Ankit's Castle

My resolutions for 2012

2012-01-03T10:04:00.000-08:00

We all know that experts tell us that those who write down their resolutions have a higher chance of success. Chances of completing the resolutions increase substantially, if we share them with the world. Therefore, I am sharing my resolutions for 2012.

1. Will not marry this year.

2. Will not argue with papa. He is more experienced.

3. Will watch lesser movies.

4. Will spend more time with family.

5. Will exercise regularly and will try to lose another 5 kilos.

6. Will complete at least one post qualification course of ICAI.

7. Will try to learn more from seniors at work.

8. Will fall in love. And will remain honest.

9. Will go for a vacation to some place where everything is green.

10. Will promote vegetarianism. I hate it when people kill animals for taste.

in love with a memory

2011-10-24T08:05:00.001-07:00

I'm in love with a memory that won't slip out of my fingers
Its hard to let something go after so long
Every piece to the story starts out great
But ends with pure chaos
I'm in love with a memory, that won't love me back
Its hard to live life with this regret
But its something that will follow you every second
I'd give you my heart on a string
But would you take it with petty
Or with the thought and the feeling
I'm in love with a memory, thats stopping me from running away
Its happened more than once to everyone
It makes no sense at all
But when you realize life makes no sense
You will get that every memory makes no sense

You Are

2011-10-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

You are the song of my life
Which my heart wants to sing all my life
You are the rhythm of my life
Which my heart wants to beat all my life

You are the destination of my life
Which I want to reach in my life
You are the road of my life
Which I want to take all my life

You are the spirit of my life
Without you there is no joy in my life
You are the sun of my life
Without you there is no light in my life

You are the fire of my life
Without you there is no warmth in my life
You are the light of my life
Without you there is no light in my life

You are the fun of my life
Without you there is no fun in my life
You are the one in my life
Without you there is no one in my life

do it now...or do it never

2011-10-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

When I m Dead,
Ur Tears May Flow,
But I Wont Know,
Cry 4 Me Now, Instead..

When I m Dead,
U ll Send Flowers,
But I Wont See,
Send them Now, Instead..

When I M Dead,
U ll Say Words Of Praise,But I Wont Hear,
Praise Me Now, Instead..

When I M Dead,
U ll 4get My Faults,
But I Wont Know,
4get them Now, INSTEAD…!

life afterwards

2011-10-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Back during college and coaching class days, I’d often listen to a question “What would you do after becoming a chartered accountant? You want to go for practice or a corporate job”. Everybody including my parents, teachers, friends and colleagues, had the same question.

Life after qualification has been different. We don’t have to worry about studying for exams or balancing studies and parties. Thanks to this qualification we don't have to worry about finding a job, staying employed and paying the rent.

My time before qualification was well-spent, although my parents might beg to differ. I spent my first year enjoying, making new friends and discovering what kind of person I really was. It was fortunate that I always met good people, who supported me in all the possible ways.

Later years would provide me with other challenges, such as trouble getting into required classes, books that could replace Mount Everest and finally a broken heart. Each one was overcome, and with it, I learned more about myself and the practicalities of life. I completed my internship in finance & management consultancy stream and now i aim to reach the heights of this line.

Four years later, I qualified. After one short day and a heart aching wait for exam result, it was time to leave the student life behind and move on to become a professional.

who i am

2011-03-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

It is always great to look back on my life and see the good things that have happened. Certainly bad things have happened as well but not so bad that it disrupts the overall goodness of my life. My memories reflect back to me the way I have been, mostly happy. I have been a few places and done a few things that were awesome and exciting. I have been in love that touched my heart and gave me a sense of worthiness. Mostly though my life is just the day to day existence of doing what needs to be done as to routine and responsibilities. Within the structure of my normal processes are those moments when fate comes around to smile it's warmth on me. Those are the memories that matter. Those that require from me a value in return for nothing. When I have given of myself, I am eventually rewarded in some way that I remember, not always within the same circumstance but in a way that shows me that things do eventually come full circle. I have been the giver in these situations and the receiver. Do I want to have joy with my memories or some other less deserving emotion? It is with pleasure that I remember the best of what existence has for me when it comes my way. I prepare myself for it by trying to be the best human I can be. I never know when fate will smile it's warmth on me, but if I act and think like it will at all times, then when and if it does, I can live and remember the best parts of my life. My memories are really all I have that remind me of who I am. I want to be reminded that I was the me that I always hope to be.

my wishes for myself

2010-08-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

1. build a mascular lean body (like daniel craig in casino royale), and flaunt off on a beach and click a pic.

2. become the best finance adviser in the industry with in next 20 years.

3. love someone amazingly when the person hates you.

4. make papa speak "you are better than ashima".

5. go to paris buy a gucci garment.

6. have a date with megan fox and kajol :)

7. recieve a round of applause for singing. :)

8. sponser studies of an orphan.

9. hire yatcht and go into the ocean.

10. learn german, french and russian.

11. live for a week in himalayas with monks.

12. have a meal with the bill gates.

13. drive an Aston martin on wall-street.

14. live outside india for a year.

15. be a shouder for someone to cry.

16. learn to para-glide alone.

17. visit Bermuda triangles and universal studios.

18. write a letter to the people who mean the most to me and who have affected my life.(did it once and will try again)................. :)

lets see how many of them gets fulfilled.

2010-07-03T02:29:00.000-07:00

We do not have to wait until we are old to become wise. We can discover these secrets at any age and the sooner we discover them, the more fulfilling our lives will be.” – John Izzo

Most of us, if we think about it for a minute, will easily identify the one or two people we have encountered in our lifetimes who had very obviously discovered the meaning of life. Some of us may even have been lucky enough to have one of these wise elders as a parent or grandparent. But these wise men and women are everywhere, and others of us have been fortunate to have had them as teachers, ministers, co-workers or simply as friends.

Author, hoping to learn the secret to such a successful life, asked over 15,000 people to identify the wise elders in their own lives whom they believed had something to teach the rest of us. From the responses received, he and his colleagues identified 235 candidates between the ages of 60 and more than 100 and interviewed each of them in order to identify the secrets of life that had taken the 235 a lifetime to discover. The result of those hundreds of interview-hours is 'The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die'.

The following is a brief synopsis of each secret:

Be True to Yourself. You must follow your heart and your dreams, not the dreams someone else has for you. This may mean making a radical change in your life, or simply making small adjustments. The key to continually examine your life is to make sure you are following your own true path.

Leave No Regrets. Although all of the people whom Izzo interviewed had some regrets, people who had the fewest were the happiest. A common theme, he discovered, is that people don’t regret risks that failed; instead they regretted not having risked more.

Become Love(Love More). The more you focus on acting with love, the more you will find happiness, says Izzo. This begins with choosing to love yourself and breaking away from thoughts that are self-defeating and self-critical. You must make loving relationships a priority in your life.

Live the Moment. Living the moment means living your life now rather than simply planning it. “We must always live in the present moment, the only moment in which we have any power,”.

Give More Than You Take. Each day you have the power to give without limit. Izzo’s interviews reveal that people long to make a contribution. Giving connects people to something larger than themselves – whether it’s a supreme being of the entire human experience and journey.

Author wants us to have the wisdom of a wise elder right now. He wants you to be able to face death with the feeling that your life has been well lived and that you have made a difference, left your mark on the world.

It’s not that the Five Secrets are really all that secret. In fact, they are mainly common sense suggestions that most of us fail to apply into our busy lives. These secrets are keys to true happiness and living a life of which we can be proud, feeling deep satisfaction with who and what we are. In other words, it teaches how anyone can feel comfortable inside their own skin.

Aside from these five secrets, I've also learnt from this book that happy people are not afraid to die. The thing is that when people have lived wisely, they will not fear death, but will accept death as part of life. One very consoling point that was highlighted in the book was that it is never too late to live the secrets. So here I am, taking steps to learn and practice the secrets.

