Aashayein Foundation - a Hyderabad-based NGO

Activity:
The objective of Aashayein Foundation is to provide education to children who are from economically weaker sections of the society and to provide them with monetary/non-monetary support so as to empower them to be better citizens of tomorrow and thus contribute to the nation-building process. We are a community of self motivated individuals who are out to make a difference in the lives of the under privileged children by empowering them through education. We strongly believe that every drop adds to make an Ocean.


Supports: Underprivileged, children, education


Note from the NGO:
Looking to people to spread the word, looking for volunteers who can contribute, looking for donors who can support, and looking for support and feedback


This post is a part of BlogAdda's Bloggers Social Responsibility (BSR) initiative.

I am exercising my BSR.

You can too with three simple steps.

Visit http://www.blogadda.com/bsr/ and support the NGO's.

Google/Facebook - Social or Censor?

Hey bloggos...

Back after a good gap with an interesting post (atleast i feel so..) from my end...

Was going through and about various viewpoints, discussions and articles about the recent Google vs. Goodie boy controversy.
Today the Delhi HC has a hearing on the plea too.

Since this case is pending under judiciary, of course it becomes default to say so that it is not advisable to comment on this as a disclaimer.But it is healthy to argue and discuss the pros & cons of such a call on cyber censorship.

The context has now moved forward and become a constitutional issue of right to speech and expression.

First of all, in my view, is this case worth discussing or worth taking up as a litigation?? I personally do not think so.

How does one expect to filter, censor and post back videos/comments or any such virtual thing even before it comes into existence. Only when a derogatory remark/video is posted over the net and people and countries find it to be derogatory can mark them as abuse, can be an action taken.

Are we talking about firewalls that exist in China... that are doing the job filtering the content even before they appear in the net on a world wide scale... doesnt it sound crazy to implement?? Just think about the plight of the Chinese, who despite of having the balls to talk against its totalitarian government over cyber world.. only get to be suppressed...

For one thing, we are not China... If we bring in the words of democracy in every second thing that happens in Indian lives.... that should be hard and fast applied on the cyber world too.. Being a democracy, if not worthy enough for most of the good reasons we expect it to, India can provide its people atleast this online freedom of expressing their thoughts and words. What is the gov's standpoint on "Right to Speech/Expression" then?

Secondly, I feel why does Google/Facebook have to fight this battle at all? (Sounds crazy.. aint it?)

Google/Facebook or any other internet portal are just carriers of messages. They are messengers themselves and not its creators.

Thus Google or any of its counterparts in this case, do not have to really bother about the freedom of speech or expression of the Indians at all!!!

It is the problem of the Indians - the citizens, the masses to retrospect on their future if such an censorship comes into existence and not the web world.

Imagine Google/Facebook as the India Postal Department. Many write letters and send them through post. The Postal department just carries on the duties of messengers and not write the letters.

The Postal Department too can carry India-wide - letters with caustic or derogatory messages, even against the Government for that matter.How can the postal department be held responsible for such content?


So what is the I&B ministry planning to do about this?

Ask the postal service to open and read every lettter and tear the ones with defaming remarks?

As a matter of fact, we can too call for pre-screening for fax and email too.. they too stand a chance to share and transmit deorgatory are considered-to-be abuse remarks with them.

Gimme a break! :)

Google/FB are also bound by legal terms of service to their users. If the content posted on Google/FB are within the terms of their service;they cannot edit/delete the content.

They are just helping users in expressing and amplifying their thoughts.

I plainly see this as a case between the creator of the content and the court and Google/Facebook is just a middleman and has nothing to do about this entire chaos. ( But for abiding by the court's order.. )

Only objectionable content upon posting can be marked for deletion or taken up as a case in the court. Until then, pre-screening is definitely not the way to go in this world thats advancing tracks every second.

Lets jus not see this from a narrow political eye but also from a broader social perspective!

FDI - Financial Dawn on India (or) Finalized.. Ditch India!

For people who have been bothering their brawls upon FDI… take a look here at the future of it incase the govt gets into place -  51% holdings to FDI...

Get ready for a pretty long read...


The major players who are expected to sow their seeds in the Indian soil are Walmart, Carrefour & Tesco.. among many others..

Key points on FDI bill:

• 51% stake in multi-brand retail routed through government approval

• These stores to be rolled-out in cities with more than 1 million population (there may be some 50 odd cities in India with such population)

• Minimum investment of $100 million is required

• Around half of that should be into backend infrastructure like – cold storage, transportation, etc.

• Have to source a minimum of 30% from small- and micro- Indian industries with a capital of less than $1 million dollars

Why FDI on multi-brand is good?

Walmart & its likes, can partner with an Indian company and sell their goods in India. Already Walmart and Bharti have been in talks and going about deals on the same.

High inflation in the country and the recent Euro mess have a lot to do with this decision. FDI can bring about reduced prices in the market with more supply and monetary inflow.

As such India is not the first country to do this policy update. Many emerging markets like Brazil, China, South Africa, Mexico, Thailand, Russia, Indonesia, etc. have more liberal policies than India on this front.

Let's take a look at the Chinese FDI success story:

China too started the same way as India – allowing 51% foreign equity and restricting to major cities, as early as 1995. They have now - only removed these restrictions after a decade of  its running by 2005.

