Landline phones are now history..

Tring Tring... remember that sound.. yes you guessed it right.. that's the sound of a telephone.

Well, gone are the days when people had landline phones at their home. Its very existence had been shadowed by the new smart, intelligent and sleek mobile phones.

The decline in the popularity of land line phones is no lesser a dramatic story, very similar to one where the once rich suddenly becomes a pauper.

I still remember when having a landline phone was a status symbol and only a handful of people in every society had them. Others, who were not so privileged, had to depend upon these people to get them connected to their loved ones.

If somebody got a new landline connection, it was treated as a event that needed to be celebrated. Even the lineman's would request a "Baksheesh" for getting a new landline connection.

Local and STD booths were treated as a profitable business options for people with lower capital to invest.

It's all gone and has gone really fast. Just like the telegrams became a history few days back, I wouldn't be surprised if telephone also meets the same fate some years down the line.

Financial crisis!!

This is a hot topic right now and the CAT aspirants can expect a lot of GD/PI questions surrounding this topic. So whats so new in this??

This is not the first time that the world has witnessed a financial crisis. If we go back to history we can see that their have been instances like this before (1939 Great Depression). So whats making this financial crisis to different??

Mr Warren Buffet once said " financial instruments are a weapon of mass destruction " and that seems to have come true. There is a clear distinction between the crisis which occured before the one we are facing now. The most distinguishing factor is the scale of operations in the financial markets. There has been a tremedeous growth in the developement of the financial markets with the introduction of new financial products. However, the irony is that nobody knows that how these instruments behave in adverse market conditions. Even the best of the brains were not able to identify the crisis way ahead of time and take corrective actions. Or were they were just busy gambling !!

No matter how the things were done in terms of reporting, disclosures, accounting, the truth is that we are in the midst of a financial crisis which has taken toll on some of the historical corporates. This is bound to grow. What we are witnessing right now is just the tip of the iceberg. 

However, one good thing about this is that the governments of differnet counntries have taken steps which would help them overcome this crisis. All the countries are trying hard to minimize the risk associated with it. And mostly it is a collaborative effort by mosy of the countries.

Economist state this a business cycle and nessasary for the world so that the asset prices fall in line. However what they miss out is that these business cycles leave most of the businesses out business !!

The all New MAHABHARATA

Today while watching one of the so called news channel Aaj Tak ( how can this channel be a No 1 news channel????), I came across a interesting TV Soap news. The news was the launch of a whole new version of Mahabharata. So its seems that the trend of remaking the things have caught up the small screen also. It all started with remixed songs, then remake movies like DON and now the remake of serials. It appears that the K factor girl (Ekta Kapoor) has got it very clear that the Saas-Bahu soaps are no longer going to hold the audience.
However, it still is a daunting task to match the perfection of the Old Mahabharata. The serial was a huge success and almost all the characters in it are known by their alias names even today. How can the audience forget the Bheem, Duryodhan, Karn, Arjun, Sakuni mama, Dratarashtra.
All these characters were given justice by the actors who portrayed them in the old Mahabharata.
But when the names of actors who would be a part of the new Mahabharata were disclosed it became very clear that the serial would not have a long run. None of the actors looked appropriate for the role. The Bheem of this Mahabharata looks more like a model with good physique. The Duryodhan has a chocolate boy kind of a look. And if this was not all, then the role of Dratarastra would be played by none other than Ronit Roy. Yeah you are right the husband of Tulsi in KSBKBT.
It would be interesting to watch the new actors portraying these characters again. Atleast the serial would have a decent TRP's in the beginning but will it be able to hold on to the expectations of the audience is something that we will have to wait and watch.

did u say joint family !!

Gone are the days when everybody in the family used to stay together and share the good and bad times together. I come from a middle class family and have grown up in a nuclear family. However my parents always ensured that we (siblings) dont get detached from our roots. Its almost a decade now that I am away from my parents, but manage to spend at least 5-10 days after every 3-4 months. This is not only the case with me, almost 70% of the working class would be in such a situation.
At least one member of each family today would be staying away for his work obligations. The time when Parents require care and support, theres nobody by their side. In contrast they are more concerned about your health, food arrangement, accommodation, office timing etc to ensure that you are happy.
At times I really feel that how have things changed so drastically over the period of just 10 years. Wondering would the younger generation ever be able to witness how a joint family works or would the word "Joint Family" come to them as a surprise !
Nobody at fault here, its our society that has adapted itself to such changes, but not without a cost.

There's no denying of the fact that energy plays a very crucial role in everybody's life. Just imagine a day without power in your house or for that matter a hot day with no power to support the A/C.
What would be the first thing you would do in such a situation? Off course curse your fate !!
Almost everybody knows its importance, but when it comes to saving energy its only a handful of people who take a lead.
Lets have a look at the political aspect of the power crisis. Not even a single day goes without a news on the Nuke Deal. The Congress pushing hard for it and the Left pushing hard from the opposite end. Newton's 3rd law hold true here.
But what hurts the most is the fact that these political parties undermine the main issue. The concern today and for the future is the sustained energy back-up for the projected GDP growth rate. The current oil price hike is just a trailor !!! picture abhi poori baaki hai mere dost...
Imagine another hike in the fuel prices? No? Why not?
Experts say that the oil prices may shoot up to $ 200 a barrel !!! by the end of this year.
Options are that we become intelligent enough to reduce the consumption or find alternatives. Alternatives being nuclear or the gaseous fuels. So whats wrong about Congress pushing hard for the Nuke deal, if we consider long term benefits of that. I guess Left has to drop the adamant attitude and see the benefits. Its not that India would become a slave to US if the deal goes through. When so much of effort has already been made to take it forward, why leave it mid-way?