Avi's Blog

Earth Hour 2016

2016-03-18T14:15:00.003+05:30

Nice poem : आज देवा ला सुट्टी आहे

2016-03-10T15:41:00.002+05:30

आज देवा ला सुट्टी आहे
कृपया मंदिरात जाऊ नये,
देव आहे खुप बिज़ी आहे
त्याला साकड़ घालू नये।

जायचेच असेल तर जा एका अनाथाश्रमात,
तो तिथे लहान पोरांना हासवित आहे,
तुम्हीही हसवा एखाद्या कोमेजलेल्या फुलाला
पण मात्र आज मंदिरात जाऊ नका कारण आज देवाला पण सुट्टी आहे।

तो भेटेल तुम्हाला कुठल्याही हॉस्पिटलात,
प्रेमाने रोग्याला बरा करताना
तुम्ही जा हातभार लावा
मात्र आपली तक्रार सांगू नका कारण आज देवाला ही सुट्टी आहे।

तो दिसेल वृद्धाश्रमात आजी
आजोबांचे डोळे पुसताना,
रुमाल घेवून जा तुम्ही ही अश्रु पुसण्यासाठी
मात्र आपले अश्रु दाखवु नका कारण आज देवाला सुट्टी आहे।

तो बसला आहे ट्रैफिक सिग्नल वर
खेळणे विकणाऱ्या मुलांच्या सुरक्षेसाठी
तुम्ही जा....हातात वह्या पुस्तके देऊन त्यांना सुशिक्षित करा
उगीच पाखंड पुराणासाठी मंदिरात जाऊ नका
कारण आज देवाला सुट्टी आहे।

तो बसला आहे अन्नाच्या कणात,
उगीच अन्न वाया घालू नका
जमेल तर एखादा घास द्या भुकेल्या माणसाला
तो आज त्यांच्यात रमला आहे ।

उगीच मंदिरात जाऊन देवाचा वेळ घालवु नका त्याला भरपूर कामं आहेत,
जमलेच तर काही समाजकार्य करा
पण मंदिरात जाऊ नका
कारण आज देवाला सुट्टी आहे।

सौ धनश्री देसाई( धनश्री तोड़ेवाले)

Best site to visit and purchase gifts to your small one

2012-04-26T23:31:00.001+05:30

Earth Hour 2011

2011-03-10T08:34:00.001+05:30

Earth Hour continues to be a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future. At 8:30 PM on 26 March 2011, the world will come together once again to switch off for an hour. But this year, we aim to move beyond symbolism. We call for your action to sustain commitments and responsible actions beyond the hour. With your support, we hope to make Earth Hour a self- perpetuating drive that inspires us to correct the way we live, every single day.

So SWITCH OFF for one hour

PLUS

SWITCH ON a low carbon lifestyle

Together our actions add up

Earth Hour 2011 provides a platform:

For Individuals to take initiatives that benefit the environment.
For Organizations to demonstrate responsible action and announce their commitment to reduce their impact on the environment.
For Governments to show leadership on environmental issues.

Your support has made earth hour the largest global campaign in the history of the planet. There is no better example of the impact of collective human power and what we can achieve if we unite for a cause. It is time we take our actions forward, and commit to greater change.

A RARE FACT ABOUT INDIAN COINS

2010-10-27T22:21:00.001+05:30

Indian coins are mainly produced in 4 cities:

1. Delhi

2. Mumbai

3. Hyderabad

4. Kolkata

The production in city puts an identification mark under the year of issue. Coins produced in:

1. Delhi - have a dot

2. Mumbai - have a diamond

3. Hyderabad - have a star

4. Kolkata - Nothing beneath the year

Isn’t it amazing?

Most of us don’t know this..... Now put your hand inside your pocket/ wallet/ purse and check out!!!!

SharePoint Day 2010 Invite - Connect.Collaborate.SharePoint

2010-10-15T19:31:00.000+05:30


Welcome to PUG SharePoint Day 2010- A unique SharePoint Conference. SharePoint 2010 is the business collaboration platform for enterprise and the web that enables IT to connect and empower people through an integrated set of rich features - including comprehensive content management and enterprise search, accelerating shared business processes, and facilitating information-sharing for business insights - all on a governable and compliant platform. SharePoint also helps cut costs and improve IT Productivity with a unified infrastructure, reduced maintenance expenses and the ability to more rapidly respond to business needs. Save the Date for PUG SharePoint Day 2010, the premier event dedicated to SharePoint and related technologies being held October 23rd, 2010 in Pune, India. SharePoint Day 2010 will be the event to learn more about Microsoft SharePoint 2010, the business collaboration platform for the enterprise and the internet. Learn how to apply the latest best practices for building and deploying solutions on the platform and find out how customers and partners are embracing cloud-based services to create value for their organizations.
Saturday 23rd Oct, 2010 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 2 dedicated parallel Tracks for IT Pros and Developers
Calling all Designers, Developers and IT Professionals to be a part of this unique event. Entry FREE !! Registration Required. For more information and Registration , Please visit : http://sharepointday.puneusergroup.org Hurry up and Register Today !!	Venue: MCCIA Trade Tower, 505, A-Wing,, 5th floor, International Conventional Center, 403, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune, 411 016, India
For any queries/suggestions, Please contact us at: SharePointDay2010@puneusergroup.org
If you are not able to view this email properly, please click here

MS Community Tech Days - Pune

2010-06-28T17:24:00.001+05:30

Should you invest in Infrastructure Bonds

2010-05-10T16:42:00.000+05:30

Tax: Should you invest in Infrastructure Bonds?