China gave enough time (1995-2005) for the domestic players to grow up and compete with foreign competition and embrace the foreign model and now allow free competition in the multi-brand retail market.

Most of the top 10 retail companies in China, are domestic players from China amongst other foreign players. This shows that Chinese players didnt allow foreign players who are much bigger than what they are to compete them out of the market.

This has been proved even in India, in the telecom sector – Vodafone, Uninor & Aircel – exist with the homegrown Airtel, Idea & BSNL.

Bigger players don’t have a magic wand to drive out local competition from the market. Also their biggest strength of infrastructure and transportation in foreign markets is not something what they would get in India till date nor in China way back in 1995.

IBM earns more than the top 3 Indian IT companies in a year – yet they give IBM a run for their money during various contracts and bids.

FDI will help in organizing the domestic retail sector in a major way . Their investments might bring in mammoth changes in infrastructure, supply chain and logistics, better quality, money inflow to the country and employment of course.

This money is not for sure, the one that goes out of the stock market everytime someone sneezes in the Wall street or Europe!

FDI is expected to be lot more stable than FII money inflows..

Do you remember the time when taking a landline connection used to be such a hassle and look these days… how great the competition is.. telephone and internet providers guyz are queuing up offers and discounts for anything in the telecom sector.. this change is what FDI brought.. it’s a tested and tried method…

Hopefully this can be possible in the retail too.. it might spur competition and improve customer experience too..

If you see the ruckus going in the Parliament..its not about whether the policy is good for the consumers/customers or not at all…

How much low can Walmart go in a country known for its cheap labour and products that beat competition??!!(lolz..)

So from a customer point of view… FDI is a boon in the making!

Why FDI is bad?

India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world and even then our food grains rot in the government warehouses.

The main topic of contention is that these bigger chains will drive the small outlets out…

Before we discuss on pros & cons of the FDI policy.. lets take a sneak peek into these companies first who may be entrants to our retail chain…

Walmart

Walmart is the world’s largest retail chain marker in terms of both revenue and profits. It is also the biggest private employer in the world.

Walmart does not charge a fee to its suppliers for their products to appear in their stores. It focuses on selling more popular products and gives incentives to its store managers to drop less-moving or unpopular products.

Walmart faces stiff competition in its homeland and Canada from other hypermarket chains. Their journey in foreign lands have not been easy too.

They entered Germany in 1997 and took the second place in market share. But due to stiff competiotion withdrew their operations from the country in 2006, selling all of its stores.

They entered Korea in 1998 and sold all of their 16 Korean stores too.

There have been several economic studies around Walmart and its operations in the US and outside. A 2007 study on Walmart mentioned – It was in the process of driving everyone else out of business but, to do that, they cut their prices to the bone, very, very low. Another study mentions – ‘They had successfully destroyed the local economy. In a community with a Walmart, astonishingly the price of commodities were 17% higher. They had carved an economic crater’.

Labor unions and environment patrons have criticized Walmart for its policies and business practices. Several labor unions blame Walmart’s anti-union stance. Others disapprove of the corporation’s extensive foreign product sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, environmental practices, usage of public subsidies, and impact of their stores on local economies in which they operate.

After years of fierce fighting. Walmart has accepted labor union in China.

In 2007, a gender discrimination suit was filed against the giant in the US - in matters regarding pay and promotions to woman employees.

Carrefour

Carrefour is an international hypermarked chain based out of France. Second largest retailer in terms of revenue and third largest in terms of profit after Walmart & Tesco.

Carrefour is French for ‘Crossroads’.

It operates across continents in stores of all sizes.

Carrefour has some interesting facts with India. It already has its presence in India in Delhi and Jaipur. The first was opened in the NCR – Carrefour Wholesale Cash & Carry store spread across 5200 sq.m. Its second in Jaipur is also of the same type and size as Delhi.

For those who might be wondering how Carrefour is already into India when FDI regulations are not in place, let me familiarize you all with the Indian FDI policy in a lucid manner.

FDI policy in India does not allow foreign companies to open multi-brand retail stores in the country. India currently allows 100% FDI in single brand retail and 100% in cash-and-carry mode too. Thus global retailers opt for the cash & carry route to establish their presence in India. 51% share in multi-brand retail is still pending approval at the Parliament and is the sole reason for all this ruckus happening out there.

The French company has already been taken to court in cases of stocking insufficient quantities of advertised products on sale and another case of selling products at very low cost and accepting kickbacks from wholesalers. It was ordered to pay a fine of EURO 2 million on this case in 2007.

When India doesn’t even have a law/policy to handle such cases in court.. how do we bring these cases to justice?

They have also been penalized for selling less quantity than mentioned in the product labels and products on sale past their expiration dates in 2009. Do you think we will be able to successfully penalize them in India for such actions?

Carrefour has already closed its retail chain of hypermarkets in various countries including – Chile, Czech, HongKong, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, UK and the big bro – US.

Reasons for closure of business and operations include selling products at far below prices than local competitors, licensing for commercial spaces, etc. They have re-entered some of the above markets under a different banner or with a local partnership now.

TESCO

Retail giant based out UK – third it terms of revenue and second in term of profits behind Walmart.

