HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

Still deciding on your resolutions and goals?  Need a few words of wisdom?
Remember the feeling you get from taking the first step is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around thinking about it. So get up and get moving.
Take the first step this year – just one small step forward.
The greatest miracle of your success will not be that you finished, it will be that you had the courage to begin.
With this wishing you all HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!

Read More

100 kaam aur akeli jaan

so much of work but no mood to do any.. don`t know why i need to prioritize all the thngs in the world when i just want to sit & relax only and do nothing. marriage is on the head and all i am fill up with never ending list of millions of things..

Read More

Things Money can`t buy you..

You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy.
- Garth Brooks

• A First Kiss from Someone Special – The sweet rush of butterflies in your tummy when you kiss someone special for the very first time.
• The Realization of True Love – The warm feeling you get many years after your first kiss when you realize you married the right person.
• Beauty – Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
• True Friendship – Through thick and thin, they stood by your side.  They were there when you had nothing but them.
• Peace of Mind – It can only be acquired with an honest heart.
• Beginner’s Eyes – You’ll never see it again for the very first time.
• The Joy of Telling an Interesting True Story – One of the most enticing roles we lead in life is that of a storyteller.  There are few things more satisfying than telling a true story that others enjoy listening to.
• Happiness – True happiness is achieved by doing what you love and being involved in something you believe in.
• Success – Success is simply excelling at doing what you love.
• A Single Moment of Time – Once it’s gone, it’s gone.  Don’t miss it.
• A Baby’s Laughter – Babies don’t care about money.  They care about kindness, love, and living in the moment.
• Surprise Encounters with Long-Lost Friends – You haven’t seen them in years, and you figured you’d probably never see them again.  Then suddenly, there they are standing right in front of you.
• The Feeling of Self-Accomplishment – You set your sights on a specific goal and followed through until you achieved it.  Now that’s something to celebrate.
• The Sound of Raindrops Outside – …as you snuggle up on the couch.  Few sounds are more soothing.
• A Good, Genuine Conversation – Those moments of verbal bonding when the topic of conversation flows seamlessly and all parties involved gain as much as they put in.
• An Unexpected Compliment – It seems like just another dreary Monday afternoon, but then she walks into your office and says, “I love your shirt.  That color looks great on you.”
• The Feeling You Get When Your Idea Works – You’ve been struggling to resolve a complex problem all day, but you just can’t seem to get it right.  Filled with frustration, you decide to try one last idea before calling it a night.  You’ve had many ideas before that failed miserably… but this time it works.
• Randomly Hearing Your Favorite Song – You’re stuck in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic, so you crank on a radio station for a little distraction.  The opening notes to your favorite song instantly chime in.
• Watching a Live Blooper Unfold in Front of You – As you walk alongside a friend, she trips over her own feet, wobbles erratically, regains her balance, and then tries to play it off like nothing happened.  Hilarious!
• A Sunny Sunday Afternoon – The birds are chirping, a light breeze in blowing through your hair, and the sun’s rays are warming your cheeks.
• The Rush of Adolescent Love – Those magical moments of adolescent lust and affection that only you and one other person rightly remember.
• Being In The Right Place at The Right Time – You’re sitting in the nosebleed seats at a professional baseball game.  The home team batter cranks a monstrous, game-winning home run.  The ball bounces off another fan’s glove two seats in front of you and lands right in your lap.
• The Recollection of Great Childhood Memories – Do you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike?  What about wrestling with your dad?  Or climbing trees with your friends?
• Reminiscing About Old Times with Your Best Friend – Those crazy life experiences only the two of you lived through together.  Like that wild 24 hour road trip to Atlanta, or that drunken night on the 3rd floor balcony of your college apartment.
• Passion – True wealth comes naturally to those who follow their hearts.  You can’t pay someone to be emotionally passionate about something.  Nor can you pay them to psychologically give-up on their passions.