March 09, 2010 18:00 IST

One of the fresh tax reliefs in the Budget 2010 is the deduction allowed for investing up to Rs 20,000 in infrastructure bonds.
Many media articles and the finance minister have said that this is a very positive thing. But how can the same thing be positive for every individual? If not negative, it should at least be neutral for many. Else life would be so boring.
This article will try to look the pros and cons of investing in infrastructure bonds for the sake of tax-saving. The analysis will be from the perspective of the different 'tax groups' post Budget 2010.

Tax group 1: Taxable income Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
Tax group 2: Taxable income Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.
Tax group 3: Taxable income above Rs 8 lakh.

To understand the pros and cons of any tax-saving investment, we need to look at four major parameters:

Actual tax-saving (let's take the highest saving possible);
Returns from the investment (during the lock-in period at the least);
Opportunity cost (what if the same money had been invested in some other investment?); and
Effect of Inflation on the returns on investment (what would the worth of your investment be when it comes to redeem/encash it?).

Assumptions
For the sake of parameter 2, we will have to make an assumption on the lock-in period (as nothing has so far been announced by the finance minister). As is generally the case with most tax-saving instruments we can assume two scenarios -- a 3-year lock-in and a 5-year lock-in.
Let's assume the rate of return on infrastructure bonds = 5.5% per annum.
Let's consider the overall rate of inflation at 8%.
For people in the Rs 1.6-5 lakh taxable income group, income will be taxed at the rate of 10%.
Parameter 1: Actual tax-saving: 10% of Rs 20,000 = Rs 2,000 (if you invest Rs 20,000 in the instrument you get to reduce your taxable income by Rs 20,000 thus giving a 10 per cent benefit).
Parameter 2: What will be the returns at the end of the lock-in period? For a lock-in period of 3 years an investment of Rs 20,000 would fetch an income of Rs 3,484. When added to the tax saved we get an effective return of Rs 25,485 (Rs 20,000 + Rs 3,484 + Rs 2,000) on our investment.
Parameter 3: If this same amount were to be invested in a market instrument that fetched a return of 15% (which is very reasonable considering that the benchmark Sensex and many mutual funds have given comparatively higher returns over a long period), the investment would fetch an effective return of Rs 27,376 (Rs 20,000 - Rs 2000 = Rs 18,000 invested @15% per annum for 3 years).
Parameter 4: What would be the minimum amount required to counter inflation at 8%? The amount would be Rs 25,194.
Thus we see that for a person in the Rs 1.6-5 lakh slab, the benefit from investing in an infrastructure bond as a tax-saving instrument will be only Rs 291 (Rs 25,485 - Rs 25,194) whereas the benefit from paying tax and investing the balance in any decent instrument would be Rs 2,182.
Similarly, we can calculate the benefits for each segment as well as for a scenario where the lock-in period is 5 years as given in the table below.

Rate of tax	Investments in Infrastructure Bonds			Tax paid in lieu of investing in Infrastructure Bonds
Slab	Tax-savings	Effective Returns		Investment Returns from Market after Tax
Slab	Tax-savings	3 years	5 years	3 years	5 years
30%	6,000	29,485	32,139	21,292	28,159
20%	4,000	27,485	30,139	24,334	32,182
10%	2,000	25,485	28,139	27,376	36,204

Required Returns to Counter Inflation Effect		25,194	29,387

The bottomline
As seen from the table above, it makes sense for people in the over Rs 8 lakh taxable income slab to use the infrastructure bonds as a tax-saving instrument.
For the people in the Rs 5-8 lakh bracket, it would be advisable to invest in infrastructure bonds if the period of investment is 3 years, but not for five years and for those in the Rs 1.6-5 lakh bracket, it would be an absolute no-no to invest in Infrastructure Bonds for tax-saving purpose.

Ref: Rediff

Best Wishes of Golden Jubilee of Maharashtra !!!

2010-04-30T11:17:00.000+05:30

Me Marathi … Jay Maharashtra

Need your Support for the School Kit Drive 2010

2010-04-26T16:12:00.001+05:30

Hello All,

Schools will re-open shortly. For most children, the excitement of the first day in the new class will begin with new books, new pencils, new pens, new school bags… But there will be a lot of those who would be wishing that their parents too had good money to buy these for them.

To bring the excitement into the lives of these needy children, Seva Sahayog is back with the School Kit Donation Drive ‘2010.

For last 2 years, Seva Sahayog(SS) has been running ‘School kit donation drive’ to gift a School Kit to school-children from economically weaker sections of the society. The School kit contains 1 School bag, 10 notebooks, Pen, Pencil, and a Compass box. The kits are distributed to children from slums, schools, and education-support-centers run by NGOs in and around Pune. Last year, SS were able to bring smile on 10,000+ children’s faces because of 200+ volunteers from various IT companies.

This year SS’s target is to reach 25,000+ children in slums and villages in and around Pune. We all can surely help these children get this joy.

The school-kit costs only Rs. 250.

You can check the document of last year’s report at: http://schoolkit.info/sites/default/files/resource/Report_SK09_new_final.pdf

You could find more about School kit program at: http://www.sevasahayog.com

We look forward to your support again this year to make School Kit Donation Drive 2010 a success.

You may do the following to help these children:

· Donate for 1 or multiple school kits (You can get tax benefit on donation).

· For donation you can contact me on 9850875884 or send a cheque in the name of 'Seva international' to:

Seva Sahayog,
Flat no.7 , Top floor,1015/4 Shreya Apt.

Near Swanand hospital,

Deep bunglow chowk,
Shivaji Nagar

Pune - 411016.

· Forward this mailer to all your friends, colleagues, employees who may want to help

· Set up a stall at your office during lunch time for the whole week, and campaign for donations.

