Lets Vote for Guruji for "NDTV Global Indian"

Here is a chance for us to nominate Guruji - His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for NDTV Global
Indian of the Year.

All that you have to do is visit the following link and fill in the details as below

http://www.ndtv. com/convergence/ ndtv/indianofthe year/indianofthe year.aspx

Fill Like this:

Name: Your Name
E-mail: Your mail id
City: Your City name
Select your Category: Global Indians

Your Nominee: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Virgin Rebirth

He has just said that he would like to buy London's Gatwick Airport when it comes on the market next year, and by the end of October he aims to break the transatlantic monohull sailing record. There is no escaping Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, who goes to extraordinary lengths to put himself on the front pages. Not even a near-disastrous abseil down a building in Las Vegas last year could deter him. His brand is not just Virgin—it is also Branson. His ambition is boundless: lately he has been holding meetings on his private Caribbean island with a group of experts, to work out how to save the world from global warming and its people from disease. The name Branson means two things to British people. To most he is the country's best-known businessman, hoist to stardom by his derring-do ballooning stunts and photo-ops with busty blondes, an anti-establishment "cheeky chappy" whose plucky airline has battled the mighty "monopoly" of British Airways (BA) and whose Virgin brand has spawned a business empire. The other, lesser-known Branson is a ruthless, wily entrepreneur who is always trying to get one over his rivals. The former thinks he walks on water; the latter skates on thin ice. Two books published last month sum up these conflicting portraits. "Business Stripped Bare", billed as the "adventures of a global entrepreneur", is Sir Richard's take on how to succeed in business, peppered with self-justifying anecdotes from across his empire, from Virgin Atlantic to Virgin Trains to Virgin Mobile. It is an interesting read, marred by boasting and embellishment. The management lessons range from the homespun to the banal: "find good people and set them free"; "it's attention to details that really defines great business delivery". In fact, Mr Branson's real talents are his winning way with people and his ability to inspire loyalty—both hard to distil into business-book maxims. The new edition of "Branson", by Tom Bower, treads the same ground but takes a very different view. Mr Bower is a former documentary-maker who has carved out a career as a biographer of business figures (he is being sued by disgraced tycoon Conrad Black). Sir Rich ard described Mr Bower's original work, published eight years ago, as "a foul, foul piece of work". Mr Bower retells the story of the "dirty tricks" war with BA in the early 1990s, which ended with Sir Richard winning a libel action against BA's chairman Lord King. This was a side issue (BA's house journal falsely accused Sir Richard of lying). As Mr Bower describes, Virgin was fighting a propaganda war with BA. It revelled in the sympathy it attracted as the alleged victim of dirty tricks, in the process benefiting from plenty of free publicity. Mr Bower delights in detailing Sir Richard's antics—avoiding sales tax in his first record-retail business, for example—and in outlining his group's brushes with insolvency. In March 1992 he managed to extricate himself from losses and debt by selling his music division to EMI for £560m ($983m). In 1998 he raised cash by selling half of Virgin Rail to Stagecoach, a bus group. And in March 2000, weighed down again with losses, notably in music retailing, he freed himself by selling 49% of Virgin Atlantic to Singapore Airlines. He was soon at loggerheads with his..... Read the rest on: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/virgin-rebirth/368317/0

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Nature Matters...

Nature Matters (or How to save the planet)

From: henriquealves, 3 months ago

Nature Matters (or How to save the planet)

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: forest planet)

A series of tips on how to save the environment. Bear in mind this presentation was created by my son but because he isn't 18 years old yet, I'm posting it here for him.
---------------------------------------------

I'd love to hear your thoughts about the presentation on the comments. Go ahead and comment!

