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We celebrate 15 th of August 2018 as our independence day every year. But, are we really independent? This has made the mind restless for many. Of the factors many that intrigue us, confront us, harass us in many of our transactions of daily life, is the cost of commodities that we pay for that rules over all. After all, its our hard earned money that we toil for day in and day out. Almost as many ecommerce or brand-shops in the country carry huge and explicit advertisements either in print or eAds right under the nose and watchful eyes of the regulators in place, who prefer to look the other way, offering majestic discounts and cashbacks to lure the gullible us. Mailed ads, newspaper inserts, online banners, emails, in-store displays and price tags scream for our attention every moment of our lives. How can it be true that merchandise can be sold at 80% - 90% discounts? Insanity rules!! The coexistence of discounts with purchases has become an integral part of attaining customer go

[With avid inputs from Sanjay Choudhury, my friend and batchmate from REC (now NIT) Silchar] The place of posting was more than 150 kilometers from home. But roads were good and the car strong, that would barely take three hours to reach on weekends to the comforts of sweet home. That was a regular practice since my posting here as my family couldn’t join due to educational obligations of my only child. I never gave a second thought due to easy accessibility and, otherwise disciplined traffic. They would also join me whenever they felt like. Another week was about to end for me to show up at home. But then, it was difficult to gauge from the moods of madamme and my child on arrival, whether they were happy or the other. The travel bag, a duffel, was small but had enough space to hold a few essentials. It was quite usual to keep a couple of sets back home so that, everytime I’d visit, there wasn’t any dearth of garments that would enbrace my body on the three nights that I stay put forg