Want to restore public trust? PLACE WOMEN ON BOARDS

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, is there anything leaders can do to win back the consumers’ trust?

A Survey by HEIDRICK AND STRUGGLES  of 400 corporate directors where, 65% of women directors said that greater diversity on the board would help rebuild trust.

Both men and women directors equally professed commitment to diversity as a priority, though only half felt the boards were doing much about it. In fact, the number of women on Fortune 500 company boards remains only around 15%.

As always, there is much discussion about finding qualified women to get on boards. Most boards require operating experience, which makes sense.  Poets and advocates don’t have a lot of credibility.
But Gwin reports that boards increasingly want chief executive officers, not measly senior vice presidents and the like. On top of that, greater scrutiny and regulatory oversight — not to mention the occasional Congressional grilling — means that directors have to have enough bandwidth to bone up on the industry of the boards they’re on, and even show up at meetings. That shrinks the pool even further.

Scams and Scandals : Defaming INDIA

1. CWG :    Following the CWG, there has been a marginal decline in India's integrity score to 3.3 in 2010 from 3.5 in 2007 and 3.4 in 2008 and 2009 on a scale from zero (perceived to be the highly corrupt) to 10 (low levels of corruption) India's rank on TI's list of corrupt nations is 87th out of 178 countries surveyed this year, indicating a serious corruption malaise.The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), involved in probing alleged corruption in various Commonwealth Games-related projects, has found discrepancies in tenders and alleged misappropriation amounting to about 8,000 crore.Every day, more and more Skeletons are coming out of closet.

2. SATYAM:  A 700 cr. fraud in the fourth largest IT Company of India with 53,000 employees.It was charged in manipulating   the balance sheet by showing an operating margin of 24% (audited by PWC) which was just 3% and it had nothing close to the reported cash pile of .5,360 cr ($1.1 Bn) which in real was just $78 Mn.

3.Harshad Mehta Stock Scam: In April 1992, the Indian stock market crashed, and Harshad Mehta, the person who was all along considered as the architect of the Bull Run was blamed for the crash. It transpired that he had manipulated the Indian banking systems to siphon off the funds from the banking system, and used the liquidity to build large positions in a select group of stocks. Harshad and his associates triggered a securities scam diverting funds to the tune of  4000 crore (Rs 40 billion) from the banks to stockbrokers between April 1991 to May 1992.The same day Vijaya Bank chairman committed suicide by jumping from the top of the banks’ office. The chairman knew that when it would become public that he had written cheques in the name of Mehta, he would be dead meat. One rather unknown fact about this scam is that there was a very important player in this scam who managed to keep a very low profile. That man was Nimesh Shah.Nimesh Shah still deals in the stock market and is known to be a heavy player. Harshad Mehta is now dead.

4.The 950 Crores Fodder Scam:  Fodder Scam is a scam related to Animal Husbandry Department of Government of Bihar in which irregularities of nearly Rs 950 crores (US $ 210 million) were detected. The scam was unearthed in 1996 during the regime of chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, but it goes back to 1980s and is believed to have started during tenure of Jagannath Mishra Lalu had ordered probe into these massive irregularities in accounts by constituting a committee. However motives of these people were questioned by a Public Interest Litigation and Supreme Court of India handed over the case to CBI. Many people who were in this probe committee themselves became accused. Charges were filed against Yadav too and later on Mishra was also framed.In India when it comes to politicians, they seem to have impunity from the law of land. Nothing concrete was done to punish the guilty and rest is history.

5. Ketan Parekh: Ketan Parekh followed Harshad Mehta's footsteps to swindle crores of rupees from banks. A chartered accountant he used to run a family business, NH Securities. Ketan however had bigger plans in mind. He targetted smaller exchanges like the Allahabad Stock Exchange and the Calcutta Stock Exchange, and bought shares in fictitious names.His dealings revolved around shares of ten companies like Himachal Futuristic, Global Tele-Systems, SSI Ltd, DSQ Software, Zee Telefilms, Silverline, Pentamedia Graphics and Satyam Computer (K-10 scrips). Ketan borrowed Rs 250 crore from Global Trust Bank to fuel his ambitions. Ketan alongwith his associates also managed to get Rs 1,000 crore from the Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank.According to RBI regulations, a broker is allowed a loan of only Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million). There was evidence of price rigging in the scrips of Global Trust Bank, Zee Telefilms, HFCL, Lupin Laboratories, Aftek Infosys and Padmini Polymer.