· Collect cheques and cash donations along with donor details, and hand them over to any member of Seva sahayog. (Donor information form & receipts will be provided by Seva Sahayog).

· Volunteer your time for assembling the school kits.

Thanks,

Avinash Chougule

IPL Pune Team name is Sahara Pune Warriors

2010-04-25T00:23:00.000+05:30

IPL Pune Team Name ..... is "Sahara Pune Warriors"

The latest entrant to the IPL Team - IPL Pune - announced the name of its team today. Sahara India who won the bid for this new team had released the name today on 24th April. Fans all over are curious to know the name of the IPL Pune.

As you know IPL Kochi is the other team that will join IPL Pune and 8 other IPL teams from the next season of IPL.

Sahara Present Pune IPL Team Opening Show on 24th April 2010

2010-04-23T10:39:00.001+05:30

Sahara Present Pune IPL Team Opening Show At S.p. college ground pune 6.30pm

Would like to see this Poster on Hoardings all over India

2010-04-20T15:16:00.000+05:30

For the moment please pass it on to all your friends and relatives......

FAQs on Income Tax II - Payment & Return filing

2010-04-15T11:18:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

Good Morning J

Financial year 2009-2010 ended few days back. Now its time to file income tax return.

Every one having lots of questions on it. Here answers to some of the questions are addressed.

And I hope this will clear your doubts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How and where can I pay income tax?

Tax can be paid by way of cash, cheque or draft in any authorised national banks, in the prescribed challan. The challan can be obtained from Income tax Offices.

2. What do you mean by Income Tax Return filing?

Income Tax Return is a statutory return to be filed by assessee with Income Tax Department stating the total income earned & tax paid/payable by him during the previous financial year.

3. Is it compulsory to file a return of income when there is loss?

If a person has sustained a loss in the previous year and wishes to carry forward the loss to the subsequent year he should furnish a return of loss in the prescribed form before the due date.

4. Do I have to pay tax on all the money earned?

No, if you are an individual or HUF, you do not have to pay tax till you reach a specified exemption limit; once you cross that limit tax have to be paid as per following rates, slab wise:

For F.Y. 2010-11

Income	Rate (%)
Up to 160000*	NIL
160000 to 500000	10
500000 to 800000	20
Above 800000	30

* Threshold limit for women assessees is Rs. 190000 and for senior citizens it is 240000.

Plus Education Cess @ 2% is payable on tax plus surcharge

5. Do I have to file a return even if my income is lower than the exemption limit? What is 1/7 criterion?

If you are Individual or HUF, then Yes, if you fulfils any one of the following conditions at any time during the previous year:

Ownership/lease of a motor vehicle.
Occupation of any category or categories of immovable property as may be specified by the board by notification whether by way of ownership or tenancy or otherwise.
Incurred expenditure on himself or any other person on travel to a foreign country other than Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka (not being a travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj or travel to China on pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar).
Subscription of a cellular telephone (not being a wireless in local loop telephone).
Holder of a credit card (not being an add-on card or not being a Kisan credit card, issued by a bank or an institution).
Member of a club where entrance fees charged is Rs 25,000 or more.
Expenditure of Rs 50,000 or more during the previous year towards consumption of electricity.

However, the government has specified that the above provision is not applicable in the case of a Non-Resident Indian (NRI).

Also if you are at least 65 years of old and not engaged in any business /profession, then you may not file return even when you fulfill conditions 2 or 4 above.

6. There are various returns available on Income Tax Departments site, which one do I need to file?

Class of Assessees	Category	Form
Individuals, HUF, Firms etc. (except companies and charitable assessees)	All cases	Form No. 2D or Saral form
	One by Seven scheme	Form No. 2C
	Business or Profession income	Form No. 2
	Non- business income	Form No.3 or 3D
	Non- business income, No Capital Gain, No agriculture income	3 or 2D or 2E (Naya Saral)
	Non business income and total income less than Rs 2 lakhs	Form No. 2A
Charitable assesses	All cases	Form No 3A
Company except charitable assesses	All cases	Form No 1
Search cases	All cases	Form No 2B

7. What are the due dates for filing returns for various assesses?

Category	Due date
For four categories namely: A. Companies B. All auditable cases C. Working partner of auditable firms, D. Persons covered other than 1/7 scheme,	31st October
In any other case	31st July

8. What is E-filing of return?

The Electronic Filing of Income Tax Returns was introduced in 2004. Under this scheme, eligible assessees can file their returns of income electronically through authorised persons to act as e-return intermediaries on or before the due date.

The intermediaries digitalise the data of such returns and transmit the same electronically to the e-filing server of Income Tax Department under their digital signatures.

9. Who are eligible to file e-return?

Any assessee except an Association of persons or Body of Individual, who has been allotted a permanent account number (PAN) and who is assessed or is assessable to tax in any of the selected cities, which are presently on Income Tax network is eligible to file his return of income under this scheme.

10. What do you mean by 'belated return'?

If the return is not furnished within the time prescribed or within the time permitted under a notice issued, the person can furnish the return of any previous year at any time before the end of one year from the end of the relevant assessment year, or before the completion of the assessment year.

11. What are the consequences of filing belated return?

A penalty of up to Rs 5,000 is required to be paid if the tax man picks up your paper for assessment. In addition, a penal interest @ 1% per month would be charged for default in tax payments.

12. What is the penalty?

When speaking of belated filing of returns, the tax payer is ought to be in either of the following two situations.

He or she has paid all his taxes but failed to file the returns on the due date for genuine reasons.

He or she has not only failed to file the returns but also failed to pay his taxes on the due date

In the first case, since the assessee has cleared all his dues to the government, no penalty or interest shall be charged; provided the returns is filed by the end of the assessment year.

