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Ranganathan Street - One of the wonders of Chennai :)

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It’s been eighteen months since I landed first in Madras. My stay in this city helped me explore several places in Tamilnadu. From Rameshwaram to Madurai, Tiruthani to Arunachaleshwar, Kanchi, Vellore and many other places. But I almost missed the most popular street of this wonderful city – Ranganathan Street. Now that I have come to fag end of my stay here, I thought I'll visit this street once before I move back to Hyderabad. And I must say the experience has been worth while :) It’s quite an experience walking down this narrow street. A shopping experience that is second to none. It would be no exaggeration if I say the rich and lavish air conditioned shopping malls cannot match up to the most inexpensive shopping experience of Ranganathan Street. It seems there is almost nothing on planet earth that one cannot get here and that too at an unimaginable price. Vegetables are sold at an average of Rs10 to 15 per kilo whereas the market average is almost double of that. If not for ...
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Chanakya's Chant - Review

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There are two plots in the book. one set in Patiliputra 2300 years ago during Chanakya's era and the other set in Patna in the present day. Patna is the new name for Patliputra and that may be the reason why the author has chosen the place to set the present day story. It’s amazing how the author has managed to bring convergence between both the stories towards the end. The book describes dirty politics at great length with several interesting plots. However the author drives home a point that dirty politics can actually be used to do some genuine good to the society.   It’s a simple and easy book to read with full of witty conversations. Ashwin Sanghi has done a thorough research and has ensured he kept the reader thrilled and interested throughout.   One would find it difficult to say which story is more interesting, Chanakya's or Gangasagar's. Readers can see the common thread between both the stories all the time. The characters of both the protagonists have been stitch...
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Mother of All Myths - India does not win when Sachin makes a century

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Blessed from skies The Mother of all contests, India Vs Pakistan cricket match has just concluded and thank fully India emerged as winners. Sachin Tendulkar, quite unlike Tendulkar,  had lots of luck in this match.  He was dropped 4 times. Lets not forget, the man who is rated as greatest batsman ever had the temperment to accept what's going on and get those 85 ugly runs for his country, which end of the day made a difference for the victory. Most others would have lost their temperment after couple of close shaves. Thats brings us to the debate that I have been hearing for quite some time or rather a myth, I would say Mother of All Myths as there is not an iota of truth in it.... that India wins when Sachin does not make a century . I really get annoyed when I hear that and especially when few of the so called experts says it on TV. I get annoyed not just because I am a big Sachin fan, but also because people just don't bother to look the numbers bef...
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Who cares how busy you are?

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"Beware the barrenness of a busy life" I called a couple of my pals today and they said “buddy, I am busy, I will call you back”. And of course both missed to return with the response. Buddies – No offense meant. This isn’t just about you guys J In fact that’s something that we hear and say quite often in our daily life and is not very strange to our ears. Then why should it bother me or for that matter anyone?  What impact does it have on our personal relations? To answer that, Yes ! It does make a BIG difference when it comes to maintaining good relations. It actually depends on how many times and for how long it’s being said. If you say it for few days, it means you are really busy. If you say it for few weeks, it means you are unable to manage your time and need some help with your time management. But how about those who say it for months and years and their busy schedule just doesn’t seem to change? It just means they are trying to show off to the world that ...
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Milking away to glory!

Who would not love having a cow that can be milked for eternity? That’s probably why the Indian politicians are milking away the nation shamelessly for generations now. If one starts digging these milking stories, the list would run down all the way to pre independence era and I must say it will be quite an interesting research. Let’s refresh our memory with a few popular ones: 1990: Indian bad boys got on with the Italian bad boys to milk the mother cow and name of the story was “Bofors”. The value of this milking was estimated at Rs 400 million in those days, the highest at that point in time. While that amount appears to be petty today, it did shake the nation then. Nation was in huddle and the story became hot news.  It pulled curtains for the ruling party and brought in a new government which never proved to be any better anyway. Twenty years later if we look at the status of this story today, the bad boys involved have either escaped in to skies or have fled away to It...
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Black Money – What it means to me?

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Ever wondered what is this fuss about the Indian black money in foreign banks is? This one is buzzing all over the news these days. Government trying to defend its stand and opposition using it as yet another weapon to punt the ailing government. I wonder if they ever did anything to eradicate corruption from the system when they were in power. But that’s a discussion for some other time. For those who don’t have the facts in hand – One of the estimates puts the figure of black money – money raised through illegal means, tax evasions etc, as Rs 280 lakh crores rupees. Some say it's around Rs 70 lakh crores. While there is no accepted figure nor there is any consistency with these numbers, what is not disputed is the amount is certainly high, as high as Rs 50 plus lakh crores. So, for the sake of discussion let’s take a lower side estimate and peg it at Rs 50 Lakh crore. One can easily arrive at that number going by a simple average of all those rumored figured on the lower side....
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My bundle of joy!

Today I saw something that I see everyday ... almost all the time...my little cute daughter playing at one corner of the room...busy in to her own world. While that’s not a new sight, for some reasons unknown, today it made me realize what pure happiness is.. Living at the moment.. Not worried about what’s next, completely stress free... A bundle of joy She invokes a sense of positivity in me....makes me think why cant I try and be like her. Enjoy the moment and not think too much about future.... Why can’t I pause for a moment and see what best I can do, to make this moment happier rather than planning for a happy future? She only remembers good things of the past and has no negative memories, expresses everything in her mind immediately without fear whether it is anger, joy, love or fear. Why can’t I do that? She does exactly what she wants no matter how much I try to stop her. Her focus on her activities does not get diverted.  She does not get tired... it is amazing to see her ...
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