6.C R Bhansali : The Bhansali scam resulted in a loss of over Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion).He first launched the finance company CRB Capital Markets, followed by CRB Mutual Fund and CRB Share Custodial Services. He ruled like a financial wizard 1992 to 1996 collecting money from the public through fixed deposits, bonds and debentures. The money was transferred to companies that never existed.CRB Capital Markets raised a whopping Rs 176 crore in three years. In 1994 CRB Mutual Funds raised Rs 230 crore and Rs 180 crore came via fixed deposits. Bhansali also succeeded to to raise about Rs 900 crore from the markets.However, his good days did not last long, after 1995 he received several jolts. Bhansali tried borrowing more money from the market. This led to a financial crisis.It became difficult for Bhansali to sustain himself. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) refused banking status to CRB and he was in the dock. SBI was one of the banks to be hit by his huge defaults.


7.Abdul Karim Telgi:    He paid for his own education at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya by selling fruits and vegetables on trains. He is today famous (or infamous) for being he man behind one of biggest scams!The Telgi case is another big scam that rocked India. The fake stamp racket involving Abdul Karim Telgi was exposed in 2000. The loss is estimated to be Rs 171.33 crore (Rs 1.71 billion), it was initially pegged to be Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 bilion), which was later clarified by the CBI as an exaggerated figure.In 1994, Abdul Karim Telgi acquired a stamp paper license from the Indian government and began printing fake stamp papers.Telgi bribed to get into the government security press in Nashik and bought special machines to print fake stamp papers.Telgi's networked spread across 13 states involving 176 offices, 1,000 employees and 123 bank accounts in 18 cities.

USA : Preferred Working Destination for Indians

Top Reason why Indians prefer working inUSA

Work Culture: Majority of the IT professionals feel that Work Culture in MNC is more Planned and  less ambiguous compared to their INDIAN contemporaries.  "One will experience a preference over U.S. work culture because of a well established infrastructure, matured planning and process. The work culture in U.S. is absolutely process driven," says Ravi Jagannathan, MD and CEO, 3i Infotech.


Labor Laws:  Serving a notice period is no doubt a nightmare for almost every IT professional.Contrary to that, the employment law in the U.S. has always been governed by 'at will' employment,which means that there is no need to serve any kind of notice period.


EMPLOYEES' RIGHTS:  This area is quite well-balanced in INDIA also where majority of INDIAN IT cos.have started sanctioning all kinds of leaves and relaxation provisions so that employees add more value to their work.


WORKING FROM HOME:  Most of the IT professionals have realized that, in U.S., the employers' have no issues with their working-from-home employees as long as they meet the deadline of the deliverables.


TIME MANAGEMENT:  "When it comes to the work environment, a U.S. company always maintains a popular thought - the output. If the output is as per expectations, then it doesn't matter whether employees are at their desk for 9 hours or two hours," says an ex-Satyamite, who is currently working with a top telecom service provider in U.S.


PAY SCALE:  Salary is always seen as the biggest motivating factor.



The question which still remains unanswered is whether the laws of our land be more befitting to the employees working in various sectors at present or will the $50 billion IT industry structure out special laws and prerogatives for its workforce? If these problems are addressed, will the Indian workforce which contributes substantially to the U.S. economy, prefer to come back to their land?

Life is All Giving

Must to-do Ganpati visit in Pune

OM GAN GANPATAYE NAMAH; 

OM SHRI VIGNESHWARAY NAMAH; 

Theabove  mool mantra of Lord Ganesha not only removes all obstacles but also gives success in one's efforts.

As we all know that Ganpati festival is going in Maharashtra so in pune this has been celebrated by a must-to-do visit to 5 Ganpati's and it is believed that if you serve them with 5 naariyals, dhoorva and their favorite modak (Apart from serving to humanity also)then it is believed that they will bless you. You don't have to pay your visit to ganapti to get your wishes fulfilled but to see that how graciously these ganpati's have been ornated. As I've completed my visit so i can guide you for the same.

1. Kasbapeth Peth Ganpati           Established In 1893 Location : 159, Kasba Peth, Pune
2. Tambdi Jogeshwari Ganpati      Established In 1893 33,Budhwar Peth,Pune
3. Guruji Talim Ganpati                 Established In 1887  , Location  Ganpati Chowk, Laxmi Road , Pune
4. Tulsibaug Ganpati                     Established In 1901 Location : Tulshi Baug Ram Mandir, Pune
5. Kesriwada Ganpati                   Established In 1893 Location : 568, Narayanpeth Tilakwada, Pune.