However, if the assessee belongs to the second category of people, who have failed to deposit the tax dues with the government before the due date, interest @ 1% per month or part of the month (simple interest) shall be levied on the amount of net tax due from him under section 234A of the Income-Tax Act from the date immediately following the due date till the date of filing of returns.

13. What is Advance Tax?

Advance tax means the advance tax payable in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XVII-C. Tax shall be payable in advance during any financial year in respect of the total income of the assessee which would be chargeable to tax.

Reference: IndiaMoney

Thanks,

Avinash Chougule

please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.

Jallian Wala Bagh - April 13, 1919

2010-04-13T11:57:00.000+05:30

Amritsar Massacre

Jallian Wala Bagh

"The impossible men of India shall rise and liberate their Motherland"

Mahatma Gandhi, after the Amritsar Massacre.

"The incident in Jallian Wala Bagh was 'an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation"...Winston Churchill

It started a few months after the end of the first world war when an Englishwoman, a missionary, reported that she had been molested on a street in the Punjab city of Amritsar. The Raj's local commander, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, issued an order requiring all Indians using that street to crawl its length on their hands and knees. He also authorized the indiscriminate, public whipping of natives who came within lathi length of British policemen.

On April 13, 1919, a multitude of Punjabis gathered in Amritsar's Jallian wala Bagh as part of the Sikh Festival "Baisakhi fair" and to protest at these extraordinary measures. The throng, penned in a narrow space smaller than Trafalgar Square, had been peacefully listening to the testimony of victims when Dyer appeared at the head of a contingent of British troops. Giving no word of warning, he ordered 50 soldiers to fire into the gathering, and for 10 to 15 minutes 1,650 rounds of ammunition were unloaded into the screaming, terrified crowd, some of whom were trampled by those desperately trying to escape.

"The Indians were 'packed together so that one bullet would drive through three or four bodies'; the people 'ran madly this way and the other. When fire was directed upon the centre, they ran to the sides. The fire was then directed to the sides. Many threw themselves down on the ground, and the fire was then directed on the ground. This was continued for eight or ten minutes, and it stopped only when the ammunition had reached the point of exhaustion".....Winston Churchill

Dyer then marched away, leaving 379 dead and over 1,500 wounded.

Back in his headquarters, he reported to his superiors that he had been 'confronted by a revolutionary army,' and had been obliged 'to teach a moral lesson to the Punjab.' In the storm of outrage which followed, the brigadier was promoted to major general, retired, and placed on the inactive list.

''I think it quite possible that I could have dispersed the crowd without firing but they would have come back again and laughed, and I would have made, what I consider, a fool of myself.'' ......Dyer's response to the Hunter Commission Enquiry

General Dyer said he would have used his machine guns if he could have got them into the enclosure, but these were mounted on armoured cars. He said he did not stop firing when the crowd began to disperse because he thought it was his duty to keep firing until the crowd dispersed, and that a little firing would do no good.

He confessed he did not take any steps to attend to the wounded after the firing. ''Certainly not. It was not my job. Hospitals were open and they could have gone there,'' came his pathetic response.

However, the misery suffered by the people was reflected in Rattan Devi's account. She was forced to keep a nightlong vigil, armed with a bamboo stick to protect her husband's body from jackals and vultures. Curfew with shoot-at-sight orders had been imposed from 2000 hours that night.

Rattan Devi stated, ''I saw three men writhing in great pain and a boy of about 12. I could not leave the place. The boy asked me for water but there was no water in that place. At 2 am, a Jat who was lying entangled on the wall asked me to raise his leg. I went up to him and took hold of his clothes drenched in blood and raised him up. Heaps of bodies lay there, a number of them innocent children. I shall never forget the sight. I spent the night crying and watching..."

General Dyer admitted before the commission that he came to know about the meeting at Jallianwala Bagh at 1240 hours that day, but took no steps to prevent it. He also admitted in his deposition that the gathering at the Bagh was not a concentration only of rebels, but people who had covered long distances to participate in the Baisakhi fair.

This incredibly, made him a martyr to millions of Englishmen. Senior British officers applauded his suppression of 'another Indian Mutiny.' The Guardians of the Golden Temple enrolled him in the Brotherhood of Sikhs. The House of Lords passed a measure commending him. The Conservatives presented him with a jewelled sword inscribed "Saviour of the Punjab."

A young Sikh teenager who was being raised at Khalsa Orphanage named Udham Singh (aka Mohammad Singh Azad) saw the happening with his own eyes. He vowed to avenge the Amritsar massacre.

On 13 March 1940 at 4.30 p.m. in the Caxton Hall, London, where a meeting of the East India Association was being held in conjunction with the Royal Central Asian Society, Udham Singh fired five to six shots from his pistol at Sir Michael O'Dwyer, who was governor of the Punjab when the Amritsar Massacre had taken place, to avenge the massacre.

On the 31st July, 1940, Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville jail, London

"He was the real culprit. He deserved it. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I [had to] crush him." Udham Singh, telling the trial court why he killed Michael O'Dwyer.

VS2010 Community launch Invite - 17th April in Pune at ICC

2010-04-13T11:40:00.000+05:30

Visual Studio 2010 is Microsoft's latest and powerful IDE in which you can build

impactful and expressive applications

Pune User Group is all set to launch Visual Studio 2010 this summer,17th April 2010.

We are very pleased to announce that Stephanie Saad Cuthbertson , Group Program

Manager, Microsoft Corporation

is here with us to be a part of

India's first Visual Studio 2010 Community Launch Event.

-> What will you do attending a LAUNCH Event?