Do you hate someone?

2010-04-25T00:44:00.000-07:00

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, So the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/ she hates.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for 1 week. Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes.

Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended....

The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?". The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.

The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten
potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???"

Moral of the story: Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a lifetime. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take!
you can win anyone with love.

Things that you may not already know about me

2010-02-14T00:59:00.000-08:00

1. I'm a pretty laid back person. I typically don't get overly excited or extremely depressed. Sometimes it comes off the wrong way and people will think that I'm not excited about something that I should be excited about, but it's not that...I just don't show it well.

2. To go along with the previous one, I have a VERY hard time hiding the emotions on my face. If I'm not happy, I can't hide it. If I think you're an idiot, I will have a really hard time not giving you the, "You're an idiot" face.

3. I love to give people gifts. It makes me happy to cheer a friend up, even if the gift was extremely cheap..:)

4. Cold weather is my best friend.

5. If I had all of the money in the world I would travel to every country. I am fascinated by new places and people.

6. I love airports and airplanes. There is just something about them that makes me feel good.

7. I don't like groups of people. I would much rather one-on-one friend time over a large group. Less is more in this instance.

8. I really like movies, but I'm not a movie buff at all. In fact, I can see a movie and if you ask me two months later what it was about, I probably won't remember. The movie has to have a profound impact on me for me to remember it well.

9. I can't sing, but I really wish I could because I love it. Music is my escape. I can't remember what a movie was about, but I can remember most of the lyrics to a song after only hearing it a handful of times.

10. I care a little too much about what others think of me. I'm always paranoid that someone in my family. It's silly, and I know it is, but sometimes the feeling is inescapable.

11. I really really really want to go on a cruise.

12. I only have a few people that I am really close to, therefore, I am extremely attached to them. I do not easily bare my soul, but these people know me well.

13. 13 is my lucky number because my sister was born on 13th march.

Say - THANK YOU!!

2010-01-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

Life is not as sweet as a honey-coated chocolate candy all the time. There will always come a point in life when the universe seem to conspire with all that there is, to bring us to the lowest point of life. It happened to me during the last year.

As the clock struck twelve on New Year's Eve, I have realized that I am the key to my own happiness and no one else. It wasn't even a New Year's resolution, but I have made a promise to dedicate myself in finding my bottle of joy, instead of wallowing in my own pool of tears. I am keeping this vow for the year 2010 and no matter how tough this promise may be, I shall strive to be happy. I believe that it is high time to reassess what is truly important in life, for me, it is finding simple pleasures and joy that are simply priceless.

Gratitude is the very core of being happy and many masters can attest to what I am saying here. It seems like an impossible fete to feel thank you when someone you love rejected your affections, or when someone dear to you passed away. It doesn't seem to sound right to say thank you for being broken-hearted, or even thanking the fates for taking your dearest friend away for good. How can you?

Trials and sufferings can mold us into a better person, an old sage used to say. Sometimes, life may seem too harsh or too unfair. Happy people are becoming a rare species nowadays and it seems like being pessimistic and practical is the latest trend. No one seems to care anymore to simply stop and smell the roses. Everyone seems to be walking with a mask of irony.

Life may catch you and hurl us in a whirlwind where everything becomes a blur. Do know that whichever we choose, we will always be the one to make that choice. Saying thank you doesn't have to be about the things we have recently received, but it is appreciation of what we already had, of something we never took time to appreciate.

It may be hard to say thank you when we are feeling so negative about the way life is, no matter how we try to convince that things will be better. I have walked the same path and it was never easy. When each day is full of darkness inside me, it is just too hard to appreciate that warm ray of sunlight that shines on my face each day I wake up. It was a realization that made me snap out of my self-punishing habit and into the light of gratitude.

It is not hard after all to say thank you with all those bottled feelings of hate and anger inside. All we need to do is find that quiet moment to be at peace with ourselves, with god, and the universe. By simply appreciating the fact that we are alive to see the adventures of what the day can bring, we can just smile... we are indeed blessed!

" We are the One Who Creates Our Own Reality... "

Sweet Memories Revived!!

2010-01-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

Our School Canteen...Cant forget The sound of recess bell

Wide View of school building.

Meet Mr. Mandeep Singh Sachdeva, he is one of my very few buddies. We were classmates at Pt.M.L.S.D. Public School Sec-32C, Chandigarh(2002-2004) and G.G.D.S.D. College, Sec-32C, Chandigarh(2004-2005) (I enjoy writing the full name). While sitting on the same bench in 11th\12th standard, we never imagined that I(ankit) will move to Ahmedabad and He(mandeep) will move to Mumbai and that on one day, i will visit mumbai for some project work and he will stay with me in my hotel room. Meeting at Chandigarh and that too in our school premises is a luxury that we can't afford on regular basis.

For those who don't know, SD School and SD College are two adjoining buildings near Tribune H.O. Securing admission in commerce stream in these two institutions means you can get admission anywhere in India.

Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson

2009-12-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

Who Moved My Cheese?

- By Spencer Johnson

The Characters (4 Characters)

• Little People

1. Hem

2. Haw

• Mice

3. Sniff

4. Scurry

Metaphors Used:

Cheese: What we want to have in life

Maze: Where you spend your time looking for what you want

Crux…what do you want in life and where do you spend your time looking for it…

“Cheese” – a metaphor for what we want to have in life, whether it is a job, a relationship, money, a big house, freedom, health, recognition, spiritual peace, or even an activity like jogging or golf.

Each of us has our own idea of what Cheese is, and we pursue it because we believe it makes us happy. If we get it, we often become attached to it. And if we lose it, or it’s taken away, it can be traumatic

Once, long ago, there lived 4 little characters who ran through a maze looking for cheese to nourish them & make them happy.

Two were mice named “Sniff” & “Scurry” and two were little people named “Hem” & “Haw”.

Differences In The Characters

Mice

• Simplistic Thinkers

• Used Instincts

• Was Aware of Changes In Surrounding (Watchful)

• When The Environment Changed, They Changed With It.

Little People

• Complex Thinkers

• Used Reason

• Ignorant to Changes In Surrounding (Familiar)

• Not Prepared For Change and Did Not Change With Environment.

Every morning, the mice & the little people dressed in their running gear & headed over to Cheese Station C where they found their own kind of cheese. It was a large store of Cheese that Hem & Haw eventually moved their homes to be closer to it & built a social life around it.

To make themselves feel more at home, Hem & Haw decorated the walls with sayings. One read:

HAVING CHEESE MAKES YOU HAPPY

One morning, Sniff & Scurry arrived at Cheese Station C & discovered there was no cheese. They weren’t surprised. Since they had noticed the supply of cheese had been getting smaller every day, they were prepared for the inevitable & knew instinctively what to do. They were quickly off in search of New Cheese. Later that same day, Hem & Haw arrived. “What! No Cheese? Who moved my Cheese? It’s not fair!” Hem yelled. They went home that night hungry & discouraged. But before they left, Haw wrote on the wall:

THE MORE IMPORTATNT YOUR CHEESE IS TO YOU, THE MORE YOU WANT TO HOLD ON TO IT.

The next day Hem & Haw left their homes, & returned to Cheese Station C. But situation hadn’t changed. Haw asked, “Where are Sniff & Scurry? Do you think they know something we don’t?” Hem scoffed, “What would they know? They’re just simple mice. They just respond to what happens. We’re little people. We’re smarter.”

Haw suggested, “Maybe we should stop analyzing the situation so much and just get going & find some New Cheese. Haw decided to leave Cheese Station C while Haw was more comfortable staying in the cheese less Station C. Hem announced, “It’s MAZE time!” and wrote:

IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE, YOU CAN BECOME EXTINCT.