For more prize winning presentations (at a contest by Slideshare), go to :
www.SlideShare.net

SlideShare Link

Sequoia “RIP: Good Times” presentation: Here it is

Sequoia Capital on startups and the economic downturn

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: downturn finance)

Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes (V)

Contd from previous post.  (This is a series of Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes) ____________________________________________________________________ 30) From site of The Indus Entrepreneurs: http://www.tienewdelhi.org/archives.htm 31) A very good intellectuals' Yahoo Group: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TrainersNetwork-OMI/ 32) The Life Strategists http://www.oscarmurphy.com/ 33) All features of google on one page: http://lloydi.com/blog/simplygoogleoriginal.htm 34) http://webdesigner-kochi.blogspot.com/2007/06/inspirational-graphics-from-neil.html 35) Awesome link on how to manage up the boss!!! http://www.bnet.com/2403-13056_23-57170.html 36) Very good link for people choosing Finance... Interview questions in Finance field http://www.orkut.co.in/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=20354011&tid=2486736199848364988&start=1 _____________________________________________ Thats it for now. Cheerio!!

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Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes (IV)

Contd from previous post. (This is a series of Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes) ____________________________________________________________________ 29) Why Your Employees Are NOT Your Greatest Asset? Jill, the new CEO stepped into the small meeting room and prepared herself to address the gathering of managers. She felt quite assured and confident. This was the fifth time she would deliver this speech, in almost as many days. This was just one stop on her two week road tour. The new strategic direction that she was informing managers about was already catching people's attention. She settled herself in, and with a confident smile, greeted the managers as they arrived. These were mostly seasoned managers, but had never heard her speak before. She had done her homework on this group, and felt that this would be an open, candid but friendly meeting...one where the managers and herself could engage in healthy debate. She started off her speech with her usual opening...'people are our greatest asset'. She paused as usual, to let that statement sink in. Just as she was about to continue, a voice from the back of the room chimed in...'I don't agree with that statement!' Bill, a twenty five year veteran manager, was already standing, ready it appeared to take on the CEO. Jill was a little startled. Composing herself, she asked Bill if he would like to elaborate. 'I sure do' said Bill. 'People are not assets. An asset is something the company can acquire, own, manipulate, throw away, give away or sell.' He paused to let his statement sink in. And sink in it did. Jill thanked Bill for his comments, and then turned to the gathering of managers and said 'You know, I've never thought of it that way, but Bill is absolutley right. I, as an employee, would hate to be used in the same way an asset gets used. So let's talk about that...' They talked it through, and by the end of the meeting, came up with the following insights: 1. People are not assets 2. The RELATIONSHIPS we have with people are our greatest assets 3. We BOTH (company and employee) own those relationships. ..50/50 4. We both have an interest in sustaining and leveraging those relationships 5. Those relationships extend to suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders, including the community Jill modified her speech, and continued on her tour. But more than that, Jill modified her way of thinking about and relating to people. On that day, she became a better CEO. _____________________________________________ Series contd in next post

Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes (III)

Contd from previous post.  (This is a series of Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes) ____________________________________________________________________ 28) SUCCESS DOES NOT HAPPEN IN ISOLATION There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honour and prizes. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours'. "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked. "Why sir, "said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn." The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well. The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. SUCCESS DOES NOT HAPPEN IN ISOLATION. IT IS VERY OFTEN A PARTICIPATIVE AND COLLECTIVE PROCESS. So share the good practices, ideas, new learning's with your family, team members, neighbours _____________________________________________ Series contd in next post

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Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes (II)

Contd from previous post. (This is a series of Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes)
____________________________________________________________________
27) How to Delegate Effectively!!
- by Oscar Murphy Int'l

here are some thoughts on much talked about management tool, called "Delegation" . For competent performers, delegation is a boon, while for shirkers, it is a bane.

Here is a useful article,"How To Delegate Effectively" written by Gregory P. Smith, which takes us thru the art of delegation. I am sure you all will like this light, though powerful, reading.


Effective delegation is an important tool that some managers hesitate to use. This may result from inexperience with delegation particularly for a novice manager, a reluctance to release work one personally enjoys doing, or even an adherence to the old adage, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." Here are eight basic guidelines to help you delegate more effectively:

1. Determine what you will delegate. You decide which task(s) you want to delegate. Keep in mind that delegating is different from simply assigning someone a task that is already a part of the normal job requirements. When you delegate, you give someone else one of your job tasks; but you maintain control and responsibility.