These Ganpati's are in order and you have to visit them in this order.

Apart from these mandals a must-pay visit is for akhil mandai ganesh mandal where ganesha's wife gauri's idol is also there.

Just Another Song and movie but feel like blogging about it.... Dabangg

Tune toh pal bhar mein chori kiya re jiya more piya

Tune bhi pal bhar mein chori kiya re jiya more piya .....  A song by sonu nigam and shrey ghoshal who both are wonderful singers.

I don really like the rest of the song very much but somehow this line has really grabbed my attention. I think its shreya ghoshal's magic or whatever but the way it has been sung is simply soooooooo melodious that i feel like singing  it again n again. 

Today morning me and my frnd were discussing about dabangg and according to both of us dabangg is just another Bollywood flick with all the masala and mirchi. Then why it has shattered records of 3 idiots with Rs. 47 cr.? Ok, I've digested this news and have figured out  the reason that it might be only SLK's Charisma. (SLK= Salman Khan). No logic, no sense and no storyline, but still ppl are calling it a paisa wasool entertainment,Wowwwwwwww. One more thing that there was something non- original in vinod khanna's acting. Apart from all these reasons people are saying that we all want to laugh but cannot and movies like this makes sure that we do.

Do we really require such movies???

BLUE KRISHNA

KRISHNA -an incarnation of Vishnu

I was reading the newspaper and then i got to know that why our god Krishna's color is blue. The theory goes to the fact that whatever is infinite is represented by BLUE. Ocean is Blue and so is the sky.Whatever is  Infinite is also represented by blue. It means that Krishna's body is so transparent almost as if it was not here.The deity who has the qualities of bravery,manliness,determination, the ability to deal with difficult situations, of stable mind and depth of character is represented as blue colored. One more reason that people usually cites is  that Krishna killed a five headed snake and took all the poison of that snake.

Amendment to the salaries and allowances of MP's

 Much of the hullabaloo is going on for three fold raise in MP's salary i.e. from Rs.16,000/ month to Rs. 50,000/ month and also doubling of  their allowances which is :

•  From Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000      (Daily allowance for them when they attend parliament sessions)
• From Rs.20,000 to Rs.45,000   (Constituency Allowance )
• From Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 45,000 (Office Expenses)
• From Rs.8,000 to Rs.20,000     (Pension for former MP's)
• From Rs.1 Lakh to Rs.4 Lakh     (Conveyance Allowance)

Ok ok, this hike is justified even after all the frills, a cavalcade of motor cars,free accommodation, travel etc. etc.but I think after all this hike and all, every INDIAN would like to ask this question that from henceforth our MP's wouldn't engage in duping public money otherwise, it is a bonanza to the already cash-rich MP's.

But you know even this hike is insufficient for these MP's because they are demanding evn more than this which  is Rs. 80,001 and 45,000 per month is a sort of insult for them.So, got the point that from our side we have an argument about MP's hike and within these MP's they are unhappy with 300% hike and wants it to be 500%.

Yes we all agree that there is a provision where MP's have right to decide there own salary and according to them they are just exercising that.


One more thing that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is comparing Rajiv Gandhi's salary as a pilot with the salary of MP's and is justifying the hike.Some are also comparing with salaries in private sector but every one seems to ignore the fact that in private-sector there are SALARY-CUTS also.

According to me if they deserve a Pay-hike then we expect a better governance model. Poor should not become poor and our MP's should be bothered about eliminating much prevalent virus of corruption.

Long Term Happiness

    Sounds and smells can invoke any one of positive or negative feelings. This is something I've felt personally. Whenever I am surrounded by fragrance then i feel naturally elated. This beautiful fragrance could be in the form of flower scent, perfume spray, itra or fresh fragrance of incense sticks or the fragrance directly  after taking bath  Similarly, A beautiful melody can touch our soul and when you fully engrossed yourself in it then you will enter in to a different world. Imagine yourself in a place fully scented (according to your taste) with instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony and of course with someone special. I think you will be at peace unaware of all worries and pressures. You want to be like this till the rest of your life.Nothing Strange, Its completely natural,everyone wants to be free and loves to enjoy. Nobody wants to take responsibilities but to attain all these pleasures one has to do work and be responsible. So, all in all Everything seems good and all good things do come to an end. But, that doesn't mean that Happiness - not a euphoric "Woopie!!" or a one-time or short-lived feeling of elation. Rather, a long-term, steady feeling of satisfaction, pleasantness, a sense that much more is OK in your life.