Meanwhile, Sniff & Scurry went farther into the maze until they found Cheese Station N. They found what they had been looking for: a great supply of New Cheese. It was the biggest store of cheese the mice had ever seen. Haw on the other hand become more anxious & wondered if he really wanted to go out into the Maze. He wrote a saying on the wall ahead of him & stared at it for some time:

What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

Haw now realized that the change probably would not have taken him by surprise if he had been watching what was happening all along and if he had anticipated change. He stopped for a rest & wrote on the wall of the Maze

Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old.

Haw wondered if Hem had moved on, or if he was still paralyzed by his own fears. Then, Haw remembered the times when he had felt his best in the Maze. It was when he was moving along. He wrote:

Movement In A New Direction Helps You Find New Cheese

As Haw started running down the dark corridor, he began to smile. Haw didn’t realize it yet, but he was discovering what nourished his soul. He was letting go & trusting what lay ahead for him, even though he did not know exactly what it was To his surprise, Haw started to enjoy himself more & more. He stopped to write again on the wall:

When You Move Beyond Your Fear, You Feel Free.

To make things even better, Haw started to paint a picture in his mind again. He saw himself in great realistic detail, sitting in the middle of a pile of all his favorite cheeses-from Cheddar to Brie! He saw himself eating the many cheeses he liked, & he enjoyed what he saw. The more clearly he saw the image of himself enjoying New Cheese, the more real & believable it became. He wrote:

Imagining Myself Enjoying New Cheese, Even Before I Find It, Leads Me To It.

Haw wondered why he had always thought that a change would lead to something worse. Now he realized that change could lead to something better. Then he raced through the Maze with greater strength & agility. Until he found bits of New Cheese. He entered the Cheese Station but it was empty. Someone had already been there.

He stopped & wrote on the wall:

The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner you Find New Cheese.

Haw made his way back to Cheese Station C to offer Hem bits of New Cheese but was turned down. Hem wanted his own Cheese back. Haw just shook his head in disappointment but this does not stop him from finding New Cheese. He smiled as he realized:

It Is Safer To Search In The Maze Than Remain In The Cheese less Situation.

Haw realized again, that what you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists. He realizes it was natural for change to continually occur, whether you expect it or not. Change could surprise you only if you didn’t expect it & weren’t looking for it. When he realized he had changed his beliefs, he paused to write on the wall:

Old Beliefs Do Not Lead You To New Cheese.

Haw now realized that his new beliefs were encouraging him to behave in a new way. He was behaving differently from the way he had when he had kept returning to the same cheese less station. It all depends on what you choose to believe. He wrote on the wall:

When You See That You Can Find And Enjoy New Cheese, You Change Course.

Haw just hoped he was heading in the right direction. He thought about the possibility that Hem would read The Handwriting On the Wall & find his way. He wrote on the wall what he had been thinking about for some time:

Noticing Small Changes Early Helps You Adapt To The Bigger Changes That Are To Come.

He continued on through the Maze with greater strength & speed. He proceeded along a corridor that was new to him, rounded a corner, & found New Cheese at Cheese Station N where he saw the greatest supply of Cheese he had ever seen. Sniff & Scurry welcomed him.

“Hooray for Change!”

Haw wrote down a summary of what he had learned on the largest wall of Cheese Station N & smiled as he looked at what he had learned:

THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

– Change Happens (They keep moving the cheese)

– Anticipate Change (Get ready for the cheese to move)

– Monitor Change (Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old)

– Adapt to change quickly (The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese)

– Change (Move with the Cheese)

– Enjoy Change (Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese)

– Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again and again!

No Cheese?

When the cheese was gone so were the mice!

• Reflect on the different reactions of the mice and the little people.

• Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.

• When change happens is it as sudden as we think or are there clues?

Getting Out Of A Cheese-less Situation

• Accept the situation: this cheese is gone!

• Remember your journey: you had to find cheese the last time and you did

• Reflect on your source: there has always been cheese

• Block nay-sayers: Folks with fear and negative thoughts who only want to HEM you in.

• Have faith: you will find new cheese if you start to search on it

• Visualize success: ”it’s the cheeseiest!”

The Journey Is A-Mazing!

• The journey is as important as the destination

• You’ll go faster the sooner you get rid of old fears

• As you proceed, you’ll find morsels of the new cheese along the way – a promise of what lies ahead!

• Everyone has to find new cheese for themselves

• Be supportive, leave a trail that can be followed

Cheez-Whiz!

• You found new cheese!

• Now Chew on this…

Q: What did the little people have that the mice didn’t have?

A: The ability to reflect on the lessons learned and apply it for the next time as well as the opportunity to share it with others.

A Discussion

• Change can be a positive thing

• As leaders we are to be flexible and adaptable

• No one admits they fear change but think everyone around them does – denial.

• Old cheese is sometimes old behavior – new cheese is a new or renewed relationship

As Leaders How Do We Want To Handle Change?

Change is often prompted by unseen forces.

Think Back:

Has your cheese ever been moved? Have you ever found new cheese?

Move With The Cheese & Enjoy It !

The Secret at a glance.

2009-12-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

The person who recommended(i read only those books which are recommended to me by someone) this book to me specifically told me that one should read this book in parts, it is a small book and we should not try to finish it in a week or two. Just read it over time like one may give only an hour to it in a week. The purpose of this approach to read this book is to retain the content for a long period. If we read it quickly, it will wash away more quickly. One should try to implement the crux of this book in his/her life.

Please note that no copyright infringement is intended here as the content is modified and i am not using same for commercial purpose.

Robert Kiyosaki books

2009-12-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

An amazing author. No words to explain, how good he is. His books were recommended to me by Vinod sir. There are so many things in his books that hit home for me.

From Business School :

Smart people sometimes fail to become rich because:

They fail to invest wisely.
They start something, get bored quickly and quit.
Shopping is their pastime, and they spend money on a whim.
They hang on to things that have very little value, and sell off anything with real value.

A person that cannot manage their emotions, cannot manage their money (quote from Warren Buffet).

Couples who work together to achieve wealth also grow closer together, get to know each other better, respect each other more, mature emotionally together and become much happier with each other.

From Rich Dad, Poor Dad :

FINANCIAL LITERACY = FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

A true tale of two dads— one a highly educated professor, the other, an eighth grade dropout. Educated dad left his family with nothing, except maybe some unpaid bills. The dropout later became one of Hawaii’s richest men and left his son an empire. One dad would say, “I can’t afford it” while the other, asked, “How can I afford it?”

Rich Dad’s Words of Wisdom:
You are what you Think.
A job is a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
A highly paid slave is still a slave.
Why climb the corporate ladder when you can own the ladder?
ACTION ALWAYS BEATS INACTION.
"IF YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING YOU CARE DEEPLY ABOUT AND IF YOU BELIEVE IN IT, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE NOT TRYING TO MAKE IT GREAT."

From Cashflow Quadrants :

The quadrant specifies where your primary source of income comes from. There is the Employee who works for income; there are the Self-employed who work for himself for income; there is the Businessperson who gets income from his businesses and then there is the Investor whose money works for him and brings him more income. There might be some confusion as to the difference between the Self-employed and a Business person and Robert Kiyosaki states it thus: "...true B's can leave their business for a year or more and return to find their businesses more profitable and running better than when they left it." So the Businessperson develops systems(they keep on earning income in the form of royalty, franchisee commission etc.) and the Self-employed are the system.

He also explains seve level of investors in this book.

Words of wisdom are:

Mind your own business.
Take control of your cash flow.
Know the difference between risk and risky.
Decide what kind of investor you want to be.
Seek mentors.
Make disappointment your strength.
Keep the faith.

Every person CAN change and this is what Cashflow Quadrant is about: recognizing where you are from and where you want to go.

*********all these books are available in electronic mode(.pdf or .doc versions)*********** pdfdatabse.com

Four Quadrants as explainrd by kiyosaki.