2. Clarify the results you want. Determine the results you consider necessary for successful completion of the task. In general, the employee to whom you delegate uses his or her own methods to accomplish the task. If you expect use of a specific method to accomplish results, relate that to the employee at the beginning.

3. Clearly define the employee's responsibility. You, not the employee, determine the level of responsibility. Be sure the employee understands that level. After you have given the employee the information about the delegated task, ask him to tell you his understanding of both the task and goals. If the employee's answers do not match your expectations, review the matter in detail again.

4. Communicate the employee's authority over the delegated task. Define the scope and degree of authority given to the employee for the delegated task. Explain which decisions he or she may make independently and which require your approval. Be specific. If you tell the employee, "Do whatever it takes," you may end up with an unpleasant surprise if the employee violates company standards. However, a too-limited authority may stop the employee from accomplishing the task. Give the employee the authority necessary to accomplish the task but not so much authority that he or she can create a major disaster before anyone discovers the problem. Also, make clear the budget available and budgetary limitations.

5. Be sure the employee understands his or her authority. Again, have the employee repeat back to you his or her understanding of authority regarding the task. Resolve any misunderstandings at the beginning.

6. Establish a time limit. Time means different thing to different people. If you want the delegated work completed within a certain period, make that clear to the employee. (If you say, "When you get time, work on this," the project may remain untouched for weeks.) Also, if you want portions of the work completed by certain dates, make that clear.

7. Establish a follow-up schedule. Use a series of follow-up meetings to 1) monitor progress and 2) determine need for assistance. Monitoring the progress avoids a discovery two days before the due date that the task is not on schedule. It also can serve as an indication of whether the employee needs assistance. Some employees hesitate to ask questions. They fear the manager will interpret this as a sign of weakness or inadequacy for the job. Follow-up meetings give them the opportunity to ask questions within the context of a meeting designed for that purpose. The frequency of follow-up meetings will vary from project to project and employee to employee.

You may schedule more frequent meetings when delegating to a new employee than when delegating to an experienced and proven employee.

8. Stick to the delegation program; avoid "reverse" delegation. An employee may try to "dump" the delegated task back on the manager. A manager may feel tempted to "take it back" if the employee seems to be struggling with the task. In extreme circumstances, a manager may have no alternative other than to take the task back in order to avoid permanent damage to his or her own performance record. However, this should be only in extreme cases. When you take back a delegated task, the employee loses the opportunity to learn and grow. This can also discourage the employee who desired to do well, but needed more assistance at that point in time. Occasionally an employee may decide to perform poorly in order to avoid additional work; do not encourage this attitude. Stick to your decision and work with employees to see the task to completion.

Summary: Managers delegate work not to just relieve their workload, but to allow the employees they supervise to grow professionally. Effective delegation is a two-way discussion and understanding. Be clear about the delegated task, give employee(s) an opportunity to ask questions, monitor progress and offer assistance as needed. Use effective delegation to benefit both yourself and the person to whom you delegate.

Lucy Doss
Manager - Training Coordination (Singapore)
Oscar Murphy Life Strategists P Ltd
772, 10th Cross, 10th Main, Indira Nagar 2nd Stage
Bangalore - 560038, India

_____________________________________________
Series contd in next

Good selected Articles - for everybody's tastes

I had compiled these articles on Orkut community of my college.
Here I present them for you (Copy paste from Orkut), Go thru them or atleast the headlines. U may like many of them. Also, u may have read many of the concepts. But still persevere, and go thru rest of them.
I dont have time to create original content. So u have to satisfy urself with this.
________________________________________________________________________
Heylows pupils.
This post is actually the re-collection of my last post "A Good Article for CATters".
Actually, the title became obsolete overtime. so i decided to paste all of it in new post, so as not to mislead ppl.