• Objects of Sentimental Value – Old family photos, your great grandmother’s music box, that painting your baby brother made for you… some things are priceless.
• The Comfort of an Old Familiar Smell – You just pulled into your parent’s driveway after being away for a long while.  You smell familiarity in the air, the scent of the pine tree in the neighbor’s yard.  As you head through the front door, more familiar smells consume your senses.  Gosh, it feels good to be home.
• The Hilarity of an Inside Joke – You’ll never get it unless you were there at its inception.
• Amazing Talents You Are Born With – Like the mind of a genius or the voice of an angel.
• The Excitement of Making Someone Else Smile – Because her smile makes you smile back.
• Exercising Your 5 Senses – Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.  Each provides a gateway to rewarding personal experiences.
• Sharing a Good Laugh with Friends and Family – Some of the most memorable moments in your life will be moments spent in laughter.
• The Warm Coziness of Your Own Bed – No bed is more comfortable than your own.
• Watching Wild Animals in Nature – Like a hawk gracefully soaring above the tree line, or a deer prancing across a grassy field.
• A Home – Money can buy a house, but not a home.  Because home is where the heart is.
• Waking Up to the Smell of a Home Cooked Meal – You were still asleep, but someone special knew you’d be hungry soon.
• The Peaceful Sound of Absolute Silence – Shhhhh…
• Streams of Consciousness and Clarity – You’re ‘in the zone!’  Act while your mind is hot.
• The Sound of a Light Breeze Through the Trees – It’s the sound of Mother Nature all around you.
• The Captivating Experience of People Watching – The interesting (and sometimes foolish) things people do never ceases to please.  You can’t buy this quality of entertainment.
• Watching the Sunrise and Sunset with Your Beloved – Make time for this.  It’s worth it.
• The Sound and Sight of Ocean Waves – Another phenomenal act of Mother Nature.
• The ‘Pump’ After a Great Workout – You feel like you can conquer the world.
• The Blissful Act of Daydreaming – Just being… and thinking… and dreaming.
• When She Says “I Love You” - …and you know she means it because you can read the sincerity in her eyes.
• When an Unlikely Someone Remembers Your Birthday – A friend you haven’t seen in over a month calls you at 9AM on your birthday just to say “happy birthday.”
• Finding Something You Thought You’d Lost Forever – You searched for it for days and finally gave up.  Now, six months later, it basically appears right in front of you.
• The Inspiration Behind Creative Works of Art – Every piece of art is priceless in the eyes of someone who can relate to it.  The creative inspiration behind these works of art is no different.
• When Your Pet Snuggles Up Next to You – It’s just soooo cute.
• A Moment of Eye Contact with an Attractive Stranger – You’ve never seen them before, and you may never see them again.  But a moment was shared.
• A Long Hug from a Loved One – Those deep, warm hugs you wish you could nestle in forever.
• Happily Singing at The Top of Your Lungs – Well… You know you make me wanna shout! Kick my heels up and shout! Throw my hands up and shout! Throw my head back and shout! Come on now… Shout!
• Seeing Your Breath on a Chilly Night – A simple phenomenon that has entertained children since the beginning of mankind.
• The Feeling of Acceptance – You’re now a part of something greater… and it feels good.
• Watching the Clouds Form Cool Shapes – Never the same show twice.
• Cuddling a Newborn Baby – Precious… simply precious.
• When You Know You Can Trust Someone – You can see it in their eyes and you can feel it in your heart.  They have no ulterior motive.
• Sitting Around a Bonfire with Your Friends – One of the greatest settings for reminiscing and storytelling with those your care about.
• Seeing Two Elderly Folks Who are Madly in Love – It’s a sight of love that has surpassed the tests of time.
• The Beauty of a Moonlit Sky – Few simple pleasures are more satisfying than gazing up into a starry, moonlit sky.
• The Awesomeness of Skipping Rocks Across Water – It doesn’t matter how old you get, this one never gets old.
• Watching Lightning in the Distance – Peaceful and powerful at the same time.
• Slow Dancing in Your Living Room - Dancing is like dreaming with your feet. -Constanze
• Knowing She’ll Be There When You Get Back – Yes.  There is stability in your life.  And she’s a big part of it.
• Watching Her Sleep – Just being with her and breathing with her.
• The Colors of Fall – It’s Mother Nature’s artwork.
• People Who Make You Smile Just by Thinking of Them – Wherever I am, no matter what I’m doing, just thinking of her makes me smile.
• The Warm Touch of Your Beloved – It’s the touch no one else has.
• When You Realize People Are Reading What You Write – Words can’t explain it.  Thank you.
• The Excitement of a New Comment on Your Blog – We love these.  

