returned NRI, not currently employed. This is because they need some sort of verification of income. So if you are not employed, there are a couple of other options:
1. Have an LIC policy with annual premuim over Rs. 6000
2. Open the SB account in HDFC bank with Rs. 25000 or more
The funny part is that you need to 'open' with 25K or more. If you open with 5K and then transfer in 20K, that will not suffice. As I did not know this detail, I'll have to wait out and see if there are any other alternatives.
So if you need a credit card and are in a similar position, make sure you open the account with 25K+
Posted by liveit at 8:48 AM
Banks Trivandrum - HDFC, IDBI
December 16, 2005
I've been quite erratic updating this blog - mainly because I'm quite busy these days. I'm in the process of settling down in Trivandrum, Kerala. Trivandrum is a small city towards the southern most tip of the Indian peninsula.
One of the main things you got to do when settling down, is to find a bank that meets your needs. I've decided on HDFC & IDBI. I had to go with two because HDFC has a branch very close to the place I live, but it does not have any locker facility. IDBI bank provides locker facility. Moreover its better to have your eggs in two baskets! If you need locker facility, another option is UTI bank which has locker facility in its Pattom branch. IDBI bank has locker facility in its Statue branch.
Opening a bank account is easy and simple. The nice thing about it is that the bank representatives come to your home and take care of all the formalities. No long forms to fill out. You only need one or two photos and proof of address - a copy of your passport will suffice.
The bank representatives take care of the rest. There are different types of accounts - SB (Savings Bank) account, Current Account,...
For personal banking you need an SB account. Even in SB account, there are different categories depending upon how much balance you intend to have in your account.
If you intend to maintain higher balance you will have some additional privileges like higher life insurance amount (life insurance comes by default), pick up of checks, delivery of DDs, higher withdrawal limits at ATMS and the like.
Usually they will also offer you some brochures on Mutual funds, health insurance policies and the like. They even go out of their way to help you - in my case, since HDFC bank did not have locker facility available, the HDFC representative contacted IDBI bank and asked them to come over.
IDBI bank was impressive because they provide you with an instant account number, 5 check leaves and ATM card - on the spot. They send you more checks and the like in the post. The ATM card will be active in 4 business days.
For HDFC bank, you need to wait for the ATM card, checks, etc to come in the mail. Though representatives from both the banks were nice and courteous, I'd have to give more marks to HDFC for their professionalism and customer service.
So, in general opening a bank account, banking in India is quite easy. Wish everything else was as easy as this!
Posted by liveit at 6:27 AM