Its market share in UK is around 30% now.

They are into banking, electronics, telecom, mobiles, internet, VoIP, fuel , tech support, film making, gold exchange, tyres and beauty salon apart from retail!!!

Tesco has one of its service centres in Bangalore & some outsourcing to India too. They had announced a GBP 60 million investment in India partnering with the Tata Group to open a cash-and-carry store in Mumbai.

I myself have personally seen Tesco products on sale at Tata owned retail chains like Star Bazaar in Bangalore, marketing and selling TESCO personal care products.

Like any other company, Tesco too faced corporate law suits. Worth mentioning are one from Thailand where Tesco was accused of aggressively expanding at the expense of small, local retailers.

In 2007, it was revealed that Tesco moved its headquarters from UK to the tax haven Switzerland. It was believed that this move allowed them to sell electronics, CDs and DVDs without VAT. The Swiss government in 2008 announced that it was closing a tax loophole being used by Tesco.

The British magazine ‘Private Eye’ identified it mentioning – Tesco utilizes offshore holdings like Luxembourg and other partnership agreements to siphon out money avoiding a corporate tax to the tune of GBP 50 million a year.

It also did a sting and exposed that – Tesco was depositing GBP 1 billion with a Swiss partnership and then loaning out the money from it to Tesco stores overseas, thereby transferring profits through interest payments. This scheme is still in existence and is estimated to cost the UK exchequer GBP 20 million a year in corporation tax.

In 2008, Tesco was also traced to Cayman islands – where companies setup by Tesco deliberately. They planned to sell their UK stores to Cayman Island-owned companies and then they will lease it back to Tesco. Thus can evade corporation tax in UK, plus there is zero corp tax in Caymand islands.

People of UK themselves have been opposing Tesco stores opening in their counties citing various above reasons.

And we in India – are longing for one…!!!!

Other major retail market players include – Colruyt (based out of Belgium) which already has opened one of its office in the IT-borne area of Hyderabad.

Waitrose – another leading retailer sell their products over various Hypercity outlets throughout the country.

Major issues in India against FDI:

• Weak laws and loopholes
• Previous business/investments crimes not brought to justice yet
• Totally corrupted politics
• Lack of goodwill for the country/people from political leadership
• Few big honchos might benefit
• Rich and poor divide to get more larger
• More westernization in lifestyle
• Not enough law amendments or body to book malpractices
• Outdated labour laws
• Farmers are already not getting their due - FDI can worsen it

I am not taking any stance for or against FDI.. neither have I graduated from LSE.. :)

I m just trying to bring out facts so that people can form opinions and voice them in unison.. for a better India tomorrow..

So next time where are you shopping – Walmart or Roadside cart?

COURTESY: Wiki and various other Internet resources on FDI and economics.. my thanx to them!! :)
Cheers,
Revathy

Installing Husband......

This blogpost is basically one of the interesting mail fwds i received....

Could relate to this very very much......Felt how true it is.......give it a read.. n hv ur share of laughs...


A woman writes to the IT technical support guy:

Dear Tech Support,


Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and I noticed a distinct slowdown in the overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewellery applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.


In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NEWS 5.0, MONEY 3.0 and CRICKET 4.1


Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and House cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system..

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.


What can I do?


Signed,
An upset wife

_______________________________________________________________________________________


And here goes the reply:
 Dear Madam,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.


Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.


If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewellery 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.


However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Silence 2.5 or Beer 6.1.


Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)


In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.


In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance.


We recommend: Cooking 3.0 and Hot Looks 7.7

Good Luck Ma'am!

:D

Buttery Flattery!!!!

Bac again.. this time with some gyan...

Yeah.. far from spirituality.. this blog is all about tastebud bliss!!!

Shud i rather call it.. Buttery bliss... ??? :)

I hv always been a hard-core fan of butter [Most can make it out wit my size!!! :)]

My butter has started tastin better after i laid my hands on this article...

So without any more delay lets jump on to the gyan of the day - BUTTERY FLATTERY!!

Mr. Butter is a dairy product made by churning cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in baking & pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, water and milk proteins.

Butter, as an animal fat, contains both saturated fats and cholesterol – the two dietary ingredients that increase blood cholesterol. Cholesterol in foods, on the other hand, has little effect on blood cholesterol in most people - claims a survey!!!

BUTTER GYAN TIME!!!

• Butter is rich in the most easily absorbable form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.
• Contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and candida.  
• Contains lecithin, essential for cholesterol metabolism.
• Contains anti-oxidants that protect against free radical damage.
• Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
• Is a great source of Vitamins E and K.
• Is a very rich source of the vital mineral selenium.
• Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
• Butter contains conjugated linoleic acid, which is a potent anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster
• Vitamin D found in butter is essential to absorption of calcium.
• Protects against tooth decay.
• Is your only source of an anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints.
• Anti-stiffness factor in butter also prevents hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland.
• Is a source of Activator X, which helps your body absorb minerals.
• Is a source of iodine in highly absorbable form.
  
  
  

 Reference:

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

http://bodyecology.com/articles/benefits_of_real_butter.php

Candles! Colors!! Concepts!!!

Hey buddies... Trust you all are doing gr8 for urselves..

Came across this interesting article in a mag recently...