 

So the first and foremost step of achieving permanent happiness is to believe in something completely with your heart, mind or soul whatever you want to call it.

I, ME, MYSELF - GET RID OF IT

 Taking to spiritual development is today seen as a way to stress busting and thus bettering the quality of our lives. People are getting increasingly edgy and short tempered and social grace is taking a beating. 

There was a sorcerer in a town in Tibet who would torment people with his black magic. Stories spread of how he could bring down hail and destroy villages with his powers. He would rob and kill people at will. He gained great respect’ out of sheer fear. After a few years, a great personal tragedy shook him and he decided he would practise this sorcery no more. 

    In the high mountains lived a lama of repute. He had heard of the deeds of the black magician and was overwhelmed with the suffering the people had to undergo because of him. The sorcerer approached the lama and said to him: “Master, i have been a bad man all these years. I need to redeem myself. Please help me.” The lama suggested: “Very well, now that you wish to change, you need to change your attitude first! Just as you did all the evil things to people causing them great suffering, thereby deriving great pleasure from it, you are to exactly reverse the process!” 

“What do you say, master? I don’t understand,” the penitent asked. The lama continued: “Well, just as you did harm to others and derived pleasure, now do good to people and derive happiness. It’s so simple.” The sorcerer got the message and went on to become one of the greatest masters of our time. 

We always look at benefit with this viewpoint: “How will i derive benefit out of my practices and actions?” The shift of attitude should be in cultivating a mind that thinks of how others can derive benefit from my practices and actions. This has to be done willingly and in happiness, otherwise we will accrue negative karma.
   
Summarising everything into a single verse, the greatest teacher of Mahayana and Indian scholar, Shantideva said: 
 
“All the joy the world contains/ Has come through wishing happiness for others,/ All the misery the world contains/ Has come through wanting pleasure for oneself./ Tathagatha realisation to you!”

Tathagatha refers to one who has walked the path to full awakening and so reached the end of suffering and is released from life-death cycle. The implication is that the path is open to all who would follow it. In later Mahayana Buddhism, Tathagatha came to mean the essential Buddha nature found in every sentient being.

FREE MIND

Buddha's disciple subhuti suddenly discovered the richness and fecundity of emptiness; the realisation that everything is impermanent , unsatisfactory and empty of self.. In this mood of divine emptiness, he sat in bliss under a tree when the flowers began to fall all around him.And the gods whispered, "We're enraptured by your sublime teachings in emptiness." Subhuti replied, "But I've not uttered a word about emptiness." "True," the gods replied. "You've not spoken of emptiness, we've not heard of  emptiness. This is true emptiness." And the showers of blosom continued.

If I had spoken of my emptiness or even been aware of it, would it be emptiness? Music needs the hollowness of flute, Letters, the blankness of the page, light, the void called a window, holiness, the absence of self." "Divinity descends on man who never seeks divinity," said a persian mystic.Our minds are too cluttered with the idea of self, divinity and spirituality. In our conscious endeavor to become spiritual we fall short of our objective and remain worldly. We're all too preoccupied with things that have no real significance in life.

A women went to lao Tse and said that she was continuously tormented by useless thoughts whenever she sat for her evening prayers. Lao Tse said, "Try to pray anytime in a day and come to me after a few days." She came to meet Lao Tse and told him that no thoughts tormented her now when she din't set aside a fixed hour for prayers. "When you fixed a time, your self was conscious.You were aware of the need to pray at a given time. Now with random prayers, you've broken that stifling mould. You're no longer conscious, thus free of any pestering thought."  Unawareness is a blissful state. With awareness comes a set pattern. It gives birth to a structure, a formula , a format.

Blissful ignorance is divinity Only in  a state of bekhudi or self - immersion you can reach the stage of self-enlightenment, called 'turiya avastha.' Budhha never felt that he has  attained satori or enlightenment. It became integral to his mystique consciousness. Any effort to expedite the process of enlightenment is futile.

