Wish I could fly

The beginning of a need: In April 2007, a sales man from a local dealer came calling to my house door. He offered to check the tap water and let me know how pure it is. I said ok - no harm in knowing. He put a thermometer like equipment in the glass of water n came up with a reading of 800 or so and said TDS was high. I had no clue what TDS meant. I tried to understand it from him and then said will call if I need one - citing high cost (8000-10000 Rs) as the reason. Deciding on a water purifier: As I said, I had little or no knowledge of TDS and other technical details about water purifiers. So I decided to turn to some review sites to know more. Like a typical person, I had also heard abt Aqua Guard, Kent, etc due to their ads.I went thru a lot of the reviews about water purifiers. And suddenly felt 'englightened' :-) Myths dashed: Reading the reviews dashed all my myths abt some brands - especially Aqua Guard - with their bad after sales support. Also, surprising found goodd

No changes in the last 15-20 years: I was in Baroda for 15 years. Then moved to Bangalore in Jan 2004. And came back in Dec 2006. I did not notice any major changes in Vadodara in the 3 years I was in Bangalore. Lot of changes in last 6-8 months: But in the last 6-8 months, I found the place to have changed a lot. So thought of putting down a few thoughts of the new face of Vadodara. This is a good read for those who were in Vadodara during some time and want to know what has changed in the last few months/years. Even if you've never been to Vadodara, you can still read on to get an idea of how a Tier-2 city is fast catching up with bigger cities. Malls: This place is suddently full of malls / multiplexes now: a) The first that comes to mind is 'Vadodara Central' near Genda circle. This place is choc-a-block, especially on weekends. The fully air-conditioned mall is a delight for anyone wanting to escape the Vadodara heat. b) Inox - Situated near Ellora Park market, opp