Plain yet good read for all in my own style.....

Candles just don’t bring light into your life but also gets love, happiness and prosperity with its glow.

Wanna know how..

Just pay a little more attention to the color next time you set out to buy candles...

GREEN: Green is significant for fertility and perenniality. A green candle’s glow brings prosperity, abundance of joy and wealth in life.

If you are looking out for a job or wanna get promoted.. spread the light from a green candle and lighten your life!!

YELLOW: This bright shade symbolizes power, inspiration, memory and intelligence.

If you are looking to win somebody’s heart or wanna become there confidante.. go for yellow!!

RED: This color is renowned for the feeling of love and romance it spreads across people’s lives.

It denotes energy, enthusiasm, health, cheer and happiness. By lighting a red candle one can keep being lazy at bay and get energetic.

Boost up your romance life by going for a red candle!!

GOLDEN: Jus like the way gold glitters, this color adds shine to your life. This color is known to get good luck and mutual affection and love. It also stands for victory and prosperity.

Light a golden candle for love and prosperity in your life!!

BLUE: The very word of blue brings inspiration.

Light a blue candle for mental peace, good wishes and stability!!

ORANGE: The light from an orange candle takes you to the inner world of the soul... moving you out of all the materialistic presence around you.

It gets you full josh in life and makes you an attractive persona. It also symbolizes friendship.

PINK: If you are out looking for good friendship, love and peace in life.. go for a pink candle!!

WHITE: This candle stands for simplicity, purity and faith. It is also significant for peace, security and pity.

It helps soothe and relax your mind if you are amidst an argument or your mind is stuck in a conflict.

AQUA: Denotes the translucent or transparent candles. Boosts your creativity and knowledge.

PURPLE: This denotes respect for others.

No doubt candles are evergreen gifting options.... :)
 

Good thought!!!

The Story of Ctrl X + Ctrl C & Ctrl V

Banungi Teri Dulhan!!!

Hey guyz.. wondering if I am gonna present you with yet another soap as if all the channels combined together is not enuf??

Never mind!! I am not tat cruel.. :)

This post is about a seriously hilarious (Mind my words.. I vouch for them) forward mail tat I received from a pal today....

Was tied up wit work.. and got this mail.. and wat a relaxation it was..

This blogpost is about : Get! Set! Shaadi! (Hindi for Marriage/Wedding)

Now you guys have to really go thru this…..to enjoy it...


These are Girls ads taken from a popular Indian Matrimony site...

Now I am not sure if gals are so desperate to tie the knots.. that they started hunting high and low for guyz...
 in a come wat may mood.... (believe me guys.. marital relationship is not a cakewalk... i standby my words.. though i m not married yet.. :D )

Note: These are actual ads on a matrimony site. Grammar and spell errors have no place in a profile description as everything is straight from the heart! :p

Disclaimer : I am not responsible if you forget your basic grammar after reading this mail...

Script#1 : Hello To Viewvers My Name is Sowmya , I am single i dont have male, If any one whant to marrie to me u can visite to my home. I am not a good education but i working all field in bangalroe.. if u like me u welcome to my heart... when ever u whant to meet pls viset my resident or send u letter.. Thanks

yours Regards Sowmya ~*~

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

Script#2 : i want very simple boy. from brahmin educated family from orissa state she is also know about RAMAYAN, GEETA BHAGABATA, and other homework

(Homework?)

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

Script#3 : Wants a man who knows me better and can adjust with me forever. he may never create any difficulties in my life or his life by which the entire life can run smoothly. thank you

(The principle of running life smoothly was never so easy!)

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Script#4 : he should be good looking and should have a service. he Shoulsd have one brother and one sister. he should be educated.

(ain't it unique !! 1 brother 1 sister criteria !)

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Script#5 : I am a happy-go-lucky kind of person. Enjoys every moments of life. I love to make friendship. Becauese friendship is a first step of love. I am looking for my dreamboy who will love me more than i. Because i love myself a lot. If u think that is u then why to late come on ........ hold my hand forever !!!

(The dilwale dulhaniya effect)

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Script#6 : i am simple girl.I have lot of problem in my life because of my lucknow i am looking oneboy he and love me lot lot lot

(I don't know why but this is one of my favorites)

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

Script#7 : My husband should be as 'Shiva' as in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and as Tanwerr as in KSBKBT......

(Ok I haven't seen these soaps but I am sure she must be demanding too much, ain't she?)

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

Script#8 : i want a boy with no drinks if he wants he can wear jeans in house but while steping out of house he should give recpect to our cast

(by not wearing his jeans? Wat the hell...)

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

Script#9 :  HYE I AM A GOOD LOKING GIRL,WHO HAS THE CAPABILITY TO MAKE ANY BODY TO LOUGH.I BELIEVE IN GOD AND ACCORDING TO ME FRIENDS ARE THE REAL MESSENGER OF GOD. THE 3 THINGS I AM LOOKING FROM A BOY ,THEY ARE 1.THEY MUST BELIEVE IN GOD.2. THEY HAVE TO LIKE MY PROFFESION AND THEY SHOULD NOT GET BORED WITH ME WHEN I WILL TRY TO MAKE THEM LOUGH.

