u/roadstercraft

Health Insurance Policy is from a nationalized (govt.-owned) insurance company.

No claims made from 2022 onwards. Prexisting condition of hypertension is covered in this. Policy was first bought via a bank back in 2011-2012 when the premiums were super low, like 3-4k per year. They increased the premiums insanely after Covid.

coverage_period	total_paid_inr	insurance_coverage_amount_inr
25/07/2020 to 24/07/2021	18754	400000
25/07/2021 to 24/07/2022	31952	400000
25/07/2022 to 24/07/2023	39136	500000
25/08/2022 to 24/08/2023	12088	1000000
25/07/2023 to 24/07/2024	23300	500000
25/08/2023 to 24/08/2024	12088	1000000
25/07/2024 to 24/07/2025	41847	500000
25/08/2024 to 24/08/2025	15197	1000000
25/07/2025 to 24/07/2026	45258	500000
25/08/2025 to 24/08/2026	15197	1000000

The Bureau of Immigration India just launched the e-OCI (Electronic OCI Card)!

You can now download a digital version to your phone and use it at immigration check posts and with airlines -- no need to carry the physical booklet everywhere. How to get it (existing holders):

1. Log in to the OCI Services Portal (ociservices.gov.in)
2. Go to the e-OCI tab on your dashboard
3. Click "Generate e-OCI Card"
4. Download and save it

Your physical OCI card remains valid and e-OCI is optional.

Screenshot from my own account:

https://preview.redd.it/ek8bc5b7voah1.png?width=2100&format=png&auto=webp&s=5019726b48023b1f41e223d59338c72a13b392f2

I use the latest version of DDG browser on latest version of iOS.

I often watch Youtube on Duck Player as it removes ads and gives a distraction-free experience.

However, it needs massive improvements.

Observations:

- You can't just start a video and lock the screen - as this results in the video stopping.

- You have to click on the expand button, then pop-out the video, and then slide it so that it appears off-screen. Then 'minimize' the app itself, make sure the video is playing for a few seconds, and then lock the screen.

- Sometimes, even with the above mentioned steps the video stops. You have to then try it again.

- Often, the video screen just appears completely blank within the Duck Player. Then you have to close the player by clicking on 'x', which will pause the video. And then tap again at the bottom of the screen to resume playing in Duck Player.

- The transcriptions of a video seldom appear despite of switching on transcripts.

This is more of a rant.

I used to be a business analyst from early 2010s to late 2010s. We used to do these detailed process mapping exercises using Visio and what not.

I now see BAs just working on excel files and ADO / Jira with bullshit stories like "As a user, I want to do this, so that this..." and even bullshitter acceptance criteria.

I open a Feature and there are 10 stories thrown in there.

Worked across 3-4 big enterprise firms in EU, North America and it is the same everywhere! (I know enterprise firms are not the places where top-notch work gets done)

I hate this agile / scrum like anything -- and unfortunately I have found no way till now to escape this. I am aware of what the Basecamp guy (DHH) wrote in his book -- but big firms still want to go this way. And all these consultants, whether Big 4 or the IT services kind, have all these nice decks around this.

It has become a quagmire for me. In my 40s, I have lost all joys of my professional life because of this. Every day it is like do a small dance around 'daily scrum', and then do a funnier dance around sprint planning, and then go all bonkers during PI planning.

Oh, velocity!

Oh, delivery plan!

Oh, Epics - Features - Stories!

Oh, blockers!

And of course, the problem is not Scrum but it is we who don't understand scrum and we don't know how to implement it and we don't have brain cells to see how beautiful it is.

(Sorry, it is a rant and feel like breaking my laptop just thinking about it. Thanks for hearing me out. I expect no solution to this pandemic of Scrumovirus)

I have watched Mirzapur season one 3-4 times.

Am re-watching it again; however, this time I am focussing less on dialogue and characters and more on their surroundings.

Noticed these interesting nuggets till now.

There is a scene where Guddu is called for a "aloo pattis" date. He orders "limbu soda" as well. And that "limbu soda" comes in a bottle with a marble inside of it. I have lot of relatives and extended family in Uttar Pradesh. On a recent trip (January, 2026), I saw this same bottle. It is called "kanche waali bottle" by kids. These don't have a traditional bottle cap. The pressure inside the bottle pushes the marble towards the neck of the bottle and it stays sealed. You need to push the marble downwards to open it. And the marble stays within the lower portion of the neck, but can't be taken out. I loved this bottle so much, that I paid extra to the shopkeeper and kept the bottle for myself. Usually you have to return the bottle back to the shopkeeper.

Spotted a Casio F91-W. If you use X, you must have seen the craze around Casio watches in 2026. Mirzapur was years ahead of it!

Lastly, I spotted the characters playing 'trans' in the background even though their role begins much later in a different episode.

Did you spot something in Mirzapur which is interesting but missed out by most?

https://preview.redd.it/njtperyy3q1h1.png?width=788&format=png&auto=webp&s=c471ffb468a114e929fb008642028f4ff2733eb1

My parents came to Gujarat in the 70s.

They lived in the Kutch initially. My mom recounted this recently to me. There was a building of apartments belonging to Mithu Kaka (Mithu bhai). All the families living in that building (or rather 'quarters') were govt. employees. Mithu Kaka had bought the building from someone else.

As it turns out, Mithu Kaka was the nephew of Abdul Latif!

And Mithu Kaka himself too used to engage in similar activities but on a smaller scale (probably as part of Latif's network, but that's my guess).

My mom also told me about lot of other interesting tidbits from that era.