Mastii-Kustii

Guide To Corporate Tax

2009-07-06T22:56:00.000-07:00

Proposal:

Minimum Alternate Tax rate increased to 15% of book profits from existing 10%.

Impact:

This will increase the cash outflow burden for companies that are liable to tax under MAT.

Proposal:

The period allowed to carry forward the tax credit under MAT to be extended to 10 years from 7 years.

Impact:

This should provide some relief to companies that pay MAT for any assessment year 2006-07 onwards, by allowing them to carry forward and utilize the MAT credit up to 10 years.

Proposal:

Fringe Benefit Tax abolished.

Impact:

This should come as a big boost as FBT was perceived as unnecessary. However, such expenses should now be liable as perquisites in the hands of the employees and may result in a higher tax outflow for the employees.

Proposal:

Extension of sunset clause for units operating in free trade zones, export-oriented units and set up for reconstruction or revival of a power-generating unit to assessment year 2011-12.

Impact:

Extension of tax incentives to industries falling under this sector to aid them during the meltdown, thereby reducing the net tax outflow for such companies, and provide stimulus to service exports and the power sector.

Proposal:

100% deduction in respect of capital expenditure (excluding land, goodwill and financing expenditure) for the business of setting up and operating cold chain facility for specified products, warehousing facility for storage of agricultural produce, laying and operating a cross-country natural gas, crude or petroleum oil pipeline network for distribution.

Impact:

Incentive-linked deductions under Section 35AD should provide the much-needed boost to the creation of supply chain infrastructure, rural infrastructure and environment-friendly means of transportation for bulk goods.

Proposal:

Definition of firm under Section 2(23) has been amended to include limited liability partnership (LLP).

Impact:

In certain other countries, such as UK and Singapore, LLP is treated as a pass-through entity and partners are taxed (instead of LLP). However, in India, LLP will be taxed as a corporate entity and will not be a pass-through. It will be treated on a par with the partnership tax mechanism.

Proposal:

Weighted deduction of 150% for in-house research expenditure (except land and building) incurred under Section 35(2AB) for selected industries extended to almost all sectors of the economy.

Impact:

This means weighted deduction for scientific research to any business incurring eligible research and development expenditure. This should promote research and development in all sectors of industry.

Proposal:

Rules for Safe Harbour and Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism to be provided by CBDT.

Impact:

Safe Harbour Rules shall provide for the circumstances in which the income-tax authorities shall accept the transfer price declared by the tax payer. The Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism is aimed to reduce prolonged litigation. These measures are intended to showcase India as an investment-friendly country and provide clarity up front to tax payers, and reduce litigation.

Proposal:

Clarificatory amendment in relation to the reassessment proceedings under Section 147 provides that where the case has been reopened after recording rightful reasons, the assessing authorities can assess or reassess other such income, which has escaped assessment and which comes to their notice subsequently in the course of proceedings under this section.

Impact:

This proposal intends to overrule certain judicial precedents, which restricted the reassessment proceedings to issues in respect of which the reasons have been recorded for reopening the assessment. Now, reassessment can be done even for income escaping tax in respect of issues for which reasons had not been recorded at the time of initiating reassessment proceedings. This proposal is intended to have retrospective effect from assessment year 1989-90 onwards.

Proposal:

Chapter VI-A deductions to be allowed only if claimed in the return of income for profits and gains of a company falling under Sections 10A, 10AA, 10B or 10BB (free trade zones, special economic zones, export-oriented undertakings).

Impact:

Absence of claim in the return of income would lead to non-allowance of deduction. Also, introducing this with retrospective effect (assessment year 2003-04), would lead to hardship for the companies.

Proposal:

The rates of TDS in respect of rentals have undergone a welcome revision from the existing 10% (on plant and machinery) and 15%/20% (land, building and furniture) to 2% and 10%, respectively.

Impact:

This would help optimize cash flow in the hands of the recipient.

Proposal:

Donations made to electoral trusts eligible for 100% deductions provided the trust is approved by the prescribed authorities

Impact:

This should help streamline the flow of donations to political parties and thereby result in clear visibility and transparency.

MAT demon haunts India Inc

2009-07-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

India Inc got a jolt in the form of a hike in rates for Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT). Companies paying MAT—instead of the regular corporate tax—could soon see a higher outgo under this he ad as the finance minister hiked rates from the earlier 10% to 15% After including the different surcharges, the effective rate would now be nearly 17%, tax experts said.

MAT is the tax that a cor porate compulsorily pays in case its corporate tax outgo—after accounting for all the ex emptions—is below a thresh old limit. In taxman’s parlance it is the tax that a corporate pays on its ‘book profit’, which is different from its profit in ‘the profit & loss’ account.

In India, MAT was intro duced about 15 years ago af ter the government found that despite substantial profits, a large number of corporates were not paying any tax.

Often MAT is criticised as an antithesis to any conces sion or exemption. Even if there is some justification for MAT, in a slowing economy it is more important for a com pany to have immediate cash flow, said Nishith Desai, in ternational tax and corporate law expert. “When more and more developed countries are reducing their tax rates to a level below 30%, a MAT rate of 15% definitely looks high er,’’ Desai added.

In India, a number of IT and infrastructure companies pay MAT instead of the regu lar corporate tax. “These (co mpanies paying MAT now) may end up paying a higher tax now,’’ said Sanjay Kapa dia, executive director , Price Waterhouse Coopers. For the corporates, there’s little cho ice but to accept the higher rates. “There’s nothing much one can do about it except ab sorb it,’’ said Venugopal Dho ot, chairman, Videocon gro up. A case of grin and bear it.

Relater Article: Check If It Smells Right

GUIDE TO PERSONAL TAX

2009-07-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

Proposal:

The basic threshold limits for income-tax trigger are proposed to be changed marginally. However, there is no change in the number of slabs or the tax rates for every slab (which remain at 10%, 20% and 30%) or education cess (3%).

Impact:

Now those having taxable income of Rs 1,60,000 (earlier Rs 1,50,000) or less are out of I-T ambit. For women and senior citizens, the basic threshold exemption limit would be at Rs 1,90,000 (earlier Rs 1,80,000) and Rs 2,40,000 (earlier Rs 2,25,000) respectively. This results in an effective tax savings of at least Rs 1,030 (Rs 1,545 for senior citizens) for small and marginal tax payers.

Proposal:

Surcharge at 10% on amount of tax is proposed to be abolished.

Impact:

This means substantial savings for those with high incomes (over Rs 10,00,000).

Proposal:

Deduction for expenditure incurred on medical treatment of dependents with severe disability under Section 80DD up from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1,00,000.

Impact:

The taxpayer would be able to claim a higher deduction of Rs 1,00,000 from his taxable income (irrespective of the amount spent), if he has incurred any expenditure for medical treatment of such dependents or has deposited any sum with prescribed insurance companies.

Proposal:

Investments under the New Pension Scheme (NPS) is also proposed to be covered for deduction from taxable income under Section 80CCD, within the overall limit of Rs 1,00,000.

Impact:

This will also enable selfemployed persons to contribute to the NPS and opens another avenue for investments available for taxpayers. However, the overall cap for investments remains the same. Further, re-investments during the year (ie amounts not actually received) into the NPS also qualify for deduction.

Proposal:

Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) is proposed to be abolished and fringe benefits are proposed to be taxed in the hands of the employees.

Impact:

This will result in benefits presently liable to FBT being taxed as perquisites in the hands of employees. Accordingly, the employer would be required to deduct tax on such fringe benefits from the employee’s salary, and not pay FBT on the same. The taxable fringe benefits and the valuation mechanism in respect of the stock incentive schemes are expected to be notified in due course.

Proposal:

Definition of higher education for the purpose of deduction of interest on loans borrowed under Section 80E substituted now includes studies in any field (including vocational fields) pursued immediately after schooling.

Impact:

While the present provision covered only specified fields of study (graduate or PG courses in engineering, medicine, etc), the extended scope would enable larger number of taxpayers to avail deduction for interest on loans borrowed for pursuing studies even after schooling (Standard X).

Proposal:

Individuals/ HUFs receiving property (whether immovable or not) exceeding Rs 50,000 in value after October 1, 2009 without any consideration or with inadequate consideration are proposed to be taxed, except when received from relative or on marriage, under will/inheritance, etc.

Impact:

Now all gifts-in-kind would also be liable to income-tax in hands of the recipient. The value to be considered for immovable property is the value as per prevailing stamp duty laws and for other properties, the fair market value would be considered. Even if the transfer document for the immovable property is not registered with a stamp valuation authority, the value assessable for the purpose of payment of stamp duty would need to be considered.

EVERY RUPEE SAVED IS A RUPEE EARNED

2009-07-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Most tax-saving schemes provide both high returns and high security. So, it makes sense to use all the provisions available to save tax while earning money The single most important provision is Section 80c. Under it, one can invest up to Rs 1 lakh in approved schemes and save taxes up to Rs 30,900. The investment of up to Rs 1 lakh is deducted from taxable income and tax liability reduced accordingly.

Public provident fund (PPF):

Investment up to Rs 70,000 allowed. Part of overall limit of Rs 1 lakh under section 80C. The return, fixed every year, is currently at 8%. This is the only instrument which is completely tax free. Lock-in period: 15 years. Effective posttax return for a person who pays tax at the rate of 30% is 15.36%.

Insurance premia:

Investment up to Rs 1 lakh allowed. But annual premium amount should be at least 20% of the sum assured. Lock-in period: 3 years. Returns depend on market. Money received on maturity after three years will be tax free in the case of equity-linked savings schemes (ELSS). But for general insurance schemes, it will be treated as income of that year and taxed accordingly.

Mutual funds:

Investment up to Rs 1 lakh allowed in ELSS. Lock-in period: 3 years. Return from these instruments is completely tax-free. But investors are subject to market risks.

Tuition fee:

Amount of up to Rs 1 lakh paid as tuition fee for education of two children of an assessee can be deducted from total income. Part of overall Rs 1 lakh limit under section 80C.

Repayment of home loan: Repayment of principal up to Rs 1 lakh in a year gets tax benefit under 80C. Amount is deducted from taxable income. Payment up to Rs 1.50 lakh as interest on loan taken to buy house for self-use also exempt from income tax. Along with provision of repayment of principal, a housing loan can enable an assessee to get income
up to Rs 2.50 lakh exempted.

Pension fund:

Investment up to Rs 1 lakh in pension fund of an insurance company can be deducted from taxable income. One can also invest in the new pension scheme to get this benefit. Part of overall limit of Rs 1 lakh under 80C. However, it’s taxable on withdrawal.

Repayment of educational loan:

Interest paid while repaying education loan for own, or kin’s, higher studies exempt from I-T. Repayment of principal does not qualify for exemption. Not part of cap of Rs 1 lakh under Section 80C.

Premium for mediclaim policy:

You can claim deduction of upto Rs 20,000 for the purchase of mediclaim policy for your parents if they are senior citizens or otherwise upto Rs 15,000. This is besides Rs 15,000 deduction you can claim against purchase of mediclaim policy for yourself.

Medical treatment for disabled dependent:

Deduction from taxable income up to Rs 50,000 under section 80DD is allowed for treatment and rehabilitation of one or more dependent with disability. The amount can also be deposited with an approved scheme of an insurance company or UTI for the dependents’ benefit. In case of severe disability, the exception can go up to Rs 1,00,000.

Interesting FAQs

2009-06-17T02:27:00.000-07:00

What is mobile elbow?
The mobile elbow results from using the mobile for long hours. Called the ‘cubital tunnel syndrome’, it is also called ‘cell phone elbow’. The problem occurs when the ulnar nerve, which runs across the elbow, down to the ring and little fingers, gets over-stretched and blood supply is restricted, sparked by holding a phone to the ear for long periods.

Why does steel glow when it’s hot?
Hot steel glows red when hot because its atoms vibrate with a lot of energy. The amount of energy varies in atoms resulting in a range of colours.

What does January mean?
The original Roman calendar had 10 named months from March to December and two unnamed months during winter. These two months were named January and February by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome circa 700 BC. January is named after Janus, the Roman ‘god of gates, doors and the beginnings’.

What’s the Aafbau principle?
The physical and chemical properties of elements are determined by the atomic structure. This, in turn, is determined by electrons and the shells, sub-shells and orbitals they reside in. The rules of placing electrons within shells is known as the Aafbau principle, which originally means ‘building up’.

What is Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US?
A case filed under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is commonly referred to as a ‘reorganization or restructuring bankruptcy’. Chapter 11 is a part of the US Bankruptcy Code under which an insolvent company is allowed to reorganize and is not liquidated. It is not shut down and sold off.

Why does the jasmine bloom only at night?
Like all other flowering plants, jasmine also produces a flowerinducing hormone in its leaves when exposed to bright sunlight. This hormone is called florigen (flower-generating hormone) and it migrates from the leaves to flowering shoots during the day. It accumulates in the flowering shoots of the jasmine plant and induces flowering during the night.

What is a Roman circus?
It was an open air stadium used for public events in the Roman empire. empire. The events usually held in such a circus were chariot and horse races and performances commemorating historical events. The performance space would be rectangular or oval surrounded by several tiers of seats for spectators. The circus would be decorated with ornate columns, obelisks and statues. The first circus built in Rome was the Circus Maximus which also happened to be its largest.

What does the phrase ‘chicken out’ mean?
To chicken out is to stop doing something because of fear or lose courage while doing something. Sometimes, it is also used to ask a person, “Are you chicken?” or even as “Jack chickened out...”. The chicken is a timid bird, which also gave rise to ‘chicken-hearted’.

ANY ANSWERS?
Why are cellphones switched off while travelling in flights?
How is the mass of heavenly bodies measured?
What is an electron gun?
Who invented the speech bubble and when was it first used?
What is a dirty bomb?
How do ears help balance the body?

What is the meaning for assalamu alaikum?

2009-06-05T01:18:00.000-07:00

According to the Islamic Dictionary, it literally means: "Peace be upon you." It is a shortened form of a phrase that translates to "Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings."

There were no fist bumps, but there were many interesting moments during Obama's speech in Cairo. The moment that got the most attention, in Search anyway, was Obama's use of "assalamu alaikum." Said the President: "I'm also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu alaykum."

The President quoted from the Holy Koran several times, including this key quote that drew big applause: "The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind."

How did the term ‘yorker’ originate?

2009-04-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

What is a prebituary?
A prebituary is an obituary composed or published prior to a person’s death — it is a writeup of the lifetime achievements of famous personalities to mark their 65th birthdays. Most newspapers and media networks keep such obituaries of famous people ready.

What is passive immunity?
There are two types of immunity for infectious microorganisms: active immunity and passive immunity. Passive immunity is provided by artificial means such as injections of antibodies and vaccines. The agents used for passive immunity include antibodies from humans or animals.

Why are viruses at the borderline of living and non-living things?
A virus has a very simple composition. It has a protein sheath inside which there is a strand of DNA. A virus shows some properties akin to living organisms. However, unlike other organisms, they show some properties that are akin to non-living things. They can undergo crystallization and in that form, survive for billions of years. They can survive high temperatures, freezing cold and UV radiation in space vacuum, in crystallized form.

How did the term ‘yorker’ originate?
‘Yorker’ is a cricketing term for a straight ball that passes underneath the striker’s bat, especially by pitching it right up to or just inside the popping crease. To ‘york’ means to cheat, trick or over-reach a person. It is also called so because its aim is to ‘entice’ the batsman, who, in moving forward to play it as a full toss, may be yorked as the ball passes under the bat.

If the density of gold is more than that of iron, why is gold softer than iron?
All metals have specific crystalline structures. There exist line defects and plane defects in a crystal system. The more these defects, the more easily the metal deforms. Noble metals like platinum, gold and silver have a high density of such defects and they deform easily, making them soft metals.

What is Burundanga?
Burundanga is the other name of the drug Scopolamine, used for criminal activities like rape or robbery. The drug is passed on to the victim through business cards, pamphlets, etc. Even if the skin, through touch, absorbs just a very small quantity of the drug it has the desired effect. The drug is also administered through tablets added to drinks. This is known as the ‘dating drug’.

What is a cobblestone race?
It is part of the Paris-Roubaix cycling race over 257 km, from Paris to Roubaix, near the Belgium border. Of this distance, nearly 53 km is over cobblestones, which is the most dangerous part. The winner gets a mounted gravel cobblestone as a trophy.

How are sunrise and sunset determined for a place?
Sunset occurs when the upper edge of the sun — called the upper limb — sinks just under the horizon; sunrise occurs when the upper limb rises just above the horizon.

ANY ANSWERS?
Why are danger signals in red, when the eye is most sensitive to yellow and green?
Which is the oldest dance form?
How is doldrum pressure formed?
What is ratware?
Where did the phrase ‘throw in the towel’ originate?
What is bio-amplification?

JOB PLACEMENTS TO BE DELAYED FOR ENGG STUDENTS

2009-04-06T01:57:00.000-07:00

Don’t be surprised if your campus recruitment scheduled for sixth semester gets cancelled. Many engineering colleges are contemplating shifting placements to the eighth semester. The move is in response to letters recommending this from the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) and affiliated engineering colleges.

NASSCOM president Som Mittal told Bangalore Mirror, “We have written to 1,000 odd colleges across the country. Even other industry bodies like CII and FICCI are likely to follow suit.

“According to the new schedule, the companies flocking to campuses from April to June will re-visit them in February next” he said. Citing the reasons, Mittal said, “For the last few years, the IT industry has been the largest recruiter with over two million students. Given the increasing rate of growth and high demand for engineers, the recruitment process till now commenced from sixth semester itself and even the fifth semester in some colleges. This has resulted in students having a job offer on hand even though they still have over one year left to complete studies. Though this does give an assurance to passing out students, it also brings in a certain degree of complacency among students and in some manner impacts the education process. It also inhibits student from taking up post-graduate studies which has its own cascading impact on the quality of research.”

INDUSTRY AGREES
From the industry perspective as well, this move bodes well. Companies have to make an estimate of their requirements almost 18 to 24 months prior to their need. This worked well in the past with some degree of certainty of growth but is increasingly difficult given the current economic environment. In many cases, it has also led to joining dates of students getting staggered and deferred, Mittal said, adding, “We have discussed this amongst our member companies and the consensus is that the campus recruitment process should be rescheduled to the middle of the eighth semester or may be even towards the end of the eighth semester. We would like to implement this from the 2009-10 academic session onwards.”

BREEDING COMPLACENCY
VTU registrar A Balaji said, “It is a good move. We have numerous examples where students after getting offer letters in sixth semester stop attending classes subsequently. There are also examples where they have also failed in the coming exams. But, the more shocking development is that many students display arrogance which is perceptible in the campus. We know they are the best talent but they should never forget they are students of this university.”

M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology placement officer M Vijayadev said, “During last year, scores of 25 per cent to 30 per cent students dropped considerably after getting offer letters.” Acharya College principal Prabhu Kumar concurred. “After getting placements, these students tend to take college life very casually. Students who would score 80 per cent in pre-placements would score below 60. They start bunking classes and also show less respect for teachers as their jobs are secured,” he said.

COLLEGES TO COMPLY
MSRIT principal K Rajanikant said, “Following the NASSCOM suggestion, companies like TCS have not visited our campus for sixth semester students and have announced that they will come only next year.” Reva college principal Rana Pratap Reddy said, “Students are only 50 per cent trained by sixth semester. Hence, it is a good move.”

MAKES SENSE
Former VTU vice-chancellor K Balaveera Reddy explained the genesis of the current issue.“A few decades earlier, campus placements used to take place only in the eighth semester. However, with the IT boom, companies were vying with each other for the best brains from best colleges. Hence, they used to flock to colleges during the fifth or sixth semesters.”

From the students’ point of view, the eighth semester is always a better bet as there are only four theory subjects and one project work in that semester, while they have six theory subjects (except in first semester where there are five subjects) in other years.

E-networking at work ups productivity

2009-04-03T03:40:00.000-07:00

Caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? It’ll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the internet for fun during office hours increases productivity.

The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the internet for personal reasons at work are about 9% more productive that those who do not. Study author Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing, said “workplace internet leisure browsing”, or WILB, helped to sharpened workers’ concentration.

“People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration,” Coker said on the university’s website.

“Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days’ work, and as a result, increased productivity,” he said.

According to the study of 300 workers, 70% of people who use the internet at work engage in WILB.

Among the most popular WILB activities are searching for information about products, reading online news sites, playing online games and watching videos on YouTube. “Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity,” said Coker. “That’s not always the case.” However, Coker said the study looked at people who browsed in moderation, or were on the internet for less than 20% of their total time in the office.

“Those who behave with internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without,” he said.

Ford’s small car next year

2009-03-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

Michael Boneham, MD and president of Ford India, told that the company's expansion plans were going ahead "as scheduled". The US auto major - that posted a record $14.7 billion net loss in 2008 globally - had announced the half-a-billion dollar investment for India last year to double annual production capacity to 2 lakh units and make 2.5 lakh petrol and diesel engines.

FORDS STEPS IN
"The last six months have been tough for the auto industry.... and we maintain a cautious outlook for the rest of 2009,"Boneham said, adding that he expected a turnaround only by 2010." And this will be the time when we bring in our small car. Thus, we are confident it will get a good response," he added.

TOUGH COMPETITION
The company is making efforts to ensure that its new small car, that is being designed and engineered for the Indian market, is attractively priced considering it faces tough competition from players like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata. "It will be the first offering from Ford in the mass market segment and we are making efforts to keep it cost-competitive while making it a great value proposition," he said.

Ford currently sells sedans like Ikon and Fiesta in India apart from the SUV Endeavour and has seen sales shrinking 19 per cent in April-February 2009 period at 24,849 units (year-on-year). Boneham said he expected numbers to turn positive once the small car hits the market.

Ford's car would come with petrol and diesel engines, both falling within the small car definition of the government to avail lower excise benefits-petrol engine under 1200cc and diesel under 1500cc with overall length below four metres.

KEEN ON DOMESTIC MARKET
Asked whether the company had plans to export the model, Boneham said it would certainly be sold abroad, though the initial focus would be on the domestic market. "Yes, we would look at markets beyond India and these would be countries in the Asian region, South Africa as well as Asia-Pacific area," Boneham said.

And in the run-up to the car's launch, the American company is beefing up sales and service network in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities while also working on relationships with banks for broadening retail finance options.

Only love is real

2009-02-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

IT was going to be a busy day, I thought, as I drove to office that morning. Our executive director was making a pre-retirement visit to all the offices in the country and I was expected to sit through a day of presentations, speeches and reports. It was a delightful surprise when, after being introduced to his wife, we were told that the visit doubled up as an India Dekho trip for the American couple. This could be their last trip to India and the big man wanted to keep his wife occupied while he took care of business.

My boss raised a questioning eyebrow at me, asking if I wanted to do the honours of showing her the sights and sounds of Chennai. “No!” I gestured frantically to him. At that moment, the prospect of sitting through dull and boring speeches seemed more attractive than showing a foreigner the smelly Koovam and the littered Marina Beach. In spite of my protests, I was shooed out and hastily bundled into a taxi to Mahabalipuram with the lady, whom I will call Mary.