(all of us are loughing{laughing})

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

Script#10 : whatever he may be but he should feel that he is going to be someone groom and he must think of the future life if he is too like this he would b de called the man of the lamp

(I am clueless, I feel so lost. Can anyone tell me what this girl wants)

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

Script#11 : i love my patner i marriage the patner ok i search my patner and i love the patner ok thik hai the patner has a graduate ok

(I am again clueless but I liked the use of " ok". The person is suffering from "Ok-syndrome")

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

Script#12 : HI IAM VERY COOL NUATHER OK MY HOBBY IS SEE T.V AND NEWS OK I HAVE 1 CAR AND 1 BONWL OK MY MOTHER ALSO GOOD OK MY FARUET WORLD IS OK

(the "ok syndrome" again)

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

Script#13 : i am pranati my family histoy my two brother two sister and fater & mother. sister complity marred.

(somebody please explain in comments section how to get married completely?)

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Script#14 : i am very simpel and hanest. i have three sister one brother and parent. i am doing postal sarvice and tailor master my original resdence at kalahandi diste naw iam staing at rayagada dist.

(actually what is this girl doing? Postal service or tailor.??)

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

Script#15 : my name is farhan begum and i am unmarried. pleaes you marrige me pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes

(height of desperation!)

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Script#16 : Iwant one boy who love me or my mother. he love me heartly or he havea frank e's skin colour 'normal'not a black or not a whitey. IThink the main think is heart if your heart is beautiful then you are beautiful. but i am not a handsome girl or not a good looking. but my Mom say that I am a good girl. My father already expired . iam ''AEKLAUTA''. THE CHOICE IS YOUR. bye bye.

(uttama purishinin)

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

Script#17 : i am kanandevi. i do owo businas.one sistar.he was marred.

(No comments)

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Script#18 : I AM LITTLE FAIR INDIAN COLOUR. I DON'T WANT ANY HABIT.

(maybe the poor gal meant BAD habits)

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Script#19 : hello i am a good charactarised woman. i want to run my life happily.i divorced my first husband.his charactor is not good'. i expect the good minded and clean habits boy who may be in the same caste or other caste accepted ...

(are credit cards accepted..???)

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

Script#20 : my colour is black,but my heart is white.i like social service

(Zebra..???)

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Script#21 : i'm looking out for who lives in bombay, boy simple who trust me lot should be roman catholic, LOVE ME ONLY.

(Now that criterion is a must, isn't it?)

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Script#22 : to be married on jan-2011. working man perferable

(this girl has fixed the marriage date too! But she is yet to find a groom. I wish her good luck to get one soon.)

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Script#23 : i would like a beautyfull boy. and i do not want his any treasure. because boy is the maharaja.

(Now he is going to be a lucky boy! Any takers?)

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

I am running for my Wren & Martin.. U? :0

Ciya!!!

Tiruvannamalai gets connected to Halebid!!!

Buds.. hope you had a nice time for Karthigai Deepam..

I missed it this year too.. :( ... was not at home to celebrate it with my family...

Happened to read this article in The Hindu.. where this journalist had established the historical links between Tiruvannamalai temple down in Tamilnadu and the Halebid temple in Karnataka.

Since I had been to both these places.. felt utmost interested and the importance of this article.. hope you too will love to know the history behind these monumental marvels..

This would also add to my Architecture marvel series at a later point of time I believe.. :D

Ok.. presenting the article as is from the daily.. for you all to now get the link between Tiruvannamalai and Halebid temples...

What is the link between Tiruvannamalai and Halebid?

"The legendary lighting of the Mahadeepam in Tiruvannamalai is a spectacular event, with all the houses in the holy town aglow with agalvilakkus. At the entrance of the ancient Shiva temple, on the Eastern side, stands a massive tower — Vallala Maharaja Gopuram, with a sculpture of the king. I wondered if it was named after the Hoyasala king, Veera Ballala III.

Suddenly, my mind traversed across the State to Halebid and Belur in Karnataka that were ruled by him. I wanted to establish the link between Halebid and Tiruvannamalai.

And so, I set off on a sunny day in November. It was a long drive past a barren and rocky terrain from Hassan to the historical town of Halebid (the old abode), once ruled by King Vishnuvardhana.

The Halebid temple

                                                                
History has it that when all earlier rulers were against the Pandyas, a humane Ballala wanted to help King Sundara Pandiyan in Madurai fight against his step-brother, Veera Pandian. When Ballala took his army to the South, Sultan Alauddin Khilji, with his commander Malik Kafur, ravaged the city of Halebid or Dwarasamudra. For long, the Sultan had been wanting to suppress the king, and waited for an opportunity to crush him. Also, for nearly two decades, the Sultan had been planning to capture Ballala. Proof of his intentions can be seen in the many mutilated sculptures in Halebid.

Since Halebid had been a frequent target, Ballala established his kingdom in Tiruvannamalai.

Sri Arunachaleshwara Temple, Tiruvannamalai

                                 

A King's repentance

It is said that after constructing the rajagopuram of the Arunachaleswara temple, Ballala became proud. However, an incident made him realise his folly. During a temple festival, the Lord, seated in a palanquin, refused to move through the entrance. It was only after Ballala repented that the Lord consented to pass through this gopuram.