Each and every participant attending this event will :

1) Get connected with the best minds in the IT industry to learn and gain
knowledge on how Visual Studio would help you to build faster, reliable and effective business applications.

2) Learn how Visual Studio improves your development skills to write quality code.

3) Get acquainted with the IDE's features for building applications in most recent technologies including .NET 4.0,Silverlight 4 etc.

> What will I have to do to be a part of this event?

The event is absolutely free. You only have to register online.

So WHAT YOU WAITING FOR....

Click on the below link to be a part of India's First

Visual 2010 Community Launch Event Registration.

Visit the below site for more information.

http://www.puneusergroup.org/events/vs2010-launch

www.Indianblooddonors.com

2010-04-08T11:41:00.007+05:30

Here's an address that can save your life. Please forward this..

Just SMS.Blood. When you need it when you wish to donate it.!

To Register as a Donor. SMS Blood StdCode Blood Group to 96655-00000 .!

Example : Blood 022 B+ve

Need Blood Donors. SMS Donor StdCode Blood Group to 96655-00000

Example : Donor 022 B+ve

As you read this a Patient may be critically ill . Whether he lives or dies depends on whether a unit of blood of the right type is available. People run about from pillar to post for a unit of blood in their own city or some another city. There are times when a patient dies for want of blood. And there are time when unscrupolous element who sell blood for money . By donating blood you can make a difference between LIFE and DEATH.

"Here's an Address that can save your Life." From Kashmir to Kanyakumari , from the most common blood group to the rarest, the helpline has a huge database of blood donors. So if you need blood, it's a good place to turn to. It's simple. It's effective. It's free. It can match you with a donor near you in seconds. And you can save the life of a loved one. You can also register as a donor on the helpline and save the life of someone else's loved one. Pass the message. And let's build a community that cares !

Indianblooddonors.com has been mobile enabled. Internet is not accessible by the common man. When someone needs blood it is next to impossible to search for an internet cafe, log on to the website and then search for donors. It is our endeavour to make it easy for patient needing blood donors in their own city or some other city..

For more info click here

Neck Exercise

2010-03-31T15:29:00.002+05:30

A doctor advises his patients to exercise their neck by just reading this message.

In the end, all patients go home happily without asking the doctor for any medications. 'It is very effective,' said the doctor. 'All my patients never come back to me again.'

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Chukali Disha Tarihi

2010-03-31T11:02:00.000+05:30

Agnipath by Harivansh Rai Bachchan

2010-03-29T12:18:00.003+05:30

Harivansh Rai Bachchan

2010-03-29T12:11:00.001+05:30

Harivanshrai Bachchan with his son Amitabh Bachchan.

mere adharon par ho antim, vastu na tulsidal pyaalaa

meri jiwha par ho antim, vastu na gangaajal haalaa

mere shav ke peechhe chalne waalo, yaad ise rakhnaa

Ram naam hai satya na kehnaa, kehnaa sachchee Madhushaala

[The last thing on my lips should not be the basil leaf but the cup/ The last thing on my tongue should not be holy water from the Ganga but wine/ Those who join my funeral procession, must remember not to say `Ram is the truth'/ since truth is in the tavern]

mere shav par vah roae ho, jiske aansoo mein haalaa

aah bhare voh ho jo surbhit, madiraa pee kar matwaalaa

daen mujhko ve kandha jinke, pag-mag-dag-mag hoate hoan

aur jaloon us thaur jahan par, kabhi rahi ho Madhushaala

[Only he/she must weep over my corpse, whose tears are full of wine/ Only he/she must sigh, who is intoxicated with drink/ Only they must lay shoulder to me whose legs jerk and quiver/ And I should be cremated at a site where once stood a tavern.]

A GREAT romantic voice of Hindi poetry that penned such rebellious lines of rejection of tradition went silently into the night on January 18, 2003.

Harivanshrai Bachchan, known to his numerous admirers as Dr. Bachchan, or simply Bachchanji, had been suffering from serious respiratory ailments for some time. In a strange coincidence, suffused with poetic significance, the end came at midnight, the time of day that always drew his poetic attention as a transitional - almost mystical - moment, specially chosen by nature for major happenings.

The second volume of Bachchan's celebrated autobiography Need Ka Nirman Phir (Building a new nest), contains a brilliant piece on "Midnight", which constitutes the backdrop to the description of the death of his first wife, Shyama. With a hint of prophesy, he wrote: "There is much that has happened in my case at midnight times - even in the material sense." Midnight was also to spell the final stop to this fulfilling life of 96 years, which in the poet's estimation, was little else than a kshan-bhar jivan (a moment's life).

The metaphor of midnight is helpful in appreciating Bachchan's place in Hindi writing, especially poetry. Harivanshrai Bachchan must have published some 30 collections of his poetry. Yet he is known mostly for his poetic trilogy of Madhushaala, Madhubaala and Madhukalash, and more so for the first of these. Published in 1935, Madhushaala did not just bring Bachchan instant fame. Rendered by the poet at various kavi sammelans, it literally became a craze. The poet's cinema-star son Amitabh Bachchan was not very far off the mark when he said that the kind of stardom he enjoyed today, had come his father's way a long time back.

Harivanshrai Bachchan's stardom, unique in Hindi literature, was mostly the gift of Madhushaala. It is undoubtedly one of the most enduring works of modern Hindi literature. It has been translated into English and regional Indian languages such as Bengali, Marathi and Malayalam. It has been choreographed, and performed on stage. It was also one the first pieces of Hindi poetry that was set to music, with its best-selling cassettes and CDs attracting generations of listeners.