As we got chatting, I realised that Mary had been forewarned by her friends who, in their eagerness to visit the land of spirituality and yoga, had not taken enough precaution against our friendly mosquitoes and flies. She conspiratorially confided her fear of the ‘green chutney’ in the bhel puri and the mineral water sold at tea shops. I stole one glance at her bulging bag and was reassured to see it packed with bottles from the five-star hotel she was staying in.

We reached Mahabalipuram and pulled into the parking lot. Even before we could get out of the car, 10 grimy little faces with running noses were staring up at us. One little girl with a baby on her hip, put out her hand cheerfully, and asked blatantly for phoren money. We approached the ticket counter leading a trail that had by then grown to about 20 of these openly fascinated kids. I looked at the entry fare on the chart and gasped. I turned to Mary, hoping to distract her from seeing the hopelessly exorbitant charges that only a foreigner was expected to pay, but I was too late.

As we drove back to the city, I bristled silently. Defensive and protective about my country, I thought up excuses for the deplorable state of our tourist spots. I was irritable and depressed as I bid Mary goodbye, cringing at the thought of her visit to other cities like Agra and Jaipur.
A month later, I received an email from Mary in my inbox. With great trepidation, I opened it, expecting to hear her disappointment with the whole India.

Dekho trip, with our lack of amenities, civic sense and goodness knows what else.

Instead, I found my eyes misting over as I read her description of the greatest symbol of love, the Taj Mahal. Mary and her husband, it seems, were so taken by the romance of the monument that they had gone back to see it again and again, extending their stay at Agra. Their marriage, she wrote, in that characteristically candid way of Americans, had taken a rocky turn a little while ago. The time they had spent in India, especially at the Taj Mahal, had turned it around. They were in love with India and couldn’t wait to return. After all, they still had to experience the spirituality that their friends had spoken so much of!

I broke into a jig in my living room. I was euphoric and ecstatic as I imagined the many monuments of my country and their stories, which would touch the lives of so many people around the world.

What is a slumpometer?

2009-02-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

What is a slumpometer?
The global slumpometer is a yardstick economists use to measure the severity of the recession in various economies across the world. It takes into account unemployment, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Domestic Income (GDI). To the average person, rising unemployment and pink slips mean a recession. While for many economists, a recession has arrived when there’s a dip in GDP for two successive quarters. For others, a recession is when the GDI begins to dip, and is a more reliable factor than GDP.

What is a surgical strike?
A surgical strike is an attack using missiles, bombers or on the ground against certain specific targets. The strike is planned with surgical precision so that they cause damage only to the planned targets and cause minimum damage to their surroundings. These attacks are usually carried out against terrorist camps or facilities such as power stations, armouries, etc.

How did the term ‘window dressing’ originate?
Textile and readymade shops dress mannequins (models of human bodies) with attractive clothing they sell and place them in display windows. Likewise, mutual funds and banks add more temporary assets and liabilities on year ends to ensure their balance sheets remain attractive to the public, especially to investors. As their intention is to dress up their balance sheets to make them attractive like a shopper does to the mannequins, the term ‘window dressing’ is used to mean artificial inflation of assets which will wear off after the year-end.

What are ‘first serve’ and ‘second serve’ in tennis?
In tennis, there is a specified boundary marked on the court behind which the ball should fall as a player serves. So, if the ball hits the net and falls back to the server’s court or goes beyond the marked boundary on the opponent’s court, it is a wrong serve. As a rule, a player is allowed to serve again if the ‘first serve’ is wrong; this serve is called ‘second serve’.

At what speed does electricity travel compared to light?
Electrical fields in theory do transmit at the speed of light. In real systems, wires have capacitance and other effects that slow the propagation. Typical propagation speeds are 0.3 to 0.7 times the speed of light.

What is a stalemate in chess?
When a player has no legal moves, it is not possible to proceed further in the game. This results in a stalemate, provided his king is not in check. The game is declared a draw when such a situation arises, no matter what advantage one side has over the other.

How do clouds move?
Clouds are formed when water evaporates from rivers, ponds, oceans, and lakes. High cirrus clouds are moved by a jet stream and sometimes travel at 100 kmph. When clouds are a part of a thunderstorm, they usually travel at 30-40 kmph.

What is the Jagd and Hund fair?
It is the ‘Hunting and Hounds’ fair where exhibitors present the latest trends in fishing
and hunting.

ANY ANSWERS?

What is a google bomb?

Why is the empty space in a car measured in litres?

What is a delta triangle?

What is the significance of concentric circles on boards in metro stations?

Which is the first GPRSenabled cellphone in the world?

What gives sunrise and sunset an orange glow?

Bizarre world of inaugurations

2009-01-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

The shortest inauguration speech was delivered by George Washington in 1793 (133 words) and the longest by William H Harrison in 1841 (nearly two hours long and 10,000 words). He delivered the speech without a coat or hat on a bitterly cold day and died a month later from pneumonia while in office.

The great poet Robert Frost, then aged 86, was unable to read the new poem he had written for John Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961. He was blinded by the bright sunlight. Instead he recited a poem which he had written years before and, thankfully, had memorised.

Richard Nixon took the oath of office with his hand on two Bibles, while Teddy Roosevelt didn’t put his hand on anything.

Lyndon B Johnson was the only president to take the oath of office from a woman, the Federal District Judge, Sarah Hughes. He was also the only president to be sworn in on an aeroplane, taking office immediately after John Kennedy’s assassination.

The swearing-in ceremony in 1857 was delayed for 20 minutes because officials forgot to pick outgoing President Franklin Pierce up at his hotel and had to go and fetch him.

Dwight Eisenhower’s 1953 parade was covered by a 24-year-old reporter on the Washington Times-Herald as the “Inquiring Camera Girl”. Her name was Jacqueline Bouvier, eventually to become Jackie Kennedy.

Know BAMA

He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics
He was known as “O’Bomber” at high school for his skill at basketball
His name means “one who is blessed” in Swahili
He is left-handed – the 6th post-war president to be left-handed
He has read every Harry Potter book
He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali
He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can’t stand ice cream
His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars
He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia
He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn’t
He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia
He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck
He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.
His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine
His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees
He enjoys Scrabble and poker
He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside
He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal
Daughter Malia’s godmother is Jesse Jackson’s daughter Santita
He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry
He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes
He was given the code name “Renegade” by his Secret Service handlers
He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds

Russia to get a Miss Constitution

2008-12-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

The winner of a new Russian beauty contest must be attractive, talented and witty.

But never mind wanting to help children. She should also symbolize Russia’s constitution.

Russia’s main progovernment youth group, Nashi, is to stage the “Miss Constitution 2008” contest as the Kremlin is pushing for changes to the constitution that critics say aims to let Prime Minister Vladimir Putin become president again. “This constitution is a state brand and today we want to choose a girl worthy of its image,” a Nashi spokeswoman.

Nashi will crown Miss Constitution on December 12 to celebrate the document’s 15th anniversary. Other Russian youth groups will also take part in the event. “The girls must prove they are gifted in many ways,” the spokeswoman said. “Talented, clever, erudite, artistic, witty, graceful, flexible and most important of all not without sparkle.”

The Kremlin wants to extend the Russian presidential term to six years from four, a change critics say could be designed to allow Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reclaim the top job.

Parliament has already approved the changes which now must be approved by Russia’s regional legislatures. Last year thousands of Nashi protesters marched to support Putin in parliamentary elections and demonstrate against his opponents but in 2008 the group has adopted a far lower profile.

Palin tops 2008 Google search

2008-12-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

Sarah Palin may have ended up on the losing side of the landmark US electoral battle for the White House, but she has finished first on Google’s image search list.

In the Google’s list of the most popular searches in 2008, the photogenic defeated US vicepresidential candidate, topped the the web search chart.

The glamorous Palin finished number one on Google image search in 2008, Google said. “Beijing Olympics 2008” came in at number two on the Google list of “fastest-rising” searches around the globe this year followed by “Facebook login” and “Tuenti,” a Spanish social networking website.

Searches for “Heath Ledger,” the Australian actor who died in January, was listed at number four followed by as in Barack Obama.

Pick up tech slang before you are dubbed ‘404’

2008-12-11T22:02:00.001-08:00

A new type of slang, dubbed the “tech slang”, is making its way into people’s inboxes, as more people are using technology driven terms in messages, according to a new study. So, from now on, if you read “404” in your mobile inbox, it will mean “clueless”, inspired by the error message given when a browser cannot find a webpage. According to slang lexicographer Jonathon Green, some such terms and abbreviations have evolved as a result of the limited speed and space afforded by text messaging. And more use of SMS can actually come up with new terms. As part of the study, the researchers closed in on an unlikely slang source- Oyster system, a card-based payment scheme on the London Underground. Usually, the card readers show the number 35 if the card has run out of credit. Thus, “Code 35” now means penniless. In the same way you can be named “Code 11” if you are behind the times, for in Oyster’s system, that’s how one refers to an out-of-date card.

What does Roadrunner refer to?

2008-12-07T07:08:00.001-08:00

What does Roadrunner refer to?
It’s the world’s fastest supercomputer built by scientists at IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory for the US military. It can compute about 1.026 quadrillion calculations per second. It will be primarily used for military problems, particularly to ensure the accurate functioning of ageing nuclear weapons.

Who are the youngest and oldest captains to win the soccer world cup?
The youngest captain was Cafuaka Marcos Evangelista de Moraes from Brazil. Born on June 7, 1970, he won the World Cup in 1994 and 2002. The oldest captain is Dino Zoff from Italy, born on February 28, 1942. He won the World Cup in 1982.

What is the Armenian genocide?
The Armenian genocide was carried out by the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1916 and from 1922 to 1923. About 1.5 million Armenians out of the 2.5 million in the empire were killed. Armenians all over the world commemorate the tragedy on April 24 every year.

What is a gluten-free diet?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. In some genetically predisposed children, food containing gluten causes small-bowl mucusal damage resulting in a disease called gluten-sensitive enteropathy or celiac disease. The treatment is a strict gluten-free diet i.e. elimination of wheat, rye and barley products from the diet.

What is Riemann Hypo thesis?
Riemann Hypothesis is an important result in Mathematics whose truth or otherwise is not yet known. This was conjectured by the German mathematician Gerhard Riemann in 1859. A lot of results have been proved on the assumption that the Riemann Hypothesis is true. They would all stand or fall based on whether the hypothesis is proved or disproved.

What is Fat Tuesday?
Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, where gras is French for fat and Mardi is French for Tuesday. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting on a fattened calf on the last day of a carnival. The annual festivities start on January 6 and build to a climax on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday.

What is a gazebo?
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, often octagonal, commonly found in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos provide shade, basic shelter, ornamental features in a landscape and a place to rest.

What’s distinctive about Davos?
Situated at an altitude of 1,560 metres, in the heart of the Alps in Switzerland, the town of Davos has the distinction of being the largest mountain resort in the Alps and the highest town of Europe. Its major tourist attraction are winter sports. It is also a preferred place for holding international conferences like the World Economic Forum.

ANY ANSWERS?

Who owns Antarctica and its resources?
Who came up with the concept of vacuum?
Who are carpet-baggers?
What is apomixis? How does it differ from amphimixis?
How much data does the Internet contain?
What is the unit of magnetic power?

Bruni becomes global AIDS ambassador

2008-12-03T01:26:00.000-08:00

Wearing a red ribbon, French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy became a global AIDS ambassador, vowing to direct the media spotlight on her toward a “more important” cause. The wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy chose World AIDS Day to announce her new mission as ambassador for the global funds to fight diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Nine months after her marriage to Sarkozy, the super modelturned-singer said on Monday she wanted to use her celebrity status to draw attention to “the most vulnerable victims of AIDS”, women and children. “I benefit from your regular and constant attention,” Bruni-Sarkozy told journalists.

“And today, I finally have an opportunity to direct your attention to something more important and more serious.” Bruni will focus her work on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV— which is virtually wiped out in Europe through treatment but still affects 30% of newborns in Africa.

Karkare: 'An iconic hero at the service of the nation'

2008-11-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

Nation pays rich tributes to its hero Hemant Karkare, an IPS officer who laid his life in the line of duty while fighting the terrorists from the front as the chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

With the country living in a constant terror ridden atmosphere and questioning the efficacy of the counter-terror mechanism including the police, Karkare with his sacrifice has left the nation startled and moaning for the irreparable loss.

mastii-kustii.com sifts through the readers' messages pouring in hundreds in expressing the feelings of a nation grieving over the loss of a top cop.

Vincent Mattammel referred to the deceased ATS chief, Hemant Karkare, as a police officer who never shied away from the dangers and threats on his life. "He was an iconic hero at the service of the nation! A person, every sensible Indian is immensely proud of," feels Mattammel.

For Aishwarya and Ankita Mathur, death of Karkare is a loss to the entire nation. "We offer our salutations to this brave man and hope his family and the country can recover from this tragic loss. Salutations! to the brave cop, who lead his team from the front."

Ramesh blames the killing of officers like Karkare on the undue interference of politics. "We loose an honest cop over the vote bank and still feel to be living in safe world. Our politicians are the main cause of bad law and order," he rues.

Dhayanithi complains as to why the Government cannot find some mechanism of attacking the terror-elements by providing a fully covered dress (to the cops), so that those fighting terror can protect themselves against the bullets of the terrorists.

Ganesh Shenoy feels that Kakare's sacrifice will dispel the clouds of darkness and cowardice.

Calling Karkare a light of inspiration, Shenoy feels that the brave officer was an ideal for the nation. "We are proud of you and will remain grateful to you. You are immortalized in our hearts forever, forever, forever," he adds emotionally.

Swetha says Karkare's death is a big loss to the police force." It is really sad that we have lost one of the most capable officers... All the terrorists organizations need to be bombed down to put an end to such acts".

Nirmal Singh feels that the nation has lost the real hero with the death of Karkare. "Condolences to his family will hardly compensate the loss. We need more people like him".

Hanif feels that it won't be easy for the nation to get one more Karkare in future. "I am crying too much about Hemant Karkare. He was a real hero of the nation. The way he has left us, we have missed something for nation".

Archana calls Karkare's death as unjustified as she feels offering condolences and help to the family is not enough. "Much more is required to be contributed by the society and a sense of awareness of what is happening in India and where it is going to lead us amongst the youth, should be there," she asserts.

Varghese Joseph wonders, as to when our politicians will stop meddling in the internal affairs of the security. "This is a time when the whole nation should support the country and our police force".

M M Naazim refers to Karkare as a disciplined soldier of the country. "It is a very sad day for India to have lost one of its best IPS officers, known for his discipline and fair investigations. We are proud of him .He was in news for solving blast cases and including the sensational probe in Malegaon," Naazim elucidates.

Michael Jackson converts to Islam

2008-11-24T05:11:00.002-08:00

Pop singer Michael Jackson has converted to Islam and changed his name to Mikaeel. The 50-year-old star pledged his allegiance to the Koran in a ceremony at a friend’s mansion in Los Angeles. Jackson sat on the floor wearing a tiny hat after an Imam was summoned to officiate — days before the singer is due to appear at London’s HC where he is being sued by an Arab Sheik, media reports said.

The star decided to adopt the new religion while he was recording a song at the home of his friend where a Jehovah’s witness was brought up to help him through the ceremony.

Apparently, the star of hits like ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’, was convinced by his producer and songwriter friends David Wharnsby and Phillip Bubal. “An Imam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief,” the source revealed. Mikaeel is the name of one of Allah’s angels. “Jacko rejected an alternative name, Mustafa, meaning the chosen one,” the source added.

Interesteing FAQ

2008-11-24T05:11:00.000-08:00

What is mooching?
Mooching refers to aimlessly wandering around, begging or sponging off others. Due to market crises all over the world, families in the US have taken to mooching others as a means to cut costs on a daily basis. This includes bumming rides from friends more frequently than before, asking colleagues if they need their wallet when going out for lunch and not meeting the bellboy’s eyes to avoid tipping.

What is the Hadrian Wall?
Hadrian Wall was a frontier that began to be built in 122 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian. It is located in northern Great Britain. It stretched for 120 km, was 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. It ran from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway in the west to the Tyne River near Newcastle in the east. It was established to prevent military raids on Roman Britain by the Pictish tribe in the north, to improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in Britain. It is thought that the gates of the wall would also have served as customs posts to allow trade taxation. A significant portion of the wall still exists. One of the most popular tourist attraction in northern England, it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Which is the oldest lighthouse in the world?
The first definite and documented lighthouse in the world was the Pharaohs of Alexandria built in 200 BC, although beacons were certainly used before that. The oldest working lighthouse in the world is at La Coruqa in north-west Spain near the town of Ferol. A lighthouse has been on this site since the time of the Roman emperor Trajan. The world’s first stone lighthouse tower at sea was the Smeaton Eddystone lighthouse built in 1756-9. Smeaton is today known as ‘the father of civil engineering’. When his lighthouse was finished, it was lit with just 24 candles. Today, the power of lighthouse lights can be equivalent to as many as several million candles.

How is an atom’s mass measured?
The atomic mass of a specific atom or molecule is determined by using an experimental technique called mass spectrometry. This technique separates different isotopes of atoms to allow determination of the percent abundance or isotopic composition of the element in the given sample. Each isotope of the element appears as a peak in the mass spectrum. The intensity (height) of each peak depends on the abundance of that isotope in the sample and the unique location of the peak on the x-axis indicates the mass-to-charge ratio of the isotope. Knowing the charge on the isotope, we can calculate the mass of the isotope and from the relative abundance of different isotopes of the elements, the average relative atomic mass is calculated.

What is Bowman’s Capsule?
Each human kidney contains about 1 million filtering units called nephrons. The nephron has a renal tubule and dilated blind end like a funnel. This dilated funnel like part is called Bowman’s Capsule. It has a tuft of capillaries. The fluid which comes out of these capillaries is filtered by Bowman’s Capsule. The renal tubules do further processing to make 1.5 litres of urine out of 180 litres of filtered fluid in 24 hours.

What’s the bellows in the accordion?
The bellows is the flexible part which controls the air for musical notes in an accordion. This is made of leather, rexine, etc. Bellows is also used by goldsmiths for gilting purposes and shaping metals by heating as the air let out of bellows fans the fire.

ANY ANSWERS?
What is radioactive toothpaste?
Why is the money plant named so?
Why are cats and dogs great enemies?
Why doesn't the number zero have a positive or negative sign?
What is zero budgeting?
Can fish hear?

Software is the blue chip of our soft power

2008-11-16T22:38:00.001-08:00

Soft power is the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments. – Joseph Nye Curse the devil for political stonewalling which saw India bypass the Manufacturing Revolution. But thank God for liberalisation that a young and enterprising India has woken up.

This transition was best illustrated six years ago by US management guru Thomas Peters at a conference in India: “Fifteen years ago, not one in 1,000 Americans could spot Bangalore on the map. Today, six out of seven think Bangalore is the only city in India. They basically believe 1 billion people live in Bangalore.”

Much of the credit for that, as has become legend, was because of a bunch of youngsters who dared to dream. Then, over two and a half decades ago, India was still under the dark shadow of the Permit Raj. Infosys mentor N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and five others had to jump through the hoops. In Murthy’s words, it would then take them one or two years and about 50 trips to Delhi to import a computer worth $1,500.

Infosys was essentially an idea that mutated into a revolution. Even as its founders were charting out plans, the potential of India’s vast physical and human resources to become a world power was being foreseen. Thinkers like Octavio Paz believed the country which gave the world Buddha, Gandhi and the concept of zero in mathematics could find its own way to economic development.

As history bears it, no component of India’s soft power has been as far-reaching, influential and beneficial as IT. In a sense, independent India’s show of soft power began with Nehru’s global peace initiatives in the 1950s. That and the dalliance with non-alignment, didn’t bring much distinction but there were signs of cultural strengths that could appeal. From within the confines of the socialist setting, Raj Kapoor’s aura immortalised by the Chaplinesque Awaara earned him a following from Tehran to Tashkent. Around that time, Mahesh Yogi introduced transcendental meditation to the West and became the Beatles’ spiritual guru.

Yet only after the unclanking of the nuts and bolts of the rusty Licence Raj, was there hope. To spread the message in a flattening world, you didn’t need to scream. Because the world had come into a huddle. This suited India fine because the new methods of the market were more persuasive. For it isn’t in our blood to go about blustering and invading.

Suddenly it seems we held all the aces. Cola ads sprung up on the walls of thatched huts in the boondocks. Our music, literature, dance, art, cuisine and sport appeared on international billboards. Bollywood has been going to London and Rajnikanth has cast a spell on Japanese viewers. Amid all this, the IT juggernaut rolled on.

Clearly, the binary vision of wealth creation and enhancement of new knowledge has earned India a global stature. The staggering impact shows in McKinsey report projections which put IT exports from India by the end of 2008 to $50 billion and employment figures at 2.2 million. Nerds armed with technical degrees and dreamy-eyed entrepreneurs have become the new raiders. For all the scornful remarks about “software coolies”, the revolution is not about coding alone as shown by the enterprise of Sabeer Bhatia or the evangelism of the late Dewang Mehta. That the IT brigade is still the strongest exponent of soft power is because there has been no enigma in its arrival. The software pro doesn’t find himself out of place in the new world. And unlike in the areas of culture, he isn’t speaking an ethnic language. Technology and programming are global expressions. Besides, they are great enablers. The Rajus from the hinterland who are sipping coffee at Starbucks are armed with self-esteem. Technology is about saying, “Yes, we can” even in providing computer graphics imaging for Hollywood. It’s about the empowerment of the supranational Indian who has learnt English at school. Shifts such as the dwindling cost of hardware and the spiralling prices of software have only ensured India remains on the crest of a wave.

So, can the great Indian jumbo fly? Indeed, yes. The future as gurus of the economy put it, lies in solidifying, broadbasing and diversifying this strength. All packaged in top-quality services and active marketing. The tap of talent can’t run dry. Only the nerds have to turn into geeks, the geeks into Gateses. Thank God, too, we have the hunger and are not belching yet.

Interesting FAQ's

2008-11-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

What is the Network Relief Kit?
It’s a portable device that provides steady internet access in remote areas. It was used in Banda Aceh, Indonesia when a tsunami destroyed communication infrastructure on the island. NetHope, a collaboration between NGOs and technology companies, created this contraption that is powered by solar energy.

What is a volantor?
A volantor is a prototype of a flying saucer-style hovercraft. It is also known as VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) craft. It was invented by Paul Moller. It’s currently under development. ‘Volantor’ is a term coined by Moller meaning: a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that’s capable of flying in a quick, nimble and agile manner. It has ducted fans powered by Wankel rotary engines. The fans allow for vertical takeoff and landing and, once the vehicle is aloft, it relies on the ground effect to create a cushion of air that the vehicle sits upon while flying. The vehicle has only two controls, one for speed and direction and the other for altitude. The driver does not need to know flying but only needs to know how to control speed, direction and altitude.