In 1343 A.D., the Sultan's forces unexpectedly attacked and took the king captive. Ballala was killed brutally in the battle of Madurai. But, his immense heroism paved the way for the Vijayanagara dynasty under Harihara Raya.

Records show that Tiruvannamalai used to be called Arunachalapuram, and King Ballala had a palace at Pallikondapattu. Legend has it that Ballala, who was praised for his uprightness, generosity, humaneness and love for the Lord, prayed to him for an heir. The Lord is said to have taken the form of the royal couple's child, but soon disappeared.

However, since the King had embraced the child with love, Lord Shiva assured him that he would perform his funeral rites. Even today, on the death anniversary of the king, the Lord comes calling on his appa at Pallikondapattu village. This festival is known as Maasi Magam Theerthavari Urchavam.

My mind's eye took in the sculptures on the Vallala tower and compared them to those seen at the Hoyasaleshwara temple in Halebid, the Chennakesava temple in Belur and the Chamundi temple. Though the architecture shared a resemblance, at times, the Chola style of sculpture was also seen, implying a migration of Tamil sculptors to Belur and Halebid."

The link finally in place? :)

Mukesh Ambani's Homely Hassles!!!

This blog post is a peekaboo on Mukesh Ambani's new house - a 27 storeyed building in Mumbai.

For those who dunno wat i m talkin about -- herez a gist about it:

This new building named Antilia (tatz a pretty name for a house.. I like tat).... is going to be the home sweet home for Mukesh Ambani and family in Mumbai. It is a 27 storeyed building of glass and steel soaring into the skyline.

Of what I read in news columns - the house has 6 parking levels and 3 helipads on the roof.

Nine elevators help people traverse along the building which also houses - airborne swimming pools, hanging gardens, a spa, a 50-seat theatre and a grand ballroom (Wonder how many staff he would need to jus maintain them daily ?? !! )

They are expected to move into the house by end of November.

Ok.. now coming to the hassles point of view...

Jus a day of Mukesh's life in Antilia.. here goes the story...

Mukesh gets up from his bed room on 15th floor, takes a swim in the swimming pool on 17th floor.

Has breakfast on the 19th floor, dresses up for office on 14th floor, collects his files and office bag from his personal office on 21st floor.

Wishes bye to Nita (his wife) on 16th floor, says 'See You' to his children on 13th floor.

And goes down on 3rd floor to self drive his 2.5 Crore Mercedes to office, but then he finds out that he has forgotten the car keys upstairs.

But on which floor? 15th, 17th,19th,14th,21st,16th or 13th ?

He phones all his servants, cooks, maids, secretaries, pool attendants, gym trainers, etc. on all the floors. There is a hectic search and lot of running about on all the floors, but the key is not traceable.

Fed up, after half an hour, Mukesh leaves in a chauffeur driven ordinary Ikon car.

At 3.30 P.M. late in the afternoon it is discovered that 4 days back, a temporary replacement maid had washed Mukesh's pants and hung it to dry on a string in the balcony of 16th floor, with car keys in the pant pocket.

They had blown away somewhere in the high winds at 16th floor level and was never found. This was found out because of Nitai's habit of checking clothes given for ironing personally.

Mukesh and Nita leave the lost key matter for time being.

After 3 days Nita complained to Mukesh: "Where were you  roaming till 3 A.M. last night?"

Mukesh said the he was at home all night.

Nita: "Then why did the helicopter land in the terrace at 3 A.M. I was so much worried. I could not sleep whole night."

Mukesh: "Oh that one? That helicopter came from Germany, sent by Mercedes people to deliver the duplicate car key."

ROTFL??!!!

Ciya!!!

Lord Krishna, The Bountiless Beauty @ Brindavan, Mathura, India

Back to bloggin buds!!!

This time with some eye-catchers... yep!! happened to catch some very beautiful pix of Lord Krishna from the Vrindavan or Brindavan as it is called in Mathura...

I am gonna make sure I visit this place next month... this is top priority on my itinerary when I am in UP. :)

Ok.. have a look at them... gr8 ones!! Let Krishna shower his blessings on you all!!

Arch Marvel 2 - Sripuram Golden Temple, Vellore

Arch Marvel : The Golden Temple

Location: Malaikodi, Vellore, TamilNadu, India

A grand golden temple - Mahalakshmi temple - has been constructed on a sprawling 20 acres of land @ Sripuram near Vellore in Tamilnadu.

The temple covers about 55000 sq.ft. and has intricate carvings and sculptures made of solid gold.

Except for the pathway, the entire structure has been made of gold and copper.

Hundreds of goldsmiths and coppersmiths were involved in this awesome worship place and they were able to complete this architectural marvel in just six years.
 
The temple construction costed round about INR 600 crores .
 
The temple is surrounded by lush greenery and mountains which notonly offer scenic beauty but also a great backdrop.
 
The pathway to the temple is laid out in the shape of a star which has verses from the Gita, Bible and the Quran and Guru Granth Sahib.
 
 

This temple is the biggest structure made of gold and has awesome lighting in the dark to keep you captivated to its glittering glory.

Anybody who believes in God by any name is allowed in the temple.

It has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in TamilNadu since it was inaugurated in August 2007!!