This amazing popularity of Madhushaala can be understood only by placing it in the socio-political and literary context in which it was written. It is a significant coincidence, perhaps not entirely one, that the year 1935 also saw the appearance of Jaishankar Prasad's Kaamayani, another milestone in Hindi poetry. The next year saw the publication of Premchand's last complete novel, Godaan. While Premchand's realism pointed towards the aesthetics of the future, Kaamayani, written in the form of a Prabandh Kavya (classic) represented the strengths and limitations of the urge for freedom as represented by Hindi Chaayavaadi (romantic) poetry, of which he was one of the main exponents.

The Chaayavaadi school represented the advance from theological and mythological motifs and to the placing of the modern man at the centre of the universe, a great leap in cultural understanding that engendered a particular style of lyricism. But the romanticism of this school had not quite broken out of the web of the mystical. Its imagery was remote and the language had the polished glitter of artificiality. It is precisely here that Madhushaala's unfettered and sensuous romanticism challenged Chaayavaad's diction and imagery, and almost instantly won the endorsement of the literary public.

It is important to note that Harivanshrai Bachchan, born in an ordinary Kaayasth family in a small town near Allahabad and schooled in municipal and Kaayasth Paathshaalas, gave up his university education to participate in the great upsurge of nationalism that began in 1930. Realising after not very long that this was not the path he wanted to follow, he went back to university. His sensibilities nevertheless continued to be influenced and moulded by the freedom movement. Through his translations of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, that famous celebration of Bacchanalia, Bachchan realised the possibilities of using drinking as a poetic metaphor for freedom. And this was a freedom that no doubt had more to do with man's inner spaces. It had to be a celebration of the individual, his freedoms and his self-assertion. This was an affirmation of the individual that broke all social, religious and moral barriers in its radical assertion of the equality of men. This is what made Bachchan write: dharm granth sab jalaa chuki hei, jiske bheetar ki jwalaa mandir, masjid, girje sab kuchh, toad chuka jo matwaalaa pandit, momin, padariyon ke, phandon ko jo kaat chuka kar sakti hai aaj usi ka, swaagat meri Madhushaala [One whose inner fire has burnt all holy books/ One who has demolished all religious places - temple, mosque or church/ One who has cut himself free of the clutches of the pandit, imam and priest/ He alone is today welcome in my Madhushaala.]

The radical critique of institutional religion is carried further in the following passage:Musalmaan aur Hindu do hain, ek magar un ka piala, Ek magar un ka madiralay, ek magar unki hala, Douno rahte ek na jab tak Mandir-Masjid main jate, Mandir-Masjid bair karate, meil karati Madhushaala. [The Muslim and the Hindu are different, but they drink out of the same cup/ They drink at the same tavern, their wine is also the same/ They remain together so long as they stay away from the temple or mosque/ The temple and the mosque divide but the tavern only unites.]

Expanding the idiom of expression beyond the Chaayavaadi mainstream, Bachchan brought to his poetic affirmation of the urge for freedom the sensuousness of the common man's everyday diction and sensuousness to Hindi poetry. Little wonder then that he got a rousing reception and became a literary superstar of his time. But despite his great popularity (or perhaps because of it), his initial breakthrough did not lead to the sustained growth of Bachchan as a poet. Alongside the literary revolution that Madhushaala brought about, a strong stream of radical poetry was also emerging, breaking free of the limitations of the Chaayaavadi concept of freedom and its sensibilities. This process fed diverse streams of Nai Kavita (new poetry) which finally broke the integument of romanticism. But Bachchan stuck to his romantic idiom and continued to run as a parallel stream. Like a seasonal rivulet it was quick to rise and still quicker to empty itself out. Post-independence, as Nai Kavita was like a river in spate, Bachchan was reduced to an isolated island - a popular poet from a bygone era. Although he continued to write and publish, he was still considered the poet who had had one great idea in the distant past and never quite managed to reproduce that inspiration. For the last three decades or more of his life, he was not an active presence in the field of poetry.

The only thing of real significance to come from Bachchan's pen at a later stage was his autobiography in four volumes, now considered one of the landmarks in the evolution of the genre in the Hindi language. This work has reached the English language readership through a knowledgeable and sensitive translation and abridgment by Rupert Snell, entitled In the Afternoon of Time: An Autobiography.

Bachchan of course had much of interest to write about since his had been an extremely eventful life, from humble and obscure beginnings to literary cult status, and much later, a cine superstar's father. He taught at the English Department in Allahabad University from 1941 to 1952, and spent the following two years at Cambridge University doing his doctoral thesis on W.B. Yeats. Back from Cambridge, he again took to teaching and also served at All India Radio, Allahabad. In 1955, Bachchan shifted to Delhi to join the External Affairs Ministry as a Special Officer for Hindi. Here he is credited with important contributions towards saving official Hindi from the course of total divorce from ordinary spoken language that the ultra-nationalists had set it on. He also enriched Hindi through his translations of major writings. Besides Rubaiyat, he will also be remembered for his Hindi translations of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Othello and also the Bhagvad Gita.

Bachchan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1966 and received the Sahitya Akademi award three years later. In 1976 he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan for his immense contribution to Hindi literature. He was also honoured with the Saraswati Samman, the Sovietland Nehru Award and the Lotus Award of the Afro-Asian writers conference, for his unique contribution to the world of letters. But if ever asked to introduce himself, he had a simple introduction: Mitti ka tan, masti ka man, kshan-bhar jivan -- mera parichay. (A body of clay, a mind full of play, a moment's life - that is me.) Truly a man of erudition and zest.