What is a Bolero?
It’s a Spanish dance and song in moderate tempo and triple metre that was popular at the end of the 18th and throughout the 19th century. Its rhythms are closely related to the polonaise, a Polish slow dance. The Cuban Bolero, which superseded the Spanish version in Latin America, is in double time. Beethoven wrote the ‘Bolero a solo WoO 158’. Later examples in classical music include those by Berlioz, Chopin and Ravel.

What is vishing?
Vishing, coined from the words voice and phishing, is a criminal practice of using voice over phone to gain access to details about PIN, date of birth and expiry date of credit card holders and using it for fraudulent activities. The criminal configures the system to pretend that the questions asked are for either verification or statistical purposes and records the information so gained for committing financial fraud.

Is it possible for all planets in our solar system to align in a straight line?
Theoretically, no, as the plane of orbit of each planet is tilted slightly in relation to other planets. However, if we ignore the intraorbital plane tilt, then the chance of all planets (eight now excluding Pluto) to be at the right ascension with respect to sun at same time would be once in 180 trillion years. For an exact alignment, when all the planets are inclined with respect to the ecliptic, we must factor the line-of-nodes recession into calculations, that makes the chance once in 86 billion trillion trillion trillion years (86 followed by 45 zeros). The odds strongly favour the fact that an exact planetary alignment will never occur within the lifetime of the solar system that now has only about 12 billion years left.

How do anti-allergen drugs work?
On contact with an allergent, chemical substances are released from mast cells and basophils. The chemical mediators (e.g. histamines) in turn attach themselves on to H-1 receptors to produce allergic effects. Anti-allergen drugs block these chemical mediators. The drugs also produce down regulation of H-1 receptors.

What is RTGS in banking?
Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) is an online system for settling transactions of financial institutions, especially banks. RTGS systems are push payment systems with transactions initiated by the paying bank. If Bank A or one of its customers needs to pay $1,000 to Bank B or one of its customers, Bank A initiates the transaction and Bank B is immediately paid $1,000 electronically by Bank A. Examples of RTGS systems include CHAPS in the UK and Fed Wire in the United States. Each country has its own RTGS system. This electronic payment system is normally maintained or controlled by the central bank of a country. The RTGS system is suited for low-volume, high-value transactions. It lowers settlement risk, besides giving an accurate picture of an institution’s account at any point of time.

Why is Wuhan called the ‘thoroughfare of the nine provinces’?
Wuhan is the capital of the Hubei province in the central part of China and is one of the largest and most populous cities of the region. It is also an important centre for trade, finance, industry, and information technology. Wuhan is also the place where the river Hans joins Changjiang, the third largest river of China. Three major railways meet and two major expressways intersect here. That’s why since the 14th century, Wuhan has been known as the ‘thoroughfare of nine provinces’. The term nine provinces stands for multiple directions.

ANY ANSWERS?
What is the Hadrian’s Wall?
Which is the oldest lighthouse in the world?
How is an atom’s mass measured?
What is the Sorlod Space System?
What is Bowman’s Capsule?
What is Ekistics?

Interesting FAQ's

2008-11-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

Who’s the youngest king?
Who is the world’s youngest king?Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk of Bhutan is, at 28, the world’s youngest king. This Oxford-educated monarch took over from his father Jigme Singye Wangchuk on November 6. His coronation took place at the Golden Throne Room at Tashichhodzong, a fortress and the power centre of Bhutan.

Why are the people of Japan also known as Nipponese?
Nippon is the Japanese name for Japan. It literally means ‘the sun’s origin’, which is often translated as the land of the rising sun. The Japanese name Nippon is used mostly for official purposes, including on the currency, in the constitution, on postage stamps and at many international sporting events. Nippon first appeared in history only at the end of the 7th century in the Old Book of Tang which said that the Japanese envoy disliked his country’s then name Woguo and changed it to Nippon. Another 8th -century chronicle, True Meaning of Shiji states that the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian ordered a Japanese envoy to change the country’s name to Nippon. And hence, people of Japan are also known as Nipponese.

What is a go-go fund?
It’s a mutual fund that invests in highly risky but potentially rewarding stocks. During the 1960s, many go-go funds shot up in value, only to fall dramatically. In some cases, they even went out of business.

What is the meaning of kemo sabe?
The phrase kemo sabe is often heard in the American radio and TV serial Lone Ranger. Its hero, a Texas Ranger, and his assistant, an American Indian called Tonto, keep calling each other Kemo Sabe. In an early episode, these characters run into each other for the first time. When they recognise each other as childhood friends, they utter the phrase kemo sabe. This phrase is not found in English or Spanish. Therefore, it is likely that the series writer coined the phrase based on some words in American dialects. According to many, the director of the radio version of Lone Ranger derived it from a Michigan dialect and suggested it to the writer. Apparently, in this dialect, the phrase means faithful friend or trusty scout. There are other theories related to kemo sabe as well.

What is green fluorescent protein?
Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a naturally fluorescent protein isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. GFP is a fluorescent marker that makes possible the visualisation of protein in the cell. Cells can be stained by them and examined by fluorescence microscopy to reveal the location of a protein of interest. For example, glucocorticoid receptor protein is a transcription factor that controls gene expression in response to the steroid hormone cortisone. The receptor is linked to the GFP. Fluorescence microscopy reveals that, in the absence of the hormone, the receptor is located in the cytoplasm and in its presence, the receptor is translocated to the nucleus, where it binds with the DNA.

If noble gases are supposed to be inert and unreactive, how is krypton difluoride formed?
While krypton is generally an inert element, in extreme volatile conditions, it can form compounds in very small quantities. There are several ways that krypton can form its fluoride: by passing through an electrical arc, proton bombardment or photochemical process. All these processes require a very heavy amount of energy. Krypton has achieved a unique importance in science. In 1960, it was decided that the fundamental unit of length, the metre, should be defined in terms of the orange-red spectral line of Krypton 86.

What is VIX?
The VIX is calculated and disseminated in realtime by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). It’s a weighted blend of prices for a range of options on the S&P 500 index. The formula uses a kernel-smoothed estimator that takes as inputs the current market prices for all out-of-the-money calls and puts forth front month and second month expirations. The goal is to estimate the implied volatility of the S&P 500 index over the next 30 days. Investors believe a high value of VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) translates into a greater degree of market uncertainty, while a low value of VIX is consistent with greater stability.

What is the Cuban Wushu?
The term Wushu consists of two Chinese characters: wu meaning martial or military and shu meaning skill or method. Together, it translates as martial art. Bruce Lee films brought the first images of kung fu to Cuba. Since then, martial art fans in Cuba started discovering the harmonic, philosophical and therapeutic bases of what is known as Wushu today — a combination of Chinese martial art. In 1990, Roberto Vargas Lee, a fifth Dan black belt holder in Jyoshinmon karate went to China to learn the secrets of Wushu and developed it later in Cuba. He later established the Cuban school of Wushu.

ANY ANSWERS?
What is a volantor?
What is the bolero?
Is it possible for all planets in our solar system to align together in a straight line?
How do anti-allergen drugs work?
What is RTGS in banking?
What is vishing?

Youth vote carried Obama to White House

2008-11-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

The Swing Has Fascinated Political Operatives Majority Of Young White Voters Too Backed Him

As India, with one of the youngest demographic profiles in the world, gears up for another round of geriatric leadership, it turns out that US President-elect Barack Obama has been substantially powered into the White House by the youth vote.

Analyses of the voting patterns in US Presidential elections 2008 show 66% of voters under age 30 preferred the 47-year old Obama while just 32% favored John McCain, 72. The margin was 25% more than the 9-point youth vote advantage John Kerry had over President Bush in the 2004 election.

According to political operatives who have dissected last week’s voting pattern, Barack Obama’s share of youth vote is nearly four times the size of John Kennedy’s lead with the group in 1960, which led the latter to famously declare in his inaugural address that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.”

Around 2.2 million more young people—accounting for 18% of the electorate— voted in this election, which is only a slight increase from the 17% in 2004. But if the vote had stayed along the same lines as in 2004, then Obama’s margin of victory in terms of popular votes would have been only about 2 points instead of around 5 points, according to one study.
But for the youth vote, Obama might not have won 73 electoral votes from Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, or Indiana, according to an analysis by the blog thenextright.com. In other words: Obama’s youth margin= 73 electoral votes.

Obama also got stronger support from African-Americans (95%) than Kerry did in 2004 (88%). Turn-out of African-Americans went up from 12% to 13%
Overall, based on initial numbers, it is estimated that over 133 million people turned out to vote on Tuesday—11 million more than voted in 2004— producing the highest turnout rate in 44 years (62.5%), which compares favorably with the turnout in India. By way of comparison, the turnout rate in 1996 was just over 49%.

Significantly, the share of white voters, who accounted for 81% of all voters in 2000, declined to 74% this year, with increases in African-American, Hispanic, and Asian vote share. Obama scored handsomely even among Hispanics, squashing speculation that they might not vote for an African-American.

But it is the swing in the youth vote that has fascinated political operatives. Even a majority of young white voters backed Obama.

While no Democratic presidential nominee had won more than 45% of young whites in at least three decades, Obama won 54% of young white voters, according to one study. He beat McCain 52-45 among white youth without a college degree and 57-41 among those with a degree. He also beat McCain among young white women without a degree (54-45) and young white college-educated woman (61-38).

“In other words, never in post-war American politics have youth voted so differently than older generations as they did in 2008,” the blog Politico.com observed. According to the political pundit Ariana Huffington, the US is witnessing “a tremendous ideological shift among young voters—one that could reshape our politics for decade to come.”

From 1976 through 2004, young voters basically supported the same candidate as older voters in most elections, she said. During that time, the average gap in presidential choice between young voters and the overall electorate was only 1.8%. In 2008, that gap was 28%, with Obama winning by 6%—but carrying the youth vote by 34%.

These developments in the US come at time when India, which has a national median age of 24.9 with around 70% of its population under the age of 30, faces a geriatric leadership in the upcoming parliamentary election. BJP leader L.K.Advani, who is 81, is the projected leader of the opposition alliance, while incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is 76. Most key world leaders are in their 50s, and Obama, at 47, will be one of the youngest.

Obama goes headhunting online
New york: President-elect Barack Obama is inviting online applications from across the world to fill various positions in the new regime, reaffirming his tech-savvy nature. Obama along with his deputy Joe Biden is looking for people for “noncareer positions” in the White House or any federal body. “Applicants for any of these non-career positions — whether in the White House or in any federal department agency or commission — should use this website, as applying online is the fastest and most accurate way to get your information to us,” reads a notification on the official website of the President-elect. The call for applicants online is another affirmation of the ‘tech-savvy’ Obama, who has exploited electronic and new media like never before during his Presidential campaign. The website ‘www.change.gov’, of the office of the President-elect says Obama would make appointments throughout the federal government.

Obama team weighs what to take on in first months
Washington: With the economy in disarray and the treasury draining, Barack Obama and his advisers are trying to figure out which of his expansive campaign promises to push in the opening months of his tenure and which to put on a slower track. Obama repeated on Saturday that his first priority would be an economic recovery program to get the business system back on track and people back to work. But advisers said the question was whether they could tackle health care, climate change and energy independence at once or needed to stagger these initiatives over time.

Polish conservatives apologise for racist Obama comments
Warsaw: The Polish political party led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of President Lech Kaczynski, apologized on Sunday for abusive and racist remarks about US President-elect Barack Obama made by one its deputies. On Wednesday a member of the Conservative PiS party Artur Gorski called Obama a “black crypto-communist”, and a “naive individual whose election must delight al-Qaida.” Barack Obama “is a disaster, it is the end of the white man’s civilisation,” he told the Parliament.

Write away

2008-11-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

It’s Author’s Day. Mastii-kustii turns the spotlight on three Indian new-age writers

Advaita Kala, author of Almost Single

Chick-lit:
When I wrote the book, there wasn’t much talk about this genre. Now it’s seen as a popular one. I didn’t know I’d written chick-lit till someone told me so.

On men reading chick-lit:
I don’t know how many men would admit to reading it since it’s not considered macho, but I know many did.

The chick-lit formula:
I’ve not read Bridget Jones’s Diary, but have seen the film. In this genre, what really works are the characters. That’s the power of the genre. Yes, the issues discussed in all chick-lit may overlap since they all talk about what women face.

Being a best-seller:
The definition of a best-seller has changed. Earlier, it was 5,000 copies, now it’s much more. My book’s sold 30,000 copies.

The reading habit:
If you ask young people for the top three things they love doing, reading might not be among them. Tastes are changing. People are looking for books that are part of their own experience.

Amruta Patil, author of Kari, India’s first graphic novel by a woman

On graphic novels:
It’s a seductive medium. There’s a tightly wrought tale, there are pictures and the stories are getting more layered and diverse. Interest is bound to grow. Some days ago, I heard graphic novels being discussed at a Diwali party of well-heeled agriculturists in rural Punjab.

Graphic novels she likes:
I’ve enjoyed some of Neil Gaiman’s collaborative work with Dave McKean such as Mister Punch or the intriguing Signal to Noise and the spare prose of Paul Hornschemeier’s Mother Come Home, the drama of Frank Miller’s 300, the colour palette and quirkiness of The Rabbi’s Cat, the windy beauty of Melancholia.

Her next work:
Stories decide how they want to be told; some need just words, others want pictures. As an author, the best I can do is listen. My next book, 1999, promises to be relatively picture-free. ‘Relatively’ because the stray picture always seems to weave its way into the work! I wish there weren’t such a distinction between literary fiction and graphic fiction. No medium is inherently smart or inherently dumb.

Is pulp fiction the only thing that sells today?
It’s like a literary snack. And how bad can that be, so long as you aren’t snacking every day of the year!

The printed word in the eage:
There’s something a real bookshelf brings to your room that a thousand PDFs or saved bookmarks in your computer cannot. The intimacy and happiness that comes with holding a good book is unmatched. Unless we’re unscrupulous about replacing cut trees, or something else goes horribly wrong, the medium will linger awhile.

Chetan Bhagat, best-selling author of Five Point Someone, One Night @ The Call Center and Three Mistakes Of My Life

On his brand of books:
When you’re targetting a big readership, remember that people like simple books. One man’s pulp is another man’s great literature. My books are in the middle. I like to read books that are simply written. That’s why I like Hemingway and George Orwell.

Being an author in India:
Books are becoming more mainstream, but authors don’t get their due in India. Money and awareness about books are low. In India, one should write only if there’s a mad urge to do so. I don’t want to write in the west since the writing gets diluted. They may not want to read about the India I write about.

His success mantra:
I’m already a best-seller. Now it’s about making an impact. My books have been successful because the youth has connected with them. Critics who review these books are 60-year-olds. They get frustrated that my books are doing well. The critics have been so harsh on my books that my fans get defensive. Writing a Bollywood script:
I’m doing a script for a production house. But I haven’t started writing it. It’s going to be a full-on commercial film. I write for the masses and no apologies for that.

On Hello, the celluloid adaptation of One Night...:
I liked the movie and the BO collections have also been fairly good. But people say the book was better. It was my first attempt at Bollywood. Now I’ll try to have more control over the films that are adapted from my books.

Interesting FAQ's

2008-11-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

What does precycling mean?
Precycling is a form of waste minimisation. It involves reducing the use of outer packaging and instead opting directly for what’s inside. This would involve buying things loose instead of opting for a prepackaged product, bringing your own container to the store and shopping for locally-produced things. The rationale is to accumulate less waste.

What is Strepulsion Physics?
In the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton discovered the universal gravitational force. In the 21st century, Navinchandra K Shah, Prof. P N Jain and Prof. P P Jain of Hubli discovered a universal repulsion force (URF). It’s an astronomical force exerted by the sun and stars and therefore called stellar repulsion force (SRF). The science which deals with repulsive phenomena of stellar universe and the strepulsion force of stars is Strepulsion Physics.

Why is an august gathering called so?
The word ‘august’ in itself means magnificent or majestic. The term ‘august gathering’ refers to a gathering marked by dignity or grandeur. August originates from Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The month of August, earlier known as Sextilis, was also named so in his honour.

What is anthropophagy?
Anthropophagy means cannibalism — the practice of human beings eating other human beings. The word is a combination of Greek words: anthropos meaning human being, and phagein meaning to eat. Cannibalism might involve eating other humans after killing them intentionally or eating body parts of those whose death has occurred due to other causes. The practice of eating humans of one’s own community is called endocannibalism and eating humans of other communities is called exocannibalism. According to anthropologists, cannibalism might have been more common in the early human evolution than in modern societies. Today, it is rumoured to be practised by tribals in different parts of the world as part of their rites. Due to the extreme stigma associated with such things, evidence and claims related to cannibalism are highly unreliable.
If it has existed, the causes must be the following:
1. Situations of extreme food scarcity, such as famine;
2. Insanity;
3. Superstitions such as the belief that eating of another’s brain would serve to increase one’s own powers and
4. In wars, to show one’s power over the enemy. The universal symbol of cannibalism is a lolling tongue.

What are Codd’s Rules?
Codd’s Rules that are 12 in number specify what a database must support in order to be relational. The rules were defined by Edgar F Codd in a paper published in 1985. Hence, they are known as Codd’s Rules. For example, data are represented only one way; as values within columns and rows. Every value can be assessed by providing table name, column name and key, and all data are unique.

Who is a troglodyte?
Originally, troglodyte referred to a prehistoric cave dweller. The name was also used to denote an anthropoid ape such as a gorilla. Now, it often refers to an old-fashioned person or to one who is a wilfully brutal obscurantist.

What is the origin of the name Belarus?
The word Belarus means white Russians. The Scandinavians who moved in the east were called Rus and from them came the word Russia. During the Mongol era, the Russians were classified into three different groups: Belarussians (white Russians), little Russians, and great Russians. The name Belarus and the country evolved from Belarussians.

Belarus was known as Belorussia or Byelorussia in the days of Russian monarchy headed by tsars to underscore the extent of their empire. Russians occupied this country in 1919 and then it came to be known as Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). Later, BSSR was a founding member of the USSR in 1922. This status continued till July 27, 1990 when BSSR issued a declaration of state sovereignty. In 1991, the Supreme Soviet of BSSR decreed by law that the independent country be called Belarus, henceforth, in Russian and all other languages and its language be known as Belarussian. The country’s name was changed to Republic of Belarus on August 25, 1991. The heads of state of Belarus along with those from Russia and Ukraine jointly announced the dissolution of the USSR and formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991.

What is a Pipestone Pipe?
A Pipestone Pipe, also called a peace pipe, calumet or medicine pipe is a ceremonial smoking pipe used by many native American tribes, traditionally as a token of peace. The most common and sacred thing smoked was tobacco. A prayer would be said to each of the four directions as well as `Mother Earth’ and `Father Sky’ as they filled the pipe. Also, some tobacco would be sprinkled on the ground. To show respect, smoke would be blown into one’s face. Captives would, at times, take this the wrong way, but it was actually a sign of kindness or respect.

ANY ANSWERS?
Why are the people of Japan also known as Nipponese?
What is a go-go fund?
What is VIX?
What is green fluorescent protein?
If noble gases are supposed to be inert and unreactive, how is krypton difluoride formed?
What is the meaning of ‘kemo sabe’?

India’s first moon mission has successful launch

2008-10-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

VIEW - 1

Of course we need to go to the moon

Alot of people think it’s a waste of time, effort and money repeating something that’s been done by the United States and former USSR 42 years ago. But that’s like saying we shouldn’t have invested resources in satellite technology either because Sputnik had been sent up successfully in 1957. Or that Dakshin Gangotri should not have been set up in Antarctica in 1984 since Argentina was there from 1904. Besides, just because there’ve been other lunar expeditions doesn’t mean all the exploration and research that needs to be done is over. For one thing, previous missions have all been undertaken by individual countries which have not necessarily shared crucial data with others.

Then there’s the question of resources. Chandrayaan-I and its followers in the years to come will be looking for Helium-3 which is scarce on Earth but abundant on the moon. If it can be brought back even decades from now, it would be the ideal fuel for fusion reactors of the future to generate power and meet the energy needs of the country to a great extent. The probes will also try to identify and source important minerals like titanium, uranium-238 and possibly water ice — the latter being vital for setting up a base on the moon. People who grumble that India never anticipates the future till it arrives would do well to eat their words now.

And, of course, who can deny there is always pride and a sense of accomplishment in doing science at the cutting edge? To be just one of a handful of countries who have the technical skills and expertise to launch an indigenously developed space craft that can reach the moon is a tremendous achievement by itself.

Not only will it provide challenging opportunities for working scientists, it will also get young

people interested in space sciences. As G Madhavan Nair, chairman of ISRO, said minutes after the successful launch, “Today what we have started is a remarkable journey.” Let’s not forget that in a hurry.

VIEW - 2

Is there anybody down here?

The moon’s surface was once believed to be perfectly smooth. In 1609, Galileo’s telescope revealed it to have craters. Not all illusions are optical. Launching Chandrayaan-I, India is believed to have joined the Big League of space cowboys. Like craters on the moon, the beauty of that argument is flawed. Just who’s in the business of such moon missions any longer? Once upon a time they dropped jaws — think Soviet Luna series. In the 21st century, that’s prehistory. The US, on its part, ended its Apollo jigs back in 1972. Let’s not forget those sojourns were manned. So our space prom is like close encounters of the yawn-inducing kind.

But, as interplanetary wannabes, we can’t expect to be outshone by China in acts of pure symbolism, can we? The Chinese have done flag-waving up there and chestthumping down here with a rather modest spacewalk — even the Beijing Olympics hogged more limelight. So Asia’s elephant had to outdo Asia’s dragon. Had we caught up with China’s growth rate instead, we’d make more sense. If competitive flag-waving is the issue, a giant leap for mankind was taken in 1969. In an anti-climactic finale to the space race, the Stars & Stripes, not the UN colours, was planted on the moon.

No wonder our scientists can barely explain what they’re after. Most of what’s to know is already known, down to the moon’s approximate 350 km-radius core. If handy spinoffs of moonlandings are the prize, we already have Velcro, adult diapers and microwaves. Ah, but we’re searching for exotica: Helium 3 and lowdown on the possibility of lunar picnics for humans. Why must we go sci-fi on energy instead of chasing fuel-efficiency? Why build distant biospheres, and not clean up earth? With due apologies to Lalu Prasad, we have enough road craters still to be made as smooth as Hema Malini’s cheek. But no, we’re dreaming of earth, moon and — hold your breath — Mars as a single spacefarers’ complex. Help!

Interesting FAQ's

2008-10-13T03:11:00.000-07:00

What is Iceland’s HDI ranking?

With a ranking of 0.968, Iceland had the highest Human Development Index (HDI) ranking in 2007. The HDI ranking takes into consideration a country’s life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment and GDP per capita. Currently though, Iceland’s top-ranking status is rather ironic, considering the global financial crisis has almost wiped out its economy and the country is virtually bankrupt.

What is the Aufbau Principle?

The Aufbau Principle states that in the ground state of an atom, an electron enters the orbital with lowest energy first and subsequent electrons are fed in the order of increasing energies. The word ‘aufbau’ in German means ‘building up’. Here, it refers to the filling up of orbitals with electrons.

