Skip to main content

Posts

As we rush through life!

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. About 3 minutes: The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.  After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no one applauded.  There was no recognition at all. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.  He played one of the most intricate pieces eve

MAHA NEPAL OR GREATER NEPAL -- The Latest Craze in Nepal; PART - I

Parvez Iqbal Siddique; a correspondent in north India, wrote back in 2005 an article citing the boiling Nepalese’s sentiment for ‘Maha Nepal’. The new Maoist government in Nepal is all the way supporting the demand for ‘Maha Nepal’ that should chunk out a good portion of Indian territory covering the area between Nepal’s border and the Tista valley in east and up to Kangra ( Sutlej river) in west. However, this news grossly escaped the notice of Indian politicians and policy makers keep afar the Indian citizens. No furor rose anywhere in this issue.  Many articles are published since past two decades in various Nepalese newspapers and magazines in this issue. In support of this claim, the promulgators of ‘Maha Nepal’ are citing history.  They claim the ancient Nepal was far bigger than what it is now, though that goes without any historical evidence. During the regime of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, in 1744 Nepalese army went on war for re-integration of its lost territory. The war bro

Kolkata

The festive season in Bengal starts around this time of the year. lt starts with 'Durga Puja', as 'Nava Ratri' elsewhere. Kolkata being capital of West Bengal , the celebration is most ostensible and decorative here. The four days of celebration invites people from all over the states and beyond. The spirit runs so high that it stalls the movements of Metro ( the city as well as its underground railway system). There is distinct difference of the Kolkata's temperament in comparison with other metros across the country. Say , in Mumbai the 'Ganesh Puja' is celebrated with equal zeal and spirit. But sooner the celebration is over people are back to track. You find the city is in the same usual mood full of activities. But Kolkata stands apart. After the 'Durga Puja' at least for a week the city as well as Kolkatans suffer from hang-over. This is evident every where. The roads are more or less empty., traffic congestion is missing. People are not runnin

India in 2010

  Often I remember the speech of our Ex President Mr. K R Narayanan; he delivered on the Republican Day on 26 th January 2000, in the advent of new millennium.  I may not recollect it precisely from my memory here it is what I remember “……………….. the fast track of globalization is impeding the pedestrians to cross the roads……………….”; and he predicted the civil war as one of result for this.  Well he earned the then ruling party’s wrath for such speech as offending them.  However, after a decade we find his prediction was right and his forecast is unfortunately correct to the hilt.   The recent outbreaks of insurgency in the backward districts of most of the states in our country stand in evidence of that. After more than sixty years of independence, many pockets of our country remain where they were in 20s! Metal roads, electricity, basic amenities like availability of safe drinking water or minimum medical facilities, educations are far cry. In most of those troubles, prone ar

The Widest Selection of Tickets

If you are one who leads healthy life with healthy preferences for entertainment then you go ahead with this article. You must be crazy to watch your favorite sports , music or theatrical events. What bother you are the tickets in the event or more so with the seating preference! For any popular sporting events like football, basketball, tennis or any other game, any popular concerts or theater in America; you need not to worry either for tickets or for the seats. It is just a click away.  Ticketamerica.com, the licensed ticket broker offers the most popular event tickets with your choice of seats. They are reliable and extremely customer friendly. Just log into their site and get details.

Look at life this way....................

Life has its own ups and downs; that's the rule. Look at history, what went up, came down at a point of time. You can say that too 'tryst with destiny'. But it happens so that at times you are depressed, frustrated and feel that life has become meaningless! Though deep within you never like to believe it. Well there should be one to remind you that you are precious to many even when you are losing the battle.  Here is the 'MANTRA', read it every day, it will help you to make life meaningful: You may not realize it,   but it's 100% true.   1. There are at least two people in  this world  that you would die for.   2. At least 15 people in this world   love you in some way.   3.. The only reason anyone would ever  hate you  is because they want to  be  just like you.  4. A smile from you  can bring happiness to anyone,  even if they don't   like you.  5.  Every night,  SOMEONE thinks about you   before they go to sleep.   6. You mean

Insatiable; thy name is Women!

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates: You may visit the store ONLY ONCE ! There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch. You may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building! So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord. The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids. The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking. 'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads: Floor 4 - These men

Invest with Care!!

With the market going high and hing; most of the ordinary investors are investing in stocks and mutual fund's units that they consider promising. But unfortunately they are wrong. For the past (30) thirty years I have been observing the Indian market;the trend here , only then the small investors invest when market goes high and subsequently they lose as market falls. They believe, initially that the market is falling for corrections; as most of their popular TV channels advocate. But to their utter dismay , the market keep falling without any sigh of revival. Most of the small investors , with fear, divest and fill the pockets of the operators. Those who take the gullible investors for ride, even in these days of Globalization. So, I urge not fall pray in the hands of operators. Small investors should divest and keep the liquidity intact. When the market falls or crashes they should pick up only the blue chips.

Not the Climate but We should change.

Here is an article written by Sangita Jindal, the chairperson of JSW foundation. Her article express serious concern about global warming and mankind. Here it goes - Four years ago, I met Al Gore and saw his presentation on climate change. I don’t want to sound alarmist, but the scenario that emerged from our discussions was earth-shattering, to say the least. I realized with pain and anguish that the world as I know will never be the same again. The snow-capped mountains, the pine and the deodar trees reaching out to the sky, clear streams meandering through with an unhurried elegance, the twittering of birds amid a golden sunset and even a waft of fresh breeze will soon become a thing of the past and a luxury no amount of money will be able to buy. Fuelled by man’s lust for senseless and insensitive development, wastelands, floods, storms, starvation, growing sea levels and submergence of low-lying areas have all become a common occurrence. The developed world, the developing

A Joke!!

