Matilda

Humpty dumpty had a great fall…. We all have been hearing this rhyme since our childhood days. But I have now seen its real life existence. Mr. Rajat gupta, a corporate turk, had experienced only the “highs” in his career to finally have an “irreparable low”. The US judiciary has accused him of insider trading and has been given a sentence of 25 years in jail. While working in Goldman Sachs, he gave off secret information about many investment plans (most crucial being the Berkshire Hathaway investment) which were not to be revealed. He leaked the confidential details to his former business associate and a fallen hedge fund manager, Mr. Rajaratnam. The mighty mogul had no other option but to stand in shame as another indian, Mr. Preet bahara , US attorney, convicted him. Well, the jurors have given their decision but what is it that we learn from all this egregious fiasco? First and the foremost, GREED IS GOOD BUT NOT GODLY!! One always aspires to rise higher in...

Here is a Sanskrit Shloka which my grandpa often recites to me...It has a deep meaning and we can easily relate it to our lives. Oh God, always guide me so that I walk on the right path. Let not any kind of distractions leave me astray. Lead me from darkness to light so that I can brighten up the lives of my near and dear ones. Bless me so that I always keep spreading happiness in everyone's life and be a true healer. Lastly, oh God, transform all the lifeless things (having temporary existence like the body, my wealth and other material possessions) into "amrit" (which is omnipotent and omnipresent like the soul). Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!

  Oh!! It had literally been years having seen a movie with a meaning...certainly not after 3 Idiots.  Yesterday, a 9'o clock show was worth paying for ! Having nothing to do, we all planned  (though the plan was so sudden!) to go for a movie that my cousins had liked. But I certainly didn't expect myself to like it so much. This movie mainly raised two questions a)     Is “dreaming big” a crime? - Kayo,an innocent boy born to a middle class family, was excellent in cricket. He was considered as a champion in his cricket club. He always dreamt of playing for his nation. His father who was a RTO clerk did all his best to nurture his son’s ambitions.  He kept motivating his son to strive harder and never lose hope. But as we all know, Indian middle class though constitute a major part of the society , yet have to face numerous struggles. Even though Kayo got selected for a LORD’s camp in London, it was herculean task to finally g...

 THE 13TH PRESIDENT : Known as the first citizen of the nation or the head of the state . As Ms. Pratibha Patil finishes her presidential term in July 2012, the field work on the next president is in full swing. The nominations are as follows: 1) PRANAB MUKHERJEE  +VES: a) got backing from UPA alliance b) had been a loyal and hardworking member of the Congress party c) Been posted as Depuuty chairman of Planning Commission, finance minister and Defence Minister d) has signed crucial international treaties like the Section 123 agreement(a part of the United States Atomic Energy Act 1954) with US Secretary of state Ms. Condoleeza Rice. -VES: a) has been accused of excessess made during the Emergency during Indira Gandhi's term.Investigation to be done by the shah commission b) Also accused of allowing differential taxation for Bombay dyeing firm in textile industry CURRENT STATUS:  Having gained support from mostly all UPA parties(with the sole exception of...

Every year, the devotees from all over the world visit the 400 year Jagannath temple in Odisha. Here the pulling of the chariot heralds the beginning of the the renowned rath yatra. Lord Jagannath begins his journey with his elder brother,(Lord Balabhadra) and sister (Devi subhadra) from their abode, Shreemandir to Gundicha Temple. T he three deities, who sit on the bejeweled throne  known as the Ratnabedi, go on an annual vacation to their parental place. There is a ritual named the Pahindi Vidhi in which the idols of the gods are swayed rhythmically and hoisted majestically in the air by pandits.   Here as the idols are brought outside in a queue,the devotees get a chance to participate in the 1.4 km long yatra. The procession of Lord Balabhadra is pulled first as he is the eldest and hence leads the brigade. While Lord Jagannath(being the small brother)'s chariot is pulled the last. Between the two is Subhadra Devi's chariot. Metaphorically, the sister moves well prote...