What is Chargaff’s rule of base equivalence?

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic material found in the chromosomes of all animals and plants. It is made up of only four types of organic nitrogenous bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T) and cytosine (C). Of these, A and G are the purines and T and C are the pyrimidines. Chargaff gave the base pairing rule or the rule of base equivalence which states that only one purine can combine with one pyrimidine. That means A can combine with T and G with C. Two purines or two pyrimidines cannot combine with each other; if they do so, there will be a sudden change in the characteristic of an organism. This sudden change is called mutation.

Why are acentric chromosomes genetically inactive?

Acentric chromosomes are formed as a result of inversion of genes in one of the chromosomes in a homologous pair. This is a type of chromosomal aberration. Homologous loci are paired at meiosis. The meiotic anaphase will contain a chromatid connecting the two centromeres, called a chromatid bridge; a chromatid lacking a centromere altogether is called an acentric fragment. Neither of these behaves normally in cell division and both are eventually lost. The only viable products of meiosis in inversion heterozygotes are the chromatids that underwent no crossing over within the inverted section. Thus, the acentric chromosomes are genetically inactive due to absence of centromere.

What are auroras?

The beautiful patterns of green and blue lights that occur in the atmosphere of the polar region are known as auroras. Although there are several mythological stories related to auroras, perhaps the first scientific research on auroras began in Europe in 1716. They occur in the mesosphere, which is present about 50 to 80 miles above sea level. They are known as Aurora Borealis or northern lights, and Aurora Australis or the southern lights, in northern and southern hemisphere respectively. Auroras are natural phenomena and occur when a flow of charged particles from the sun (called solar wind) collide with air molecules in the atmosphere. Ionization takes place and this produces coloured light. Although such collisions only take place near magnetic poles of the Earth, auroras are also visible in mid-latitude regions in case of intense solar activity.

Who invented the board game Snakes and Ladders?

The board game, today called Snakes and Ladders, originated in ancient India, where it was known with the name Mokshapat or Moksha Patamu. It’s not exactly known when or who invented it, though it’s believed the game was played at a time as early as 2nd century BC. According to some historians, the game was invented by Saint Gyandev in the 13th century AD. Originally, the game was used as a part of moral instruction to children. The squares in which ladders start were each supposed to stand for a virtue, and those housing the head of a snake were supposed to stand for an evil. The snakes outnumbered the ladders in the original Hindu game. The game was transported to England by the colonial rulers in the latter part of the 19th century, with some modifications. The modified game was named Snakes and Ladders and stripped of its moral and religious aspects and the number of ladders and snakes were equalized. In 1943, the game was introduced in the US under the name Chutes and Ladders.

Who are NEO consumers?

The NEO consumers are new highvalue consumers of the new economic order (NEO). It is a newly emerging segment of customers from all age groups, ethnicities, income bands, locations and have high propensity to spend their income on disposable goods. NEO consumers are valuable as they consume constantly and favour a sense of investment, discretionary choices and value-added services. They seek rich information and authenticity; are motivated by choice, options and quality; sceptical about whether deals and discounts will deliver to their expectations; loyal to brands that understand them and comfortable with calculated risk.

What is Pansori?

Pansori is a folk art which has lasted since the 17th century in Korea. Singers sing and gesture according to the beats of the traditional Korean drum, tambour. Pansori consists of 12 episodes and is based on classical literature. It typically takes a few hours to complete a Pansori performance. Most young Koreans don’t go see to see it now. It is aired on television on traditional Korean holidays like the lunar new year day and Korean thanksgiving day called ‘Chuseok’.

ANY ANSWERS?

How does a laser mouse work?
What is love bombing?
What are the average speeds of diesel and electric locomotive engines?
Who is Capeta?
What is a carrom ball in cricket?
What is pork barrel politics and why is it called so?

wOrlds uns0lveD mYsteRies

2008-10-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

1. Atlantis: Paradise Lost? It is said that much before Summerian civilization, a great civilization existed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was a paradise, where civilization was at its zenith. But then a volcano erupted and the entire grand civilization was washed away. The story of Atlantis civilization was first told by Greek philosopher Plato. But how far can we believe Plato? This is a question which many ask. After all where did Atlantis disappear? Why do we have no historical proof? Or was the story of Plato a fable? True or fiction? Myth or reality? These are the questions which have inspired many to carry out research. Yet the truth is unknown, untold.

2. Haunted People 'Ghosts' is the subject which baffles everyone, everywhere. Even after the advancement of science, the reality about ghosts remains a mystery till this day. But human beings have always been inquisitive. Harry Price spent 40 years in unraveling the mystery about ghosts in vain. Spirits' photographers tried their best to substantiate the facts. But again progresses with little success. In fact, all efforts have been without success. Often people who claim to have seen a ghost are labeled as fraud or suffering psychologically. Science has totally disbelieved in the existence of ghosts. Yet, the phenomenon exists and is as true as our reflection in the mirror.

3. Eldorado – A golden myth Human beings have always been fond of possessing gold. This lure led to many weird and strange adventures. And the strangest of all the expeditions had been the search of Golden Land – Eldorado. For centuries the legend of Eldorado, the fabulous land of gold led many to undertake the courageous feat. Some lost their fortune, some their reputation and some their life. Still the men remained undaunted. Year after year, decades after decades, men went out in search of the Golden Land. After all, what were they seeking? Gold? A Golden City? A Golden Man? Or was everything juast a myth, a story which destroyed many adventurers?

4. Olmecs: The founders of the American civilization? One of the most astonishing unsolved mysteries of the world is the knowledge about Olmecs. The world doesn't know who Olmecs were? And where did they suddenly disappear? Archeologists believe that Olmecs were the precursors of the Mayas. They were the great sculptors, who created remarkable sculptures. Even the intensive research of the archeologists has revealed little about them.

5. Who was queen of Sheba? For 30 years the Queen of Sheba has baffled people. According to the Bible, Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon with rare gifts. But the question is how far can one believe the Bible? Did she really exist? And if she really existed then where was the land Sheba? Was she a queen, a noble woman, a witch or simply a seductress? Did she marry Solomon? Was Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, the direct descendant of a union between the Queen and King Solomon?Innumerable questions surround the personality of the Queen of Sheba. And the field is open to controversy and research till now.

6. Project U.F.O Throughout the ages, man has always been eager to explain the happenings in the sky. Unidentified Flying Objects (U.F.O.) pose a great mystery to the present scientists. Some American scientists have categorically negated the phenomenon. But some do agree. They explain U.F.O. as objects from other distant galaxy. Yet no unanimous decision has been reached. The mystery of U.F.O. continues to be elusive and intriguing.

7. The mysterious Iron Pillar The Iron Pillar situated in Meharauli (New Delhi) does not rust, although scientific studies reveal that the metal from which the column is made is full of impurities. How is it so? This is the question which baffles us. And we are still groping in the dark about the truth.

8. The secret of Tutankhamen's Mummy American archeologists succeeded in locating the Tutankhamen's mummy. They also unearthed the large amount of wealth buried inside it. But they could not solve two mysteries. Inside the mummy, archeologists discovered 150 amulets. They could not fathom its meaning. Secondly, Tutankhamen's mummy had started decaying. Why? They could not answer. The historians and archeologists are still experimenting and speculating the significance of 150 amulets and the reason for decay of Tutankhamen's mummy.

9. The jungles of Angkor Angkor Thom, the remarkable capital of the Khmer empire, was the perfect combination of religious faith and economic necessity. The dense jungle of Angkor hid the secret of the civilization, where the rice farmers, with the help of their God-kings controlled the hostile surroundings. The kings built magnificent buildings temples and tanks. Yet, it saw its doomsday. It declined, degenerated and the people completely vanished into thin air. Even after so many years, historians have failed to know the place where they disappeared. The mystery still hangs in the air.

10. PSI – The science of seeing the unseen It is the science of knowing something or about somebody without having been told or met or seen. It is a science of extrasensory powers. Animals are supposed to have been endowed with it. But some human beings also have it. And modern science's attempts to prove the existence of extrasensory powers have inevitably given birth to extensive research resulting in a few facts, but in the process giving rise to much more controversy around it.

11. The secret of Mayas Archaeology in America is in infancy. Still we have discovered a civilization par excellence. This civilization was called the Mayas. They were far ahead of the Egyptians and Greeks. They had the knowledge of Zero and build impressive architecture. And all this was gazed to the ground before Columbus discovered America. The world is still waiting for documents to prove that how did these people built up such a magnificent civilization at a place, where even to this day, life is an unending struggle for survival? How was it that a flourishing civilization was created by the people of Stone Age? And who were these people whose classical age collapsed before even Columbus could discover America?

12. The mysterious Inca Treasure Conquistadors destroyed the great Inca Empire. They destroyed it so completely that historical documents lack evidences. These Spanish Conquistadors indulged in loot, plunder, pillaging and burning. They enslaved the last Inca ruler and killed him. But before his death he escaped to jungles with his wealth. What happened to the great mass of wealth is still to be identified. In fact, the identification of two primary cities – Vitcos and Vilcambamba is itself not known. The Spanish colonial maps do not mention it. But historians believe otherwise.

13. Is the earth shrinking? Till a few decades earlier nobody believed in the Continental Drift Theory. Now geophysicists accept the fact. They believe that many-many centuries ago the entire world was one place. It was united. But several geographical factors separated the continents. And they cannot answer that for how many more centuries the world will remain in this present condition. Will the earth keep on shifting slowly, or, suddenly something drastic will happen, they do not know. The scientists and scholars only speculate.

14. The unknown message of Nazca drawings Some specialists believe that the world's largest astronomical calendar was drawn by the Nazcas on the dry plains of Southern Peru. While others believe that the lines drawn on the expansive wastes are huge birds, animals and geometrical figures. What exactly do these lines signify – nobody knows. Yet they are laid across the desert by the Nazca Indians 1500 years ago – even long before man could fly, although now-a-days it is crossed by the Pan American Highway.

15. Is there a second life? Science has failed to reason out its existence. Neither has it been able to disprove all stories floating about this syndrome. Reincarnation til this day remains a mystery, beyond the comprehension of believers and non-believers. It is believed that child prodigies e.g. Mozart who composed simple music at the age of four and the 17th century mathematician Blaise Pascal , who had outlined a new geometric system by the time he had reached 11 years of age may have been reincarnations of talented people of earlier time. Annie Besant, 19th century feminist and leader in London's Theosophical Society, was convinced that she would be reincarnated. In the 20th century, the case of Shanti Devi is too well known. Despite all the vividness of the cases, science has not been able to accept it. It demands scientific explanations.

16. Bermuda Triangle – Is it a reality? Is there any point in the Atlantic ocean which is suicidal? Or is Bermuda Triangle mere writer's imagination? Many books have been even done a long arduous research on the Bermuda Triangle. Yet, till now, no satisfactorily evidence has come forth. The Triangle still baffles everybody and people avoid taking that route. Perhaps, the mystery of Bermuda Triangle can be summed up in the following sentence – 'at times truth is stranger than fiction'.

16. The stones which speak of past artistry The huge upright stones standing erect with an air of mystery make an unforgettable impression. There ser called Stonehenge. They have attracted men from all fields to study them. Scientists, astronomers, archaeologists, spiritualists – all studied them but failed to come to a conclusion. The questions remain unanswered. Was it a temple? Was it an observatory? Was it a magic shrine? Was it a computer built much before we came to know about the computer? There are questions and questions. Perhaps one day we will be able to discover the true and actual meaning of these splendid stones.

17. The navel of the world Easter Island is called the 'Navel of the World'. Its inhabitants are cut off from the rest of the world. It is the loneliest spot on earth. Yet, the inhabitants produced one of the most magnificent statues. They managed to create a prosperous society; they built and transported giant statues weighing up to 90 tones. The mystery prevails about their motive behind constructing such sculptures and how did they manage to do it?

18. The splendor of pyramids The skyline of the Nile Valley seems to be dominated by the mountains. But these are no natural mountains. They are man made mountains, known as Pyramids. What exactly was the purpose behind the construction of these pyramids is unknown. Perhaps, they were intended by the god-kings of Egypt as the everlasting sanctuaries for their dead bodies, since they believed in the theory of life after death.
The question arises how did the ancient Egyptian raise such tall structures? Who built them? Why did they build them? Is it true that the kings had some secret motive which passed away with them? There are questions and questions as the enigma of pyramids astonishes a traveler.

Any answers??

2008-10-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

What is round tripping?

Round tripping has several meanings. In finance, it refers to money that leaves the country, often routed to the diaspora, making its way back to the country in the form of foreign direct investment. It also refers to a company that sells an unused asset to another company, while agreeing to buy it or a similar asset at the same price. This is also referred to as Lazy Susans. In technology, round tripping refers to the repeated conversion of a document from one format to another -- for instance, a rich text format to a doc format and so on. This sort of round tripping may affect the quality of the content.

What is creative capitalism?

It is a new idea that aims to achieve both the goals of generating profits as well as solving the problem of inequality between the rich and poor by using market forces in a better way. Several companies around the world have adopted this concept by integrating philanthropic motives with product development, and treating the poor as a new class of customers. It involves a systematic approach to research, product design, distribution, partnership and profit models to help this new class of customers which businesses have traditionally ignored.

What is the Kit-Cat Club?

Kit-Cat Club was London's political and literary club, active between 1700 and 1720. The four dozen members included leading Whig politicians and London's best young writers. Among them were Charles Seymour, the sixth duke of Somerset; Sir Robert Walpole; Thomas Pelham-Holles, the duke of Newcastle; William Congreve; Joseph Addison; Sir Richard Steele; and Sir Godfrey Kneller, who did portraits of the members. The club was the centre of opposition during Queen Anne's Tory ministry (1710-14).

What is the CAPTCHA Project?

CAPTCHA refers to a category of information technologies used to ensure that a human rather than a computer is making an online transaction. It is an acronym for Completely Automated Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart and patented by Carnegie Mellon University. It is a challenge-response test used in computing to determine whether the user is a human. A typical CAPTCHA requires a user to type the letters of a distorted image, sometimes with the addition of an obscured sequence of letters or digits that appear on the user's screen. The origin of the CAPTCHAs was to counter the characteristics of software agents (bots) that automatically fill up web forms as individual users.

What is a false vacuum?

False vacuum and true vacuum form a metastable system. Metastable state is a state which does not change with time but is susceptible to falling into lower-energy states with only slight interaction. It is analogous to being at the bottom of a small valley when there is a deeper valley close by. True vacuum is the name applied to a condition of the true lowest energy state of the vacuum. False vacuum refers to a condition with an elevated vacuum energy density. The two conditions are separated by some energy barrier — which is why they form a metastable system. If the current universe is in a state of false vacuum, it is conceivable that some experiment would concentrate enough energy into a small enough place to coax the vacuum over the energy barrier and into the true vacuum state. This could perhaps be catastrophic.

What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative Identity Disorder is defined as the occurrence of two or more personalities within the same individual, each of which, during some time in the person's life, is able to take control. This is not often a mentally healthy thing when the personalities vie for control. It's also known as multiple personality disorder (MPD). In 1994, the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-IV replaced the acronym MPD with dissociative identity disorder (DID).

Why does the moon appear upside down in the southern hemisphere?

The moon orbits near the equator of the Earth. In the southern hemisphere, we are standing at the opposite side of the globe, from a person who is standing in the northern hemisphere. So, we are literally standing upside down with relation to the person at the other end. We, therefore, see the moon from a completely different vantage point. So, if a man sees the moon crescent facing up in the northern hemisphere, it'll appear upside down to a person in the southern hemisphere.

Which is the world's hottest pepper?

The bhut jolokia variety which grows in north-eastern India, was given a rating of 8,55,000 Scoville heat units by Ritesh Mathur and his colleagues at the Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior. They reported their finding in an August 2000 issue of Current Science. The scientists tested a Tezpur variety of the bhut, or Capsicum Frutescens var. (botanists know it as Nagahari). The Guinness Book of World Records recently certified the bhut jolokia as the world's hottest chilli pepper. The chilli probably gets its name owing to its demonic bite — bhut means ghost and jolokia means chilli. A single seed of the bhut can cause intense spicy sensations in the mouth for up to 30 minutes. Smeared on fences, they are also employed to scare off wild elephants.

ANY ANSWERS?

What is the Aufbau Principle?
What is the Chargaff's rule of base equivalence?
Why are acentric chromosomes genetically inactive?
What are auroras?
Who invented the board game `snakes and ladders'?
Who are NEO consumers?

No kidding: SMS jargon spells trouble for teachers

2008-10-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

Schoolteachers across India are witnessing a strange phenomenon while correcting exam papers. With mobile phones having crept inside classrooms, SMS language has made its way into answer sheets: students facing a time crunch during tests routinely replace ‘are’ with ‘r’ and ‘you’ with ‘u’ and ‘through’ is now spelt as ‘thru’.

“Before any written assignment, our teachers have to remind the class that they’re not on SMS or internet chat and words have to be spelt the way they are in the dictionary,’’ says Anahita Devitre, principal of JB Petit High School in Fort.

Texting via SMS is not the only culprit. Computer spellchecks are giving birth to a generation that hasn’t learnt to spell; now the computer checks spellings for them. To add to the confusion, Devitre points out that children often forget that their computer spell-check is set to American standards, while at school, they’re learning the Queen’s English. As a result, children are rather confused when it comes to spelling words like colour, which they often spell as ‘color’ and organise, which they spell with a z.

Advertisements, with their bhelpuri of misspelt words, have only worsened the situation. “Children often spell Chocolate as Choklate, thanks to the ads around them,’’ says Yasmin Chagla, principal of Cumballa Hill School and Nepean Sea Road. The fact that several advertisements are now in Hinglish certainly doesn’t help children learn.

However, the city might just witness a reverse trend. Spelling Bee, one of America’s most popular classroom contests, which began in 1925 and went on air in 1941 is set to hit Mumbai next month. Children may soon go the extra mile to ensure they can spell well, sans spell-check.

The promoters of Spelling Bee in the US have approached The mastii-kustii to start the Indian chapter of the contest, which will begin in November.

Meanwhile, many parents say that it’s not just children hooked onto SMS or internet chat who’re having trouble with their spellings. “My son doesn’t chat online and he doesn’t own a mobile phone, but his spellings are getting worse. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that children don’t read books anymore. Now, there are just so many other things that they can do with their time,’’ says Kamal Katgara, a parent whose child studies at Bombay International School in Babulnath.

“With the pressure of studies increasing over the years, kids are struggling to cope with science and mathematics, so naturally languages take a backseat and spellings are just one of the casualties,’’ adds Carl Laurie, who heads Christ Church, a school in Mazgaon. Teachers across the city admit that they too, are no longer laying as much emphasis on spellings as they used to.

Raj Aloni, principal of JJ Fort Boys High School, is used to getting letters from students and parents in which she’s addressed as ‘The Principle’ instead of ‘The Principal.’

To Aloni’s horror, during a Geography examination, she found that children, while filling in the name of the subject in the answer paper, actually copied the correct spelling from the question paper.

Of the commonly misspelt words in Mumbai classrooms, those with double letters like ‘success’ and, ‘accommodate’ are routinely misspelt. ‘College’ invariably turns into ‘collage.’ Thanks to advertisements, Quality has now become Kwality. “Spellings are getting a little more phonetic,’’ points out Katgara.

Ramadoss is right to call for legalising gays

2008-10-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

We have to endorse Anbumani Ramadoss on this one. The health minister has acquired a reputation as a maverick in the UPA cabinet, moreover one who’s so taken up with administrative politics in New Delhi’s elite All India Institute of Medical Sciences that he has little time to address the rot in the country’s public health-care system. Ramadoss, however, has done the right thing in arguing for decriminalising homosexuality, contradicting the home ministry’s stand on section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Delhi high court is examining a public interest litigation on the subject, which says that private consensual sex between adults shouldn’t be considered a crime. Section 377 renders certain kinds of private consensual sex — those which allegedly “go against the order of nature” — a crime. Homosexuality is deemed to fall under its purview. Punishments can be draconian, going up to 10 years in prison. This law has colonial and theological origins, having been incorporated by the British into the Indian Penal Code in 1860. It’s time now to take a fresh look at the law.

The problem with section 377’s antiquated provisions is twofold. Firstly, if one doesn’t go by theological certainties, how does one determine what is natural and what goes against the order of nature? Contraception can, from a certain point of view, be seen as going against the order of nature. But we don’t ban contraception for that reason. More fundamentally, however, banning private consensual activity between adults is a way of restricting personal choice. It’s a throwback to times when state and society were considered sacrosanct and the individual had no rights.

The government’s case against homosexuality doesn’t carry much logic. It has argued that homosexuality results in the spread of AIDS and decriminalising it can lead to breaches of peace. But soaring crime graphs haven’t really been recorded in the many countries that have decriminalised homosexuality. And as Ramadoss has observed, it’s precisely when gay populations are forced to go underground that AIDS control programmes can’t reach them, creating the greatest threat to themselves and others. Section 377 may have some validity as far as protecting the rights of children and minors are concerned. But with growth of the sphere of personal choice and alternative lifestyles, as well as increasing recognition of the rights of gays, the state should no longer concern itself with what consenting adults choose to do in private.

!!! BEWARE OF BUYING iPhone 3G !!!

2008-09-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

Friends .....those of you in India planning for iPhone... THINK TWICE BEFORE MAKING A DECISION... The short comings of iPhone are endless...

No video calling,

no AD2P on the Bluetooth,

CAN'T share ANY (mp3, images,videos....) files via bluetooth,

can't use as a wireless modem, (you pay ridiculous data charges to activate internet on your phone, but cannot connect it to your PC and browse when you are at home)

no copy and paste,(cannot copy a part of a.... say.... email & send it....have to type it out yourself)

no 3.2 or 5 megapixel camera,(the 2MP camera it carries is worst camera i've ever seen.....
photos look like they have come out of a VGA camera)

no video recording with camera,

no front camera,

no flash.

no JAVA support

No physical keyboard (BELIEVE me! this alone is a dealbreaker...touch keyboard as good as it looks...once you use it then only you come to know about the importance of having a hard keypad)

No 3G network yet in India..so why pay for expensive 3G phone if you cant use its 3G services ... so, for India, iPhone 2.0 is no better than its first version

No removable battery. (You cannot change battery. Have to send it to apple outlet.. Come on now!!!!...This is not an iPod. Its a bloody phone. You cannot live without phone for 2-3 days)

No haptic feedback and

cannot send MMS,

can't use as external storage device (16 GB of utter waste..next time you go to your friend's house & find some interesting songs, movies, etc...sorry you cannot connect your '16 GB' phone and share it!!!! Apple apparently has a solution.. " BUY MUSIC & MOVIES FROM iTUNES STORE "..... Give me a break will you APPLE!!!)

no FM radio,

can't use your mp3 files as ringtones,(This is heights man!!!)

cannot insert any other SIM card….

completely tied to iTunes... Connect to your friend's iTunes & you risk erasing everything on your phone.

list goes on & on & on….