This explains why I forward jokes. A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble.... At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?' 'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered.. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some wate

CLUB-- 99

Read this story............. Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content. One day the King came upon a Servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly Servant had so much joy. The King asked the Servant, "Why are you so happy?" The Servant replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a Roof over our heads, clthes to wear and Food to fill our tummies." The King was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted Advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the Servant's story, the Advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club." "The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired. The Advisor replied, "Your

A journey to Rural Bengal

In the sultry summer of Kolkata, a family event ushered as a relief to leave the city for two days. Not far, just a few hours journey from my place. A village near famous Tegor's "Santiniketan" was the venue. The journey by a over crowded train in reserved seats brought consolation. Embarking the train from a small station always puts you in humiliation as you look for your reserved seat; as always someone is found sitting so confidently to turn you confused! The blemish look that they throw on finding that you are legitimate claimant is sometime unbearable; at least I find so. This time they were girls at their teens and while reposing my seats to me the spew venom through their beautiful eyes. Little later I found their mother occupying a seat (not of her own) just in front of me. She was a nice lady and having missed her connecting train at Howrah, she resorted to this venture (adventure!) with her daughters. They were tourist from another Metro i.e Mumbai, visiting Da

Know what is extended "Auto Warranty"

An extended auto warranty can be a confusing document for many people. Indeed, there are very few people who actually completely understand the terms and conditions -- and the requirements placed on the consumer -- associated with an extended auto warranty. In this article, the reader is provided with a general overview of the standard terms and conditions associated with an extended auto warranty. By understanding the terms, conditions and provisions of an extended auto warranty, you can determine if the added protection is right for you. Do keep in mind that when you purchase a new automobile, the manufacturer provides you with a relatively comprehensive warranty at no additional charge. As a general rule, an extended auto warranty expands the term that the manufacturer's warranty will remain in place. For example, there are warranties available that will expand the length of coverage from a standard three year term to five or even ten years. (In some instances the extended war

Mutual Fund Portfolie to brave all weather

Equity mutual funds perform differently in different time periods as investment styles and sectors come in and go out of favor. While screening tools readily provide performance data and make the task of identifying top mutual funds relatively easy, there is more to constructing an all-weather portfolio than screening for the top funds. This article describes methods of constructing an all-weather portfolio. Before getting into the nitty-gritty of constructing an all-weather portfolio, it helps to know how equity mutual funds are classified and how their performance is impacted by market conditions. Classification by Market Capitalization & Style Equity funds are commonly classified based on market capitalization of the companies in which they invest their assets and investment style. Market capitalization is divided into three categories: large, medium, and small. Investment style likewise is divided into three categories: value, growth, and blend. Combining both types

Program for Roomster Affiliate

Start earning with your blog or site by signing up for roomster affiliate program . They pay you 50 ¢ for every lead you send them or 50% of every new sale, means, you send traffic they pay you for it. So, sites with high traffic, do not miss the chance to boost up your earning with this affiliate program.

India is on Reverse Gear !!!

In the advent of current millennium 2000; on the Republic Day i.e 26th January 2000, during Presidential address to the nation, the then President K R Narayanan foretold “ ………….. the first track of globalization is impeding the pedestrians to cross the road;………………. this may lead to civil wars…………………”; and now we find that he was true. Though he did not get second tenure to continue as President of India, what is presumed that he offended the Government by making such statement that revealed the bitter truths. During the past nine years after we entered into this millennium, lots of incidents have taken place like Iraq war, global depression and obviously further increase of terrorists insurgencies all over the world; specially this part of the planet. With the growing population in India, the greater part of Indian population appears to roll on back gear, furthering themselves from the improvements that were promised by the global community while advocating of globalization. The param

Live humbly, there are great people around us

A short while ago, I received a mail containing this story from one of my friend. Well; way back in 70s, while serving Indian Air Force as an Airman and volunteering for Air Force Commando's duty I too had similar experience. Only difference none got Vir or Param Vir Chakra; it reminded ' many a flowers born in desert; remain unseen forever...........; anyway here goes the story Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned chair car of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do !! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use. "Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmati

Elder's Day !!

1st October is observed as 'Elder's Day ' off late; I became aware of this sooner I opened my morning news paper. An advertisement given by government's social welfare department urging to observe the day as 'Elder's Day' caught my attention. We are used to see of such dedicated 'Days' are reminded by the retailers or companies dealing in consumer's goods, jewelers et el. Then it crossed my mind that they don't expect much from this segment of our society, they remain neglected by their immediate family members or wards; so who would buy gifts for them! Remaining in the twilight zone of my life, the thoughts are painful! Is not it ?

Pollutions by 'DAL MILLS' in KOLKATA

I took note of a surprising news on pollutions, that too in one of the great metro city in India, Kolkata. It appears that ' Dal Mill " owners have taken a holiday from any directive of pollution control. In India, there is nothing that does not go in connivance with the enforcing authority. Because in that case both the parties benefit. Of course at the cost of public in general, and in this case the public health is put under hazards; not to say about those labors who work in those mills. Just log into the story published in this blog Opinions & Views .