Conscious endeavor cannot lead a seeker to his spiritual destination. Nor is the lifestyle of monk assurance of achieving the state of perpetual bliss. The moment mind becomes free of wish, desire, wistfulness, a divine consciousness descends."God finds his way through unconscious and unpretentious. Because divinity resides in a blissfully unaware mind," tagore wrote in the gitanjali.

Emotion Test to help you

"If Petrol is the fuel that drives Automobiles then Emotions drive Human Beings."

Primary Emotional states are:-

1. Happiness
2. Surprise
3. Anger
4. Fear
5. Sadness
6. Disgust

http://www.personalitytest.net/quizzes/quiz2/index.htm http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/wh_LZy/Emotion-Test-Who-are-you http://www.queendom.com/queendom_tests/transfer http://www.4degreez.com/misc/personality_disorder_test.mv

Age Old Poem

 All the world's a stage

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. 

At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. 

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. 

And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. 

Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.

 And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. 

The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. 

Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Fairy Tales always comes to an END but reality is making your life similar to a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, a young man and woman met, gazed into each other’s eyes,talked for a while, and knew – for sure– its destined that they were supposed to be together forever and ever.In the forthcoming days, weeks, and months everything fell into place just as they had anticipated. They start relating with very single romantic song and starts imagining  themselves as RAJ and SIMRAN of DDLJ. He was perfect in her eyes, and she was perfect in his.

Oh, it’s the majestic certainty of young love!  When two souls who barely know each other believe they know everything that they must know to live happily ever after in their own blissful bubble.  They think this because it’s what their emotional hearts and minds tell them is true.Its because they think that their hearts are thumping for each other,their heart has taken control over their mind.

But you know what happens next.  It’s what always happens next in phony fairy tales like this.  For one reason or another, logic trumps emotion, their bubble bursts, and the two lovers tumble back down to Earth, bruising themselves along the way and realizing that their perfect partner isn’t so perfect after all.

Maybe he learns that she doesn’t like rock music – and rock music is extremely important to him.  Maybe she learns that he never manaofy hey which is extremely important to her.  Regardless of the specifics, our lovers are finally beginning to see each other for who they really are – imperfect human beings. 

This is the turning point at which ‘falling in love’ ends and the test of ‘true love’ begins.

Either their mindset adjusts and they accept reality – that true love isn’t so much about perfection as it is about growth and patience – or they move on to the next short-term fairy tale romance in hopes of finding that one perfect soul mate who does everything just right.

Why am I telling you this story?

Because the fluctuating feelings that steer our romantic relationships are quite similar to those that steer our motivation to make a meaningful impact on the world around us.  A little passion is all that’s required to start, but only sustained perseverance makes it worthwhile.

Sure, short powerful bursts of effort and seemingly giant leaps in a single bound appear to be remarkable.  But they fade as fast as they arrive, and all we’re left with in the end is an unfulfilled void.

An enduring dedication – fulfilling promises by marching forward with one foot in front of the other, even when the going gets tough – is what true love is all about. 

And it’s this kind of love, and only this kind of love, that can make the world a better place.

Is the Government justified in hiking the price of essential commodities?

The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or of races, but the Happiness of common man.

  

With inflation rate rising, the price of pulses, food grains, vegetable are sky-rocketing.Not only this the recent proposal in price hike of milk by rupees 3 has come up as another bad news for the common man.

1. Why there is no check on price rise of essential commodities?
2. why petrol is cheaper in neighbouring countries?
3. why newton's theory of gravity is not applicable to price rise?
4. Is economics more important than common man's interest?
5. Did any Government ever ask the consumers whether they are ready for a price hike? (It's a democratic country)

The story doesn't ends here.Well it can end also (oops i forgot) as i know we are silent majority.
This is just another thread which you will look,wonder,discuss and forget but if it is a thread related to "Punjabiyan di shaan vakhri " then m sure u all will like or comment. People this is just the beginning.

Leaders need to be strong enough to shoulder responsibilities, but sensitive enough to understand the common man's problems.

LAPTOP killed ARUN

Dear friends,

You may have heard that someone in Mequon lost their 25 year old son (Arun Gopal Ratnam) in a fire at home June 4th. This is what happened.