Can you think of anything else money can’t buy?  Leave us a comment and let us know about it.

Read More

"Satyagraha," "Swaraj" and "Swadeshi"- the three pillars of Gandhian philosophy

According to author Sudheendra Kulkarni who elaborates the thought in his new book Kulkarni has tried to wed Gandhi's philosophies with the power of the worldwide web and dared readers to strive via the Internet for development of life as a whole in his book "Music of the Spinning Wheel: Mahatma Gandhi's Manifesto for the Internet Age".

Kulkarni says he has been inspired by the life of Mahatma Gandhi and the simultaneous study of the Internet has led the author to coin the term "Internet Satyagrahis" in the book brought out by Amaryllis publications.

"It is a call to all those readers, who believe even to some extent in the power of the Internet on the one hand and also in the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, to become Internet Satyagrahis," Kulkarni told in an interview. "The Spinning Wheel (charkha) of Mahatma was not merely just a tool but life transformative machine to propagate ideas and ideals - namely non-violence, justice, respect for nature, equitable and sustainable socio-economic development - and my study of the Internet has made me realise that it has united the world into a single community living in a Global Village," says Kulkarni.

The author says "Satyagraha," "Swaraj" and "Swadeshi"- the three pillars of Gandhian philosophy if superimposed on the Internet can benefit the earth in entirety and also keep perils at bay.

Read More

Project Managers - Don'T Press, Just Impress

You get a genuine prospect, you ask for requirements, tend to believe that you have understood the requirements since you would like to close the deal, you prepare a set of documents under the different names of design plan, development plan, resource plan, timelines plan, implementation plan, deployment plan, testing plan etc; and then you jump into working for the customer.

Few days pass and then the customer starts pushing to add in more features/functionalities as his maturity towards the system enhances. You tend to be polite and accept to incorporate small features that would take about 2-3 hours. Then he requests few more features and then you would assume that it is hopefully not repetitive and then accommodate in order to avoid clashes. When it continues, you start letting customer that it would be difficult to accept new requirements midway. You realize that customer delays the payment so that you would consider including his desired new features. That is when you tend to press the customer to avoid unnecessary changes, add in imaginary features and to make the payments on time. All above scenarios are very common and I guess, are applicable for all projects; regardless of whether you are building the product or providing services, the requirements of which have been hastily agreed to kick-start the project.

There is a scene in one of my favorite movies ‘Rocket Singh – Salesman of the year’. The newly graduated friends would be having late party when the DJ threatens to leave. When everybody gives up convincing him, Ranvir Kapoor walks up to him, talks for couple of mins and does the trick. “Thodisi conversation, thodisi persuasion, thodisi negotiation”. Below are few suggestions for project managers, especially for start-up organizations as they tend to give into the pressure of doing more for small payments –

• Freeze the requirements document: I understand that this is easy said than done; however, you can clearly mention that you would leverage Time and Material costing model if the requirements continue to change. Once the customer understands that he will have to pay for the delay, he will attempt to freeze the requirements.

• Document of Understanding: I agree that it is difficult to get a commitment from the customer as it is very likely that although the requirements are frozen, the customer can always interpret a requirement differently and ask you to deliver more than agreed with either the same or lower cost. Prepare a Document of Understanding and get a sign-off that your understanding of requirements is at par with them. This is one of the most crucial steps. Use your communication skills and convince its importance to the customer how it would avoid last minute unpleasant surprises and costs as well.

• List of deliverables: Ensure that everybody is clear in terms of deliverables and additional deliverables will cost timelines, resources and hence additional payments. Put down the expectations in terms of contents of document.

• Expectations Management: Usually, most of the managers do a good job of expectations management to ensure that customer’s expectations are met. However, good leaders also put down their expectations in terms of payments on time. Let’s accept it that there is no free meal in the world and someone has to pay when work is done. One needs to make it clear that the work would be stopped and resources would be allocated to different projects, if the payments are not done on time. If you do a good job of completing the deliverables as expected, you are entitled to ask for the payments on time.

• Meet decision makers: Often, the deals are lost since you spend all your energy in impressing folks who are not decision makers. Ensure that a budget is available and that decision makers are involved in discussions. Even if you don’t get decision makers to attend meeting in the first place, schedule a meeting to talk to them and explain about your expertise and services. They are the ones who sponsor the projects and approve the payments. The rest of the folks usually work on it to showcase the details for their appraisals or merely because they have been asked to get it done.

• Budget constraints: Sometimes, you get to talk to decision makers and realize that they have genuine constraints on budgets. I would suggest not hanging your boots so soon. Visit them again, check out the reasons, validate their rationale on budget and if you are able to implement it although with smaller margins but having a good long term relationship, I would recommend going with it. It takes a while to know that business is not only about money although it is an important fuel for startups as well as all organizations.

I understand that most of the people would like to make their presence felt, get recognition for their efforts and perhaps it is a human tendency. Sure, Go ahead and impress; however, by doing a great job, not by shining apples for your bosses/customers; by working sincerely and delivering the projects on time, not by stepping on your colleague’s toes; by following ethics, not by stealing somebody’s due recognition.

You’ll have different pressures at different times to deliver the job. The above pointers may help you decide whether to get pressed or leave the bosses/customers impressed.

Read More

Indian Startups with Interesting Desi Names

While there are many established companies based in India who have adopted a foreign name to connect to the Indian mindset which aspires of foreign-label, there are a number of startups who believe “The name is built by customers, not by brands.”

Not only the mother tongue “Hindi” but quite a few startups have chosen regional languages to christen their company, right from the ancient Indian language Sanskrit to Telugu, a South Indian language.

Let us have a glimpse of these promising startups with desi names.

1. Kreeda Games

Kreeda Games is a game developer and publisher based in Mumbai. Its primary business is to design and build multiplayer Social games and game for SmartPhones. It was founded in November 2006 by three mavericks in a small garage with very big dreams. Kreeda’s particular expertise is in building games that get players to invite their friends.

Kreeda is a Sanskrit word which in English translates into “Game”.