NEWS: AITA(All India Tennis Association) had nominated Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as a team for the London Olympics. Due to an unfortunate clash between the two titans, they have refused AITA’s proposal.  On one hand, Mahesh and Rohan Bopanna wish to pair up for the D-Day(refusing to budge from their stand), Leander Paes has no partner yet. The Sports minister Ajay Maken, has finally intervened and suggested the idea of sending two teams. BACKGROUND: The journey of the doubles pair- Bhupathi and Paes has been quite chequered. After a nine year long gap, they both patches up in 2010 to give their partnership a final shot. This pair won three consecutive titles but lost in the nine tournaments held after that. Paes had now started becoming doubtful about Bhupathi’s health and expressed his concern.Meanwhile, both the players played individually with Mr. Rohan Bopanna. In this year, bhupathi and Bopanna played several matches together and have decided to join hands ...

Dear readers, During these summer vacations, I got a unique chance to visit the two famous DEVNAGARIS of India - Haridwar( The abode of God) and Mathura(birthplace of Lord Krishna). Haridwar is a city on the banks of the holy river Ganga.From the saffron clothed sadhus to the small and big temples and not to forget the ghats festooned with diyas. As I walked down the narrow "gallis"(each having their own unique name like chotiwala galli, halwai ki galli and so on), I realised that all these devotees have sacrificed the pleasures of life in the service of God. They have never seen God in physical form nor have they ever asked for anything in return. Interacting with a sadhu passing by, he said that he was extremely thankful to the almighty for all he had got and wanted to express his gratitude through his prayers."HAR KI PAUDI" is the renowned ghat where people come from all over the world for darshan. While some people come to expiate their sins, the res...

NEWS: Around two weeks back,  Taiwanese people had gone on a protest march against their president, Mr. Ma Ying Jeou who is alleged of making anti-national moves. BACKDROP: Turning the pages of history, the strained relations between the taiwan and China dates back to 1949.The civil war created lot of instability in China. That is the time when most of the refugees crossed the Taiwan strait after being defeated by the chinese and made the small island their home .This small strait slowly  became a miles long divide. It is a prolonged struggle of independence for Taiwan as it is still considered as an extended unit of The Republic of China. The current prez of Taiwan, Mr. Ma Ying Jeou, has been criticised for introducing pacts that would make them more and more dependent on China. The Prez believes that he wants to extend the trading relations; without realising that it would lead to dilution of the island's unique identity.The native Taiwanese feel that China would use ...

NEWS: Recently, Baba Ramdev and Team Anna have again raised the topic of black money. They are accusing the UPA II ministers of keeping lot of illegal money in the swiss bank and of being corrupt. This time, they have taken the support of the CAG's report on coalgate scam to prove their view. BACKDROP: This issue had been raised once before and had created ruckus in the country. On one side, Anna hazare had gone on an endless fast while ramdev organised dharnas and community awareness. They tried to mobilise people against the ministers to garner support. The government finally decided to introduce a lokpal bill to provide a legal framework to probe corruption charges against the ministers.The detectives(i.e. Baba  Ramdev and Team Anna) gave the government a deadline which was met but they were not satisfied with the layout. MY OPINION: I emphatically believe that it is necessary to combat corruption but one can't just keep making new and new laws. It would be wiser i...

NEWS: Since the past nine years, this quarter has been a real slump for the Indian economy. The GDP has slipped down to just 6.5% . Simultaneously, the rupee has also hit a new low of Rs 56.52 thereby making imports all the more expensive. Due to this, the prices have skyrocketed leaving lesser hopes for the nation. BACKDROP: In the previous quarters, the fiscal status of the world has undergone a sea change. On one hand, the euro is losing its strength as many Eurozone countries like Greece are defaulting.On the other hand, even though dollar is doing well, their export items are becoming less and less competitive. This has led to the global slowdown and is now slowly infecting our nation. The Indian Rupee has become weak and there is a glut of commodities. MY OPINION: The reasons for this crisis are: declining investments and policy paralysis. As a result of the rupee depreciation, the global investors are losing faith in our country's investment havens. Also, the majo...