AN INSIGHT INTO TWENTY FOUR SUNRISE PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

2009-12-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

"AN INSIGHT INTO TWENTY FOUR SUNRISE PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS" is a 88 page handbook written by CA. Rajkumar S. Adukia. I found it on net. It seems very useful and a must read for ca students. I can't publish it here because it bears a copyright. But anyone who wish to get it from me can mail me a request at ankit_2402@yahoo.com and i wll mail the same to you.

Softy, why dont you?

2009-12-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Softy, why do you wish to be like anyone else?
You are fine by yourself.
People notice you because you are different

Softy, why do you wish to be pretty?
What you have is called inner beauty
I’m not giving you my pity

Softy, Why don’t you stand up to those snobs?
They are garbage compared to you
The people who rob
End up blue

Softy, Why don’t you take what’s yours?
And not just dust either
Stop doing those chores

Softy, Why don’t you go out?
Not as a maid but who you really are
Go a different route
You will shine like a star

Softy, why don’t you let the beauty out?
The prince will like you
Go out and about
Forget the Cinderella's shoe

Be yourself not someone else.

idli, orchid and willpower.

2009-12-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading this book, thank God i finally did(it's like an achievement for me). Came to know about this book in a seminar that was organised by WIRC, Ahmedabad.

i believe that this book has all the ingredients to guide us. So I thought of sharing some of the points which I felt that everybody should know:

1. Financial Dignity: In today’s world where credit card is given/ issued at a phone call, value of money is losing its importance and many people have started believing in EMI’s and loan without bothering whether they have the capacity to repay the loan or not. This book explains the meaning of financial dignity and how much respect a person gets when he is not indebted to anybody.

2. Readiness: Another important thing that is really ed me is the readiness of Mr. Kamat to accept and face the things as they are occurring. There was a situation when President of India arrives and stays in his(V.Kamat's) hotel, and orders some food which was not in the list, then how V Kamat dealt with this situation and turned it around.

3. Networking: This is one thing that really surprised me. Today we are seeing\using(i have tried all of them) many networking options like Orkut, Face book etc., but Mr. Kamat realized the importance of networking and showed what it can do..so i think it is a must read for everyone...a teacher told me..stop wasting

There are many books which tells us about 7 habits, or 7 techniques..but this book explains the reality of life and how we should face it.
in it some good traits of an entrepreneur are demonstrated. But sad part is that online edition is not available.

Disclaimer: i will not get any commission if you purchase or rent this book.

CALORY!!!!!

2009-12-01T23:49:00.020-08:00

ITEM	Qty	Qty Detail	Calories

SNACKS
Samosa	1	65 g	210
Kachori	1	45 g	200
Vada	1	30 g	100
Masala Vada	1	20 g	56
Dahi Vada	1	80 g	170
Bhajia	1	7 g	35
Bakery Biscuit	2 Pc	40 g	220

ITEM	Qty	Qty Detail	Calories

FRUITS
Apple	1	100 g	65
Banana	1	80 g	90
Grapes	30	100 g	70
Gauva	1	100 g	50
Mango	1	250 g	180
Mosammi	1	100 g	40
Orange	1	100 g	40
Papaya	1 Pc	100 g	80
Custard Apple	1 Pc	130 g	130
Water Melon	1 Pc	100 g	15
Musk Melon	1 Pc	100 g	15

VEGETABLES

Chhole	1 katori	150 g	115
Veg Boiled Dry	1 katori	100 g	115
Veg Kofta	1 katori	145 g	220
Baingan Bharta	1 katori	170 g	230
Carrot	1	40 g	20
Radish	1	60 g	10
Cucumber	1	90 g	12
Tomato	1	50 g	10
Onion	1	50 g	25
Cabbage	1	250 g	70

LIQUIDS

Coffee	1 cup	150 ml	100
Tea	1 cup	50 ml	60
Cold Drinks	1 bottle	200 ml	150
Fresh Lime Juice	1 glass	200 ml	60
Squash	1 glass	200 ml	200
Milk (Buffalo)	1 glass	200 ml	240
Milk ( Cow)	1 glass	200 ml	133

SWEAT DISH

Cake	1 Pc	40 g	220
Laddu	1Pc	60 g	250
Burfi	1 Pc	60 g	280
Halwa (Suji)	1 katori	130 g	430
Shahi Toast	2 Pc	120 g	280
Custard/Pudding	1 katori	110 g	180
Jam/Jelly	1 TBSP	7 g	20
Chikki	2 Pc	60 g	300

BREAK FAST, LUNCH, DINNER

Boiled Eggs	1	50 g	86
Omlete	1	65 g	155
Fried Egg	1	50 g	155
Mutten Curry	1 katori	145 g	240
Rice	1 katori	100 g	110
Khicheri	1 katori	100 g	210
Pulao	1 katori	100 g	240
Paratha	1	50 g	150
Puri	1	25 g	80
Dalia	1 katori	100 g	145
Phulka	1	35 g	80
Idli	1	60 g	75
Plain Daal	1 katori	140 g	170
Veg. Cutlet	1	30 g	70
Coconut Chutney	1 TBSP	25 g	64
Til Chutney	1 TBSP	25 g	64
Corianda Chutney	1 TBSP	25 g	64
Chicken Curry	1 katori	125 g	260
Fish ( Fried)	2 Pc	85 g	220
Veg Patti (Puff)	1 Pc	60 g	170
Rusks	2 Pc	30 g	120

USe the following link to calculate the calories required by your body:

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!

2009-06-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

Mittal Saheb is what most people call him. A very respected and reputed man. But for me he is my “PAPA”.

Actually a “SUPER PAPA”. His favourite activities include cooking, movies, music, surfing, chatting etc. A specialist of modern\InfoTech banking. While sitting in Ahmedabad he solves the queries of entire northern region, such is his expertise. He thinks that I am unaware of his profile on orkut and facebookJ. He knows it all [amazing isn’t it].

Loves me a lot. Can’t see a tear in my eyes. Always ready to fight the world for me. Fulfills all my needs before I could ask for anything and then he says “bete tu mujhse kuch mangta kyu nai?”

He always keeps on updating. Sometimes it’s very embarrassing for me when he guides me about latest trends.

I am lucky and very proud to have a father like him. It’s a tough challenge for me to reach up to his level. I would consider myself lucky if I could become even 10% of what he is.

I pray for his good health and prosperity.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!

Time to go

2009-06-13T23:33:00.001-07:00

Two years back my papa called me up; I was sitting in a TIN centre filing some TDS returns. It was 17th July 2007. He said "bete Ahmedabad jana hai, packing kar le". I was a bit excited and tense also. Ahmedabad-Gujarat was just a part of syllabus of geography for me. I only knew that in this part of the country black soil is there, which is good for growing cotton. IIM-A was also the no.1 MBA institute those days. This was the upper limit of information we had about A'bad. Now after two years, this city has changed my life. I have learned so many things from these two crucial years of my life. My own vision towards myself has changed entirely.

Destiny was in my favor - I got everything I wished. Now I have many new friends - who supported me whenever I needed them. All my colleagues and batch mates tried hard to teach me Gujarati and the result is - "aaje mane Gujarati Badhu game/fave che". I was never alone, Gohilbhai was always asking me to come for a movie, and Vishal was asking me to come for some concerts, Dharmendra sir was always trying to teach me project finance, Falguni ma'am was teasing me, Bipinbhai was flooding my table with notices of section 142, 143, 144, 147, 263 & 264, Rutvijbhai was giving me miss calls to wake me up for early morning classes, Srirambhai was busy asking "Ankit kitna syllabus ho gaya, aj shyam ko seminar hai, chalna hai kya??". So many people who wanted to take care of me, they treated me like a prince. These people never treated me as an outsider (different state), in fact all of them intend to help me any manner they could. These two years went like a few days. I enjoyed a lot, laughed a lot, studied a lot and saw many movies (integral part of my life). I also lost a very very dear friend. Manan sir used to say "Ankitbhai ab to spiral le lo" and whole class used to laugh. Palak sir used to begin his illustrations with "suppose mein ankit ka course time pe khatam nai krta.....” Kadikar sir always confirmed from me "brober chhe na Mr. Mittal??” Attended so many lectures, classes and seminars as if i was a student of some military school. I saw not less than 50 movies here.