2. Eka Software

Eka Software Solutions is a leader in technology for organizations that specialize in the buying and selling of physical commodities across world markets. Eka is derived from the word “EKAM”, which means ‘unified’ or ‘integrated’ in Sanskrit. It signifies the organizational intent to provide a single-platform solution for managing trade and risk across commodities, industry verticals and business segments.

3. Gharpay

Gharpay is a doorstep cash payment network. It collects cash from customers at their doorstep in 550 postal codes across 7 cities in India. It is practically the only organized player doing this in a  50000 crore e-commerce market that’s struggling to get people to pay online. Being an exclusive cash payment collection network, it has many advantages over courier companies providing this service.

Hindi word Gharpay translates into English as “At Home”. The second syllable “pay” is also an English word which defines the kind of service the company provides.

4. Sloka Telecom

Sloka is a Sanskrit word which means “Song”. Sloka Telecom is a Radio Access Network (RAN) solution provider. It is a pioneer in designing, developing and selling compact and cost-effective Base Stations and Consumer Premise Equipment (CPE) for new standards- WiMAX and WiFi.

5. Samvedana

Samvedana is a non-profit organization that supports social growth of the underprivileged in slums by providing educational opportunities and healthcare facilities. It achieves this by conducting welfare programmes, outdoor activities and workshops, actively in Ahmedabad. Samvedana is a Gujarati and Hindi word meaning “compassion.”

6. Pothi.com

Pothi.com is a Bangalore based start-up founded in February 2008. The company makes publishing accessible to everyone. It offers a print on demand publishing platform which can be used by individuals and organizations for publishing their books in print at very little or no absolutely zero investment. ‘Pothi’ means ‘a book’ in many North Indian languages including Hindi, Punjabi and Bengali.

7.  FoodKhoj

FoodKhoj is an online food delivery portal that allows you to place an order online, for the food of your choice from different restaurants that deliver to your area. FoodKhoj is a Hindi phrase which in English means “Search for Food”. It is a free service which aims to build up long term relationship between restaurants and customers. Customers who use the portal continuously get exclusive access to better deals, discounts and prices.

8. Makaan.com

It is the fastest growing property website in India which was established with the mission to connect relevant buyers and sellers of real estate. It helps in making wise and profitable decisions related to buying, selling, renting and leasing of properties in India.

The portal was named as such because “Makaan” is the most commonly used word among the Indian real-estate people. Most Indians also refer to their dream house as “Makaan”, which translates in English into “House”

9. SadakMap.com

SadakMap.com is a portal service that provides a different approach to finding information local to a place. It makes it convenient to use when looking for businesses, public places, etc in your locality. One unique feature about the site is the ability to post messages in your locality for everyone to see and respond to, thus creating a map-based discussion forum.

The word "Sadak" means "a road" in the Indian language "Hindi". Incidentally, it also happens to be the name of a Turkish village.

10. Chitika

Chitika is one of the largest search-targeted advertising networks, currently serving over 600 million search driven impressions per month, and growing. Founded in 2003, the founders sought a name that would suggest the speed with which its customers would be able to put up ads on their Web sites. Chitika, which means “snap of the fingers” in Telugu captured this sentiment and Chitika was born.

11. MeraEvents.com

MeraEvents which means “MyEvents” in English, is the first Indian web-based portal completely dedicated to all the Events, Conferences, Exhibitions, Seminars, and Trade fairs which offers many unique features. Its aim is to forever change the way events are organized.

12. Ayojak.com

Ayojak.com is a product innovation company which is an event solutions platform offering event discovery to users and event solutions to event organizers. It takes less than 3 minutes to publish an event page and power it with 360 degree event solution online registration apps, event solution and event marketing.

Ayojak in hindi means “organizer”, which is basically what the service is all about.

13. Mauj

Mauj, which in English means “Fun” is a company focused on building great customer destinations on Mobile Internet. Established in 2003, it was formed with a vision to empower consumers by providing entertainment and information via mobile phone and specifically on Mobile Internet platforms.

14. Saavn

Saavn was founded in 2006 by Vin Bhat, Neal Shenoy, and Paramdeep Singh in a partnership between New York based parent company 212 Media, Indian company Hungama, and Schramm Sports & Entertainment. Saavn is a digital distributor of Bollywood and Kollywood music, with rights to over 2 million music tracks. The name Saavn is an acronym for “South Asian Audio Visual Network” and in Hindi;Saavn is the season of Monsoon, which is often associated with music.

15. PaGaLGuY

PaGaLGuY is India’s biggest and most trusted MBA preparatory resources website, used by over 700,000 MBA applicants every month. It was started in 2002 and it follows an online community approach to create smart and useful products to make the lives of MBA applicants easier.

Pagalguy is one of the funniest names for a web portal which means “A mad boy” which refers to those people who are crazy about MBA preparations.