Ref :

Harivanshrai Bachchan, 1907-2003

Jeevan ki aapa dhapi mein by harivansh rai bachchan

2010-03-29T12:05:00.004+05:30

जीवन की आपाधापी में कब वक़्त मिला
कुछ देर कहीं पर बैठ कभी यह सोच सकूँ
जो किया, कहा, माना उसमें क्या बुरा भला।

जिस दिन मेरी चेतना जगी मैंने देखा
मैं खड़ा हुआ हूँ इस दुनिया के मेले में,
हर एक यहाँ पर एक भुलाने में भूला
हर एक लगा है अपनी अपनी दे-ले में
कुछ देर रहा हक्का-बक्का, भौचक्का-सा,
आ गया कहाँ, क्या करूँ यहाँ, जाऊँ किस जा?
फिर एक तरफ से आया ही तो धक्का-सा
मैंने भी बहना शुरू किया उस रेले में,
क्या बाहर की ठेला-पेली ही कुछ कम थी,
जो भीतर भी भावों का ऊहापोह मचा,
जो किया, उसी को करने की मजबूरी थी,
जो कहा, वही मन के अंदर से उबल चला,
जीवन की आपाधापी में कब वक़्त मिला
कुछ देर कहीं पर बैठ कभी यह सोच सकूँ
जो किया, कहा, माना उसमें क्या बुरा भला।

मेला जितना भड़कीला रंग-रंगीला था,
मानस के अन्दर उतनी ही कमज़ोरी थी,
जितना ज़्यादा संचित करने की ख़्वाहिश थी,
उतनी ही छोटी अपने कर की झोरी थी,
जितनी ही बिरमे रहने की थी अभिलाषा,
उतना ही रेले तेज ढकेले जाते थे,
क्रय-विक्रय तो ठण्ढे दिल से हो सकता है,
यह तो भागा-भागी की छीना-छोरी थी;
अब मुझसे पूछा जाता है क्या बतलाऊँ
क्या मान अकिंचन बिखराता पथ पर आया,
वह कौन रतन अनमोल मिला ऐसा मुझको,
जिस पर अपना मन प्राण निछावर कर आया,
यह थी तकदीरी बात मुझे गुण दोष न दो
जिसको समझा था सोना, वह मिट्टी निकली,
जिसको समझा था आँसू, वह मोती निकला।
जीवन की आपाधापी में कब वक़्त मिला
कुछ देर कहीं पर बैठ कभी यह सोच सकूँ
जो किया, कहा, माना उसमें क्या बुरा भला।

मैं कितना ही भूलूँ, भटकूँ या भरमाऊँ,
है एक कहीं मंज़िल जो मुझे बुलाती है,
कितने ही मेरे पाँव पड़े ऊँचे-नीचे,
प्रतिपल वह मेरे पास चली ही आती है,
मुझ पर विधि का आभार बहुत-सी बातों का।
पर मैं कृतज्ञ उसका इस पर सबसे ज़्यादा -
नभ ओले बरसाए, धरती शोले उगले,
अनवरत समय की चक्की चलती जाती है,
मैं जहाँ खड़ा था कल उस थल पर आज नहीं,
कल इसी जगह पर पाना मुझको मुश्किल है,
ले मापदंड जिसको परिवर्तित कर देतीं
केवल छूकर ही देश-काल की सीमाएँ
जग दे मुझपर फैसला उसे जैसा भाए
लेकिन मैं तो बेरोक सफ़र में जीवन के
इस एक और पहलू से होकर निकल चला।
जीवन की आपाधापी में कब वक़्त मिला
कुछ देर कहीं पर बैठ कभी यह सोच सकूँ
जो किया, कहा, माना उसमें क्या बुरा भला।

Earth Hour 2010

2010-03-24T18:15:00.002+05:30

The hour the world unites in a stand against global warming

Earth Hour is a WWF initiative where YOU can show your support for action on climate change by turning off your lights for one hour.

WWF’s Earth Hour is an inspiring message of hope and action – a global demonstration about climate change.

Become a part of Earth Hour and get useful tips and tools to reduce your carbon footprint everyday.

Sign Up Now

At 8.30pm on 27 March 2010, over 4000 cities and towns across the world will turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – sending a powerful message that it’s possible to take action on global warming. It will let world leaders know the world is still watching, following the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in 2009 which leaves room for a better deal, we believe in not letting the spirits die.

Earth Hour 2009 was hugely successful, reaching millions of people across the world. In India

5 million people switched off on that day
56 Indian cities participated
Engaged over 600000 students , 200000 in Delhi alone
Saved 1000MW of power in that one hour, 600MW of energy saving in Delhi alone
From the icons of history like Qutub Minar, Red Fort, and Humanyun’s Tomb and Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus to the symbols of modern India- hotels, cinema complexes and shopping malls - several switched off
Connaught Place in Delhi and Brigade Road in Bangalore offered a unique visual spectacle with just the essential lights turned on.
100 top public and private sector organizations participated. Reserve Bank of India, Infosys, Wipro, ICICI, Google, Indian Hotels, HSBC, Standard Chartered India, HP, ITCWelcomgroup, HUDCO, Taj group of hotels and PVR. to name a few
Tremendous support from the Govt of Delhi ( has adopted EH as a quarterly initiative)
Unprecedented media coverage/ 100 stories were filed the next morning of the campaign.
Aamir Khan-nation's popular youth icon as the Brand Ambassador. Whereas, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble also supported the campaign.
Hundreds of educational institutions including IITs, IIMs, MICA, Jamia Milia Islamia, JNU among several youth groups, community organizations and religious groups took ownership of the campaign to help make it a success from Cochin to Gangtok and Dehradun to Bubhneshwar.

We want to make Earth Hour 2010 even bigger and better. Apart from Delhi & Mumbai this year we are taking it to Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangaluru, Chennai and Kolkata, apart from several other cities where people will be encouraged to participate and turn-off the lights in their homes, offices and buildings from 8:30pm-9:30pm on Saturday, 27 March 2010. Whether you are a business, local authority, school, community group or individual, we’d love you to take part.