Now, its time for me to go back to Chandigarh. To be honest I am very happy. But Ahmedabad will always remain an important place for me. I have seen almost every major city of India (including Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Panjim, Trivendrum, Chennai, Banglore, Mangalore, Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow, Ranchi, Dehradun etc.), but I believe Ahmedabad is the second best place in India to live at after Chandigarh. Whenever any of my friends from Ahmedabad will come to my city, I'll try to treat them with same of level of hospitality and warmth with which they have treated me during these two years.

THANKYOU AHMEDABAD!!! :)

My Mistake!

2009-06-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

No one is perfect and I am also not an exception to this rule. I have committed many mistakes. My biggest mistake is my habit of speaking truth without realising its impact. Friends call me excessively straightforward. As we say in Hindi "mujhe ghuma fira ke baat karni nai ati, hum sidhe log hain aur sidhi baat krte hain." People might think whatever they wish to, but I will keep on committing this mistake again and again.

IT’S MY PRINCIPLE…

He finally did it!!

2009-06-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

At last, Roger Federer has won the French Open'2009. He had won 13 other grand slam titles, but not this one. He had lost it to Rafael Nadal for the last four years, once in the semifinal and three times in the final. But lady luck has favoured him this time, as Nadal has lost to Robin Soderling in the opening rounds. And federer has won the championship beating Soderling in the final. Thereby Federer has come in same category of players who had won all the grand slams in their carrier (great names-Rod Lever, Fred Perri, Don Baz, Roy Emerson & last but not the least Andre Agassi). Moreover, Federer has touched Pete Samprass's carrier record of 14 titles. Though Federer got the luck going in his favour, a truely great player like him sometimes deserves it, isn't it!!

A beautiful smile

2009-06-07T03:29:00.000-07:00

Smiles light up the face
bringing life to sleepless eyes
and giving form to dimples.
Your smile radiates from your body
causing me to smile back
and making me feel your happiness.
Who can not return a smile
and feel better for the act
of raising the corners of the mouth?
A smile is so beautiful
a happy face that spreads sunshine
to all who see its greeting. :)

My Mum is the best!!

2009-05-13T05:46:00.000-07:00

I thank God for my mother. My Mum IS THE BEST!

My mum...

She always asked me how i did after my exam, when i told her 'i don't know' she always replied " as long as you did your best!" and that motivate me to do the best i can (or i want).

she always make sure I'm properly dressed when i go out...

She always make sure I'm home...curfew? what curfew?

She always come into my room wanting to chat but i'm snoring right there...she keeps talking anyway!

She knows that I'm lazy to eat my apples...she will peel,cut into slices and shove it into my mouth.

She has a chubby tummy...and i always lie that...so comfortable!

most importantly, She loves me and always there for me!

I love you, mummy!

Happy Mother's Day!

my belief about "Excellence"

2009-03-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

EXCELLENCE

A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?" The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency...

I have lost

2009-03-17T00:40:00.000-07:00

This one is for my good friend, i have lost:

Just by the thought of you

I find myself all sad again.

I've lost you, but also gained.

I know I must be grateful,

but my soul is sad for you.

______________________

I'll remember you always

for the good you have done,

for the seed you have sown,

for the faith you have given me

and for the example you set.

Yet, I find myself all sad again,

in my thoughts,

in my joys.

________________________

My thoughts are closed,

cause you don't look there anymore.

The season is over and

I know I must be happy

but the loss is too big

and the pain too intense.

I need to tell you my new story,

see your eyes,

experience your smile.

____________________

I just wish so much

you could see the harvest of my life

from the seeds you have sown!

Especially now, when it's full in harvest -

I know your soul would have smiled.

_______________________

But then again, although I'm sad -

I know I'm glad -

cause I know i was honest

I'll rest my heart in that . . .

May be we will be friends again . . .

If not, even teddy has eyes to cry...

Autumn'

The summer sun is fading as the year grows old

And darker days are drawing near...

The winter winds will be much colder

Now you're not here.

___________________________
I watch the birds fly south across the autumn sky

And one by one they disappear.

I wish that I was flying with them

Now you're not here

___________________________
Like a song through the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away...
____________________________

Through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way

You always loved this time of year.

Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now'

Cause you're not here
___________________________

Like a song throught the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away...

____________________________
A gentle rain falls softly on my weary eyes

As if to hide a lonely tear...

My life will be forever autumn'

Cause you're not here!

Recent visit to daman....for stock audit purpose..:)

2009-03-13T01:37:00.000-07:00

Dont think dirty....maa da ladla bigda nahi hai....its just a fruit bear...

Enjoying sea breeze at Daman beach

5 golden rules of tax planning

2009-01-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

Just as rules are important for good living, so also there are some golden rules of tax planning. The five simple yet effective rules of tax planning are:

Spread the taxable income among various members in your family;
Take full advantage of tax exemptions available under the law;
Take full advantage of permissible tax deductions and rebates available on stipulated tax-saving investments;
Make optimum use of tax-exempted incomes; and
Simple tax planning is smart tax planning.

Understood and used properly these rules will help you achieve handsome tax savings.

Rule 1: Spread your income among your family members

The first step in tax saving is to adopt the concept of divide and rule. The simple rule is that each family member must have his or her independent source of income so as to legally become an independent taxpayer under the provisions of the income tax law.

In case the entire income of a family belongs to just one member, the tax liability is much higher than when the same income is spread among different members of the family.

Now, under the income tax law it is not possible to arbitrarily divide one's income among different members of the family -- and then pay lower tax in the names of different family members. However, this goal can be achieved by intelligent use of the facility of gifts and settlements.

Gifts you receive are not your income

Generally, any gift you receive from various members of your family and specified relatives is not considered your income but a capital receipt. Thus, no income tax is payable on gifts received from relatives -- and also gifts received from parties other than relatives up to a sum of Rs. 50,000 and at the time of marriage up to any amount.

The first rule of tax planning requires that one develops income tax files for oneself, one's spouse, one's major children, the Hindu Undivided family, and for all other major relatives in the family, including one's parents. The development of different files of major family members can be achieved through the process of gifts and settlement.

No income tax on your inheritance

No income tax is payable on any amount received or inherited by you, whether in the form of movable assets or immovable assets, consequent to the demise of your friend or relative. Moreover, there is no upper limit to this exemption.

Hence, whenever you receive either bank fixed deposit, shares or immovable property consequent to the demise of a person, you don't have to pay any income tax at all on the value of all inherited assets.

The simple rule is that the asset so inherited by you is not your income; it is a capital receipt. Hence you are not liable to pay any income tax on the money and assets you inherit.

Rule 2: Take full advantage of all tax exemptions

The second step of tax planning lies in claiming all the exemptions and deductions which are permissible under the income tax law.

A list of most such exemptions and deductions is contained in Section 10 of the Income Tax Act. This list has to be optimised depending on your facts and circumstances.

If you and your family members are not claiming the optimum benefit of exemptions and deductions, then it is time to focus on investment planning in the group so that every family member gets full benefit of all permitted tax exemptions.

Rule 3: Take full advantage of tax deductions

Then, too, various tax deductions are available under the income tax law. One should try to avail of the benefit of these deductions for each and every member of the family.

The various investment options that offer tax rebates should be reviewed keeping in mind various aspects like the age factor, etc. A check-list should be prepared of the various deductions permissible under the income tax law.

Check whether each and every tax paying family member is claiming these. If special care is taken of this aspect, then it is legally possible to save a lot of income tax.

It is suggested that a chart be prepared of tax, deductions and exemptions for every family member for purposes of overall tax planning of the family.

It would be worthwhile if a group tax chart is prepared containing details relating to income tax, tax deductions, net taxable income, tax deducted at source, rebate of tax, and, finally, the net amount of income tax paid in the case of each family member.