16. Sarkariexam.com

SarkariExam is the first dedicated government job portal in India with an objective of satisfying the demand of every educated individual to get a job position in Indian Government sector. It provides all the vital information that, too with most accurate and precise format so that the information is easily available and grasped by the user.

17. Avashya.com

India has seen a tremendous growth in Web 2.0 technologies. India is a unique market for interesting technological challenges, social networking and mobile devices. Together these factors have created an unseen buzz and flurry of funding into Web 2.0 initiatives. Avashya which means “Necessary” in English is a central destination for news, insights and analysis about India's contributions to Web 2.0 and beyond.

18. merinews.com

Merinews is India’s largest citizen journalism portal. It is an open platform for every citizen who wishes to share news, views, analysis, pictures etc with people around the world.

The name of the company means “My News”.

17. Apalya Technologies

Apalya, which means `mobility' in Sanskrit, is said to control the biggest share of the Indian mobile TV market, with over 4 million subscribers; the company claims it has a 99% marketshare. It was formed in 2005 to take advantage of the growing demand for Live Television, events and video on demand in the mobile space.

18. NaapTol

Launched in January 2008, Naaptol has grown to become one of India's largest comparison based social shopping portal. It is one-stop destination for shoppers, merchants and market enthusiasts which binds buyers and sellers in a profitable network. Naaptol helps people connect better making the whole experience of buying easier.

Naaptol is a Hindi word which means “To measure”.

19. Vyome Biosciences

Vyome, which means ‘Sky’ or ‘Heaven’, is a biopharmaceutical company leveraging next-generation functional genomics platforms, medicinal and polymer chemistry and nanotechnology to inspire the design and engineering of highly effective best-in-class therapeutics for dermatological indications.

22. Vaakya Technologies

Vaakya Technologies is a Bangalore based technology firm focused on fundamental research and development of innovative software infrastructure products.  for development and deployment of distributed software applications.

23. GupShup

GupShup is a social messaging service that enables users to share their short messages, privately with friends, or publicly with all. The service works on every mobile device and can be accessed via SMS, web, wap or mobile apps. It has over 60 million users in India, and expanding internationally.

“GupShup” is a Punjabi term meaning something like the English “chit chat.”

24. Yebhi.com

It is the fastest growing company in lifestyle category in India. It had started with the sale of multi brand Footwear online through its website. Enormous success in footwear category inspired the company to expand in other categories like Apparels, Accessories, Bags, Jewellery and Mobiles.

Yebhi is a Hindi phrase which in English means “This Also”.

Read More

I dare you to…

What you do every day is already important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.  But today, I dare you to take it up a notch, pump some extra life into every hour, and really make your time count.

Today, I dare you to…

1. Make someone else smile. – Ordinary people worry today and postpone their happiness for tomorrow.  Intelligent people are happy today and postpone their worries for tomorrow.  Wise people only wish happiness for all, today and tomorrow.  If you wish to have a lifetime of happiness, dedicate time every day to helping others smile with complete sincerity and enthusiasm.
2. Be imperfect. – Something that is really difficult, but totally worth it, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the journey of becoming your true self.  The most beautiful part of this journey is simply returning to the peaceful feeling of being.  This peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.
3. Be enthusiastic about what you’re doing. – You’re not given a good life or a bad life.  You’re given life, and it’s up to you to make it good or bad.  So wake up and get motivated; not everybody made it to today.  Don’t take your time for granted.  Don’t waste time thinking back to whatyou could have done differently yesterday.  Keep your eyes on the road ahead and do it differently today.  Wherever the road takes you, bring your passion.  Whatever you do along the way, do it with all your heart.
4. Make the best of what happens. – More important than what happens to you, is what you make of what happens to you.  The more thankful you are, the more beautiful this world appears.  You must uncover the good in the bad, the happy in your sad, the gain in your pain, and what makes you grateful not hateful.  
5. Forgive your past self. – Sometimes, good people like you make bad choices.  It doesn’t mean you’re bad; it means you’re human.  So get bored with your past; it’s over.  Forgive yourself for what you think you did or didn’t do, and focus on what you will do starting now.
6. Spend some time simply being and breathing. – The only way to live happily ever after is one day at a time.  Just be, breathe, and think not about what you’re missing, but what you’ve been given.  Happiness is something that comes into our lives gradually through the doors we don’t even remember leaving open.  
7. Learn something new. – It’s important to remember that you cannot become who you are capable of being by remaining exactly where you are.  If you are not willing to learn and grow, no one can help you.  But if you are determined to learn and grow, no one can stop you.  In the end, there are no permanent jobs on this planet; we are all interning here.  Learn from everyone, evolve, remain humble, and don’t forget to have a good time.
8. Look in the mirror, and tell yourself what you love about yourself. – What we see in the mirror is what we see in the world.  Our disappointment in others perfectly reflects our disappointment in ourselves.  Our acceptance of others perfectly reflects our acceptance of ourselves.  Our ability to see potential in others perfectly reflects our ability to see potential in ourselves.  Our patience with others perfectly reflects our patience with ourselves.  You get the idea – you’ve got to show yourself some love first.
9. Focus on the qualities you like about those around you. – Whenever we focus on a person’s wonderful qualities, we have a wonderful relationship with them.  Whenever we focus on a person’s not so wonderful qualities, we have a not so wonderful relationship with them.  What we focus on grows in our minds and hearts.  
10. Say “yes” to a spontaneous opportunity. – Everything in life can’t be planned.  Some of the greatest opportunities will knock on your door when you least expect them to.  Be flexible, be spontaneous, and just say “yes.”