We Indians are used to these features. Most of our phones already have these features. & we cannot do with out them.... i mean can you imagine paying so much for a phone with which you cannot transfer files via bluetooth. what age is this ...STONE AGE???

Some features may be activated by jailbreak.. But why the hell should you risk losing your warranty after paying so much.

And want to add third party softwares??.. YOU HAVE TO BUY THEM FROM iTUNES STORE ONLY!!! . (Shell out more money). Apple is a bloody control freak. Dont surrender your freedom to it.

Its good for american market (who have no idea what mobile freedom/choice is) which is in stone age compared to asian/european markets. When they want to buy a phone, they have to go to network operators and buy only those phones that are available on that network. & stick to that company till their contract expires. You want to change carriers? Not before paying damages, & buying another phone on the other network again.

On the contrary, we in India have so much freedom. We go to handset shops & buy which ever phone we like. Then go to carriers.. checkout the plans & buy SIM.. Dont like the plan or rival carrier came up with a better plan???? EASY .. just remove & replace the SIM.

Apple are trying to IMPOSE THEIR MODEL ON US riding on the hype iPhone has created in the US (yes it was a flop in Europe ..thats why Apple never talks about its sales in Europe).
Dont fall for the subsidized price of iPhone... CHECKOUT THE DATA PLAN ATTACHED TO ITS SIM ..they will recover the cost through ridiculous data plans. Bill might come to around Rs 2500/month.(ATLEAST AMERICANS PAY THAT MUCH)

Let me clear one thing though.. iphone is the best looking phone (its touch interface is nothing like you have ever seen ), & best browsing experience out there no doubt .... (& others are fast catching up..check out the android demo at Google IO 2008).... BUT AFTER A FEW DAYS IT ALL COMES DOWN TO FUNCTIONALITY...

Those of who buy it... You will be most happy for atmost a week... & then, MARK MY WORDS...YOU WILL START REGRETTING IT!!!

My advice...WAIT FOR HTC DREAM!! (powered by android). Still not convinced by then...by all means go for iPhone...

So friends lets spread this info to all our friends and help them in making a wise decision..... & those of you who have bought unlocked versions already please share your experiences with others

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.... GOODLUCK!!!

Clocky Robotic Alarm

2008-09-19T01:25:00.000-07:00

This little wonderful wheeled alarm clock started as an engineering student's project. Having trouble waking up herself, Gauri Nanda developed Clocky to shriek annoyingly and effectively, waking you up.

The fun doesn't end there, kiddies. It leaps off of your night stand, and drives around your room, making random turns and racing away from your grasp. Now you have to get out of bed and hunt the little bugger down to turn it off.

The Relevance Of The Panchatantra Today

2008-09-07T00:16:00.000-07:00

The ‘Panchatantra’ by Vishnu Sharma, written thousands of years ago, has much to offer by way of insight into human behaviour though the characters are entirely from the animal kingdom. The earliest translations were Pehlavi and Arabic. This westward migration of the ‘Panchatantra’ is attributed to Borzuy, the personal physician of Nushirvan, the Persian emperor. Borzuy came to India in the 6th century around 570 CE looking for the mrutasanjeevini, the mystical herb that could revive a corpse. He did not find the herb but found the ‘Panchatantra’ instead. And reading it, realised that the magical herb was Knowledge and the corpse was Ignorance.

Not surprisingly, the running theme of the ‘Panchatantra’ is “Knowledge is the true organ of sight, not the eyes” and is a practical guide to niti, or the art of intelligent living.

This collection of fables in five books, are stories told by sage Vishnu Sharma to the three not-sobright sons of a king.The collection is divided thus: The Loss of Friends or Mitrabedha, The Winning of Friends or Mitrasamprapti, Crows and Owls or Kakolookiyam, The Loss of Gains or Labdhapranasha and Ill-Considered Action or Aprikshitakaraka.

Vishnu Sharma chose the fable as his medium because he understood that humans can accept their own foibles if they are presented entertainingly,configured as stories about beasts that they believe to be inferior to themselves in many ways. Tales of greed, treachery, stupidity, deceit, adultery and loyalty, unravel like a matroshka, a succession of Russian dolls-within-dolls.

The morals in the ‘Panchatantra’ are not preachy tales of good overpowering evil. Franklin Edgerton, the Yale professor known for his masterly translation of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’, calls the ‘Panchatantra’ Machiavellian. He notes, “This is a textbook of artha, ‘worldly wisdom’, or niti, polity, which the Hindus regard as one of the three objects of human desire, the others being dharma, ‘religion or morally proper conduct’ and kama ‘love’... The so-called ‘morals’ of the stories... glorify shrewdness and practical wisdom in the affairs of life, and especially of politics, of government.” Joseph Jacobs said, “...if one thinks of it,the very raison d’etre of the Fable is to imply its moral without mentioning it”.

This honest depiction of “practical wisdom” explains why in the original Sanskrit, the cunning and evil jackal is the winner in the end in the First Book. This outraged some clerics and so one translator rewrote the end in which the jackal was jailed, put on trial and finally executed.

The stories convey messages that are direct and simple. Malicious gossip can destroy even great friendships. Never trust an enemy; “reformed enemy” is an oxymoron. Deceit is the only way to overcome an unscrupulous enemy. Caste, colour and religion are no barriers to forming lasting bonds; against tyrants, unity is strength. A fool and his gains are soon parted. An intelligent man can overcome adversity by the use of his wit. The consequences of an ill-conceived hastily executed action could be death.

The stories of the ‘Panchatantra’ offer us the possibility of making our lives richer and more meaningful. Through the wisdom of its fables the ‘Panchatantra’ offers a vision of ourselves, warts and all. In so doing, it makes us aware of the fact that solutions lie within ourselves. The use of animals to present this message is particularly significant since animals are not sentimental; in the words of the translator himself, theirs is a view of life which, “piercing the humbug of every false ideal, reveals with incomparable wit the sources of lasting joy”.

Interesting FAQ's

2008-09-01T03:38:00.000-07:00

What’s the Giri Raja chicken?
It’s a breed of chicken developed in Bangalore that can be used to produce both meat and eggs. Typically, poultry is reared specifically for one of these purposes. Animalwelfare experts believe that using this breed will be more humane, since the birds won’t develop health problems because of intensive breeding. Also, male laying birds needn’t be slaughtered since this breed can be used to produce both eggs and meat.

What is the Beer Google effect?
The Beer Google effect refers to the tendency to google information on someone we meet for the first time. This generally happens when one consumes alcohol, and under its influence, he looks up the person on the internet. For example, I met Geeta at ABC bar for the first time and she tells me that she works for XYZ Inc. Immediately on returning home, I beergoogle her using the search string ‘Geeta XYZ Inc’.

What is the principle of a voltage stabilizer?
A voltage stabilizer is an electrical appliance used to feed constant voltage current to costly electrical gadgets like ACs and computers, and protects them from damage due to voltage fluctuations. A voltage stabilizer works on the principle of a transformer, where the input current is connected to primary windings and output is received from secondary windings. Whenever there is a drop in incoming voltage, it activates electromagnetic relays which add to more number of turns in the secondary winding, thus giving higher voltage which compensates for loss in output voltage due to drop in incoming voltage. When there is rise in the incoming voltage, the reverse happens, and, thus, the voltage at the output side remains almost unchanged.

What is HAARP?
HAARP is an acronym for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, a research initiative aimed at studying the effect on the performance of communication, navigation and surveillance systems by simulated heating of the ionosphere. It was started in 1993 and is expected to continue till 2013. It is defence oriented and funded by various US defence agencies, including the air force and the navy. A powerful HF signal is transmitted to heat a limited area of the ionosphere for a specified time. Scientists then record the effects of temporarily altered conditions through advanced instruments. It’s been at the centre of controversies, with some organizations claiming that the transmission antennae may be used as weapons.

What is argemone oil?
Argemone oil is extracted from argemone seeds. It is mixed with sunflower oil and sesame oil to raise their quantity. Consumption of this oil leads to health disorders among children. To avoid this, we must check the contents of the cooking oil. Many oil brands mention ‘no argemone oil’ on their packs.

What is switchgrass?
Switchgrass, known in Botany as Panicum Virgatum L., is the perennial tall grass found in the prairies of North America and many parts of Mexico. Its height varies from 5 ft to 12 ft, and the diameter of its stem at ground level is about 20 inches. It can grow easily even in poor-quality soil, with low requirement of inputs like fertilisers, and can tolerate hostile environmental conditions, including floods and drought. The grass has both main roots that penetrate deep into the soil, and many temporary fine roots, which enable it to conserve the soil in which it grows, and make the soil nutritionally rich. Therefore, switchgrass has been grown traditionally for soil conservation and to serve as fodder. Since the 1990s, interest in this plant has increased because it generates a lot of biomass, which can be used for producing fibre, ethanol, electricity, and other chemicals.

Which compound is used in making bulletproof jackets?
Bulletproof jackets were being manufactured with ballistic nylon material till the 1970s. In 1965, a compound — poly- paraphenyleneterephthalamide — was invented with the brand name Kevlar. This is a liquid polymer which can be spun into fibre and woven into cloth. Kevlar was originally developed for tyres and, later, for ropes, gaskets and various parts of planes and boats. The efficacy of the material led to its usage for the manufacture of bulletproof jackets. Another product with the brand name Spectra was developed in 1989 as a competitor for Kevlar. Spectra is a polyethylene fibre originally developed as a sail cloth and, later, used to make stronger and lighter non-woven material for bulletproof jackets.

Who invented the board game Monopoly?
Charles Darrow, a US citizen, invented Monopoly in 1931, during the Great Depression. Out of work, Darrow earned a living doing parttime jobs and inventing puzzles and games, to sell to toy-makers. With some difficulty, he sold Monopoly to Parker Brothers on a royalty basis. The game sold so well that Darrow soon became a millionaire. The original game had properties named after streets, hotels, etc. in Atlantic City, where Darrow lived. In India, we initially played with the British version, containing London-based names like Old Kent Road and Piccadilly. Later, an Indian version was released; it was called Trade and featured sites in Mumbai, such as Churchgate Station and Byculla.

ANY ANSWERS?

What is gene doping?
What is the Cod War?
What is the Karakoram Highway?
What is magic acid?
What is the genetic alphabet?
What is the Enneagram Personality?

Champions everywhere

2008-08-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Abhinav Bindra’s gold makes us proud and ends a long drought. However, though there are no official statistics, there is little doubt that on a per capita basis, India finishes last in any Olympic medal tally. Dead last. Seventeen countries earned more medals in 2004 than India has in all the Olympic Games combined.

Over the last few weeks, commentators have blamed our Olympic shortfall on the woeful training infrastructure in India, the low priority we put on sports as a society and the Indian physique. But they’re wrong. Whatever it is that keeps us from Olympic gold, it isn’t a shortfall in the Indian gene pool. Take any Olympic sport and we will see that India is rich in future cham- pions — but only if we look in the right places.

If you have visited an Indian construction site, you will find many a potential gymnastics champion. I recently saw a man walking across thin planks on the 15th floor of a building. He did this with no safety harness of any kind. The only thing keeping him from falling down was his belief that he could hold himself firm and steady. Bring that man down 200 feet and put him on a four-foot-high balance beam and surely he will dance Bollywood tunes on the beam. India could easily field a gymnastics team from our numerous construction sites.

Take the rickshawpullers. Subsisting on a high protein and carbohydrate diet of dal and roti, these men transport riders in 40-degree weather for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Take the best of these men and let them loose on the Tour de France as training for the Olympics. The rolling hills of France on high tech, titanium Schwinn Cycles will be leisurely rides for these rickshawpullers. Who do you think who would have a harder time switching places: Lance Armstrong or the rickshawpuller? My money would be on the rickshawpuller.

Our coastal fisherman from Maharashtra to Kerala to Tamil Nadu sail three months of the year in the harshest of monsoon conditions. Brutal rains don’t hamper these rough-and-tough sailors. Take the best of these men and train them for three years and they will be formidable Olympic contenders.

I know we have one women’s weightlifting medal, but plenty more medals are available if we reach out among the women working at our construction sites. How many times have we passed a construction site and seen malnourished women lifting pounds of brick and dirt from the ground and onto their head? Watch their motion of lifting and watch the motion of lifting for a weightlifter, it’s exactly the same. Except our construction women don’t put their weights down quickly, they carry them for a while. Tell these women that they can just lift and put down and with proper training they can match the best weightlifters in the world.

Ounce for ounce, pound for pound, if you want to see the best athletes in the world, scour the roads of our cities. In the midst of traffic, you will find men pulling and pushing cargo by hand, just like we have done for millennia. It’s pure brute strength that pushes the cargo. Sit down with these men, who we all pass daily, and you will find the lowest body fat ratios of any men anywhere. Take the best of them, train them for the field and track events and a champion will emerge. Each year, the best American athletes go to train in Colorado, 5,000 feet above sea level. Colorado is chosen because training at high altitudes makes the lungs stronger. If we take our best and train them in Leh, 14,000 feet above sea level, imagine what supermen and superwomen we may develop.

The Indian countryside and cities are replete with future Olympians. These men and women train daily in the harshest of conditions with simple diets. Without a doubt, with the proper training and infrastructure, these men and women will add to our Olympic golds. It’s a shame that the world has missed 100 years of Indian Olympic prowess; it would be a travesty if the world misses another 100 years.

Neither Fire Nor Smoke

2008-06-25T01:47:00.000-07:00

If there is one idea whose time has come, it is that of electricity-powered transport vehicles. The highest-ever prices of petrol and diesel of today are only one reason for this. At current, heavily subsidised, fuel prices, battery-operated electric vehicles (EVs) cost only about one-tenth as much to run as petrol-driven vehicles, and those drawing power from overhead central grid-connected lines, even less.

Little wonder, a number of Indian companies, from places as varied as Chennai, Kolkata and Rajkot, have announced plans to make electric cars. The number of electric two-wheeler brands in the market already exceeds 20 and is growing. Major global players like Honda, Nissan and General Motors (accused of “killing” its successful electric car, developed in 1997, under the pressure of the oil and ancillary industries) are launching large-scale programmes to make EVs and plug-in hybrid cars.

More important, environmental logic overwhelmingly favours EVs. They don’t run on internal combustion engines and give off no pollutants. Typically, EVs also occupy much less road space than comparable fossil-fuel transport. Their relevance in reducing traffic congestion in our horribly crowded and overpolluted cities cannot be overemphasised.

EVs have other merits too. I must make a disclosure of interest here. I have used a Reva electric car for more than three years and find it easier to drive and maintain than a bicycle. EVs are extremely simple machines and involve no multiple complex systems like fuel pumping, injection/mixing, combustion with electric synchronisation, gearbox-based transmission, and pollution- and noise-control mechanisms.

Their battery-driven motor sits on top of the axle and transmits power directly via traction. The gear-free driving is a hoot. EVs have fewer moving parts and less wear-and-tear than fossilfuel machines. I have had only one problem — besides tyre punctures — with my car in three years, necessitating a shock-absorber change. EVs also mean reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels, and encourage frugal use of space and materials.

True, in life-cycle terms, EVs, like everything else, have a carbon footprint and leave a pollution trail — from manufacture and assembly of components and batteries, and consumption of rubber, metal, and other materials, to final waste disposal. But 80 per cent of life-cycle pollution from petrol/diesel vehicles is caused during their running. That’s where EVs score decisively.

Admittedly, EVs have disadvantages too. They are not easily amenable, at today’s level of battery technology, to use in large-scale public transportation except as trolley-buses or trams drawing power from the grid. Electric cars and two-wheelers have a limited range, typically 60 to 130 km, depending on the design of batteries. They need more frequent recharging than a petrol car/scooter needs refueling: typically, two to six hours a day, for three to five days a week, depending on use. Above all, electric cars are not spacious ‘family vehicles’. Most electric cars on offer can seat two adults and two children comfortably. At a pinch, the Reva can accommodate and pull four adults in cramped conditions.

No means of private transportation, however clean, can be a substitute for mass public transport. But insofar as private transport has a role, EVs’ merits outweigh their disadvantages especially for couples or single drivers, themselves a growing proportion of India’s car and two-wheeler users. With a little planning of one’s trip, and appropriate charging, one can comfortably negotiate a city with an EV. I have never been stuck with a dead battery even while driving all the way to the international airport from south-central Delhi and back. Indeed, driving one can transform one’s experience of our roads as sites of tension, cut-throat competition for favoured lanes or space, the mouthing of abuse and display of rage. There is, then, a strong case for public support for EVs. Besides launching trolley-bus services and reviving/strengthening tram transport, such support can take three forms. First, the government should offer straightforward price subsidies and rebates in VAT, road taxes, insurance premiums and registration charges, besides free parking facilities and exemptions from congestion charges.

Many European Union governments are indeed doing so. For instance, EVs enjoy free parking in London, besides 100 per cent depreciation in the first year. They pay no congestion charge (£8 a day) in central London. Apart from outright price subsidies, France mandates that 20 per cent of all new cars in public fleets must be electric. In Italy, EVs enjoy a rebate of nearly 30 per cent on the price, besides free parking and exemption from road taxes for five years. In Japan, EVs are given handsome tax support, besides $20 billion funding for efficient battery development. As a result, ironically, there are more Revas, the world’s largestselling purely-electric cars, running in London than in Bangalore, where they are made. The Chandigarh and Delhi territory governments have just offered rebates of 29.5 per cent on EVs. Other state governments must follow suit. The Centre must also go well beyond offering its present measly rebate of Rs 75,000 for state institutional buyers. Second, the government must initiate programmes for developing lightweight, highpower batteries (e.g. lithium-ion) for EVs. Most EVs use lead-acid batteries, whose basic design is more than 100 years old. A battery revolution is waiting to happen and must be vigorously backed.

Third, the government must create an infrastructure in the form of free charging points in city centres and major car parks, which will greatly enhance the range of EVs and make them more attractive and competitive with small petrol-driven cars. That’s the way forward.

Feng Shui

2008-06-16T03:50:00.000-07:00

Feng Shui for you storage space

Feng Shui will ensure that your storage space is in total harmony with your home.

Adapting Feng Shui or Vaastu tenets for a new home or for an existing home is not limited to room positions and orientations of the plot. Feng Shui can be used to design the storage cupboards as well.

Whether it is home or office, cupboards become an integral part of decorations, although the material, shape, size and positioning of cupboards vary according to the requirement of the individuals.

Wardrobes, chests or drawer units often provide ideal storage solutions and are used for storing clothings, linens and valuables. However with the present day space constraints and costs, many homes have limited space for storage or furniture.

Generally storage cupboards are made of wood. In some countries plastics, processed paper and even bamboo is used to make cupboards. Using the wall which has minimal windows, ensures a larger space for wardrobes. The extended areas in irregular shaped rooms or the space beneath room dividers or the stairs can also be used for storing. Using lighter shades of veneer/laminate or polish will make the room look larger and also make the cupboard blend in with the decor. Having a wealth safe in the cupboard at a higher level is good Feng Shui . Make sure the mirror on the dresser unit in the wardrobe does not reflect the bed or the toilet door.

Another important area for storage is the kitchen. One needs to consider the parameters which will make a kitchen more spacious and easy to use. Devote a drawer to store odds and ends in the kitchen . Make sure that your junk drawer is well organised and can open and shut easily. Most importantly, do not have storage cupboards too close to or above the gas stove.

Look around in your house and explore possibilities of building shelves in unusual places, like the side of a bay window or a corner hidden behind the door in the wall. Get the clutter out of your cabinets, cupboards and drawers. Organise your storage spaces and don’t keep equipments that you do not use on a daily basis. Using the space creatively by following Feng Shui will ensure that your storage space is in total harmony with your home.

***********

Staying healthy with Feng Shui

F eng Shui is commonly understood as the practice of arranging ones living and working environments to optimize social and financial success and good health. Very often a wind chime, a crystal ball, an aquarium or a mirror is strategically placed to bring about the desired results.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Feng Shui pervades the most minor events of our daily lives, creating a set of opportunities for better or for worse, which ultimately determine and shape the quality and direction of our lives. From birth to death, we are accompanied by ch,i - the living essence of the Universe. The clouds floating across the sky is chi, a leaf gently swaying in the breeze is chi , the breath in our lungs is chi, the fragrance of a flower is chi, falling in love is chi. Simply put - if something has no chi, then it just does not exist.

It would be apt to describe the internal energy systems or chi within us as the chakras and the external energy system or chi of our environment as the feng shui . We can cure our illness vibrationally from both inside and outside. This dual approach can alter and transmute an illness making one more receptive to medicines, treatment processes and good old prayers. Feng Shui is both - a strong and powerful medicine and a support system, but it should be used responsibly. Understanding and working with the principles of Feng Shui is the key to harnessing the power of chi in a way that will support us and benefit our life. Our health is ultimately the product of our environment. The Environment covers all the aspects that surround us, that provide us with immediate sustenance.

******

Feng Shui for your kitchen

The Chinese medical model emphasises on the nutritional value of food and is often referred to as the “post natal Chi”. Chi, in this context, refers to the positive energy of an individual which is attained by having nutritional food, essential for maintaining proper and harmonious Feng Shui.
Everything that is brought into the kitchen is changed in some way and this process of changing includes a cycle of energy that symbolises the entire process of life.

In order to understand the world of Feng Shui and the art of Chinese cooking, it is important to understand the logic of landscape to live, cook and eat in accordance with the dynamic harmony of nature. The common expression, “you are what you eat”, has been part of the Chinese culture for centuries. You can change what you are and how you feel by what you eat. We do this every day without particularly thinking about it. The most common ingredients in Chinese food are onions, ginseng, ginger root, garlic, carrot and spinach. They are called “medicinal foods” and you will find at least one of these items in each meal being consumed by them.

A fundamental principle of Feng Shui is that there should be a clear distinction between different functional areas inside a home and especially in the kitchen where different kinds of energies exist. It is mandatory to demarcate the areas of each function. It is important to keep the stove away from the water source. There should be a large window behind the sink and not behind the stove. Colours like brown and beige are good for the kitchen. A darker brown shade is good for the floor.

All equipment which rely on water should be put together in one corner of the kitchen as this makes any plumbing work easier and also ensures that there is no clash of elements. Remember a good and healthy kitchen is not just about good food but a harmonious environment, that supports the occupants and connects them with the energies of the premises.

*******

Feng Shui for Father’s Day

Father’s Day is the right time to thank your dad for all he has done for you. We tend to forget to say our thanks to our father who has always been there by our side. In Feng Shui, father is the ultimate Yang symbol, identifiable with the character of Chien in the Book of Changes (I-Ching). The Chien symbol is pictured as three solid lines, firm, unyielding and unbending.

The Northwest sector represents the father or patriarch and is one of the most important parts of the house, as it controls the luck of the head of the household. As fathers are usually the breadwinners of the family, his successes would affect the family’s fortunes and well-being. Therefore, by energising this sector, you can ensure your family’s fortune and good luck as well.