The target groups for this campaign are the urban upper and middle classes who could express solidarity for a pressing global issue like climate change, through this voluntary act. The promotion campaign will begin six weeks prior to D-day and will be culminated in a celebration of support on that day. The campaign will be conducted in full coordination with the municipal bodies, police and public safety agencies.

This event is for everyone who is willing to make a small contribution for the planet we live on , this campaign needs your commitment – so put the date in your diary and get ready for Earth Hour 2010!

This event is for everyone who is willing to make a small contribution for the planet we live on (the Earth!)

Earth Hour 2010 - "Switch on" your minds, "switch off the lights"

2010-03-24T18:03:00.001+05:30

Earth Hour 2010

Earth Hour 2010 continues to be a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future.

In what we hope will be the world’s largest mass participation event, Earth Hour 2010 will be the culmination of over one billion people around the globe, in more than 6000 cities, towns turning off lights for one hour on one night. Iconic buildings and landmarks across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and The Americas will go dark.
In India, we hope to make Earth Hour 2010 even bigger and better than last year. Besides Delhi & Mumbai , this year we are taking Earth Hour to Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangaluru, Chennai and Kolkata, apart from several other cities where people will be encouraged to participate and turn-off the lights in their homes, offices and buildings from 8:30pm - 9:30pm on Saturday, 27 March 2010. Our participation will go a long way in showing to the world that India is united on its stand against global warming and is demanding immediate action.
We want to let the world leaders know that the world is still watching, post the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in 2009 and that we, the citizens of the planet, demand commitment to actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the benefit of the planet.

Ref:

EPF Vs PPF: A foolproof guide

2010-03-24T16:21:00.000+05:30

EPF Vs PPF: A foolproof guide

There are many among us who have this doubt about EPF and PPF. Many of the salaried wonder whether they need to contribute to the PPF too. Those who are not salaried need to differentiate between the bank recurring deposit and the PPF. So here goes a detailed account of what EPF and PPF really are and who can invest in either of them.

Provident Fund

A provident fund is created with a purpose of providing financial security and stability to elderly people. Generally these funds are formed / started when one starts his/her career and is withdrawn on retirement. The contributions/ investments are made on a regular basis (monthly in most cases). The quantum of investment may vary. The investments made by a number of people / employees are pooled together and invested by a trust.

EPF (Employees Provident Fund)

This is implemented by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation of India. Any company with over 20 employees is required to register itself with the EPFO. 12% of the Basic, DA, and cash value of food allowances has to be contributed to the EPF account.

If one changes company, then the EPF account can be transferred to the new company.

PPF (Public Provident Fund)

This is implemented by State Bank of India with support from India Post. Formed by an act of Parliament the PPF is accessible by anyone who wishes to save towards ones future. The minimum contribution is Rs.500/- and the maximum is Rs.70,000/- per year.

A passbook is given and the deposit has to be made at an assigned post office of SBI office. Change in the post office or the SBI branch can be done by submitting an application. The passbook has to be carried along to make the deposit at all times.

EPF and PPF Compared

Have seen the basic, let us compare EPF and PPF against different parameters.

S.No.	Comparison Parameter	EPF	PPF
1	Who can Invest?	Any Salaried person. Others not allowed.	Any Indian, except NRIs.
2	How much can one invest? How frequently?	Statutory is 12% of basic +DA. Can voluntarily increase the contribution. Frequency is monthly from the salary itself.	Any Amount between Rs.500/- and Rs.70,000/- per year. A maximum of 12 contributions can be made per year subject to a minimum of Rs.100 per event.
3	Current Returns	8.5%	8%
4	Loan Options	Can make withdrawals for marriage or construction of house by presenting suitable documents. Loans also possible but not in favour with contributors and EPFO.	Can take loans of upto 50% of the balance of the 4th from the 6th year onwards. For all future years the same rule or the 50% of the balance in the account will apply.
5	Maturity	Can be closed when switching jobs. Can transfer account to new company till retirement.	15 years. Can be extended indefinitely by extending for 5 years each after that.
6	Tax Treatment	Contribution gets Section 80C benefit. Maturity is also tax free if contribution is for over 5 years including transfers from different companies.	Contribution gets Section 80C benefit. Maturity is also tax free.
7	Convenience	Good for the contribution as deducted from the salary itself. Poor for withdrawal or for loans	Poor for the contribution, withdrawal and loans. Good for the quantum of investment and frequency of investment.

Some Unique aspects of PPF

PPF has some unique features which needs mention. The first one is that PPF is for the bread winner and his/her family. So a father and his children (yet to reach age 18) together can have only one account. This limits the contribution as a group to only Rs.70,000/-. The mother can however have her own account.

The other unique feature is that in case of insolvency, the PPF account cannot be attached with the other assets for debt settlement process. This feature may be of use in special circumstances, like business people who are in risky businesses. However the PPF account is not secure in case of Income Tax evasion.

Should one invest in EPF and PPF?

EPF and PPF are cases of classic asset class mismatch - they are savings tools which are implemented for the long term. So technically they are not ideal investment avenues. However as a salaried person, one does not have an option not to invest in EPF. One could make withdrawals for suitable alternative investments if he/she has the self discipline to invest for the long term.

For those who are spendthrifts, EPF and PPF give an easy means for securing their future, as the inconveniences for making a withdrawal are many.

For business people, PPF becomes an attractive option in case they have heavy loans or delayed payment from clients. In the worst case of business failure, atleast their PPF account will give them much needed support to start again.