Read More

Dream or My Wish List

1. Be a successful Business Women.
2. Have a Flat Stomach throughout my life.
3. Do something of good cause for the society.
4. Make all my loved ones happiest and contended.
5. Travel Around the world with someone who love me like crazy.

Read More

Loyalty

Marriage succeeds by being loyal, sympathetic, loving, caring and respecting each other. Good relationships meet in the middle. The most important trip one will likely take in life is meeting others half way. Couples can achieve far more by working together, rather than against them. Giving others a voice, and showing them that their ideas matter, will have a long-lasting impact on both them and their relationship.

Read More

Lack of Funds ...??

As they say, It starts with a dream.  Add confidence, and it becomes a belief.  Add commitment, and it becomes a goal in sight.  Add action, and it becomes a part of your life.  Add determination and time, and your dream comes true.

When you least expect it, something great will come along. Something better than you ever planned for. Mother Nature opens millions of flowers every day without forcing the buds. Let this be a reminder not to force anything, but to simply give beautiful things enough love and an opportunity to grow naturally.

Today, choose differently. Pick one part of your life that you are unhappy with and look at it from a different point of view. See the rain as nourishment for future growth. Consider being alone for a little while to create the solitude you need to hear your inner voice. Think of your lack of funds as an opportunity to experience the simple things in life. Right now, you can choose to allow the light to shine in your life. It is a choice. Why not allow it?

Read More

Lend Your Hand

Sometimes you will say something really small and simple, but it will fit right into an empty space in someone’s heart. Dare to reach into the darkness, to pull someone else into the light. Remember, strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others too, and lend a hand when they’re able to..

Read More

Marriage Blues

It know it happens to everyone and now its my turn but
Since there is a long courtship before the marriage,
I am addressing all the concerns.
As they say - In any union there will be some friction,
Mine effort is to minimise, if not completely eliminate, it.
I have adopted a greater degree of transparency and enhanced communication.
Because For me biggest challenge is to get the integration chemistry right.

Read More

life turning 180 degrees straight

Life is delivering new challenges full of excitement on my way these days. NO matter how much I want to hold onto old but its slipping away from my hands day by day as newness is entering in full speed from all the different directions. I have become latest flavor of change. Learning things by coming out of my comfort zone is tough as well as fun too. Pune is beautiful city with nice weather but i miss my Delhi very very much.
I now realized practically that To live without mom, dad, brother, family, friends & your home is not easy.

Read More

Breathtaking Beaches throughout the World

Based on the opinions and millions of reviews of travelers, the world's largest travel site, TripAdvisor recently released its list of top beach destinations that were chosen by millions of travelers globally, reports rediff.com. Listed below are the top 5 breathtaking beaches around the world.

1.Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands:

First in the list of the best beaches around the world comes the white sand beach of the Turks and Caicos island of Providenciales. The beautiful calm beach is a great spot for snorkelers and divers. You can also relax with your friends and family here as this hot spot offers a breathtaking view with a serene environment. Additionally you can opt to visit destinations like Iguana Island (home of endangered rock iguanas), the country's only golf course, beautiful art galleries and a casino, if you wish to travel here


2.Palm/Eagle Beach, Aruba: 

The gorgeous island of Aruba was populated since the year 1000. The Island that is rich in history and culture, Aruba treasures the Eagle beach which is a heavenly Caribbean beach. The beach is frequently visited by water sports lovers because of the various water sport activity that the beach offers. The other beach is the Palm Beach, located on the Island's west side, is also considered to be the best amongst travelers because of the perfect swimming conditions that the beach offers. Palm Beach has powdery sand and offers breathtaking view to the visitors. You can also opt to explore the beautiful Island of Aruba by a Bike or a Moped as it is only 20 miles long. And of course don't forget to visit the popular diving site, the wreck of the torpedoed tanker Pedernales. 

3. Tulum, Mexico: 

Situated in the south of Playa del Carmen in Mexico, Tulum is surrounded with lush bougainvillea-filled jungle at its back. You can avail the popular tourist bus from Cancun here to see the ruins some of the best preserved in the Yucatan, perch on cliffs beside the coast. If you opt to stay in Tulum itself, you can easily explore the beach by a bike. One can opt for diving or swimming in the clear crystal waters of the Caribbean as it is quite a fun filled experience here. 



