Archives November 2012

Once I had a wonderful dream. It was soon after I had read an article that how the Americans had landed on the moon. I dreamt I was an astronaut. At first I had many months of difficult training for my job. They saw that I was in perfect health. They also made me practice all that I had to do on my flight. I had two other companions undergoing the training with me. We were all excited as the day for our flight approached. Our space ship and capsule were kept in readiness for our flight. A big crowd assembled to see us take off from the earth. We suddenly shot into space and orbited the earth at an unimaginable speed. Soon we were about to land on the moon. We were thrilled at the thought that we were going to land on another heavenly body. We landed cautiously. more...

Inflation, to one degree or another, has become a fact of life. It is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. As inflation rises, purchasing power decreases, fixed-asset values are affected, companies adjust their pricing of goods and services, financial markets react and there is an impact on the composition of investment portfolios. The impact of any upward trend in prices is felt by consumers businesses and investors. Inflation is not intrinsically good or bad, but it certainly does impact the investing environment. Changing prices can affect financial statement market environments and investment returns. Hence, the reserve Bank of India takes steps to manage inflation and the pace of economic growth. If inflationary pressures are building and economic Growth is accelerating, the Reserve Bank will act in a manner so as to increase the cost of borrowing and slowdown the economy. Controlling more...

Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi epitomises 10,000 years of Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and bliss. It brilliantly showcases the essence of India's ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. It shocases Indian art, wisdom, heritage and values as a tribute to bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781-1830 CE), a torchbearer of Indian culture. Inspired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, and the colossal devotion efforts   of 11,000 artisans and volunteers of Bochasanw.isi Sini Aksli hirii.slioll.iiii Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), Akshardh. Was built in only five years. The grand, ancient-styled complex, inaugurated in November 2005, was built to fulfil the wish of  maharaj, the fourth Yogiji Maharaj, the fourth successor in the spiritual hierarchy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Set in a vast 100-acre site, the Akshardham complex radiates peace, beauty, joy and divinity. Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the   (led, the abode of eternal values and virtues of Akshar as  Defined more...

Albums are a treasure house of memories. I have three albums that contain pictures taken by my parent’s right from the time I was born to the time I started going to school. These photographs have helped me to get a clear picture of my past and the time I was born. To begin with there are pictures of me and my mother in the hospital. I am hardly two days old in the first photograph of my album. There are pictures of all my relatives and my family friends in my album. They came to visit us at the hospital and I look really small in the arms of various aunts and uncles who are seen cuddling me very lovingly. The next section of my album includes photographs of my first birthday celebration. My birthday had been celebrated at home. There were many children who attended the party. Even more...

It has been rightly said, 'if you educate a man you educate a person, but if you educate a woman you educate the entire family'. Also, girls are found to be more determined and committed towards education and they generally outperform boys in various examinations. Girls are found to be diligent, coupled with higher maturity levels than boys. Educated Girls are known to support their parents in their old age when their Brothers fail to do so. Dowry system can also be put to an end if educated women stand up against the system. Thus, education of the girl child would mean the emancipation of women and social development of the nation Still, reformists and leaders of the developing countries are found to be pondering over the question, 'What does it take to get girls in school and keep them there?' As per UN statistics, two-thirds of the out of more...

Creativity can bring forth new products and procedures, remedy conflict and even create opportunity where none exists. Thus, creativity is and always be the most valuable asset. In general, every person is creative to a certain extent. However, everyone does not have the same ability to come up with better ideas provided by a more economical use of time.   It is fine to have the ability to count on our creative subconscious for an occasional idea or solution. But to develop spontaneous creativity, we need to do away with assumptions, boundaries and unspoken rules, which arc taken for granted. Often, finding a creative solution to a problem requires a creative look at the definition of the problem in hand hence, we need to look and think of the problem in different ways .mil from different angles before we start preparing a list of the different ways of dealing with more...

The definition of "slum" varies from country to country. In India, The slum Areas Improvement and Clearance Act of 1956 defines 'slum areas' as places where buildings: are in any respect unfit for human habitation; and are by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design of such buildings, narrowness or faulty arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light, sanitation facilities or any combination of these factors which are detrimental to safety, health and morals. The Census of India defines a slum as "a compact area of at least 300 in population or about 60-70 households of poorly built, congested tenements in an unhygienic environment usually with inadequate infrastructure and lacking proper sanitary and drinking water facilities". The United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, defines slum as "a run-down Area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security". Slums are an urban phenomenon and they represent more...

In India's long history, there have been many women who have excelled with their sheer strength and courage. Some such examples are Razia Sultan, Rani Laxmi Bai, Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi, etc. The latest entrant to the list is Indra Nooyi, who has been placed 4th in the lint of world's topmost influential women by the Forbes Magazine. Indra Krishnamurtliy Nooyi was horn on 28 October 1955 in the south Indian city of Madras, now Chennai. After graduating from Madras Christian College with Maths, Physics and Chemistry in subjects, she did her Masters in Finance and Marketing from India Institute of Management, Calcutta. Her first job was with ABB and then she joined Johnson and Johnson (J&J) in Mumbai. While with J&J, she was closely associated with the launch of the sanitary napkin "Stayfree", The desire to do more in life drew her to Yale Management School in US, where more...

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement of Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory education to the children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations. Under the programme, new schools are being opened in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and existing school infrastructure is being strengthened through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. Additional teachers are being provided to existing schools with inadequate teacher strength. The capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching- learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure more...

Linguistic ability is a relatively new phenomenon vis-a-vis non-verbal communication, which reminds us of our primitive links with the rest of the creation. Many a times, our body gives out nonverbal cues without us being aware of it. It needs to be borne in mind that every individual has his or her own particular way to stand, sit, or gesture one way or the other. Cues emanating from a person's body can be properly interpreted on being aware of the other person's body language. If the person you are speaking to turns away after having faced you dimity and maintained good eye contact, it is a sure sign of that person being annoyed with you or with what you have just uttered. Similarly, if as person starts by facing away and suddenly, during the course of  interaction, starts looking at you and making eye contact, it would mean that you more...