With the help of this one simple chart, you can achieve substantial tax planning as it will show up those who have not made optimum use of tax deductions.

Rule 4: Exempted incomes

There are innumerable incomes under the income tax law which are exempted from the purview of tax. These incomes are known as exempted incomes.

For example, interest income from tax-free bonds as also any income from agriculture are some items of exempted incomes.

Proper planning of your investments in a way so as to generate tax-exempt incomes is another golden rule of tax planning.

Rule 5: Don't overdo it; keep tax planning simple

Easy, simple, hassle-free should be the objectives of your tax planning approach.

The message which we want to bring to you is that you should adopt tax planning but never overdo it; just remember and follow the golden rules outlined above. These will help you achieve your tax-saving mission without going overboard.

It is possible to save tax perfectly legally provided you plan your affairs along the rules described above. This would also help you avoid all worries and tension as all your incomes, assets and investments would be duly accounted for from the taxation point of view.

India's near future

2008-11-05T23:21:00.000-08:00

Investment Tips

2008-10-28T23:42:00.000-07:00

In an uncertain market where stock prices are witnessing a free fall, it is time for investors to rejig their portfolio to limit losses and opt for stocks that offer stability and decent returns.
Among the two key barometers of the Indian equity markets, the Sensex has fallen by more than half from its January 2008 peak of 21,206 points. The gradual decline over the last nine months, and the sharp fall over the last couple of weeks, have eroded a substantial chunk of investor wealth.
With the demand situation not looking good and liquidity problems persisting, investors are clueless as to where the markets would be headed over the next year.

The Smart Investor spoke to money managers to assess what their outlook on the market is and what strategies one needs to adopt to tackle the meltdown.
The negatives
The main macroeconomic parameters, be it the GDP, interest rates, the fiscal situation, credit growth, the IIP numbers -- all point to a muted phase of growth over the next few quarters. The International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook projections for 2009 has cut India's GDP growth forecasts to 6.9 per cent.
While this is marginally down from the estimated 2008 GDP of 7.2 per cent, it is substantially down from the nearly 9 per cent GDP growth rate experienced in 2007. Compounding this is the fact that advanced economies, which are engines of world consumption, are expected to grow at just 1 per cent in 2009.
Indian manufacturing activity, too, is down with IIP (manufacturing) growth restricted to 4.9 per cent during April-August 2008 (against 10 per cent in the previous corresponding period); it was just 1.3 per cent in August 2008. Credit growth to the consumer durables sector and autos, good indicators of spending trends are hardly encouraging.
While credit for durables has fallen by 33 per cent for the year till June 2008 y-o-y, auto loans have barely moved registering a growth of just 1 per cent in the same period.
India's current account balances too are precarious as compared to China's, which continues to attract investments on top of a huge trade surplus. While FIIs together own only 25 per cent of Indian equity, it is their high ownership of free floating stock that makes it difficult to stop the markets slipping down dramatically when they decide to pull out and which results in a worsening of the current account deficits.
While factors such as fund flows and economic growth are external, elections to state assemblies and to Parliament over the next six months are internal factors which will significantly impact sentiment. Pre-poll uncertainty, a vote-on-account Budget and a delay in investment and policy decisions mean that positive cues may emerge only in the third quarter of 2009.
The positives
However, all the information is not negative. Inflation, which has been responsible for the monetary policy tightening and subsequent rise in interest rates, and which has also brought spending and investments to a grinding halt, is trending down at 11.4 per cent for the week ended October 4.
A dip in commodity prices (crude oil and metals) means that the figure would dip below the double digit market much before the current fiscal runs through. A cut in interest rates, which is on the cards sooner than later, could boost business and consumer confidence and keep the sentiment quotient on the markets high.
Thus, analysts believe that while fundamentals might take some time to improve, sentiment (the other key determinant of equity prices) might improve as speed of response is much better now than in the past crashes. Says Nilesh Shah, deputy managing director, ICICI Prudential AMC, "The response to the 1929 crisis came four years later in 1933 and was to the tune of $ 78 billion in value. The response to the current crisis has been much swifter. Governments across the world have swung into action and pumped more than $3 trillion so far."
However, the bounce back won't come in a hurry. Says Amitabh Chakraborty, president equity, Religare Securities "Don't expect a V shaped recovery, there is still pain left in the system." A more prolonged U-shaped recovery would mean that markets are likely to be move sideways for at least two quarters. While the fiscal situation due to high oil prices has worsened, Srividhya Rajesh, fund manager, Sundaram BNP Paribas, believes that India's growth numbers, though lower, will top most other markets.
Combined with cheap valuations, a 10 per cent downside from these levels and falling commodity prices, she believes, could make the markets attractive once more to domestic and foreign investors.
What should you do?
While the list of unknowns seem quite long and affect every company large and small, experts advise that you be prudent with decisions related to your equity portfolio.
While existing investors, who do not have need for funds, should not panic and exit their equity holdings as they are likely to book heavy losses, for new investors with a surplus to invest this is a good time to fish for quality stocks at reasonable prices. Says Hemant Rustagi, CEO, Wiseinvest, an investment advisory, "Adopt a bottom up approach and commit smaller amounts rather than make a lump sum investment at one go and time the market." Agrees Dinesh Thakkar, CMD, Angel Broking, "Invest 25 per cent of your surplus now and the remaining in dips spread over the next three months." This way you will not only benefit from an upside in stock prices but investment at these levels will also keep your downside to a minimum.
But, coming back to existing investors, they must also learn to book losses (reshuffle portfolio), if need be. That's because, if you don't, you may get stuck with companies that may be going nowhere, thereby losing an opportunity to make good the losses (by investing in a better company). Stocks like DSQ Software, during the dotcom rally in 1999-2000 are proof of the pudding.
Where to invest?
Stick to disciplined investing and do your homework thoroughly before committing your funds or you will be speculating which is not advisable on both counts of managing risk and enhancing returns. Preferably, add companies that are leaders in their respective businesses. In that context, let there be no size bias. But, what is important is that the companies should have reasonably decent prospects, sound management and strong entry barriers, apart from healthy financials that will help them tide the current rough patch. Besides these qualities, there are some more factors that need to be considered. They are:
High cash, low debt: To benefit from your investment in the current environment, follow the traditional conservative principle of cash is king. Look for companies which have a record strong positive free cash flow as it can be used to buy out businesses at firesale prices or strengthen operations. Moreover, in a worsening situation where equity markets are down and debt comes at a high price, raising money is not only going to be difficult, it might stretch the balance sheet. Companies that are less leveraged can expand and do not have to cough up cash at regular intervals to pay for interest costs.
While software and FMCG companies bring in a lot of cash due to high margins and low leverage, investors need to keep an eye out on how global demand plays out before investing in the IT sector. While FMCG and pharmaceuticals are defensive sectors, within the sector one could look at ITC (a diversified play), Ranbaxy (valuations) and Sun Pharmaceuticals (growth prospects).
Funding blues: Resources locked in a current expansion or funding of acquisition allow little flexibility in operations. Notice that the market is already punishing companies, which have taken up huge expansion plans and need funds to take them forward.
Here, an example could be Jaiprakash Associates (50 per cent price erosion over the last month), which is building India's largest private sector hydroelectric project at a cost of Rs 5,600 crore (Rs 56 billion), tripling its cement capacity and has aggressive plans in the real estate sector.
The company's intention to raise funds through the rights issue route also indicates its need for capital and comes at a time when established names such as Hindalco and Tata Motors have struggled to get their pricing right for their issues in a bearish market.
In contrast, NTPC was sitting on a cash pile of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) at the end of FY08 and can fund its mega plans by a combination of internal accruals and debt. It is also generating a cash profit of about Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) a year. The fixed return nature of the power sector and internal accruals will ensure it grows at stable rates irrespective of market conditions.
Substantial price decline=value buy?: A sizeable decline in the share price of a company does not qualify automatically for investments. Some also tend to look at stocks in relation to their valuations a few months back, indicating that after a 50-60 per cent decline, their valuations look cheap.
But, that does not necessarily hold true. Says P K Agarwal, president, research, Bonanza Portfolio, a financial services firm, "Companies (in the capital goods sector for example) which performed in the earlier bull run might not be the best bets due to high interest rates, large capex and muted industrial and economic growth." Avoid construction and realty stocks which have dropped substantially as they require large amounts of capital to sustain their business.
Another stock that looks cheap is Reliance Communications considering the scorching pace of growth in telecom. The company, however, is in the middle of a pan-India expansion of GSM network and is expected to spend Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) in FY08 and FY09.
Despite sound business potential and growth prospects, the markets have drubbed the shares by 35 per cent over the last month. If you can handle volatility and adopt an aggressive approach to stock buying, you could add this to your portfolio.
Among other sectors where one can find stocks that offer value are financials, believe fund managers such as Sandip Sabharwal, executive director-equity and CIO of J M Financial AMC. He says that, with a likelihood of interest rates easing, investors could look at companies in the banking and financial sector space (PSU banks) which are available at cheap valuations and will outperform the market.
Other parameters: Dipping equity prices also make high dividend earning stocks a good idea. Check for past dividend record and the cash flow situation in the first two quarters and you will get a fair idea of what the annual picture will be like to arrive at a list of companies that are likely to make higher payouts.
Bongaigaon Refineries and Chennai Petro with a high dividend yield are two names that come to mind and fit the high dividend yield criteria at current prices. For investors who wish to invest in markets but don't have the patience or time to track every company, try index funds.
The benefit? You get a diversified collection of the bluest of the blue chips packaged in one instrument which is not only easy to track but is the cheapest low cost mutual fund scheme available in the market. Here, the Nifty BeES from Benchmark Mutual Fund could be looked at.
Despite a gloomy outlook and uncertainty, the current levels offer a great opportunity to invest. Historically a price-earnings multiple of 10, or 50-60 per cent off the top signals a bottom. At a consensus FY09 EPS of Rs 980, you are getting the entire Sensex basket, at just a little over 10 times.
While an investment now could give a substantial boost to your equity portfolio over the next two years, expect the medium term (up to 12 months) to be choppy in light of the global turmoil (still far from having achieved stability), domestic slowdown and impending state and national elections.
Only the new government will be able to bring significant reforms aimed at bolstering economic growth. So, for the time being, give a higher weightage to safety and thereafter, ensure that you don't pay a high price for stocks, even if they are expected to report robust numbers.

