So I said, let me read about the company… and tada, it’s 58% owned by UMW Toyota and Daihatsu (which is a subsidiary of Toyota!). They even share the factory that buids the Toyota Avanza!

No wonder that Daihatsu models are the basis of Perodua cars:

Daihatsu Mira -> Perodua Viva

Daihatsu Sirion -> Toyota Passo/Duet -> Perodua Mivy

Daihatsu Trevis -> Perodua Kelisa

and some more like the Toyota Rush/Daihatsu Terios… Nek manque the Toyota Camry/Daihatsu Altis to come next

What about your views? How do you find Perodua vehicles?

So what does it mean?  Simply that all religions are paths set to reach the same goals. People should not fight or even discuss the superiority of one religion over the other. Or even try to convert people to theirs. All these religions are linked together and the fight is rather over non-believers of faith; as well as those, who in the name of faith massacre people, perform bad deeds and so on…

While comparing the texts from 3 big religions, my humble self realised that they’re all beautifully teaching and showing the same principles: spread love - to people, lead a dutiful life, show compassion and peace… To some this post might seem out of context, or profanation! I’ll just ask them to be a open-minded and to read the book of the religion other than your own…

To non-believers of a single God (yes, even Hinduism teaches one God -those who think otherwise have got it confused) , I’ll say, is it not proof enough that prophecies happen?

Further Reading:

http://priyo.com/blog/episode-24-kalki-avatar-prophet-muhammad

http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_jesusdescribed.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki

Means my tax money’s going there! Instead of being well-spent on necessary things, like proper protection from flood in that same village! To top it, road that’s already in good condition at Brisée Verdière has been rendered again! In Belvedere there’s even 2 levels of tar on each lane…

Doesn’t anyone notice that apart from me and my friends?

Saw my friend’s 1970 car right in front of me. Ah good, he’ll show me the way. But at 25kph, I’m going to stay here so much longer. I decided to overtake, it always feels good to do so. Now the even harder part. Used my memory of the years I drove this road to determine where the road was, each time braking when a vehicle approached in front with blinding headlights…

Finally I reached Lallmatie, the rain hadn’t stopped. Put on the TV, there was meteo, “the weather will be cloudy in the east tonight.” Yes, that’s  how precise even current events can be reported by local meteo…

According to my research on Google, they put only 9 buses on the 222 route and 10 in the 226 (Rempart-Curepipe) as per a couple of years ago. Imagine with all the crowd waiting and rushing to get buses in the morning. They could easily have put an extra 3 buses from 6-8 am and from 3-5 pm. But no, you have to rush, the conductor will stop you cause the buses go FULL during that time with standing. On some days, there are more than 20 standings. Not legal, but as a service, I personally would prefer to be standing than to go late at work/uni. Thanks to the conductors for understanding. But too often during the past 10 years have I seen 222 buses come and go and not taking people - there simply aren’t enough buses on this route! And they talk about not profitable… Mismanagement as we all saw in the newspapers? And who suffers? Everyday commuters like everyone without a car/lift!

It’s great time that either NTC becomes a private company, where the management should do an entensive survey on all the routes offered to find out on which ones more buses are needed, and which ones less. Secondly, proper maintenance to be done on the buses (imagine seeing older UBS, TBS buses being in better conditions!). And then liberalise the routes. Competitions Act is already here. Monopoly on routes should be illegalised (if that word exists), especially on the 222 route!

http://www.islandcrisis.net/2009/07/university-of-mauritius-uom-becomes-a-money-making-institution/

http://lovvy.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/universities-are-doing-business/

I have am going back to UOM this semester like many others for my MSc… and I have to say that the rules still suck as they did many years ago… Come on 80% attendance for postgraduate courses? Is it a joke… Many will not be able to make it to the lectures (not easy to get releases)… And their timetables… No communication from the administration prior to their when exactly the course if going to start… I mean, not even an email (do they even know how to email)…

The admin’s biggest fault is that they don’t understand your point. They couldn’t care less that you have to take loans to pay the nearly 80K per year for an MSc or 100K for MBA… They want instant payment even if they give you only 1 day to make arrangements for it… They of all people should know about these things… Blame the Mauritius Post for the delay if you want (that’s another debate), but they still could have emailed you instantly, afterall, you can put your email in the application…

I have to say that the lecturers have improved. They want to change the university for better, fairer principles but are getting stopped somewhere… I’m not saying that there are no lazy lecturers, they’re still here! But it’s good that most are not.

UOM has also has a SLOW and ARCHAIC website (actually a shame for such a university, if you compare to Europe, yes we should compare to Europe cause many of their professional grade websites are designed in Mauritius!) .

directrice “little darling”, bon accueil, li bat zenfan lor la tete, predn la moitié zot manger donne so 4-5 li chien tou les zour
pa conne development zenfant: nek li fer abcd ek 1..100, kan pa suppozer mem montrer sa sa lage la
pe fer garderie sans permit dans 1 de so ban lakaz ki li louer
so ban prof (ban miss) pa gagne droit cozer entre zot, pa payer assez, zenfant res dans frayeur ek pa developer assez…

Now I don’t know how far this is true, more than one people have said so… I can’t verify yet…

There has been a clear lack of 1. correct models and options for Mauritius; 2. inaccurate and incomplete marketing campaigns. Let’s take them one by one. Anyone who wants to critic me is open to do so.