With the help of Feng Shui, you can make this Father’s Day very special. You could start by de-cluttering the Northwest sector of the house and his room. You could organise his bedroom and enhance the Northwest corner with figurines or artifacts made of metal. Present him with a hand-made wealth pot in a nice large belly porcelain or metal container, filled with semi-precious stones, coins and a small red envelope containing some money. Jazz it up with a red ribbon tassel and place it in the NW sector of his bedroom to ensure perennial flow of good wealth and prosperity.

A photo album is a positive energy gift and you could also add a collage of all his achievements and important phases in his life and put it up in the living room. If you wish to send across flowers to your dad’s office, then the good Feng Shui flowers are Orchids for harmony and peace, African violets for recognition at work, Sun flowers and yellow Chrysanthemums for fame and power.

If your father is no more, then you should make donations in his name or give away old clothings and food to the needy. For some who are not having a very pleasant relationship with their father, you could gift your dad a visual intention. In other words, you could spend few minutes with him and visualise all good things happening between the both of you.

On that day, keep smiling and don’t react to situations even if it gets irritating. After all spreading harmony and good energy is the core of good Feng Shui, so make the most of it this Father’s Day.

Puzzle and funny Q's

2008-06-12T02:48:00.000-07:00

Intelligent answers for difficult questions!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q.How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?

A. Concrete floors are very hard to crack! (UPSC Topper)

Q.If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it?

A. No time at all it is already built. (UPSC 23 rd Rank Opted for IFS)

Q.If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?

A. Very large hands.(Good one) (UPSC 11 Rank Opted for IPS)

Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?

A. It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one hand. (UPSC Rank 14 Opted for IES)

Q. How can a man go eight days without sleep?

A. No Probs, He sleeps at night. (UPSC IAS Rank 98)

Q. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?

A. It will Wet or Sink as simple as that. (UPSC IAS Rank 2)

Q. What looks like half apple?

A : The other half. (UPSC - IAS Topper )

Q. What can you never eat for breakfast?

A : Dinner.

Q. What happened when wheel was invented?

A : It caused a revolution.

Q. River Kaveri is in which state?

A : Liquid

Sometimes just thinking out of the box is what it takes!

**************

A man wanted to get into his work building, but he had forgotten his code. However, he did remember five clues. These are what those clues were:

The fifth number plus the third number equals fourteen.

The fourth number is one more than the second number.

The first number is one less than twice the second number

The second number plus the third number equals ten.

The sum of all five numbers is 30.

What were the five numbers and in what order?

The answer proves that U R Genius! :- If you crack the puzzle wtite your name and answer in the comment box below,...

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2008-05-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

KINDERGARTEN BOY To get to the other side.

PLATO For the greater good.

ARISTOTLE It is the nature of chickens to cross roads.

KARL MARX It was a historical inevitability.

TIMOTHY LEARY Because that's the only trip the establishment would let it take.

CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.

HIPPOCRATES Because of an excess of phlegm in its pancreas.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads withouthaving their motives called into question.

MOSES And God came down from the Heavens, and He said unto the chicken, "Thoushalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road, and there was muchrejoicing.

RICHARD M. NIXON The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did NOT cross theroad.

MACHIAVELLI The point is that the chicken crossed the road. Who cares why? The end ofcrossing the road justifies whatever motive there was.

BILL GATES The newly released Chicken 2003, will not only cross roads, but will layeggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook.

DARWIN Chickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in sucha way that they are now genetically disposed to cross roads.

EINSTEIN Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chickendepends upon your frame of reference and relativity.

GEORGE BUSH We are committed to establishing a democracy where chickens freely crossroads without oppression from terrorist organizations.

Azharuddin I am totally innocent, you know, I'm unnecessarily being dragged into this,you know, because I'm from the minority..... I neither know the chicken northe road, you know....

George Fernandes I am deeply hurt that this question is being asked after my 40 clean yearsof public life. I don't own a house, or a car, leave alone a chicken !!!

Mulayam I demand a 50% reservation of the road for the chicken class, so that theycan cross the road freely without their motives being questioned

ARJUN SINGH Our policy will ensure the development of socially underprivileged chickensso that they can also cross roads.

Abdul Kalam Yes, why did the chickens cross the road? .. please tell me why? .. theycrossed to go to the other side of the road... now repeat after me ....

Advani I see Pakistani hand in this ...

Vatal Nagaraj No Tamil or outside chickens will be allowed to cross our roads, our roadsare meant only for Kanadiga chickens!.

Bal Thackarey Chickens crossing the roads is against our culture, my followers will stoneall such chickens which cross the road.

Jayalalithaa From reliable sources I've got the information that the chicken belongs toKarunanidhi. He is making his chicken cross the road to create law & orderproblems. The chicken has now been imprisoned under POTA.

Amitabh Bachhan The chicken has crossed the road?.. are you sure.. very sure ... reallysure...

Venkaiah Naidu "We are very sure of the fact that the chicken did not cross the road. It'sa conspiracy by the congress. The poor chicken has been made a scapegoat inthis whole issue"

H.S.Surjeet We are adopting a wait and watch policy. We have convened a meeting of thethird front today. We will decide the future course of action after thechicken comes back..

Maneka Gandhi Chicken crossed the road alone...!! If a vehicle had passed over it, wewould have lost one of our dearest creatures. Ban all vehicles from usingthe road. Protect our chickens...

2008-05-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

* Bang ur head on the wall if u dont know the answer.*

Recently a company had participated in IIM's Placement Sessions.

They asked some interesting questions to students during recruitment.

Here are some of them:-

************ ********* **

1. There is one word in the English language that is always pronounced
incorrectly. What is it?

********

2. A man gave one son 10 cents and another son was given 15 cents. What
time
is it?

********

3. A boat has a ladder that has six rungs, each rung is one foot apart.
The
bottom rung is one foot from the water.

The tide rises at 12 inches every 15minutes. High tide peaks in one
hour.
When the tide is at it's highest, how many rungs are under water?

********

4. There is a house with four walls. Each wall faces south. There is a
window in each wall. A bear walks by one of the windows. What color is
the
bear?

********

5. Is half of two plus two equal to two or three?

********

6. There is a room. The shutters are blowing in. There is broken glass
on
the floor. There is water on the floor. You find Sloppy dead on the
floor.
Who is Sloppy? How did Sloppy die?

********

7. How much dirt would be in a hole 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide that has
been dug with a square edged shovel?

********

8. If I were in Hawaii and dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water
which
is 45 degrees F, and dropped another ball of the same weight, mass, and
size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, both of them at the same time, which
ball
would hit the bottom of the bucket first?

Same question, but the location is in Canada ?

********

9. What is the significance of the following: The year is 1978,
thirty-four
minutes past noon on May 6th.

********

10. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the
other
field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in the
center field?

********

11. What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move?

********

Scroll down for answers..... .......

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********

1. The word "incorrectly. "

********

2. 1:45. The man gave away a total of 25 cents. He divided it between
two
people. Therefore, he gave a quarter to two.

********

3. None, the boat rises with the tide. Googly ;-)

********

4. White. If all the walls face south, the house is at the North pole,
and
the bear, therefore, is a polar bear.

********

5. Three. Well, it seems that it could almost be either, but if you
follow
the mathematical orders of operation, division is performed before
addition.

So... half of two is one. Then add two, and the answer is three.

********

6. Sloppy is a (gold)fish. The wind blew the shutters in, which knocked
his
goldfish-bowl off the table, and it broke, killing him.

********

7. None. No matter how big a hole is, it's still a hole: the absence of
dirt.

********

8. Both questions, same answer: the ball in the bucket of 45 degree F
water
hits the bottom of the bucket last. Did you think that the water in the
30
degree F bucket is frozen? Think again.

The question said nothing about that bucket having anything in it.
Therefore, there is no water (or ice) to slow the ball down...

********

9. The time and month/date/year American style calendar are 12:34,
5/6/78.

********

10. One. If he combines all of his haystacks, they all become one big
stack.

********

11. The temperature.

********

Amitabh Bachchan

2008-05-02T05:10:00.000-07:00

I Am Just An Actor

Our great nation was born with the aid of the greatest of midwives — great leaders. We Indians have a long tradition of the heroic. We also like our stories to be a grand narrative, with big drama, big passion, big character, big suffering, big endurance, big overcomings. I have provided my fair share of all things big, even a B. With such a publicised life for over 40 years, one has provided an ample and extended narrative footage for the public, for delight in the giddy highs of success, the passion of suffering and loss, the dismay of defeat, on and on.

I feel it, at the very least, is a morally dubious thing that such public attention has been bestowed upon my private existence considering the vast multitudes of our fellow citizens who have anonymously and quietly succeeded, suffered and endured far greater than me. I have not sought it. I have tried to maintain silence because that is all one can do to preserve some sense of dignity and sanity in one’s private life. But my preferred silence is apparently at once dignified and at the same time not so. It is an oft-repeated argument that even if one does not hold public office, by virtue of being a public figure one is still obliged to explain oneself.

My speech and actions are either viewed as mere self-promotion, or met with no response whatsoever. This was very much the case after the event of a recent wedding in my family. Kept as a private and small event amongst my immediate kin and intimate friends due to the mortal condition of my late mother, it was apparently an act of self-promotion for many, or a mean-spirited exclusivity for others. I was moved to write at length to the editors of many reputable newspapers, magazines and journals — they all know who they are — to correct the manifold errors of much of the press at large about the event. Not one copy of my written response was published.

I have a human right to reply to public slander against myself or my family. This right was met with indifference. Faulted in silence, faulted in speech. What sort of double-bind is this, what sort of culture of news media do we have that could find justice in this Catch-22? I am just an actor. Where are our real heroes? Have we become so enamored of sheer fame, wealth and privilege that we hold this up as transformative for a
culture as rich in heritage as ours?

Where is the maturity in our free society that we must glorify such an empty vessel as myself for admiration? I acknowledge the role of inspirational individuals to cultivate our dreams and hopes as a community, but why is there so little public concern about the delicate point at which inspiration becomes reified into mindless and infantile idolatry? Icons remain legitimate as long as they do not become idols. And what sort of power do we really worship in our endless compulsive listings and rankings of our fellow citizens? Power lists seem to me a kind of destructive new confabulation of our cultural obsession with hierarchy so catastrophically manifested in the caste system.

We need to get over this and move on. Have we become so frivolous and superficial in the last 60 years that we have become blinded to undifferentiated power, that it is enough of an end in itself ? Power is potential, not an end in itself. What do we plan to do with ours, newly found?

Yes, people would at least feel gratified that there has been some progress towards alleviating the terrible suffering of all forms of poverty that have plagued our population, both material and cultural. But we still have a long way to go. Is this really a time to rest on our laurels? I am an actor. I do not know enough about the various political ideologies on offer to espouse any of them. They just confuse me. I prefer representative democracy in a genuinely free, open and secular society — as an ideology — than any of the others.

I try to think as well as one can and merely end up with a lot of questions to ask. I do not have the talent, the intelligence, or the training to ask them well, let alone answer them. I call upon our public intellectuals in all walks of life to vigilant debate. I implore them to raise their voices when they sit down and reflect together about what is good and bad in what we do, say and believe. I beg them for loud and clear direction in our public sphere. If they already speak, as an avid follower of Indian journalism, one does not understand why one cannot hear enough of them.

I want to hear more, and from the best of them. Even if they disagree with me. I will defend them until death for their right to do so. The camera rolls on all of us as we face our future together as citizens of India. As human beings in the world, we have had a rather long chance to sort ourselves out; now we have a good chance of running out of time.

*********

A new beginning

‘Why was I born?’ a young Amitabh Bachchan once angrily asked his father. The latter's reaction is something the Big B still carries with him...

THE disciplined regimentation of boarding school has often been replaced by the free spirit of independence as one enters university. Parental control seemingly diminishes. Yes, there is respect and answerability but not as severe.

The campus also now has a diverse and varied section of alumni. Discussion and debate prevail. The state of the nation, politics, society, morality, existentialism, life; just about every conceivable subject worthy of putting your mind to.

There is now also the added pressure of the future. Peer pressure has put upon you the responsibility of not just being able to stand on your own feet, but also the responsibility of keeping the rest of the family on their feet.

And that is when it happens! Frustration! The avenues and opportunities open to the youth today in an economically liberated India were absent in the late 50s and early 60s. After graduation what? Where to find a job? What job? How? When? And the idealism and debate and the coffee house banter soon converts itself to anger. The anger of not knowing what to do with ourselves.

You look for answers. You turn to those that may have them. And in one ‘enlightened’ moment you get the answer from a fellow sufferer. “Why were we brought into this world? To suffer?” That's it! We should never have been brought into this world. Judgment passed.

Angered, frustrated, strengthened and armed with unreasonable thought, I walked into my father's study one evening and for the first time in my life, with choked emotion, raised my voice at him and screamed: “Aapne hamme paida kyun kiya?”(“Why did you give birth to me?”)
My father, immersed as he always was in his writing, looked up at me with some initial surprise and then settled down to a more understanding posture and remained so for almost eternity. No one spoke. Not him. Not me. Not a sound. Just the measured clicking of the timepiece on his desk — and my unmeasured breathing! When nothing came across from the parent quarter, I turned and left. It was an uncomfortable night for me. The next morning my father walked into my room, woke me up and handed me a sheet of paper and left. I opened it. It was a poem he had written overnight — titled Nayi Leek or The New Generation.

Zindagi aur zamane ki kashmakash se / Ghabrakar mere ladke mujhse poochte hain, / “Hamme paida kyun kiya tha?” / Aur mere paas iske siwa /Koi jawab nahin hai /Ki mere baap ne bhi mujhse bina pooche / Mujhe paida kiya tha, /Aur mere baap se bina pooche unke baap ne, unhe, / Aur mere baba se bina pooche unke baap ne, unhe…/ Zindagi aur zamane ki kashmakash / Pahle bhi thi Ab bhi hai, shayad zyada, / Aage bhi hogi, shayad aur zyada. / Tumhi nayi leek dharana, / Apne baytoen se poochkar unhe paida karma!
(Pulled and torn by the strains of life and living / My sons ask me / “Why did you give birth to us?”/ And I do not possess an answer to this / That even my father did not ask me before giving birth to me, / Nor my father was asked by his father / Nor my grandfather did ask his father before bringing him. / The trials and tribulations of life and living / Were there before / And are there now too, perhaps more / And shall be there tomorrow, even greater. / Why don't you make a new beginning, a new thinking, / Ask your sons before giving birth to them!)

There are no excuses in life and no blame. Every morning is a fresh challenge. Either you learn to pick up the gauntlet and fight or learn to surrender to it.

So long as there is life, there is struggle!

“Jab tak jeevan hai, tab tak sanghgursh hai,” said my father, as he lay weak and almost comatose in his bed in Prateeksha.

The room is now adorned by his large framed photograph, exactly where he breathed his last. I dress his portrait with a garland of fresh flowers every day and a diya burns perpetually underneath. Few months ago, he was joined on the side by my mother's portrait.

Every day and every moment that I pass the room as I climb the staircase to my bedroom or down from it, I stop by the door and look at both of them. And ask for strength.
It is the light of his wisdom that I endeavor to carry each day when I step out!

Chetan Bhagat

2008-05-02T05:07:00.000-07:00

‘I should drop the numbers now’

Your book Five Point Someone is being made into a film...
Literature is being brought to life. This purely home grown writer is getting to tell a story and too, through a very popular actor like Salman Khan
The best film you’ve seen recently?
Khuda ke Liye, the Pakistani film.
Five Point Someone, One Night at the Call Centre, Three Mistakes, what next?
I should drop the numbers now.
Your favourite place...
Is Mumbai. It’s a hub for both finance and entertainment, it’s where I have things to do. Bangalore is also nice — this is where most of my readers are.
Banker or author?
Banker unknown mar jaatha hai, so author!
Your fave pastime....
Used to be writing. Now it’s playing with my kids.
And writing...
Is my profession.

Akshay Kumar

2008-05-02T04:48:00.000-07:00

Singh is Kinng is ‘musical’ King

Mumbai: In a landmark deal in the sales of a film’s music rights, the music of forthcoming Akshay Kumar-starrer Singh is Kinng has fetched Rs 13.5 crore.

The figure includes the value in terms of promotion and marketing of the movie. The music right has been bought by Times Music. This is reportedly the biggest acquisition deal in film music business and is significant move as the music market has been in a slump for some years.

“Singh is Kinng is one of the most awaited films of the year and it has some great music. The music of Akshay Kumar’s films have been selling well. Whether it is distribution, satellite or music rights, Akshay has been commanding a good price,’’ said Vipul Shah, producer, Singh is Kinng.

“This is certainly one of the biggest music acquisition deals. Also the deal is not for perpetuity as most music deals are but for a limited period of eight years,’’ said Sandeep Bhargava of Indian Films, the worldwide rights holder of Singh Is Kinng.

The various rights are primarily mobile ringtones and a vibrant radio scene has added to the film music business, which was suffering from a dip in the sales. “This certainly is a major deal in the music market and is bound to have an impact on other transactions. We have begun seeing movement in the music scene after a long slump. While CD sales is only 30% of the revenues other rights have supplemented it,’’ said a trade observer.

Quick Look:

Nickname: Akki, Raju
Birth name: Rajiv Hari Om-Bhatia Date of Birth: 9 September 1967
Sign: Virgo
Height: 6'1" or 1.85 m
Weight: 82 kgs
City:
Country: India
Mother:
Father:
Siblings: sister
Children: son Araav
Marital status: married
Spouse: Twinkle Khanna (daughter of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia)
Education: he was never much interested in studies, started doing martial arts when he was in 8th standard
Likes:
Favorite food: eat everything but never eat food from outside
Favorite color:
His hero:
His heroine:
Other facts: he trains himself every morning for 1.5 hrs
Hobbies: does a lot of outdoor sports (volleyball and cricket)

Top Ten Sad Love Poems

2008-04-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

Falling In And Out Of Love

When I say I love you I do
But this with you will not do
I need someone I can lean on
Someone I can count on too

Yes you are there sometimes
For that I am grateful to you
But I need someone there full time
And that you can not do

You told me once you loved me
That I could believe in you
I was there when you needed someone
Where were you when I needed someone, too?

The time has come for me to let go
Never to expect you to care again
People may come and people may go
But my love will never end

Touch Yourself

I understand the why
Yet I cannot grasp the how;
But if this is the way you must handle us
I will try to understand somehow.

There is one thing that I ask
As you walk away;
Please create a corner in your heart for me
So at least, there, I can always stay.

You will always be my love
That will never change;
Though we are going separate ways
That fact remains the same.

I know we must let each other go
Circumstances force us to set each other free;
But today, I give back to you . . . your words -
Touch Yourself and You Touch Me.

Forgive me

Forgive me for what cannot be forgiven.
Open up the door I once slammed closed.
Restore the love that I once squandered, driven
Grimly by some grinch I've since deposed.
I cannot plead for what I cannot fathom,
Valuing least the value I most crave.
Each heart must sometimes haunt the steep-walled chasm,
Made mad by wrath and selfish songs that rave
Empty on the edges of the grave

'Leave My Heart'

I wonder why you went
To a place where I could never go
When you had everything with me
Only you will ever know

You never left me any time
To record the feeling of your touch
Where did the loving ever go
When it all once meant so much

You leave my heart, you steal my soul
And time won't fill the empty hole
You left in me when you walked out

Just leaving sorrow, pain and doubt
But I'll go on,
I'll find another one

Who'll treasure all that I will be
Who'll treasure all that I've become

So when you leave, don't take me with you
I couldn't bare to leave this place
Where all the memories reside
In the beauty of your face

Your love it dripped from your fingertips
With your blind caress
And made my soul sway with sorrow
That it will never be
here again with me

It creeps to me in the cold of night
When my heart has wishes I can't fulfill
Your arms sweeten the sound of sorrow
But only … only until ...

... You leave my heart, you leave my soul
New love will fill the empty hole
You left in me when you walked out
No more sorrow, fear or doubt

But I'll go on,
Yes I've moved on
I'll find another one
Who'll treasure all that I will be
Who'll treasure all that I've become

--I'll Never Love Again--

I'll love you forever,
We will never part.
Together forever.
Words straight from the heart.

These words I told you,
And I meant what I said.
But the fire has died down,
The affection is dead.

"She said it's over,"
Your best friend told me.
YOU COULDN'T DO IT ON YOUR OWN?
You broke my heart, you see.

The heartbreak was too much,
I won't be hurt again.
No more late phone calls,
No more girlfriends.

I can't believe you hurt me.
I thought our love was true…
How could you do this?
WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?

But I've lost you forever.
Even as a friend.
And one lesson you've taught me,
I'LL NEVER LOVE AGAIN!

--True Hurt--

You ask me to quit calling,
you speak in words of hate.
You say you never loved me,
that all those words were fake.

I never really hurt you,
at times I thought it fair.
But you put me down and ridicule
and never seem to care.

I thought that you were different,
that you'd never hurt me.
But now I know the real you,
now it's the truth I see.

Your intentions were clear all along,
you didn't hide them well.
I soon found that all you wanted
was to kick me when I fell.

But I am smarter now,
for support I have my friends.
I know for sure next time,
this won't be how it ends.

If You Forget Me

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

If those I loved were lost

If those I loved were lost
The Crier's voice would tell me --
If those I loved were found
The bells of Ghent would ring --

Did those I loved repose
The Daisy would impel me.
Philip -- when bewildered
Bore his riddle in!

Dream Deferred

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Santa singh Jokes :)

2008-03-27T03:39:00.000-07:00

• Santa proposing a girl: Darling kya tum mujse shadi karogi?
Girl: Tameez se baat karo.
Santa: Behan ji, kya aap mujhse shaadi karoge?

• Inspector to Santa: Faansi se pehle, bata teri aakhri ichha kya
hai?Santa: Mere pair upar aur sier neeche kar k faansi de do!

• Santa: I tried ur number so many times, it always said 'Switched
Off'!"
Banta: Nooo, it's my HELLO TUNE!

• Beggar: Oh sundari, andha hoon, paanch rupya de de.
Santa to his wife: De de, De de, tujhe sundari bola hai to har haal
main ye andha hai.

• Santa: Oye tera vyah ho gya?
Banta: Haan.
Santa: Kuri naal?
Banta: Oye munde naal v hunda hai kya?
Santa: Haan... Meri bhain da hoya si !

• Banta: Jab main paida hua tha to military walon ne 21 topein
chalayeen thi. Santa: Kamaal hai ! Sab ka nishana chook gaya ?

• Santa meets his old friend.
Santa: A & B, A & B, A & B, A & B, A & B.
Friend: Oye, iska matlab?
Santa: Kuch nahin yaar, I mean long time no C.

• Phone ki ring baji. Santa: Phone mere liye ho to kehna mein ghar
pe nahin hoon.
Jeeto phone pe: Wo ghar pe hain.
Santa: Maine mana kiya that...
Jeeto: Phone mere liye tha!

• Santa to Banta: Main apna purse ghar bhool aaya, mainu 1000 Rs
chahide si.
Banta: Dost hi dost de kam aunda hai, le 10 Rs, riksha kar te purse
le aa.