Arun graduated with MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison two weeks earlier and came home. He  had lunch with his dad at home and decided to go back to to clean up his room . Father told him to wait and see his mother before he goes back for a few days. He decided to take a snooze while waiting for his mom to come home from work. Neighbors called 911 when they saw black smoke coming out of the house. Their 25 year old son Arun died in the three year old house. It took several days of investigation to find out the cause of the fire. It was determined that the fire was caused by lap top in the bed. When the lap top is on the bed cooling fan does not get air to cool the computer and that is what caused the fire. He did not even wake up to get out of the bed he died of carbon monoxide.

The reason I am writing this to all of you is that I have seen all of us using our lap top in bed. Let us all decide and make it a practice not to do that. Risk is real. Let us make it a rule not to use lap top in bed or put computer on bed with blankets and pillows around. What a way to learn a lesson?

Is Toyota a victim of its own success ?

Quality considered as DNA of Toyota

Toyota's products were a byword for quality for customers so much so that its manufacturing techniques were followed by its competitors world over.

But in the mid-2000s Toyota expanded its production facilities rapidly in a bid to grow globally and to achieve its goal of becoming the number one auto maker in the world. Toyota's rapid growth affected its product quality with the company reportedly compromising on its manufacturing techniques. Customers began to face safety related problems in Toyota vehicles. 

Later a series of recalls followed which put the company's hard-earned reputation for quality at risk. 

• On January 21, 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) recalled 2.3 million select Toyota Division vehicles in the US. The recall was done to fix sticking accelerator pedals which caused unintended acceleration, leading to accidents. 

•  Earlier in November 2009 too, the company had recalled 4.2 million cars in the US to rectify accelerator pedals which were getting lodged under the floor mats of the vehicles.

• Subsequently on February 1, 2010, Toyota suspended the sales of eight of its popular car models involved in the recall and discontinued production at six of its North American car-assembly plants in response to growing customer concerns. The eight car models represented 57% of Toyota's sales in the US in 2009.

To verify the cause of recalls and improve quality, Toyota set up a committee headed by its president Akio Toyoda in early 2010. The committee was to inspect every process in the Toyota Production System (TPS - responsible for transforming the company from a small auto manufacturer into an iconic carmaker.) to ensure delivery of quality products to customers. .

 Analysts opined that constant recalls had damaged the reputation and brand image of Toyota and hindered its return to profitability. In a quest for market share, Toyota had sacrificed its legendary quality and ignored its own management principles and customers, they said.

Is Quality taking a backseat in Toyota and brand loyalty getting eroded?

UAE States

 UAE - Federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of Arabian peninsula in south west Asia on the Persian gulf , bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia.

1. Dubai         (Largest city)
2. Abu Dhabi  (Capital and second largest city)
3. Sharjah
4. Ajman
5. Umm al-Quwain
6. fujaira
7. Ras al- khaimah

B'day Trip to Lonavala

7 July 2010 - My B'day and an enjoyable trip to LONAVALA

 Some Facts About Lonavala

Lonavala is a charming little hill station.

• It is 622 m. above sea level, in the Sahyadri ranges that demarcate the Deccan Plateau with the Konkan coast.

• The hill stations sprawl over an approximate area of 38 sq k.and 64 km away from pune.

• Lonavla and Khandala were discovered in 1871 by Sir Elphinstone, the Governor of the Bombay Presidency.

• The name Lonavla is derived from the Sanskrit lonavli, which refers to the many caves like Karla, Bhaja and Bedsa that are close to Lonavala.

My Experience 

Lonavala  is lush and beautiful as it has wonderful hills, green valleys, big lakes, huge forts, nice waterfalls and so on.An amazing views of cascading waterfalls ,the greenery of the mountains and the misty paths were very attractive. For me, nature always accompanies us in its different manifestations & any place that receives nature’s bounty becomes a well-known place. It seemed as if nature is present in all its splendour.

I was wondering that how could i be soo lucky to see bounty of nature welcoming me with both the arms.
i was all clad up in yellow tee shirt and black skirt and i think my tees yellow color was lukin great with green surroundings. No doubt happiness makes you glow and i too was glowing not coz of yellow but by the happiness i received there. You know at  that time i felt to be glued to that place permanently and wished that i shud stay here for the rest of my life. I think this is a common feeling which every one gets when  you are in a mood to enjoy and u get the perfect place.

~Apt to say Heaven on Earth~ 

Prophecy by an OCTOPUS - "What & How "

Is Paul the Oracle of this matrix (FIFA)? 

Is Paul the Germany's new Bookie?