Here, I have few very interesting articles, meant to cater to CBSites' tastes, including those preparing for CAT etc. It includes comments as well, from the ppl who gave them. The sequence is exact as before.

1) http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1139906.cms

Comment:
by Piyush -
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=5836351217196207573

gr8 article, nimesh babu! pz 'Supply' more such articles. i am "demanding" more


2) Rags to riches
Read this really good article meant for ppl like those at CBS:

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/27spec.htm

3) Ppl,
u can post good articles for CBSites here. (I mean those relevant to CBS)
Thanks.

4) Another nice article about Wipro's 60 Years of success.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/jul/20sld1.htm

5) Islamic Banking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_banking

6) Q&A for Interview
http://hrinterviews.blogspot.com/

7) http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/22mc.htm

8) Really moving Story of IIM-A graduate
Do read this:
http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/31spec.htm

Very Inspiring......
And post ur replies as well.

Comment
by Vivek :
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=3432501089015184116

gr8 stuff

9) National Readership Survey Findings:
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=20752962&tid=2491679449508449615

Outdoor Advertising:
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=20752962&tid=2491439266347322703

In Fact, every post on this community is worth reading. Have a look, specially marketing students.

A blog by Marketing genius, Laura Ries:
http://ries.typepad.com/

10) "Vocabulary" community on orkut:
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=4227160

11) hi ppl,
here r some interesting websites...

Truth in Email
Before you forward that email, check it out at TruthOrFiction. com.
http://www.truthorf iction.com/

Three Centuries of Italian Art.
Visit this website to take a look at masterpieces of the Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque and Rococo eras of Italian painting.
http://www.theitali ans.com.au

The Virtual Cave
At the Virtual Cave, you can learn about and explore many different types of caves.
http://www.goodeart hgraphics. com/virtcave/

The Bike Site
A Complete, Illustrated Online Bicycle Repair and Maintenance guide for road bikes, mountain bikes, Bmx bikes , general bicycles, and even for fixing recumbents!
http://www.bikewebs ite.com/index. htm

Trivia
Visit this website, which claims to have the longest domain name, to see lists of the longest, biggest, smallest, most expensive things in the world. There is also a very interesting section on Famous Firsts, Old Wives Tales and Interesting Trivia.
http://thelongestli stofthelongestst uffatthelongestd omainnameatlongl ast.com/

Sole Mates - The Century in Shoes
Visit this website to see the 20th century in shoes. Each decade has some examples of the most popular styles and colors
http://www.centuryi nshoes.com/

Net Lingo
Confused by some of the terms and acronyms you see on the Internet today? Go to this website to look up the meanings.
http://www.netlingo .com/inframes. cfm


12) Karan Billimoria --Cobra Beer

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/oct/26inter.htm

13) 'A smart user can change price on a website'

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/oct/31inter1.htm

ANti-men in Ethiopia:
http://realmudgarden.blogspot.com/2006/11/water-money-power.html

14) The Business Case for Active RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Technology)

http://www.sdcexec.com/article.asp?article_id=9207

15) Seeking Money n Meaning in the NGO world.!!

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/special_section.cfm?specialID=1&CFID=2563986&CFTOKEN=20213214

16) Lots of ebooks:

http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=69595&tid=2472442488524183145&start=1

Comment
By Vishal
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=11929535083274646768

NICE
NICE WORK I AM TALKING ABOUT THE EARLIEST ARTICLE

17) Free GMAT Book (Posted Today)

http://ugottodownload.blogspot.com/2006/11/master-gmat-2007-for-complete-prep-for.html

18) Letter From Silicon Valley
India Revisited

http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/2006/11/05/india-outsourcing-employment-tech-cz_ec_1106valleyletter.html

19) Consultancy Interview Cracked!!
Really good stuff.
In fact, all the posts on community are amazing.

http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=23124374&tid=2497007141691420843&na=4

Good article to circulate in office

20) Napping Your Way To The Top:
The performance boost of a midday snooze has companies signing on

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011101.htm?chan=careers_careers_top+story

21) English Etymology Community

http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=167213

22)
www.seaofcampus.com
It provides the facility to college students:

1. To sell used college books / old books online in India to own or other nearest college students free of service charge.