Make sure you too catch a glimpse of the glorious golden structure when you travel down south to the enchanting Tamilnadu!!

Arch Marvel 1 - Valluvar Kottam

Get set go!! First post on the Architecture Marvel series!!!

I am starting with my own city.. Chennai...

And the marvel is : VALLUVAR KOTTAM, CHENNAI, INDIA

Valluvar kottam is a modern architecture landmark in Chennai dedicated to the yesteryears classical poet and philosopher - Tiruvalluvar.

This monument was built in 1976 in memory of the poet who wrote the famous literary work - Tirukkural which is a collection of 1330 verses over 133 chapters, nearly 2000 years before.

This monument is like a temple chariot which is the exact replica of the famous chariot in the Tiruvaarur temple in Tamilnadu.

The construction is 39 metre high and has a life-size statue of the saint poet installed in it. The statue can be viewed from the roof of the main hall in the same campus.

As a tribute to the great poet, verses from Tirukkural are inscribed on the chariot. The chariot is made to look like it is pulled by two elephants each seven feet tall.

The main hall in the campus can accomodate 4000 people at a time and also houses numerous painting explaining the verses in Tirukkural.

A must visit place in Chennai!!!

New Series - Coming up soon!!!

Pals... thinking of writing a series on various architecture marvels around India and the world!!!

This would help me know better about places and people and also might help you in knowing famous landmarks of the world!!1

Coming soon.. in a computer near you...
A series on ....... "Architecture Marvels of the World"

Watch out this space for more!!! :)

You are always on my mind!!!

Hiya frens... bac again.. this time with a funny but interesting mail tat i received from one of my frens...



Felt it to be very intuitive and creative for someone who brought it out in this manner...

Have a look down.. wat i meant by the blog title....

Here it goes:



Had a bad day?

Do you feel alone and abandoned?

Are you convinced nobody cares about you?



Do you think nobody is there to bother your failures in life or in business?



Are you sure nobody sees your successes or failures?

And nobody cares if you live or die?



You are wrong!



There is somebody VERY interested in everything you do....

When everybody else quits on you...



We are INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT!!!



We never stop thinking of you!!



!!??? in the mind... i had a hearty laugh on this... hope u too had? lemme know.. :)



ciao!!!!

Ganpati Bappa Morya!!!

Ganesh chaturthi is one my fav festivals tat we celebrate.. i m feelin low this time tat i didn make it home this yr for the festivity...

I usually get excited the evening b4 the D'day... wen my mom is bac from the office.. we startup in the evening to go to shop for the Ganesha himself.. :)

Yep.. we chk out various idol-makers on the roadside in our locality.. to get the best looking and featured Ganesh idol for our home.. and then comes the hunt for his umbrella..

as a matter of fact.. i used to be more excited abt the umbrella than the God himself.. i hv always wanted to buy the best umbrella.. beautiful... colorful.. retractable.. bigger.. and mom used to be never ready to pay more for it...

after little tantrums.. i get the one i needed.. i wanted mine to be the best amongst my neighbors umbrellas.. so tat they admire it wen they cum home to share delicacies or prasad (sweets.. )
[tis was sumthin secret i never revealed till date anywhere ;0 .. silly me.. ]

then comes the shopping for fruits.. varieties of them.. puffed rice.. a garland for Ganeshji to wear upon... red with black tipped beads for his eyes.... vegetables to cook for the lunch and other puja items....

then we go home and engage my dad to help us in cutting the veggies.. post dinner so tat mom is fast wit cookin in the morning....

i do the puja every yr.. so i get up early in the morn.. do the necessary chores and get heads up wit Ganesha.. [all thru the while.. the nose lingers wit the sweet smell of delicacies from the kitchen.. :) ]

once its done... i jus pounce upon mom.. food.. luncch.. lunch.. lunch..

after all this was wat i was lookin for in the festivity ;)

i love u ganesha..
Gives u Always Newer Energy, Spirit and Happiness.. - GANESH acronymed :)

Enjoy ur festive day.. i hope next yr i hv a gr8 one too... tata...

Little drops make mighty ocean....

Hey guys! As usual back with a bang for blogging.. this time too pretty late and long after... :)



My mind kept swinging around the subject for this blog for seriously good enuf time.. never jus felt the pang to come and key it down.. here i m today finally...



This time it is about some serious topic which all of us shud think about and also make an effort to wat best we can do abt it...



Not boring u long wit my preface.. let me jet start into the blog subject...



Number one is about being green..or goin green... or watever u wanna call it...this piece was an inspiration from my office washroom... i can hear the guffaws there (thinkin i hv gone mad...)



I amn't... honestly.. wat i wanna tel u is tat.. my office.. an MNC.. big corporate... has taken up a very special measure in our restrooms... in its own way of goin green!!



We have photo sensor lights in our washrooms... :) [wowie..]

They get switched on when it senses somebody moving under them... then every 5 mins they switch off..if they had not picked up any motion....

thus we are contributing to the world... by releasing less carbon using CFL lights .... plus consumin less power therby reducing our carbon footprint too...

second thing tat caught my mind.. is the cafeteria.. [definitely not for the food provided there.. :)]

its about the dishwash area.. [i can imagine the ? in ur mind]

a signboard has been place above the dishwash counter.. which displayes details on date.. amount of food wasted in kgs... the no. of persons in turn who cud have been fed with...