4.Negril, Jamaica: 

One is sure to have a great experience in the wild beaches of Negril, beach resort town of Jamaica. The Seven Mile Beach, which is a home of adult oriented resorts here, is the most popular hot spot for tourists. Within walking distance you can find the West End, which offers laid-back accommodations and beaches, shops and restaurants. You can grab a cool drink at Rick's Bar and enjoy watching the mesmerizing view of the sunset. The horse back tour in the beaches is a must try. 

5.Saint Pete Beach, U.S: 

Sited on a peninsula off Florida's west coast, the gorgeous Saint Pete Beach, in the U.S appears to be quite attractive for travelers as it has Sugary-white sand, frolicking dolphins just off shore and eight major barrier islands. This picture perfect destination balances its oceanfront charms with top-notch art museums which includes the largest collection of Salvador Dali paintings outside of Spain. You can also enjoy kayaking in the calm waters or tour by a ferry to the nearby Caladesi Island State Park to experience the state's wild beauty.

Read More

Stupidest Technology Questions Often Googled

Technology is invading the planet. It’s literally replacing the need for human beings in every sphere. There are cars that drive itself, robots which go to work, homes which can talk and so on, no wonder why humans out there are afraid and asking so many questions, especially to Google about the stuff they think technology could do or at least they expect Google to give a satisfactory explanation.

Cracked.com compiled a list of five stupidest technology questions ever Googled by people, which never had an answer or it will.

Here are the questions.

# What Rights Do Robots Have?

This question actually lies in the brink. But as of now there does not exist even a single written law that robots have to live by. So for the time being, they can do whatever they want and apparently you can’t do anything about it. So what about the future? There may come a day when your children will be playing with their surrogate copy robot and they may also come under the laws. 

# How to Stop Hearing Voices through Electronics?

Ghosts are one of the worst things ever connected to technology. They are reported to appear everywhere, as voices in recordings to the strange voice you hear while swapping through the dead TV channels.

Apparently, you can’t do anything except listening to them and do whatever it says- May be pushing your haunted car off the bridge to beating up your disturbing neighbor and according to cracked, the voice will eventually leave you alone.

# Who invented Ice?

Whoever it is, ice is the worst. It sinks ships, gets under the car tire and hit you in the face at the end of your drink.

If you are still thinking, keep thinking about it.

# Can You make a Lot of Money Reading Emails?

It must be one of the dumbest question ever asked on Google and mostly the best one used to cheat the unaware millions in the cyber-space.

But according to Wicked, you can actually make money by reading the emails- not yours but your boss’s, especially when you find some words like affair, extortion or murder!

# What Inventions Haven’t Been Made?

Many of the people are so optimistic about technology that they keep on asking the above question since the technology is likely not to stop inventing anytime in the future.

So cracked gave a list of things which you can invent now and they will pay you in long run. Here are some of them- magazines which glow in the dark, a secret translator which will make you understand what the birds and pets say and a special glass which lets you see animals with souls!

Read More

Views on India's Narendra Modi

A kaleidoscope of events – lot told, half heard and less explored - Narendra Modi’s political life has been quite eventful which on one side is being adored as a role model and the most competent leader in the country while on the other, he is still the most divisive figure and a hated pariah for much of the Western world.

“Ill-told and ill-heard” - the Modi brigade rubbishes the never-ending stories on their enigmatic leader for whom he is the most possible future prime minister of India and his opponents, despite his fast evolving image changeover, still term his a mass murder of Muslims, on the memories of the 2002 Gujarat riots - the darkest chapter that refuses to fade away from history. His rise would rejuvenate the economy of the country but his lineage of aggressive Hindutva nationalism would polarize the country on religious lines and in all possibility, would undermine the long-cherished secular identity of the world’s largest democracy and a key American strategic ally, writes Simon Denyer of the Washingtonpost.

He is being looked upon quite enviously, even by his opponents, for his administrative excellence by which he has uprooted corruption and promoted economic and industrial growth in Gujarat. The Gujarat government under the leadership of Modi attracted investment from all over the world and many leading companies, including those from America like Ford and General Motors, flocked to the new-found favorite investment destination to do business.

However, the United States didn’t seem to have taken these good records into consideration as it denied him a visa over and again for his alleged involvement in the Gujarat riots. He was accused of failing to stop the riot during which nearly 1,000 to 2,000 Muslims were massacred and is also accused of actively encouraging the slaughter.

However, what reflects in his ever swelling popularity is a public demand among certain sections of the middle classes for a strong and decisive leader who can cure the plague of corruption, challenge the Chinese upper hand in the region, prevent the recurring terrorist attacks and finally, it also represents the general impatience of the overstated liberal principles of human rights and social justice, the Washingtonpost reads.