2.To buy used college books / old books online in India from own or other nearest college students free of service charge.

3. Post request for old books / lecture notes in own or other nearest college campus.The request will be resolved by own or other nearest college students.

If you are not a student you can also sell old books online in India to different college students, and buy it from colleges students.

Others sorry for inconvenience.

23) www.bluedot.us

Co-founded in October 2004 by Mohit Srivastava, Blue Dot, Inc., is a Seattle-based company whose mission is to help people stay connected with their friends, wherever they are, whenever they want.
Through a new type of communication described as Social Discovery®, Blue Dot's free Web site allows users to find, save and share interesting Web content with friends and family. The company's technology lets users quickly communicate and share information on a wide range of topics in a way that can be easily incorporated into their daily activities. Blue Dot is led by an experienced group of developers formerly from local technology companies including Microsoft® and Amazon®.

24) Persons who left an indelible mark on the world.

http://www.esnips.com/doc/49273e89-46e3-42f8-846c-76f79f20b8a5/persons-who-left-an-indelible-mark

Really moving...

25) A collection of links on marketing Blogs:

http://www.mattjmcd.com/2007/05/a-new-marketing-blog-carnival-ed-1/

26) "Something abourt marketing Analytics" - a nice article:

http://analyticsbhups.blogspot.com/2007/05/something-about-marketing-analytics.html

___________________________________________________
Contd... in next post...

And the winners for this year's IG Noble Awards are...

Last night kicked the scientific award season into full swing; the 18th First Annual Ig Nobel Awards were handed out in Harvard's Sanders Theater. Not quite as well-known as their more prestigious namesake, the awards recognize "research that first makes people laugh and then think." The ceremony saw the ever-popular 24/7 lecture series, where leading researchers from around the world discuss the technical details and ramifications of their work in 24 seconds, then explain it in layman's terms in 7 words. This year's 24/7 series included talks from Benoit Mandelbrot, Anna Lysyanskaya, Dany Adams, and the 1976 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, William Lipscomb. Other ongoing traditions include the Ig Nobels being handed out by Nobel laureates, and an eight-year-old girl being kept up past her bedtime whose role is to ensure that acceptance speeches are capped at 60 seconds. In a ceremony with a main theme of redundancy, the ceremony honored the research that "makes people laugh and then think" in a redundantly-themed ceremony. This year, eight fields of research were honored: archeology, biology, chemistry, economics, literature, medicine, nutrition, and peace. Without further suspense, here are the winners in no order of winning order: Peace: plants are people too. The peace award goes to none other than the Swiss. The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology, along with the citizens of that great nation, took the prize for passing a law that recognizes that plants have dignity too. Biology: dog-borne fleas are better jumpers than cat-borne fleas. Turns out athletic ability, in fleas at least, depends on where you live. Researchers found that fleas that live on dogs are better high jumpers when compared to fleas that live on cats. Literature: "You Bastard!" The literature prize goes to David Sims for his study on organizational indignation: "You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation Within Organizations." Nutrition: it tastes better if it sounds better. This award goes to a pair of British researchers who confirmed the simple idea that food tastes better if it sounds better. For those who question the practicality of this research, it has already been put to use in the Fat Duck Restaurant, where seafood diners are given iPods loaded with ocean sounds to listen to while they dine. Medicine: placebos that cost more said to work better. While the true effect of placebos continues to be studied, Dan Ariely has demonstrated that expensive fake medicine works better than the cheap crap you get on the corner. (I predict a future Ig Nobel in economics for the exploiter of this one.) Economics: strippers earn more when they are at peak...... Read the rest on:                 http://arstechnica.com

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The Great Indian Nightmare

(A very good article)

George Bernard Shaw once asked an attractive woman seated next to him at a dinner table, "Madam, would you go to bed with me for a thousand pounds?" The woman shook her head. "How about 50,000 pounds?" he continued. The woman, after further thought, coyly replied, "Perhaps." Shaw continued, "How about five pounds?" The woman exclaimed, "Mr Shaw, what do you take me for!" Shaw calmly replied, "We have already established what you are. Now we are merely haggling for the price."