SIMPLY BRILLIANT!!!

jus imagine the amount of food we waste everyday knowingly or otherwise...

i hv made my mind from the day i hv observed this.. to help myself sensibly in buffets.. to order less or even to pack less so tat .. there is bare minimum food wastage personally...

this blog post is to emphasize u all my frens.. to think abt the same issue.. to pivot tis point in your grey matter.. [i m sure u all hv some.. nothin to offend.. :D]

LESS POWER WASTAGE... LESS FOOD N WATER WASTAGE...

i m reminded of one of my fav MJ songs now...

STOP LIVING N START EXISTING.. HEAL THE WORLD.. MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE...

how true?? we shud trigger a new life from now on with these points imbibed in us...

so one n all... ACT SMARTLY.. EAT SENSIBLY...

enjoyed reading the blog.. now go enjoy the MJ song as well.. soother ur nerves n catch up some good sleep... :)

catch u all soon wit some catchy subject for the next blog post..

until then adieu!!

Cross Training...........

Bac to blogging... :)

I know the title is kinda misleading to those naughty minds out there.... never mind i m here to give some points on fitness/exercising and not any contemporary topic.. ;)

Personally i m not one fitness freak or don hv a toned fit body either... but off late hv been recognising the importance of it.. when it cums to day to day activities... being overweight jus doesnt causes you irritation when you wanna buy/wear an outfit tat u like the most (but wont fit u either... ) but also causes various other common side-effect like tiredness, laziness and in some cases depression too......

So read ahead.... look at wat cross-training as a exercise/fintess regime has to offer... and letme know ur thots on it...

Cross-training is also known as conditioning. It involves workout to improve overall performance and is a great way to condition ur various muscle groups.



You probably would have seen a machine with two long handles at the cardio section in a gym..tis is wat is known as a elliptical exercise machine or elliptical bike.. some call it a cross-trainer.. (like me..)






So what exactly is so great about this cross-trainer now???


1. The most important aspect is the reduction of impact. It provides similar type of workout as jogging but without the wear and tear of the joints. If you ever jogged a lot, that too without a pair of good jogging shoes.. becoz of your weight... jogging acctually places a lot of stress on your back and the joints.. tats why most fitness experts recommend cross trainers to people who have a hard-time exercising.


2. Based on the intensity, you may burn more calories with the cross trainer compared to a treadmill or the exerbikes... they can burn 8 to 12 calories per minute.


3. The dual action handle bars uses your whole body., including ur upper body. One can workout without holding the bars as well wherein the abdomen plays a major role to stabilize one's body on the trainer.


4. The cross trainer uses all of the muscles of the lower leg during workout. This well strengthen and build one's lower leg.


5. Another great thing I have discovered is you can move at your own speed comfortably with occasional bursts of high intensity workouts.


6. Lastly and most importantly.. SAFE TO USE. When you stop the machine stops. The speed is determined by your own movement.

For those who are looking for a home gym, cardio equipment , consider this machine.
It comes in manual and power formats. Uses very little power though.
Pretty fine for the pocket, economical to operate and maintain as well.
Becoz of lesser impact there is less wear n tear of the machine as well.
Ideal for overweight and people with chronic knee problem.


I have personally invested in a cross trainer and I am really feeling good to workout on it!

So,


ENJOY YOUR WORKOUT! HAPPY CROSS-TRAINING!

KFC's laudable act....

Hey buddiez.. jus dont get misguided by the title.. this post is not about KFC bringing down its menu price or giving more for less.. :)

Had been to the KFC @ Cinemax, Hyd sumtime bac... though i m a hard-core veggie... jus accompanied my pal over there.. [then i knew it was a mistake.. i was made to pay for him inspite of not gettin anything to eat for myself.. :( :)]

We were in the Q waiting for our turn to place the order.. and finally wen did get our turn.. i was totally astonished to find physically challenged people @ the order counters.. (they can neither hear nor speak... i don wanna use the traditional words in the english vocabulary.. tat wud be too heartless from my side.. )

one needs to look into the menu card and show the item he wants to order and he can either say the quantity by words to them (they do a little bit of lip reading as well) or use their hands to mention the quantity...

the process is smooth.. no confusion.. n i feel like KFC has benchmarked a new point in the world of customer relationship management.. tat its not all about talkin.. talkin..cajollin.. canvassin... words.. words... n more words.... they hv proved tat wit little or no words.. they are leading customer service flag-bearers.. stil maintaing ontime service on orders placed...

i m too very glad.. those people too get an opportunity for making their own stand in life... and u have to be there to see the surprise look on the customer's faces once they make their way to place orders... and one can easily make out the mark of respect tat blazes in their eyes... ( i was one among them)

Hats off to KFC! For not jus bringin in a spl + secret recipe for the Indian taste buds.. but also for such a commendable act and a positive approach towards the physically challenged of the Indian Society..

Hope things like this catch up like wild fire and be passed over to other outlets.. cities.. other organizations n corporates as well...

Two cheers to KFC! (I m gonna giv the 3rd one only when they are gonna bring more options in the menu for veggies like me... :D )