Sub-Prime Crisis (Crux)

2008-10-27T01:12:00.000-07:00

The current upheaval in the global financial markets has caused more mayhem in a fortnight than the world has seen in its entire economic history.

Although there are many reasons responsible for bringing the world to the doorstep of financial doom, the main cause of this financial disaster is said to be the �sub-prime loan.'

So what is this sub-prime loan? And why has it caused global panic? If it is related to the American housing sector, why should it affect Indian and other markets?

A sub-prime loan

Sub-prime mortgage loans (or housing loans or junk loans) are very risky. But since profits are high where the risk is high, a lot of lenders get into this business to try and make a quick buck.

Sub-prime loans are dicey as they are given to people with unstable incomes or low creditworthiness. These individuals are not financially sound enough to be given a loan when judged under the strict standards that should normally be followed by a bank or lending institution.

However, there's more to it. Let us simplify this issue to understand better how sub-prime loans work and how they brought the world down to its knees.

It all begins with an American wanting to live the famed American dream.

So he seeks a housing loan to give shape to his dream home. But there is a slight problem. He doesn't have good credit rating. This means that he is unable to clear all the stringent conditions that a bank imposes on an individual before it sanctions a loan.

Since his credit is not good enough, no bank will give him a home loan as there is a fear that the chances of a default by him are high. Banks don't like customers who default on their payments.

But lo!, before the American dream can fade away, there enters a second American -- usually a robust financial institution -- who has good credit rating and is willing to take on some amount of risk.

Given his good credit rating, the bank is willing to give the second American a loan. The bank gives the loan at a certain rate of interest.

The second American then divides this loan into a lot of small portions and gives them out as home loans to lots of other Americans -- like the first American -- who do not have a great credit rating and to whom the bank would not have given a home loan in the first place.

The second American gives out these loans at a rate of interest that is much higher rate than the rate at which he borrowed money from the bank. This higher rate is referred to as the sub-prime rate and this home loan market is referred to as the sub-prime home loan market.

Also by giving out a home loan to lots of individuals, the second American is trying to hedge his bets. He feels that even if a few of his borrowers default, his overall position would not be affected much, and he will end up making a neat profit.

Now if this home loan market is sub-prime, what is prime? The prime home loan market refers to individuals who have good credit ratings and to whom the banks lend directly.

Now let's get back to the sub-prime market. The institution giving out loans in the sub-prime market does not stop here. It does not wait for the principal and the interest on the sub-prime home loans to be repaid, so that it can repay its loan to the bank (the prime lender), which has given it the loan.

So what does the institution do?

It goes ahead and �securitises' these loans. Securitisation means converting these home loans into financial securities, which promise to pay a certain rate of interest. These financial securities are then sold to big institutional investors.

Many investment banks (or institutions like the �second American' in our story) sold complicated securities that were backed by debt which was very risky.

And how are these investors repaid? The interest and the principal that is repaid by the sub-prime borrowers through equated monthly installments (EMIs) is passed onto these institutional investors.

The institution giving out the sub-prime loans takes the money that it gets by selling the financial securities and passes it on to the bank he had taken the loan from, thereby repaying the loan. And everybody lives happily ever after. Or so it would have seemed.

The sub-prime home loans were given out as floating rate home loans. A floating rate home loan as the name suggests is not fixed. As interest rates go up, the interest rate on floating rate home loans also go up. As interest rates to be paid on floating rate home loans go up, the EMIs that need to be paid to service these loans go up as well.With US interest rising, the EMIs too increased. Higher EMIs hit the sub-prime borrowers hard. A lot of them in the first place had unstable incomes and poor credit rating.

They, thus, defaulted. Once more and more sub-prime borrowers started defaulting, payments to the institutional investors who had bought the financial securities stopped, leading to huge losses.

The problem primarily began with the United States keeping its interest rates very low for a very long time, thus encouraging Americans to go in for housing loans, or mortgages. Lower interest rates led to buyers wanting to take on bigger loans, and thus bigger and better homes.

But life was fine. With the American economy doing well at that time and housing prices soaring on the back of huge demand for real estate and bigger and better homes, financial institutions saw a mouthwatering opportunity in the mortgage market.

In their zeal to make a quick buck, these institutions relaxed the strict regulatory procedures before extending housing loans to people with unstable jobs and weak credit standing.

Few controls were put in place to handle the situation in case the housing �bubble' burst. And when the US economy began to slow down, the house of cards began to fall.

The crisis began with the bursting of the United States housing bubble.

A slowing US economy, high interest rates, unrealistic real estate prices, high inflation and rising oil tags together led to a fall in stock markets, growth stagnation, job losses, lack of consumer spending, a virtual halt to new jobs, and foreclosures and defaults.

Sub-prime homeowners began to default as they could no longer afford to pay their EMIs. A deluge of such defaults inundated these institutions and banks, wiping out their net worth. Their mortgage-backed securities were almost worthless as real estate prices crashed.

The moment it was found out that these institutions had failed to manage the risk, panic spread. Investors realised that they could hardly put any value on the securities that these institutions were selling. This caused many a Wall Street pillar to crumble.

As defaults kept rising, these institutions could not service their loans that they had taken from banks. So they turned to other financial firms to help them out, but after a while these firms too stopped extending credit realizing that the collateral backing this credit would soon lose value in the falling real estate market.