In the great Indian Education Bazaar, everything is up for sale -- government, media, educational institutes, foreign faculty, collaboration with foreign varsities, endorsement of teaching shops by reputed names for credibility, successful candidates in competitive exams posing as alumni. The only issue is the price, and you can haggle over it.

"I threatened one institute with legal recourse if it uses my name in any of its brochures," said a topper, whose name the institute was using to position itself in the market.

Says a parent, "My son joined the BBA course offered by a Delhi-based institute. Mortgaging my house in Bihar, I paid Rs 12 lakhs as fees, only to realise later that it wasn't accredited with the UGC (University Grants Commission). Worried, I admitted my son to the Delhi Open University, too. My son now studies in two institutes without any time for himself, and has gone into a depression and developed suicidal....

Read the rest on...:

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/sep/25peri.htm

The Times group forges unusual alliances

The Times group forges unusual alliances with companies which serve the interests of everybody - except those of readers and consumers. Sucheta Dalal throws new light on this unique "business strategy"

If you are an investor who depends on India's largest-selling economic newspaper for unbiased news, then you must know and understand the concept of "private treaties" (PT). Since the Times of India (TOI) far outsells every other English newspaper and The Economic Times is by far the market leader in the economic news category, the concept is of universal interest, especially for MoneyLIFE readers. Although PTs sound like agreements between two sovereign nations, they are, in fact, pacts between the Times of India group and approximately 100-odd companies, under which TOI buys shares of small and fast-growing companies. The list is expanding rapidly.

In an article for India-Seminar on 'The changing Indian media scene', TN Ninan, editor of Business Standard, described PTs as "basically the transfer of ...

For rest read:

http://www.suchetadalal.com/articles/display/569/2686.article

My Updates

Hey I have started working for VC Circle. It is India's leading news website that covers India's Deal economy - M&As, Private Equity, Venture Capital, I-banking and people moving.   Its a very credible site and very reputed too. Subscribe to its daily newsletter here:   http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?AddNewUserDirect

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UTSAV happening for Delhi for first time

Utsav, the grand event of Art of Living to be participated in by more than 1 Lac people is going to happen in Noida on 20-23 Nov. Its a mega-gala-huge event See its blog: Delhi | UTSAV | Nov 20-23

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The lowest level of Wall Street Food Chain

ON the subway, a stranger in a suit knowingly eyed my Lehman Brothers ID badge in its Bear Stearns holster. With a look of detached curiosity, he expressed his condolences. This is not the way I thought my Wall Street career would begin. During college, I was an intern at Bear Stearns. There, I toiled at the lowest levels of Wall Street, fetching coffee, moving boxes, filing papers. In my final summer at Bear, I was promoted to intern in the marketing department of the asset management division. There, I worked on some hedge funds that invested in stuff called "mortgage-backed securities." Several months later, the hedge funds went down the tubes, dragging Bear Stearns behind them. After I graduated from college, Lehman Brothers hired me to help settle trades in complex derivatives, the very derivatives that led to the company's demise. I helped resolve trading issues involving tens — hundreds — of millions of dollars. And now? Now from my  Read the rest from the given link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/opinion/19baris.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Random Acts of Kindness!!! Please do read!