Let’s consider the E150 Corolla that they’ve been bringing for about 2 years only as a 4-speed automatic 1.5L. Now come on, everyone knows that Mauritians who buy Japanese prefer manual gearbox. Simply offering only that (in ads) was a deterrant to many Toyota-lovers. Ah, it’s only now, after so many months that they’ve started to offer the 1.6L 5-speed manual… Late I’d say, when the market has been taken by Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Lancer (Iframac claims the Lancer to be no 1 in sales for mid-size vehicles for 2007 and 2008 although the Lancer is more a compact sedan rather than a mid-size -MotorMag, June 2009).
The Avensis is still the old model too, and the Camry has an inefficient engine, and is almost as big as a Premio/Allion: it won’t sell! 2.4L means huge taxes.

The local car market believes strongly in Japanese cars and the suitability of their models.

1. The Corolla Axio E140 is more suited to our market, with a short length but same interior space, and as wide as previous generations. Bring in the 5-sp manual and the CVT automatic (yeah, the economical one, not the retard 4-speed step-auto).

2. Bring in the CVT version of the Yaris as well. Small car buyers are women who want comfort rather than control. That would be smooth and economical while being an automatic.

3. The Allion/Premio 1.5L/1.8L sister cars are going to sell if they bring it. Allion with aero kit would definitely appeal the youth who are not taking the dated Avensis. Ah, that’s another model that should see the new version sell, which is already selling in Europe. The 1.6L Valvematic engine will do justice. Bring in the diesel version and sell for economy as well.

4. No to Camry. The Mark X would do a better job at higher end. With a 2.5L V6 doing 210hp (vs 170 something for the Camry) while being more economical and better looking. That would be the answer to the Cefiro/Teana. Mark X is larger than the Camry and it’s built on the solid Crown Royal sedan platform. After all, Mauritian car buyers are more Japanese than American…

5. Auris is the hatchback version of the Corolla E150. That definitely needs to be here to face the increasing sale of the Tiida (given similar dimensions). Same gearboxes as the Corolla and sell it as the Corolla Auris.

6. Where are the smaller cars? Peugeot is already selling the 107 with a Yaris engine (which is similar to the Toyota Aygo), so bring that here! Small cars sell good in Mauritius.

Now about the campaign. Imagine how disgusted I was when I barely saw any USP in the Camry ad. Where’s the USP’s? It’s the best selling car in USA for over
10 years, has very comfortable interior and boot etc… Same for the Corolla, after all, it’s the best selling car in the world and also the most reliable according to some… I would do a better job at the press ads and billboards…

And here I claim that if I were to choose the models to sell in Mauritius and lead their marketing campaigns, there would be a clear rise in their market share within months of making the changes!

• KT doesn’t check whom she’s marrying. She is so indifferent to Lakshya that she recognises the hand of Eklavya but doesn’t say anything and willingly marries him. Or that she’s so silly or doesn’t love Lakshya that she CAN”T MAKE OUT THE DIFFERENCE between the hands of Eklavya and Lakshya.
• One man is arrested for murder in KavyAnjali. Right after the interrogation, he takes out his mobile phone from his pocket and calls the villain. Come on, no murder suspect is interrogated, left in a cell without taking his mobile phone! Doesn’t even happen in Hindi movies…
• KT’s mehendi comes out in less than 1 day! Means Lakshya doesn’t love him… Or it’s cheap Mehendi from China! 24 hours for your mehendi to disappear? Impossible even for the cheapest brand!
• Over 25 years have passed but Tulsi and most other characters still behave the same as in the past. Now tell me, can someone who’s sane remain the same for all these years. I mean, she didn’t learn by her experience when she’s supposed to be the heroine role model for house wives… And Mihir?
• Mihir’s character has changed however, but he still doesn’t trust Tulsi even after years of misunderstanding that would have tought a little child that he should have at least a little trust in his wife… BS… You don’t agree with me? Take a look at other people’s behaviour, especially old ones… No change! It’s impossible, unless you’re mentally sick…
• The only freshness comes from Eklavya. He’s the only intelligent character in the serial currently. He thinks, plans and acts. Keeps to his word, is consistent. He has a goal, style and real character. Not just people who react to situations like most other people in the serial. Is he the villain? I don’t care, he’s the only sane person in the serial.

Now you tell me, you did see all that if you even watched Tulsi or KavyAnjali at least once. Hindi movies do have characters, unlike these 2 serials. Good Hindi movies (say from the big banners, Yash Raj Films, Farhan Akhtar, Farah Khan, Bhansali etc) all have strong characters and rational situations, just like any good movie from all around the world.

MBC should at least schedule Tulsi at 10 pm everyday instead of the peak hours at 6.30. Instead, local programs should be encouraged in that time slot, or family entertainers that encourage good behaviour. Even putting the local Naya Ayaam would be better than Tulsi.

One exception to Hindi serials on MBC is Astitva. That’s a contrast from the above two. Simran is every shining, has strong character just like other main characters. The storyline flows smoothly, without wasting footage. It’s not the best in the world, but it’s good. I agree that the hero is not heroic (Abhimanyu’s character is so not-manly) but it’s a lot better than watching Tulsi and KavyAnjali!