As weird as it may sound but Paul had an 80% success at Euro 2008 

What Paul Does?

Making predictions for Germany national football team matches

How Paul Does it or how Paul has been asked to do it?

Two clear plastic boxes containing food (usually mussels or oysters) are lowered down into the aquarium's tank. The boxes have the flags of two countries attached to them, one of Germany, and one of their next opponent. Paul makes his predictions by choosing food from two containers.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

If we were to look around us, the entrepreneurial mindset is widespread in India, especially in sectors such as retail, we have over 13 million shops in the country, 78 percent of which are family owned. However, the sector is fragmented and has issues of scale, and does not have a supporting ecosystem. The U.S. economy, as we all know, is primarily entrepreneurial; as a matter of interest, VC-backed companies represent 17 percent of their GDP and generate over 10 million jobs. Every year over one million new companies are started in the U.S., almost 50 percent of them fail the very first year and 40 percent just survive for five years. The important point is that failure is accepted as a natural part of the process and is not viewed as a dead end. 

This is a good sign for us to maintain the nine percent growth we talk about: we must create jobs and while the government can only play facilitator, the education system, especially our universities together with the industry must nurture the required ecosystem. Education needs to adapt its curriculum to encourage entrepreneurial skill sets right from high school onwards. Opportunity evaluation, risk taking, raising and leveraging resources, communications, and sales are survival skills; and these cannot be imbibed through an intensive dose later in life. If students are given opportunities to practice these skills in the relatively safe and risk-free environment of an academic institute, young people, when they do start ventures, will have higher chances of success.

7 Activities to learn

Keys to be perfect from every angle.

Apart from formal education or vocational literacy a girl should learn the following activities also:-
This can b applicable to others also but I prefer to be biased in my own special way:-

   1. Swimming
   2. Driving
   3. Judo or any kind of  fight
   4. Gym /yoga
   5. Skating
   6. Cooking
   7. Horse Riding

  They may talk of a comet, or a burning mountain, or some such bagatelle; but to me a modest woman, dressed out in all her finery, is the most tremendous object of the whole creation

      

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks

1. How ___ is like _____.
2. __ Ways to Convince the Boss to Try ____.
3. How do I _______?
4. Here are some new ways to ________.
5. My personal recipe for ______.
6. If I ran the _____.
7. Three improvements to your company’s _______.
8. Your first steps into ______.
9. If you find yourself stuck, try _____.
10. Restarting now would _____.

LIFE ?...................

Of course we all know what is meant by the word "life", but how would you define it?


People like to say, as if it were obvious, that life is hard to define. Even the biologists (people who study life) have a tough time describing what life is! and plz no explanation of DNA or RNA. Even Philosophers are wrestling with this big questions. And now scientists are struggling to define life as they manipulate it, look for it on other planets, and even create it in test tubes.So as scientists push the bounds of biology, astronomy and robotics, a big question looms: What exactly is life?

Is human life just a dream, from which we never really awake, as some great thinkers claim? Are we submerged by our feelings, by our loves and hates, by our ideas of good, bad, beautiful, awful? Are we incapable of knowing beyond those ideas and feelings?

Are we all human beings just survival machines,blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes?Lastly ,When I consider my life, I rest frightened, and astonished, for there is no reason why I should be here rather than there. Why now rather than then?

Friendship,or art or faith in god are the factors of true happiness, of inner peace,of feelings of harmony,allowing meaning to our existence.But there is the other side.There is the cruelty of life,the pain,the evil,not to talk of death.They are the hidden tigers ambushed and ready to attack the imprudent.Is between these pendulums- the +ve,the one that gives happiness and meaning and the -ve - that our lives are lived. And when we meditate about all that, we arrive at a diverse and disagreeing set of thoughts about the meaning and purpose of life.

I see many people in the world, running this way and that, busy with work and family and various kinds of recreation. But what does it all mean in the long run? What if I had never been born?
And after I am dead, what mark will I have left on the world to show that I have existed, that I have accomplished something? Will I be remembered for even 100 years?

Human life seems like a useless, meaningless treadmill. It is like a huge industrial complex for producing oil, but all of the oil is needed to keep the machines running! All it accomplishes is its own perpetuation. What's the point of running around in a squirrel-cage, of giving my life to a rat-race without a goal?

Return of Mummies(Bhopal Gas Tragedy)

Will the return of the Bhopal tragedy inhibit growing ties between India and USA?