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of the school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers she looked at her students and said she loved them all the same. Howeverthat was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in the seat was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy, and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddycould be unpleasant.It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers. At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each student past records and she put Teddy's off until the last. However when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners. He is a joy to be around."His second grade teacher wrote Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."His third grade teacher wrote, "Teddy's mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps are not taken."His fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped beautifully in bright ribbons and paper, except for Teddy's,whose present was clumsy and wrapped in heavy brown paper, the he would have got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents.Some of the children started to laugh when she found the rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a bottle of perfume that was only one quarter full. But she stifled the children's laughterwhen she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed on after school that day just long to say, " Mrs. Thompson, today yousmelled just like my mom used to." After the children left, she cried for at long timeOn that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Instead she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in class. And, despite her lie that she loved all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "pets".A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he had ever had in his life.Six years went by before she got another letter from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in is whole life.Four years after that she received another note saying that while things had been tough at times, he still stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate with the highest honors. He assuredMrs. Thompson that she was still the best and most favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best andmost favourite teacher he ever had in his whole life. But now the name was little longer ... the letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.The story does not end here. There was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said the he met this girl who was going to marry.He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson would agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what, she wore that bracelet - the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she also remembered to wear the perfume that Teddy's mother wore on the last Christmas they spent together.They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make adifference."Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach till I met you."You could have a Teddy standing in front of you and yet not realize it . . .Warm someone's heart today. Pass this along. I love this story so much. I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in someone's life today, tomorrow.. Just do it. Random acts of kindness I think they call it.

Source: http://reachinspirations.blogspot.com/2007/09/random-acts-of-kindness.html

Beeedi jalayi le... In English!!!

It's awesome, best one is sasssuriiiiiiiiiiii i :-) )
Daan doong dudung daan doong dudung......
Not glass...
Not stole...
Cold air is also against us..
Mother in law..
Not glass..
Not stole..
Cold air is also against..
Mother in law..
Its so chilly take somebody's quilt go and take fire from neighbors stove..
Take fire from neighbors stove..
Lit up the ciggi from liver oh lover..
There is lot of fire in the liver..
Daan doong dudung daan doong dudung...
Dont not take out smoke from the lips dont not take out smoke from the lips the world is very crooked..
Lit up the ciggi from liver oh lover..
There is lot of fire in the liver..
Its so chilly take somebody's quilt go and take fire from neighbors stove..
Take fire from neighbors stove..
Not glass..
Not stole..
Cold air is also against..
Mother in law..
Its so chilly take somebody's quilt go and take fire from neighbors stove..
Take fire from neighbors stove..
Yeah yeah..
Not crime..
Not chaos..
Without sin died..
U called me in the after noon..
Talked bangales..
Masked himself..
Burn the small stove 4m from liver oh lover..
There is lot of fire in the liver..
Lit up the ciggi from liver oh lover..
There is lot of fire in the liver..

Not even knife sharpnees..
Not even plough or plougher..
Bite so that it leave imprints..
This crop any farmer vill leave..
Make house of cruel like this cato (billo)..
Make house of cruel like this..
Cruel like this..
Cruel like this..
Make house of cruel like this..
Not even called me..
Not even told me..
U woke me up 4m sleep ..
I dont know 4m ver this fate came..
He came near by making me eat cardaemom..
Burn the coal from liver oh lover..
There is lot of fire in the liver..

Thoughts unsaid.......

Thoughts unsaid.......
Well, this is one of those blogs I found appealing.
Kenny has a very high aesthetic sense.
Everything expresses pure emotions.

Rising Taxes, soaring bills

Bathing is a dirty habit, and washing, a superstition deep.
Avoid them , but if u still must,
Jump in a well or in a river leap
And within your budget keep,
For, water is life, and life is no longer cheap.
Use no fan, light not ur house at night
It's much better to have inner light
And keep ur heart cheerful and eyes bright.
Keep no vehicle, buy no petrol
For, good health should be ur goal,
For which walk to and fro
Or better, do not anywhere go.
And if u don't want to starve, or be out in the cold
Take my advice, and don't grow old,
For, on ur savings and interest thereon
Whatever exemption existed, is quietly gone.
This globalised country needs u no more
So the FM most graciously shows u the door.
So cheer you up, for, it's a wonderful situation
Becoz higher the taxes, greater the nation.

Courtesy: Kuldip Salil, Delhi: HT-21 May 05