Now burdened with tons of debt and no money to pay it back, the back of these financial entities broke, leading to the current meltdown.

The problem worsened because institutions giving out sub-prime home loans could easily securitise it. Once an institution securitises a loan, it does not remain on the books of the institution.

Hence that institution does not take the risk of the loan going bad. The risk is passed onto the investors who buy the financial securities issued for securitising the home loan.

Another advantage of securitisation, which has now become a disadvantage, is that money keeps coming in.

Once an institution securitises the first lot of home loans and repays the bank it has borrowed from, it can borrow again to give out loans. The bank having been repaid and made its money does not have any inhibitions in lending out money again.

Given the fact that institutions giving out the loan did not take the risk, their incentive was in just giving out the loan. Whether the individual taking the home loan had the capacity to repay the loan or not, wasn't their problem.

Thus proper due diligence to give out the home loan was not done and loans were extended to individuals who are more likely to default.

Other than this, greater the amount of loan that the institution gave out, greater was the amount it could securitise and, hence, greater the amount of money it could earn.

After borrowers started defaulting, it came to light that institutions giving out loans in the sub-prime market had been inflating the incomes of borrowers, so that they could give out greater amount of home loans.

By giving out greater amounts of home loan, they were able to securitise more, issue more financial securities and earn more money. Quite a vicious cycle, eh?

And so the story continued, till the day borrowers stop repaying. Investors who bought the financial securities could be serviced.

Well, that still does not explain, why stock markets in India, fell? Here's why. . .

Institutional investors who had invested in securitised paper from the sub-prime home loan market in the US, saw their investments turning into losses. Most big investors have a certain fixed proportion of their total investments invested in various parts of the world. So Once investments in the US turned bad, more money had to be invested in the US, to maintain that fixed proportion.

In order to invest more money in the US, money had to come in from somewhere. To make up their losses in the sub-prime market in the United States, they went out to sell their investments in emerging markets like India where their investments have been doing well.

So these big institutional investors, to make good of their losses in the sub-prime market, began to sell their investments in India and other markets around the world. Since the amount of selling in the market is much higher than the amount of buying, the Sensex began to tumble.

The flight of capital from the Indian markets also led to a fall in the value of the rupee against the US dollar.

Of course! Sub-prime crisis alone could not have caused such mayhem, although it is to blame for the beginning of the end.

This crisis is spreading from sub-prime to prime mortgages, home equity loans, to commercial real estate, to unsecured consumer credit (credit cards, student loans, auto loans), to leveraged loans that financed reckless debt-laden leveraged buy outs, to municipal bonds, to industrial and commercial loans, to corporate bonds, to the derivative markets whose risk are indeterminate, etc.

It has been a total systemic failure that has its roots in the US real estate and the sub-prime loan market.

Note: Some analysts say that the worst might not be over. . .

A GIFT TO MOM

2008-10-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers and prospered. Some years later, they chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother who lived far away in another city.

The first said, "I had a big house built for Mama."

The second said, "I had a hundred thousand dollar theater built in the house."

The third said "I had my Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her."

The fourth said, "You know how Mama loved reading the Bible and you know she can't read anymore because she can't see very well. I met this preacher who told me about a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty preachers 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years to the church, but it was worth it. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it."

The other brothers were impressed. After the holidays Mom sent out her thank you notes. "She wrote: "Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway."

"Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home, I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks."

"Michael, you gave me an expensive theater with Dolby sound, it could hold 50 people, but all my friends are dead, I've lost my hearing and I'm nearly blind. I'll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same."

"Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to give little thought to your gift. The chicken was delicious. Thank you."

Informative Girls' Profiles

2008-10-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

These r some of the actual profiles posted on the matrimonial site shhadi.com.
Just read these......I am not responsible if you forget your basic grammar
after reading this mail...

- Hello To Viewers My Name is Sowmya , I am single i dont have
male,If any one whant to marrie to me u can visite to my
home. I am not a good education but i working all field in
bangalore.. if u like me u welcome to my heart...
when ever u whant to meet pls visit my resident or
send u letter..
Thanks
yours Regards Sowmya ~*~
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i want very simple boy. from brahmin educated family from Orissa
state she is also know about RAMAYAN, GEETA BHAGABATA, and other homework
(Wut Homework?)
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I am a happy-go-lucky kind of person. Enjoys every moments of
life. I love to make friendship. Becauese friendship is a
first step of love. I am looking for my dreamboy who will love me
more than i.
Because i love myself a lot. If u think that is u then why to late
come on ........hold my hand forever !!!
(The dilwale dulhaniya effect)
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i am simple girl. I have lot of problemin my life because of my
lucknow i am looking one boy he care me
and love me lot lot lot
(I don't know why but this is one of my favorites)
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i want a boy with no drinks if he wants he can wear jeans in house
but while steping out of house he should give recpect to our cast
(by not wearing his jeans? Wat the hell...)
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HYE I AM A GOOD LOKING GIRL,WHO HAS THE CAPABILITY TO MAKE ANY
BODY TO LOUGH.I BELIEVE IN GOD AND ACCORDING TO ME FRIENDS ARE THE
REAL MESSENGER OF GOD. THE 3 THINGS I AM LOOKING FROM A BOY
,THEY ARE
1.THEY MUST BELIEVE IN GOD.
2. THEY HAVE TO LIKE MY PROFFESION
3. THEY SHOULD NOT GET BORED WITH ME WHEN I WILL TRY
TO MAKE THEM LOUGH.
(all of us are loughing {laughing})
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whatever he may be but he should feel that he is going to be someone
groom and he must think of the future life if he is toolike this
he would be called the man of the lamp
(I am clueless, I feel so lost. Can anyone tell me what this girl
wants)
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i love my patner i marriage the patner ok i search my patner and I
love the patner ok thik hai the patner has a graduate
ok
(I am again clueless but I liked the use of "ok". The person is
suffering from "Ok-syndrome")
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iam pranati my family histoy my two brother two sister and father
& mother sister completely married
(somebody please explain in comments section how to get married
'completely' ?)
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my name is farhanbegum and i am unmarried. pleaes you marrige me
pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes pleaes
(height of desperation! J )
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iam kanandevi. i do owo businas.one sistar.he was marred.
(No comments)
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hello i am a good charactarised woman. i want to run my life
happily. i divorced my first husband. his charactor is not good'.
i expect the good minded and clean habits boy who may be in the
same caste or other caste accepted ...
(but credit cards not accepted..?? ?)
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Iam Sharmila my colour is black, but my heart is white. i like
social service.
(Zebra..???)
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Reasons why LIFE without a Girl Friend is cool

2008-10-13T01:39:00.000-07:00

1. You can stare at any Girl.......

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2. You don't have to spend money on her.

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3. You won't get boring result in ur board papers.

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4. No girlfriend, no emotional blackmailing.

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5. If u don't have a girlfriend, she can't dump u.

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6. Having a girlfriend is hot, not having a girlfriend is automatically cool, and every one loves to be a cool guy.

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7. This can be more to life than just waiting for the bloody phone to ring.

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8. You won't have to tolerate someone else defining, "right" and "wrong" for u.

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9. Girlfriend can get so possessive that you can't do anything according ur wishes anymore.

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10. You can buy gifts for mom, dad, sis or grandpa instead of a girlfriend and have a happier family life.

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11. You won't have to waste paper writing love letters. No more endless waiting for ur date to arrive at some weird shop place.

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12. You can have more friends, as u will have more time for them.

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13. You wont have to see boring love stories instead of sports.

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14. You wont have to tell lie to anybody and, therefore, u'll sin less.

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15. You can have good night's sleep-no need to dream about her.

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16. You wont have to fight over having a 'special' friend with ur folks.

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17. No nonstop nonsense.

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18. You wont have drown in the pool of her tears.

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19. No tension.

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20. You can be "urself"

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21. You wont have to hide your telephone bills.....

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