Modi, a man with few close friends, sleeps just three and half hours a night, admits of being a workaholic and his only pastimes is an early-morning spell of yoga. The article takes a look into his office ambience and says Modi demands a similar dedication from his colleagues and the other bureaucrats who work on tight deadlines. It portrays a quite unusual and a radically different way of working as even his cabinet ministers keeps him updated about their day-to-day schedules.

His policies, often harshly criticized as pro-industry and anti-people by his critics, had made sure that every village in the state is served by a paved road and has a reliable supply of electricity and drinking water, claims the report. With aggressive investment in irrigation, Gujarat saw a great leap in agricultural sector.

It’s there Narendra Modi came to be known as a man who can get things done and that reputation made him the favorite to become India’s next prime minister. He outstripped Rahul Gandhi to be voted favorite for the top job in a recent survey by India Today magazine with 24 percent opting Modi to be their desired PM while the Gandhi scion scored just 17 percent.

If the public sentiments grow stronger for Modi and if he climb’s the Prime Minister’s chair, it would be slightly uncomfortable for the United States. US doesn’t permit its diplomats to meet with Modi and Britain wouldn’t deal with him at all while many other countries won’t be worried by his record. “Private conversations with Western diplomats suggest that there is a general desire to rehabilitate Modi,” writes Denyer who also quoted the leaked 2006 cable from U.S. Embassy by WikiLeaks which said, “We believe it would dilute our influence to avoid Modi completely.” The cable also says that waiting until Modi “achieved national stature” to engage with him could be seen as opportunistic.

While it’s not very easy to wash away the stains of his past, his supporters say it is time to move on but his critics still call for his head saying that the systematic nature of violence makes this impossible. They says his increased efforts to do an image makeover is an attempt to fetch the national job but Modi rubbishes these allegations which he puts on “some vested interest groups” and says, “because I have not done anything wrong, and I am committed to the human cause.” With his Sadbhavana mission, Modi tried to reach out to his people with his development stories and to highlight the fact that there had been no major violence between Hindus and Muslims since 2002.

Read More

Earning Less than 8 Lakh in Financial Year 2012-2013? Your Tax will Go Up

The taxpayers have one more reason to get frustrated with the recent budget. The Finance Minister not only kept the tax-saving limit under Section 80C unaltered, but the deduction under Section 80CCF for infrastructure bonds has been removed. This will cut down the total tax savings from 1.2 lakh to 1 lakh which will thrust up the payable tax for individuals.

The deduction was increased two years ago and it has to be extended every year through an amendment. Tax experts had dreaded the worst when the finance minister did not mention it in his budget speech this year. Finance Ministry sources now authenticate that the 20, 000 deductions has been allowed to tumble this year.

It has come clean by now that the change will not burn those with an income of less than 5-6 lakh a year. The taxpayers in this section generally did not invest in infrastructure bonds in a huge way as the tax benefit is lesser for this slab. In a lot of cases, these taxpayers failed to exhaust even their 1 lakh deduction limit under Section 80C.

Though for investors with an income of up to 8 lakh, the scrapping of Section 80CCF means that they will have to pay up to 2,060 more tax next year. It will be more difficult for female taxpayers, but the cruelest gust is held back for senior citizens and very senior citizens. These taxpayers will end up paying almost 4, 120 more as tax. Add the burn of the hike in service tax and you can see a bigger serving of your income going as taxes next year.

Strangely, the elimination of the deduction overlaps with the government's plan to boost the funds to be lifted up by infrastructure lenders in 2012-13. This limit has been doubled to 60, 000 crore. This is the cause, the experts thinks that the deduction should have been allowed to persist. Moreover, it comes at a time when the government wants to raise money for the cash-hungry infrastructure sector. "It is a blow to individual investors as it will actually push up their tax burden. The deduction should be restored immediately,” said DS Rawat, Secretary-General, Assocham.

From Deduction to Exemption

Spending too much time worrying about the scrapped tax deduction is not worth it.  On the contrary, we should think about the exemption you can gain through the tax-free infrastructure bonds. Contrasting to the tax-saving bonds under Section 80CCF, these bonds will not cut your tax outgo. Nevertheless, the interest they earn will be tax-free. The interest earned on Section 80CCF bonds is fully taxable, which decrease the post-tax yield for investors. Besides, the tax has to be paid every year, not on the maturity of the bond.

Alternatively, the income from tax-free infrastructure bonds is completely exempted. What's more, unlike the 20, 000 ceiling in the tax-saving bonds, there is no limit to the amount that a retail investor can park in these bonds. Kamal Rampuria, Senior Vice-President, AUM Capital Market  said, "While the tax-saving bonds under Section 80CCF gave better returns, even tax-free infrastructure bonds are a good option for investors in the highest income bracket.”

Read More