• Banta: Wo ladki deaf lagti hai. Main kuch kehta hoon, woh kuch aur
hi bolti hai.
Santa: Kaise?
Banta: Maine kaha I Luv U, to woh boli 'Maine kal hi Naye Sandal
kharide hain'

• Santa to Jeeto: Kaisi sabzi banai hai, bilkul Gobar jaisa swad hai.
Jeeto, maatha peet te hue: Hey bhagwan! Na jane inhone kya-kya kha
ke dekha hua hai.

• Daku Mangal Singh Banta ke ghar mein ghusa aur bola: Sona kahan
hai, jaldi bataao
Banta: Pura ghar khali hai malko, jithe marzi so jao!

• A sweet girl goes to Banta's shop and said: Mujhe underwear dikhao.
Banta sharmate hue: Aaj pehan kar nahin aaya.

• Teacher: Pappu, describe digestive system of a human being.
Pappu: Very simple, it starts with right hand & ends with left hand.

• Santa: Tainu tairna aanda hai?
Banta: No
Santa: Tere naalon ta kutte changey ne jehre tair lende ne
Banta: Tenu tairna aanda hai?
Santa: Aaho
Banta: Pher tere te kutte ch ki farak hai?

• Santa: Yaar meri aankhein dhang se nahin khulti, koi tarika batao.
Banta: Kisi din achanak apne ghar chale jaao.

• Santa: Ghar ka saara keemti samaan chhupa ke rakh do, mere dost aa
rahe hain.
Jeeto: Kyon! Aapke dost chura lengey? Santa: Nahin, pehchan lengey.

• I can kiss u without even touching u.
Gal: U can't
Santa: Lagi 10-10 ki
Gal: Ok
Santa kisses her lips
Gal: Touch kar liya, touch kar liya
Santa: Aah lai 10 Rs

• Q: What do you call a man who can't hear anything?
Santa: Anything you want because he can't hear na!!!

• Santa: Oye, ladki dekh, kitni sohni hai.
Bata: Mujhe to uska naam bhi pata hai.
Santa: Kya naam hai.
Banta: Mein bank gaya tha, vahan yeh ek counter pe baithi thi, name
plate pe likha tha: Chaalu Khata

• Santa: What is the similarity between Bill Gates n Me?
Banta: Don't know.
Santa: Well... He never comes to my house & I never go 2 his!

• Girl: Will you love me after marriage also?
Santa: This depends on your husband, if he allows me.

• Jeeto to Santa: Stop looking at girls, u r married now.
Santa: U mean if I am on diet, I can't look at the menu also?

• Santa to Banta: Name 5 animals living in the water?
Banta: 1 Frog.
Santa: Theek hai hor das?
Banta: Frog da praah, bhen, piyo te maa.

• Banta: Meri biwi mujhe chod ke chali gayi.
Santa: Tu uska khyal nahi rakhta hoga.
Banta: Arre yaar, Sagi behan ki tarah rakhta tha.

• Santa drinking heavily in bar gets up n farts loudly. Man next 2
him: Excuse me, but u just farted before my wife.
Santa: Sorry, I didn't know it was her turn

• Santa: Qutub Minar kahan hai?
Pappu: Pata nahi.
Santa: Kabhi ghar se nikla karo.
Pappu: Ram Lal kaun hai?
Santa: Pata nahi.
Pappu: Kabhi Ghar me bhi raha karo.

• Nurse- Congrats: Apke jurwa bete hue hain.
Santa: Ye to hona hi tha.
Nurse- Kyon?
Santa: Jab dekho KBC PART-2 dekhti rahti thi, Mil gaya na UMEED SE
DUGNA

• Santa talking on phone.
Banta: Kis se baat kar rahe ho?
Santa: Biwi se. Banta: Itne pyar se...?
Santa: Tumhari hai.

• Santa: I'd like some Vitamins for my son.
Clerk: Sir, vitamin A, B or C ?
Santa: Any will do as my son doesn't know the albhabets yet.

• Santa's son: Mere papa bahut darpok hain.
Banta's son: How?
Santa's son: Jab bhi road cross karte hain to meri ungli pakad lete
hain aur kehte hain ki chodna mat.

• Gal: I think the poorest people are the haapiest.
Banta: Then marry me and we'll be the happiest.

• What's an adult joke?
Santa: Any joke which is eighteen years old.

• If u call ur mother as MUM what'll u call mother's younger sis &
elder sis?
Santa: Minimum and Maximum

• Santa kissed his girl friend in the park. Girl: Plz ye sb shadi se
pehle…
Santa: Don't worry darling, I'm already married.

• Santa: Main aur meri girlfriend shaadi kar rahe hain.
Banta: Wow, Kab?
Santa: Meri 7 Dec ko aur uski 13 Jan ko.

• Pappu: Dad what's Sex?
Santa gets tensed but explains everything.
Pappu: But dad how do I write all that in this small box of school
admission form?

• Santa: Is operation se mujhe kuchh ho gaya to isi doctor se shadi
kar Lena.
Jeeto: Aise kyo kah rahe ho?
Santa: Doctor se badla Lene ka yehi 1 rasta hai!

• Interviewer: Aap kisi MAHILA mein sabse pehle kya dekhte hain?
Santa: O ji, wo is baat par depend karta hai ki woh aa rahi hai ya
jaa rahi hai?

• Santa eats 8 Butter Naan at a party and is suffering from
Constipation.
Praying & crying in Toilet: Hey Wahe Guru...Ya toh JAAN nikal de, ya
NAAN nikal de.

• Santa went to a museum where he broke a statue.
Officer: U have broken a 5000 years old statue.
Santa: Thank God, mainu lagga nava si…

• Santa: Mein Shimla ja raha hoon, jate hue raaste mein biwi ko khai
mein dhaka de doonga.
Banta: Yaar meri bi le ja, use bhi dhaka de dena.
Santa: Theek hai, agar tu bura na maane use vaapsi pe dhaka de doon?

• Baniye shayar ne arz kiya.
Moorkh tha Shahjahan jo kar gaya kharcha itna TAJ par Kambakht,
Har din ek nayi Mumtaz aa jati us kharche ke BYAAZ par.

• Santa-Bus stand jane k kitne paise?
Rikshawala: 10 Rs
Santa: 2Rs mein chalega to theek hai
Rikshawala: 2Rs mein kaun le k jayega?
Santa: Peeche baith main lekar jata hoon.

• Santa: Mere mummy ne kal murga banaya.
Banta: Kinu, tenu ke tere bapu nu?

• Master: Kaka tenu pata hai ki teri umar wich Gandhi Ji, BA kar
chuke si?
Santa: Sir tuhadi umar vich Bhagat Singh faansi v chad chuke si.

• Santa's father gave him a gun on wedding night & said: Fire in air
if ur wife is virgin, shoot her if not.
Santa fired in air 1st night & shot her 2nd night.

• Boss: I'm giving u driver's job. Starting salary Rs. 3000, is it
OK ? Santa: U R great sir! Starting salary is Ok but how much is
DRIVING salary?

• Santa & Banta were looking at Egyptian mummy.
Santa: Look so many bandages, pakka lorry accident case. Banta:
Aaho, lorry number is also written... BC 1760 !!!.

• Failure is not when your girlfriend leaves U. It's only when U
send her virgin. -Swami SexaaNand.

• Banta: What do you call a wife who is beautiful, intelligent,
understanding, caring, never jealous and a great cook?
Santa: Niri Afwah !!!

• Santa to wife: Did u hav any boy friend before marriage?
Wife remain silent.
Santa: Main is khamoshi ko kya samjhu?
Wife: Bewakoof ginan tan de.

• Santa Radio lekar POTTY karne gaya.
Banta: Aaj toh mazey se ki hogi ?
Santa: Khaak mazey se ki, radio par Jan-Gan-Man aa gaya, khade-khade
karni padi.

• Teacher: Asman me udne wali chiz ande deti hai, jamin pe rahne
wali bache deti hai. Kaun hai jo Asman me udti hai par bachche jamin
par deti he?
Santa: Airhostess!

• Santa: Dr. saab, I'm suffering from loose motion.
Doc: Kinni ku patli aundi hai?
Santa: Dr. saab, samaj lao ke tusi us naal Grare kar sakde ho !

• Banta: Life ko kaun zyada achhaa bana sakti hai, Girlfriend ya
Wife?
Santa: WIFE. Bas, honi kisi aur ki chahiye!

• The math teacher saw that little Johnny wasn't paying attention in
class.
She called on him and said, "Pappu! What are 4, 2, 28 and 44?"
Little Johnny quickly replied, "Cartoon Network, Ten Sports,
Discovery Channel and Pogo!"

• Santa: What's the name of ur car?
Banta: I don't know but it starts with "T"
Santa: Kamal hai yaar teri gaddi tea nal start hundi hai, apni te
Petrol nal start hundi hai.

• Santa, Banta & Bobby were going on a motorcycle. Policeman gives
hand to stop.
Santa shouted: Oye pagal, pehle hi 3 bethe hain tu kahan baithega?

• Jeeto: Doctor ne mujhe ek mahine ka aaram aur kisi Hill station
par jaane ko kaha hai, hum kaha jayenge?
Santa: Kisi Dusrey Doctor ke paas!!!

Pappu: Dad, main itna jawan kab banunga k main mummy ko bina bataye
ghar se bahar ja sakoon.
Santa: Beta, itna jawan to aaj tak main bhi nahi hua...

• Santa bought a car on loan... He didn't pay the dues, the bank
took away his car.
Santa: If I knew this, I'd have taken a loan for my marriage also!

• Banta mujra dekhne gaya, sari raat mujra dekha.
Bai ne kaha: Sahab humne aap ko khush kiya, ab aap hume khush karo.
Banta utha or khud nachne laga..

• Teacher: Aisi kisi jagah ka naam batao jise banaya to aadmi ne hai
par fir bhi wo wahan par ja nahi sakta? Papu: LADIES TOILET!

• Banta was driving his car in a zigzag fashion on d road. Traffic
inspector stopped him.
Banta: I'm learning car driving.
Inspector: Without d instructor?
Banta: Correspondence Course!

• Jeeto: Ek baat batani hai, par plz muje marna nahi.
Santa: Bolo.
Jeeto: Mein Pregnant hu!
Santa: It's a gud News.
Jeeto: Shadi k pahle pitaji ko bataya to bahut maar padi thi.

Aishwarya Rai Hot videos

2008-03-27T02:16:00.000-07:00

Aishwarya in swimsuit

Aishwarya in hollywood

Beautiful Aishwarya Rai Bacchan

Food for thought

2008-03-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Funeral

(Contributed by Nanda Keshava)

One day all the employees reached the office and saw a big advice on the door on which was written:

'Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym'.

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself. The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: 'Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!'.

One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: 'There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.’

You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.

'The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself'

Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your reality.

It's the way you face Life that makes the difference

**************

Reaction

(Contributed by Anupama verma)

The train started moving. It was packed with people of all ages, mostly with working men and women and young college guys and gals. Near a window, was seated a old man with his 30 year old son. As the train started moving, the son was overwhelmed with joy as he was thrilled with the scenery outside.

"See dad, the scenery of green trees moving by is very beautiful", he said.

This behavior from a thirty year old man made the other people feel strange about him. Every one started murmuring things about the son. "This guy seems to be a crack" newly married Anup whispered to his wife.

Suddenly it started raining. Rain drops fell on the travelers through the open windows. The son was filled with joy "See dad, how beautiful the rain is"

Anup's wife got irritated with the rain drops spoiling her new suit.

Anup, "Can’t you see its raining, old man. Close the window and if your son is not feeling well, get him soon to a mental asylum. Don’t disturb the public henceforth"

The old man hesitated first, and then in a low tone replied "We are on the way back from hospital. My son got discharged today morning. He was blind by birth, he got his vision only last week, these raindrops and trees are new to his eyes. Please forgive us for the inconvenience caused."

We always tend to see things only from our perspective and react accordingly. At times, the truth could be very much different from our perspective. So try to get a complete picture of the situation before reacting.

****************

Get Your Priorities Straight

by Satyadeb

Once at a workshop, a time management expert stood in front of the group he was presenting to and said, "Okay, time for a quiz."

He pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced a dozen large rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the group answered, "Yes."

He replied, "Really?"

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he proceeded to pour the gravel into the jar. He shook the jar, causing the pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the rocks. He continued to do this until no more gravel could fit. Then he asked once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time, the group was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied.

He reached under the table, brought out a bucket of sand and started dumping the sand in. It went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more, he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the group shouted.

Once again he said, "Good!"

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. He looked up at the group and asked, "All right, what is the point of this illustration?" One business professional raised her hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit more things into it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The point is that if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the big rocks in your life? More time with your loved ones? Advancement in your education? Business growth? Greater wealth? Something else that you've always wanted to accomplish?

If you don't take the time to prioritize--put your major goals in first-- then all your time will be used up by less important things.

Make an appointment with yourself today to think about and reflect on this story. Ask yourself the question: What are the major goals in my life or business? Then, remember to put these major goals in first, or you'll never get them in at all.

************

Inner Peace

My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone.

"You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures," he said.

"Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both."

That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.

****************

Japanese Fish

(Contributed by Shubha Mangala)

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.

Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies (still) put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The fish, in an attempt to run away from the shark, stay constantly alert and hence, fresh. The shark may eat a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state.

Like the Japanese fish - "Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment."- L. Ron Hubbard.

Challenges are what keep us FRESH! Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

*****************

Respecting Our Differences......

"You can't please everybody." Every one of us is born unique in our ways, outlook, attitudes, likes, dislikes, opinions, and perspective.

Come to think of it, even if we have a lot of things that are different from each other, we still are set by boundaries, norms and principles for socially acceptable behaviour so that we can co-exist peacefully.

Here are just basic things to remember. One is to realize and put in our hearts that we should respect other's ways, outlooks, attitudes, likes and dislikes, opinions or perspective. If we do that, there comes the acceptance that no one has to be like you or you don't need to be like the others, just so you could get along.

Do not expect others to see your way. If they don't, respect that.

Do not expect others to make the same decisions that you do. If they don't, respect that.

Conflicts are second-nature to humans. People are argumentative to a fault, in many aspects of our lives. We just have to stop and listen. We don't have to agree, but respect others ideas and opinions. If you don't want to get stumped while expressing your thoughts, then don't do that to others as well.

In this generation and age, people are accustomed to just being in a group, organization, or having friends that also have the same viewpoints as we do. By doing this, we limit our capabilities to inculcate respect. And remember, you can only be on the same wavelength with someone else to a minimal extent.

Even twins are not so much alike. Next time you would have a cross (a disagreement) with someone, remember all these. You are at an advantage because that person might go on because he doesn't know that respect is needed to ensure that we live peacefully. And if you stoop down to his level, you are the loser, not him.

"Understanding is respecting.

Respecting is not a way to please everyone but a course to ensure that you are a principled person."

ibiboo Team

************

Don't Change the World

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony.

He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows' skin, and would cost a huge amount of money.

Then one of his wise servant dared himself to tell the king, "Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don't you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?"

The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a "shoe" for himself.

There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story :

To make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world.

**************

Story of Geese

In the fall when you see geese heading south for the winter flying along in the "V" formation, you might be interested in knowing what science has discovered about why they fly that way. It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who are part of a team and share a common direction get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are travelling on the trust of one another and lift each other up along the way.

***********************************************************

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go through it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the power of the flock.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation and share information with those who are headed the same way that we are going.

***********************************************************
When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the wing and another goose takes over.

It pays to share leadership and take turns doing hard jobs.

**********************************************************************
The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep their speed.

Words of support and inspiration help energize those on the front line, helping them to keep pace in spite of the day-to-day pressures and fatigue. It is important that our honking be encouraging. Otherwise it’s just – well honking!

**********************************************************************
Finally, when a goose gets sick or is wounded by a gunshot and falls out, two geese fall out of the formation and follow the injured one down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly or until he is dead, and then they launch out with another formation to catch up with their group.

When one of us is down, it’s up to the others to stand by us in our time of trouble. If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other when things get rough. We will stay in formation with those headed where we want to go.

***************************************
The next time you see a formation of geese, remember...

IT IS A REWARD, A CHALLENGE AND A PRIVILEGE to be a contributing member of a TEAM.

**********************

Success Does Not Happen In Isolation

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honour and prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours.

“How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn.”

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour’s corn also improves. So, it is in the other dimensions!

Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well. The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.

Success does not happen in isolation. It is very often a participative and collective process.

Back to Home..

World 2nd Richest man's attitude...

2008-03-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Second Richest Man in the World

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second
richest man who has donated $31 billion (85% of his fortune) to charity.

Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started
too late!

2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that
he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything
he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security
people around him.

5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest
private jet company.

6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one
letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the
year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.

7) He has given his CEO's only two rules.

Rule number 1: Do not lose any of your share holder's money.

Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he
gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.

9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5
years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren
Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates
met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of
Warren Buffet.

10) Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his
desk.

11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in
yourself.

Short stories - A good read

2008-03-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Heart Touching Inspirational Love Story

There was once this guy who is very much in love with his girl.

This romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of paper cranes as a gift to his girl.

Although, at that time he was just a small fry in his company, his future doesn't seem too bright, they were very happy together. Until one day, his girl told him she was going to Paris and will never come back. She also told him that she cannot visualize any future for the both of them, so they went their own ways there and then...

Heartbroken, the guy agreed. But when he regained his confidence, he worked hard day and night, slogging his body and mind just to make something out of himself.

Finally with all the hard work and the help of friends, this guy had set up his own company ...

You never fail until you stop trying. One rainy day, while this guy was driving, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella in the rain walking to some destination. Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched. It didn't take him long to realize they were his girl's parents.

With a heart in getting back at them, he drove slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot him in his luxury sedan. He wanted them to know that he wasn't the same any more; he had his own company, car, condo, etc. He made it! What he saw next confused him, the couple was walking towards a cemetery, and so he got out of his car and followed...and he saw his girl, a photograph of her smiling sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone and he saw his paper cranes right beside her...

Her parents saw him. He asked them why this had happened. They explained,she did not leave for France at all. She was ill with cancer. She had believed that he will make it someday, but she did not want to be his obstacle... therefore she had chosen to leave him.

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. She had wanted
her parents to put his paper cranes beside her, because, if the day comes when fate brings him to her gain...he can take some of those back with him...

Once you have loved, you will always love. For what's in your mind may escape but what's in your heart will remain forever. The guy just wept...The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside her knowing you can't have her, see her or be with her ever again.........hope you understand.

Find time to realize that there is one person who means so much to you, for you might wake up one morning losing that person who you thought meant nothing to you.

***

Just Thankful

In my senior year, I reluctantly took a required psychology
course. The first day, the professor commented on each student's
major, trying to provoke a response. It was working - some students
were becoming defensive. When it was my turn, I told him I was a music major.

"So," asked my professor, "what does your father think of your
wasting your education to study music?"

"He's just thankful," I shot back, "that I didn't go into psychology."

****

please ! make me women ....

A man was sick and tired of goingto work every day while his wife stayed
home.

He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed:

"Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely
stays at home.

I want her to know what I go through, so please allow her body to switch
with mine for a day. Amen.

God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man'swish.

The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman.

He arose, cooked breakfast forhis mate, awakened the kids,

Set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their lunches,

Drove them to school, came home andpicked up the dry cleaning, took it to
the cleaners

And stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery shopping,

Then drove home to put away the groceries,

Paid the bills and balanced the checkbook.

He cleaned the cat's litter box andbathed the dog.

Then it was already 1 P.M.and he hurried to make the beds,do the laundry,
vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

Ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on
the way home.

Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their homework,

Then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing.

At 4:30 he began peelingpotatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded
the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper.

After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry,
bathed the kids, and put them to bed. At 9 P.M. he was exhausted and,
though his daily chores weren'tfinished, he went to bed where he was
expected to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said, Lord,

I don't know what I was thinking. Iwas so wrong to envy my wife's being able
to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back."

The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied, "My son, I feel you have learned
your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were.

You'll just have to wait nine months,though. You got pregnant last night."

***

Guess Who?

A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter methodically placing "Love" stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them.

His curiosity gets the better of him and he goes up to the balding man and asks him what he's doing.

"I'm sending out 1,000 Valentine's Day cards signed, 'Guess who?'"

"But why?" asks the man.

"I'm a divorce lawyer."

* * *

Respectfully Cheating

Jack and Betty are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. "Betty, I was wondering -- have you ever cheated on me?" "Oh Jack, why would you ask such a question now? You don't want to ask that question..." "Yes, Betty, I really want to know. Please." "Well, all right. Yes, 3 times." "Three? When were they?" "Well, Jack, remember when you were 35 years old and you really wanted to start the business on your own and no bank would give you a loan? Remember how one day the bank president himself came over to the house and signed the loan papers, no questions asked?" "Oh, Betty, you did that for me! I respect you even more than ever, that you would do such a thing for me! So, when was number 2?" "Well, Jack, remember when you had that last heart attack and you were needing that very tricky operation, and no surgeon would touch you? Remember how Dr. DeBakey came all the way up here, to do the surgery himself, and then
you were in good shape again?" "I can't believe it! Betty, I love that you should do such a thing for me, to save my life! I couldn't have a more wonderful wife. To do such a thing, you must really love me darling. I couldn't be more moved. When was number 3?" "Well, Jack, remember a few years ago, when you really wanted to be president of the golf club and you were 17 votes short?"

* * *

Deal Under the Table

A romantic young married couple exploring new ways of romance, intimacy,
love, pleasure, joy, touch, smell, positions and styles of Kamasutra, venue,
adventure were sitting at a candle light table in a splendid restaurant in
the quietest corner of their choice. They ordered expensive wine and Hors
D'oeuvres.

Suddenly the man started slipping on his chair. The waitress noticed it from
a distance with her other responsibilities, but thought man would handle
himself and straighten out. However, the man slowly started sliding under the
table further until he disappeared. The wife was quite unconcerned,
inattentive to her husband and kept on drinking and eating expansively.

The waitress had to react and help. She came to the woman and said, "Ma'am
your husband may have lost his balance, and slipped under the table."

The lady replied with a whoop of pleasure, "Perhaps, but don't worry he is
enjoying the Deal Under the Table."

***

Back to Homepage

SMS - For U

2008-03-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*Alphabetic advice for you:*

*A B C*

*Avoid Bad Company.*

*D E F*

*Don't Entertain Fools.*

*G H I*

*Go for High Ideas.*

*J K L M*

*Just Keep Lovely friends like me.*

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*Kuch fasle sirf aankho se hote hai,*

*dil ke fasle to bato me hote hai.*

*Hum lakh koshish kare bhulane ki,*

*par kuch rishte sanso se jude hote hai.*

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*Bahut khushnooma kal ki Raat guzri hai,*

*Kuch tanha par kuch khaas guzri hai.*

*Na neend aayi na Khwaab koi,*

*Bas aap hi ke khayalon ke saath guzri hai.*

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*Nazuk si chot se sisha na tute,*

*chhoti-2 baton se apne na ruthe.*

*Thodi si bhi fikr hai agar apko hmari,*

*to kosish kijiyega*

*rishto ki ye dor kabhi na tute.*

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*Everybody wants to see "HEAVEN"*

*But nobody wants to die.*

*But I saw HEAVEN in your "Friendship"*

*without dying.*

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*Suraj ki pahli kiran*

*Khushi de apko,*

*Dusri kiran hasi de*

*Tisri tandurasti*

*Chouthi kamyabi*

*Bas kafi ho **gaya**.*

*Ab garmi lagegi?!!*

*..Gud mrng***

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*We Work for Making Better tomorow.*

*But When tomorow Comes,*

*Instead Of Enjoying,*

*Again we Start Thinking for Better tomorow.*

*WE Never Enjoy Present.*

*ENJOY TODAY***

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*Mukammal pyar paa jana*

*tasavvur mai hai mumkin*

*Tukdon-tukdon mei jod*

*mohabat to sajani hai.*

*Gahre utrane per hi*

*milta hai mohabbat ka maza*

*Raat ke karwaton per hi*

*tiki maujon ki rawani hai.***

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*"Be bold when you lose*

*and Be calm when you win".*

*Your Life is a fingerprint*

*that cannot be duplicated.*

*so make the Best impression with it.***

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*A NiceThought-*

*"when We have the heart*

*to forget those who made us Smile,*

*why cant we have the heart*

*to forgive someone who made us Cry"***

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

*A nice saying :*

*If someone points out your mistake,*

*be happy that atleast some1*

*is interested in what you have done!***

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Budget - Interesting Facts!

2008-02-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

If it's February, it's time for the Budget. Budgets have always been presented on the last day of February. So B-day is always on February 28, except on leap years when it is presented on February 29.

This year, the Budget will be presented on February 29. This will be Chidambaram's first Budget on February 29 (all his other six Budgets were presented on February 28). Morarji Desai has presented two Budgets on February 29.

Why Budget is tabled on the last working day of February?

The finance minister is required to submit the Budget to the Parliament usually on the last working day of February so that the Lok Sabha has one month to review and modify the Budget proposals.

The Budget proposed by the finance minister comes into effect after parliamentary discussion on the Budget has been completed by April 1.

Who decides the Budget day?

In India, the Budget is presented in Parliament on a date fixed by the President.

The Budget speech of the finance minister is usually divided in two parts. Part A deals with general economic survey of the country while Part B relates to taxation proposals.

The General Budget is presented at 11 a.m. on the last working day of February, i.e. about a month before the commencement of the financial year except in the year when general elections are held.

In an election year, Budget may be presented twice -- first to secure vote on account for a few months and later in full.

What is meant by vote on account?

The discussion on the Budget begins a few days after its presentation. The Parliament discusses the budgetary provisions and the various proposals for taxation.

Since Parliament is not able to vote for the entire budget before the commencement of the new financial year, it is important to keep enough funds at the disposal of government.

A special provision is, therefore, made for 'vote on account' by which government obtains the vote of Parliament for a sum sufficient to incur expenditure on various items for a part of the year.

How is the Budget discussed in Lok Sabha?

The Budget is discussed in two stages in Lok Sabha. First, there is the general discussion on the budget as a whole. This lasts for about four to five days. Only the broad outlines of the Budget and the principles and policies underlying it are discussed at this stage.

Who presents the Budget?

The General Budget is presented in Lok Sabha by the minister of finance. He makes a speech introducing the Budget and it is only in the concluding part of his speech that the proposals for fresh taxation or for variations in the existing taxes are disclosed by him.

The 'Annual Financial Statement' is laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of the speech of the finance minister in Lok Sabha.

Who presented India's first Budget?

R K Shanmukhan Chetty, who served as the finance minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet between 1947 and 1949, presented the first Budget of independent India on November 26, 1947.

It was a review of the economy and no new taxes were proposed as the Budget day for 1948-49 was just 95 days away. Chetty resigned in 1949 due to differences with Nehru.

Which Indian finance minister presented the maximum number of Budgets?

Morarji Desai has presented a record number of ten Budgets. He was the finance minister from 1959 to 1964 and also from 1967 to 1970. He presented five annual and one interim Budget during his first stint, and three final and one interim in his second term. In 1964 and in 1968 -- both leap years -- Desai presented the Budget on February 29, his birthday.

Which two Indian finance ministers presented five Budgets in a row?

Yaswant Sinha and Manmohan Singh. The first time he took over the office of the finance minister, Yashwant Sinha's government was pulled down before he could present a full Budget and instead had to present an interim Budget for 1991-92. He was appointed the finance minister for the second time in 1998, when the Bharatiya Janata Party was voted to power.

In the election held in May 1991, the Congress returned to power and Manmohan Singh became the finance minister. He presented the final Budget for 1991-92 in July 1991.

This was the first occasion when the interim and final Budgets were presented by two ministers of two different political parties.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Write your resonses in comment field..

INCOME TAX...Assessment Year 2008 - 09

2008-02-20T03:37:00.000-08:00

ASSESSMENT YEAR 2008-2009
RELEVANT TO FINANCIAL YEAR 2007-2008

I TAX RATES FOR INDIVIDUALS OTHER THAN II & III
Upto 1,10,000 - Nil
1,10,000 to 1,50,000 - 10% of the amount exceeding 1,10,000
1,50,000 to 2,50,000 - Rs.4,000 + 20% of the amount exceeding 1,50,000
2,50,000 & above - Rs.24 ,000 + 30% of the amount exceeding 2,50,000

II TAX RATES FOR RESIDENT WOMAN BELOW 65 YEARS
Upto 1,45,000 - Nil
1,45,000 to 1,50,000 - 10% of the amount exceeding 1,45,000
1,50,000 to 2,50,000 - Rs.500 + 20% of the amount exceeding 1,50,000
2,50,000 & above - Rs.20 ,500 + 30% of the amount exceeding 2,50,000

III TAX RATES FOR INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTS AGED 65 YRS AND ABOVE
Upto 1,95,000 - Nil
1,95,000 to 2,50,000 - 20% of the amount exceeding 1,95,000
2,50,000 & above - Rs.11,000 + 30% of the amount exceeding 2,50,000

SURCHARGE ON INCOMETAX
In the case of every Individual, Hindu undivided family, Association of person and body of individuals, Surcharge on income-tax is calculated @10% if the total taxable income exceeds Rs.10 ,00,000.

EDUCATION CESS
The amount of Income-tax and Surcharge shall be further increased by Education Cess of 3% on Income-tax plus Surcharge.

EXEMPTIONS/DEDUCTIONS FROM SALARY
1. VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT – 10(10C)
Amount received or receivable (ie.,in instalments) by an employee on his voluntary retirement in accordance with any scheme of Voluntary Retirement is exempt to the extent of Rs.5,00,000, provided the VRS is in accordance with Rule 2BA of IT Rules.

2. HOUSE RENT ALLOWANCE EXEMPT U/S.10(13A)
a) Actual HRA received : Rs.xxxx
b) Rent paid in excess of 10% of Salary : Rs.xxxx
c) 50% of Salary in Metro Cities or
40% of Salary in other cities : Rs.xxxx
Least of a), b), c) is exempt.

NOTE : Here Salary means Basic Salary as well as DA if the terms of employment so provide.

3. CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE : Any allowance granted to meet the expenditure incurred wholly, necessarily and exclusively on conveyance in performance of the duties of office and so certified by the employer is exempt u/s.10(14).

4. TRANSPORT ALLOWANCE : Any allowance granted to an employee to meet the expenditure for the purpose of commuting between the place of his residence and the place of his duty to the extent upto Rs.800/- per month is exempt u/s.10(14).

5. MEDICAL REIMBURSEMENT : An amount of Rs.15,000 or the actual amount reimbursed by the employer whichever is less is exempt u/s.17(2).

6. PROFESSION TAX : Profession Tax levied by the State Government is allowable as a deduction from Gross Salary provided it has been paid.

STANDARD DEDUCTION U/S.16(1) IS NOT ALLOWABLE FOR A.Y.2006-07

DEDUCTIONS FROM HOUSE PROPERTY
1. DEDUCTION U/S.23(1) : For let out property, amount paid by the owner towards taxes levied by any local authority in respect of the property is deductible from Annual value(taxes pertaining to any previous years).

2. DEDUCTION U/S.24(a) : For let out property, deduction of 30% of the Net Annual Value is allowed. No separate deduction for Repairs, Collection Charges, Insurance Premium, Annual Charge and Ground Rent.

3. INTEREST ON BORROWED LOAN(U/S.24(b)):
FOR SELF OCCUPIED PROPERTY

a. If Property is acquired or constructed with loan taken after 01/04/99 and construction is completed within 3 years from the end of the financial year in which the capital was borrowed – Rs.1,50,000 or actual interest paid/payable whichever is less is deductible.

b. If new housing loan is taken for repayment of old loan (old loan taken after 1/4/99) – Rs.1,50,000 or actual interest paid/payable whichever is less is allowed as deduction.

c. If Property is acquired or constructed with loan taken before 01/04/99, Rs.30,000 or actual interest paid/payable whichever is less is allowed as deduction.

d. If loan taken for Repairs, renewal, reconstruction of property, Rs.30,000 or actual interest paid/payable which ever is less is allowed as deduction.

FOR LET OUT PROPERTY, actual interest paid/payable can be claimed as deduction.
ONLY OWNER OF THE HOUSE PROPERTY CAN AVAIL THE ABOVE DEDUCTIONS.

CAPITAL GAINS:
With effect from 01/10/2004, Long Term Capital Gains arising on sale of equity shares or unit of equity oriented fund through recognized stock exchange is exempt if such transaction is chargeable to Securities Transaction Tax (u/s.10(38)).
With effect from 01/10/2004, Short Term Capital Gains arising on sale of equity shares or unit of equity oriented fund through recognized stock exchange is subject to tax at the rate of 10% if such transaction is chargeable to Securities Transaction Tax.

EXEMPTION U/S.54EC:
The Capital Gain arising out of sale of long term capital asset can be invested in National Highways Authority of India, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, within six months from the date of sale. (Lock-in period is 3 years)
For Cost Inflation Index, refer website.

STANDARD DEDUCTION FOR FAMILY PENSION U/S.57(iia): An amount of Rs.15,000 or 331/3% of family pension whichever is less is allowed as deduction. If an assessee receives arrears of family pension, then Relief u/s.89(1) can be claimed by him.

Family Pension received by the widow or children or nominated heirs, as the case may be, of a member of the armed forces(including para-military forces) of the union, where the death of such member has occurred in the course of operation is exempt.

EXEMPTIONS – OTHER SOURCES
Any income by way of Dividends from company, Income received in respect of units from the Unit Trust of India, Income received in respect of the units of a mutual fund are exempt.

DEDUCTIONS FROM GROSS TOTAL INCOME (CHAPTER VIA):

Sl.No I.T. Sec. Nature of Deduction Amount of deduction
1 80 CCE Maximum overall
a. 80 C Life Insurance Premia, PF, PPF, NSC, ELSS, Units of Mutual Fund referred to u/s.10(23D), Tuition Fees(max. 2 Children), Repayment of Principal of Housing loan, Bank Fixed Deposit of 5 yrs period, notified Bonds of NABARD etc.
b. 80 CCC Premium paid towards approved Pension Fund (like LIC's Jeevan Suraksha) max. 1 lakh. Deductions
c. 80 CCD Contribution to Central Government Pension Schemes. Upto 10% of salary with matching contribution from Government. allowed u/s. 80C,
80CCC & 80CCD
is Rs. 1,00,000
2. 80 D (a) Medical Insurance Premium paid by Cheque for policies taken from General Insurance Corporation /other approved Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. Upto Rs.15,000

(b) For Senior Citizens Upto Rs.20,000

3. 80 DD (a) Any expenditure for Medical, Nursing & Rehabilitation incurred on dependant suffering from permanent disability including blindness, mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy or multiple disabilities Rs.50,000 with an additional Rs.25,000 if the disability is severe exceeding 80%

(b) Deposits under LIC, UTI's Scheme & other IRDA approved insurers for the benefit of physically handicapped dependent
4. 80 DDB (a) Actual expenditure incurred on Medical treatment of Self or dependant or a member of HUF suffering from terminal diseases like Cancer, AIDS, Renal failure etc. Upto Rs.40,000

(b) For Senior Citizens(self or dependent on whom expenditure on medical treated is taken) Upto Rs.60,000
5. 80 E Interest on loan taken from Financial/Charitable Institutions for Self/Spouse/Children for pursuing Higher Education (for a max. period of 7 yrs) Actual Interest repaid
6. 80 G (a) Donations made to National Defence Fund, Prime Minister's Relief Fund, approved Funds of reputed Educational Institutions, National Trust for Welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy etc. 100% of Donation

(b) Donations made to Jawaharlal Memorial Fund, PM's Drought Relief fund, Any approved Charitable Institutin/Trust, Religious Institutions, a corporation established by the Government for promoting interest of the members of a Minority Community 50% of Donation restricted to 10% of Adjusted Gross Total Income

7. 80 GG Deduction in respect of rents paid, provided the assessee is not in receipt of HRA and no house is owned by self, spouse, minor child or HUF in the place of work subject to filing of declaration in Form No.10BA 25% of income
or rent paid in excess of 10% of income
or ceiling of Rs.24,000 p.a whichever is less
8. 80 U Persons suffering from Permanent Physical Disability as specified in Rule 11D Rs.50,000 (Rs.75,000 in case of severe disability)

FRINGE BENEFIT TAX (FBT)
Fringe Benefit Tax is a tax for the Fringe Benefits provided to the Employee by his Employer as defined u/s.115WB(1) and (2). It means any privilege, service, facility or amenity, directly or indirectly received by present & former Employees.

Fringe Benefits Base Value of FBT
Tour & Travel 5
Entertainment 20
Provision of Hospitality 20
Conference 20
Sales Promotion including publicity 20
Employee Welfare 20
Conveyance 20
Use of Hotel, Boarding & Lodging 20
Repairs, running, maintenance & depreciation on motor cars 20
Repairs, running, maintenance & depreciation on Aircraft 20
Use of Telephone 20
Maintenance of Guest House 20
Festival Celebrations 50
Use of Health Clubs 50
Use of any other Club facility 50
Gifts 50
Scholarships 50
Free or concessional tickets for private journey 100
Contribution by Employer to Approved Superannuation Fund 100
Employee Stock Option

Fringe Benefit Tax(FBT) is calculated @ 30%(+SC+EC) on the percentage value of Fringe Benefits.

TAX ON FRINGE BENEFITS:The tax on fringe benefits provided by their employer to their employee as defined u/s.115WB(1) and (2) is payable by the EMPLOYER.

PENALTY U/S.271F: If a person who is required to furnish a return of income as required under section 139(1) or by the proviso to sub-section, fails to furnish such return before the end of the relevant assessment year, shall be liable to pay by way of penalty a sum of Rs.5,000.

INTEREST U/S.234A: Where the return of Income of any assessment year u/s.139(1) or 139(4) or in response to a notice u/s.142(1), is furnished after the due date as specified in sub-section 1 of section 139, or is not furnished, the assessee shall be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of one percent for every month or part of a month comprised in the period commencing on the date immediately following the due date.

INTEREST U/S.234B: Where an assessee who is liable to pay advance tax under section 208 has failed to pay such tax or, where the advance tax paid by such assessee under the provisions of section 210 is less than 90% of the assessed tax, the assessee shall be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of one percent for every month or part of a month comprised in the period from the 1st day of April following the financial year.

INTEREST U/S.234C: Where an assessee other than a Company, who is liable to pay advance tax under section 208 has failed to pay such tax or,

1) The advance tax paid by the assessee on his current income on or before the 15th day of September is less than 30% of the tax due on the returned income or the amount of such advance tax paid on or before the 15th day of December is less than 60% of the tax due on the returned income, then, the assessee shall be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of one percent per month for a period of three months on the amount of the shortfall from 30% or, as the case may be, 60% of the tax due on the returned income.

2) The advance tax paid by the assessee on his current income on or before the 15th day of March is less than the tax due on the returned income, then, the assessee shall be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of one percent on the amount of the shortfall from the tax due on the returned income.

DUE DATES FOR FILING RETURN OF INCOME : All Individuals/HUF/Firms deriving Income from Salary, House Property, Capital Gains, Business or Other Sources and not covered under section 44AB are required to file the Return of Income by 31st July. All Tax Audit Cases covered under section 44AB, Company returns are required to file the Return of Income by 31st October.

PERMANENT ACCOUNT NUMBER: Every assessee is required to obtain 10 Alpha numeric Permanent Account Number (PAN) and quote the same in his returns, challans & correspondence. PAN can be obtained by applying in new Form No.49A at the designated Service Centres of UTITSL OR NSDL(Log on to our website). PAN is essential for processing the Return of Income and for giving credit for taxes paid. If a person who is required to quote his Permanent Account Number fails to do so or intimates false number, the Assessing Officer may direct that such person shall pay, by way of penalty, a sum of Rs.10,000.
To Know Your PAN, visit our website.

For PAN Grievances : UTITSL – e-mail – isw.bangalore@utitsl.co.in
NSDL - e-mail – tininfo@nsdl.co.in

TAX PAYMENTS : Advance tax payments and Self-assessment tax payments have to be made in Challan No.280. Please obtain counterfoil of challan containing Challan Identification Number (CIN) from the Bank and enclose copy of the same with the return and quote CIN in the return.

This brochure should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of law. In case of doubt, reference should always be made to the relevant provisions of Income Tax Act, Rules or Notifications.

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Is this article helps you? Write your openions.

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Software engineers' Dream Girl ....

2008-02-11T00:43:00.000-08:00

Wake up Guys…........ !

Any Guess who she is ?????????

Bill Gates' elder daughter.

Linguistic Jokes

2008-02-08T02:28:00.000-08:00

Vipro

Here are a few Veerappan jokes.

Q: What is the name of Veerappan's IT company
A: VIPRO (Veerappan IT Products).

Q: What does Veerappan give as incentive to his employees?
A: VSOPs... Veerappans Sandalwood Options. They can cut the sandalwood trees 5 yrs after joining his gang.

Q: How does Veerappan's daughter begin a letter to him?
A: Dearappan.

Q: What happens if Veerappan becomes the chairman of Bambino vermicelli?
A: Kheerappan

Q: What happens if Veerappan becomes the chairman of Kingfisher?
A: Beerappan

Q: What happens if Veerappan becomes the chairman of Bisleri?
A: Neerappan.

Gopalakrishnan!

Q: Whats the opposite of Gopalakrishnan?
A: Comepalakrishnan.

Q: Do you know why the name of Madras was replaced by Chennai???
A: Because...a Madrassi wears lungi and there is no zip means chen..nai...

Q: How do they start a road race in Tamil Nadu?
A: Ready....Steady.....PO

Q: What do you call a really colorful Tamilian?
A: Rangamannar Rangarajan.

Mallu Oneliners again!

Why did the old Mallu go to co-ledge. He went to co-ledge to get some no-ledge !

Put the wind into the ball (because the football had to be blown up)!

There are so many Malayalees in the Air Force that it is zimbly called the India Nair Force !!!

Malayalam if spelt either ways is the same, so you never know if they are coming in or going out.

What degree did the Mallu get after completing law college? Yell Yell Bee .

Why did the Mallu buy a yer-ticket? To go to Gelf to yern money!

Mallu's Sense of Humour - Color Test

A "Mallu" female (from the heart of Kerala) went for a job
interview for the post of a SECRETARY.
When the manager saw the Mallu's colorful attire and
gold and well oiled uncombed jet black hair,
his mind was screaming "NOT THIS WOMAN."

Nevertheless, he still had to entertain the Mallu.
So he told her "If you could form a sentence using the words that I give you,
then may be I will give you a chance.

The words are GREEN, PINK, YELLOW, BLUE, WHITE, PURPLE and BLACK."

The enthusiastic Mallu lady thought for a while and said:

I hear the phone GREEN GREEN GREEN, then I go
and PINK up the phone, I say YELLOW......BLUE's that?
WHITE did you say? Aiye, Wrong number ........
Don't PURPLELY disturb people and don't call BLACK, ok? Thank you."
The Manager fainted.......

James Bond vs Hyderabad guy

James Bond Style: The character James Bond has a peculiar style of introducing himself by saying first Bond, and then followed by great smile & finally James Bond. His style is absolutely killing but he doesn't know the consequences when he meets our great south Indian guy.

When Bond meets a Hyderabad guy James Bond: "My name's Bond... (Smiles and then says).... James Bond."

James Bond: "And you?"

Telugu Guy: "I am Sai... Venkata Sai... Siva Venkata Sai... Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai....Srinivasulu Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai... Rajasekhara Srinivasulu Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai..... Sitaramanjaneyulu Rajasekhara Srinivasulu Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai.... Bommiraju Sitaramanjaneyulu Rajasekhara Srinivasulu Laxminarayana Siva Venkata Sai....

James Bond faints!!!

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Just to refresh 15 yrs ago... Sunday Morning

2008-01-31T21:21:00.000-08:00

Just for a minute let me take you back to your child hood
A reminder of our Sunday morning 15 yrs ago

"

"

"

"

"

"

my tooth powder

parley poppins

gold spot the zing thing

shaadi aur tum se kabhi nahi

malgudi days swamy

my alltime favorite channel
jaint robert

hmt watche

natraj pencils

my uncle's bike

my food

topaz blade

my gums

i love you rasna

my viva

vadilal icecream

my everlasting bathing soap

keo karpin oil

nutrine chocklate

"

lizzat papad .......haa ha ha..haa ha hakarram kurram…kurram karram

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Download MP3 songs, Funny videos, Ineteresing Power point presentations for FREE..

2008-01-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

DoorDarshan DD-l Superhit Songs..

Frnds, Do you guys still remember Baje Sargam, Surabhi, Jungle Book, Raamayan title song?? How is it if you get a chance to listen all these songs again...?? Isnt it amazing?? Here is the collection of all DD-l superhit songs..

Baje sargam har taraf se phool bankar deshraag...
Vyomkesh Bhakshi..
Ek Anek.. Suraj ek chanda ek taaare anesk...
The Jungle Book...
Raamaayan..
Maalgudi Days...
Mile sur mera tumhaara...
Surabhi...
The sword of Tippu Sultan...

Download interesting Power point presentaions:

Car parking lessons
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Funny, Interesting and most amazing videos..Car of the future
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Happy Skeleton
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Speed Bumper
Stupid Dog
Unbelievable

Getting the right name for your child

2008-01-28T21:16:00.000-08:00

Trying to find just the right name for your child? Why not pick one of these?

Just find your profession below and we have the right name for you!

Lawyer's daughter: Sue

Thief's son: Rob

Lawyer's son: Will

Doctor's son: Bill

Hair stylist's son: Bob

Homeopathic doctor's son: Herb

Justice of the peace's daughter: Mary

Sound stage technician's son: Mike

Gambler's daughter: Bette

Iron worker's son: Rusty

TV star's daughter: Emmy

Movie star's son: Oscar

Related articles:

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Cutest Twins Of The Universe

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Download MP3 songs, Funny videos, Ineteresing Power point presentations for FREE..

Getting the right name for your child

Why did the chicken cross the road?