Discussion

Rich are not rich & Poor are not poor until...

2016-09-25T21:29:00.002+05:30

Globally people are divided into three categories - rich, middle income & poor. These categories are based on their income. Today I am going to take this concept head on.

I would like to present two cases -
1. Poor: There is a poor family. By poor, I mean to say whose income is very low. If you look closely, these people have readjusted everything in their life according to their income. They do not have any desire to increase their income. They do not need money. You would say, who in this world does not want money. Yes, everybody wants it. But people who need it badly - do something to get it. They do not just wish, but they will be always be trying something - to get that extra money. They won't just pass their time by sitting around, gossiping or in front of their idiot box.
So, on surface they look poor. But you see they are satisfied with what they have. They do not want to get better. I will conclude that they are rich as they have more than what they need.

2. Rich: The rich family are that family whose income is well. Now, if you look them closely they are constantly running behind money. They won't sit around that no matter what, we do have all the money. So even if I do nothing, I am well off. They have deep desires for different things. They want bigger house, they want expensive, luxurious things. They want to holiday at exotic locations. And for this they will do anything. They will take all the stress they can.

You see my point. By income, these people look rich. But this income is low when their desires are considered. I would conclude that they are poor because their means of income are lower than their needs.

786 Notes

2016-01-16T19:26:00.000+05:30

786 is a holy number. It is famous even in films. The first scene that comes to mind is Amitabh Bachchan in Film Deewar. It is this number which saves him from dangers. And it is in the climax that he loses it and has to embrace death. I have been hearing from early childhood that 786 notes are lucky and we should store it. I do not know whether they are. But they certainly increase faith in your thoughts that you are lucky. And this very thought turns luck on your side.

Recently I started to look closely at the notes that come in my hands and keep aside if it is 786 note. I have got two Rs. 1000/- notes and one Rs. 100/- note. Let us see how big the collection goes and if luck smiles broadly.

Power of Discipline

2015-01-24T11:32:00.000+05:30

Discipline has so much of importance in life. If there is no discipline, however good you might be, it is of little use. Most of the great people had the discipline in them to follow what has been started. But there are also talents that could have been great but for the lack of discipline.
Discipline is best taught in our forces. All the soldiers are trained in such a manner that their mind is (well almost) programmed as per the discipline. Imagine a world, where we do not have much, but have the power of discipline.
There are so many ideas going on mind, but for the lack of discipline they are not followed. For overweight persons, they read and do n number of things, but do not follow 'at least one' on regular basis. If they had the discipline of following the one method, there might have been a 'conceivable' change in them.
Imagine if the students have the discipline of studying for two hours daily instead of the 10 hours during their exam time. Discipline helps in making habits. Habits are powerful.
If you have the discipline of doing Pranayam (Breathing through alternate nostrils), you can have yourself cleansed of so many diseases. You may not have to visit a Doctor. Everybody knows it, but it is done only by those who have suffered or are suffering from some disease. Of course, you now have an equipment to do this. Just because your hands start paining, you cannot do for long time. But by using this equipment, you can do so continuously and at different times.

Indian Serials-Daily Soap, an eyewash

2015-01-24T11:08:00.002+05:30

Do you see the Daily soaps-serials on Indian TV channels? Many a woman are fans of it. They are more interested in what is happening on TV rather in their own life. These serials are followed by many of them and that too religiously followed. What I find in them is a little humorous.

Have you noticed sometime, of course if you see serials, that in some of them they will show marriage and there is a kid in not more than two months. All these things will happen in no time. But these serials will celebrate Happy New Year & Holi. In New Year serial, there was no marriage. And in Holi serial, the Holi will be played with the New born alongside.

Isn't it funny?

2013-11-07T20:02:00.002+05:30

This is typically seen in Indian trains. In the travelling season the trains are full and you cannot move in the train due to crowd. Most of the time it is our pleasure to help elderly people, ladies and children by giving them seats first. There is a situation in which I have a place or I get a place but I offer it to some ladies to sit on. The ladies are accompanied by their family - brother, husband, or others.

There is often a situation when next station comes and there is some vacant seat near the same lady. The lady will offer the seat to the persons who accompany her, while I am left stranded there. I think in such a situation, these ladies should first offer seat to them who have earlier given them their seats. But this is forgetten the next moment. Should it be so?

What do you think?

Farmers in India

2013-08-17T22:09:00.000+05:30

This is the post that I had done in 2008. Today I came across Reliance Bharat India Jodo initiative, which I think works on same lines. I am still trying to find out.

But importantly at that time, I did not know techniques to share my ideas with friends. Today it is quite easy with facebook. So, friends do read and come back to me.
=============

The agriculture scenario of India is not as good as it was a couple of years ago. The rains are not very consistent and are the biggest problem. Along with it the rising fertilizer costs, seed cost, etc. all make the life of a farmer miserable. My uncle has agricultural land, and out of fascination I have mentioned to him that I too want to become a farmer. The first reaction to this is – it is very difficult to be a farmer. So many things have to be managed. Resources, manpower, etc. and in addition to this there are also out of hand interventions like rains, insects destroying the crop, among others.

The other problems are the small pieces of land that the farmers have. They simply lack the capital and the scale that should be there for agriculture. Imagine a farmer doing farming only on small piece of land like quarter of an acre. This does not give the desired output as it mars the efficiency.

As against this if we watch the system in other countries, you will see that there are vast stretches of lands on which agriculture is done. In fact, due to such facts they have also started sowing seeds through aero planes. They can afford this as this is fastest way and also a virtual ‘sea of land’. This also makes way for applying modern technology in agriculture.

I believe that life for farmers in India could be made somewhat simpler. Frankly I do not know how this will work. But if it works, there will be nothing better than that.

Corporate should enter this field. Every farmer shall lease his land to the corporate. In turn, the corporate shall give them a pre-determined amount. I have seen this happen in villages, though on a small scale. Big farmers lease land from small farmers, mostly families who do not have a farming capable person. Whatever produce is generated in that land, half of that is given to the land owner. This is a win-win situation. With advanced technologies, science and information, corporate should be able to use the land in a much efficient manner producing more-value crops.

Some of the farmers giving land can also get a job at the farms, while other farmers could take up a job in nearby industrial area. I know even if these ideas are implemented, it will take a period to make that happen in a country like ours. Being a democratic country, even if 100 farmers are ready and one is not, it will be a problem.

Problems apart, I visualize a prospering India which has education as its backbone. Land owners become employees of other industries, while corporate becomes a modern farmer. Think about the efficiency and the development it will bring to the rural front. There are huge landscapes lying in India.

Give your comments or write to phbawankule@gmail.com.

Thumb Rule for investing.

2013-08-09T18:51:00.004+05:30

Quite early in life, I had heard about a thumb rule for investing. Hundred minus your age percent of your investment should be in equity. Historically, the equity has given maximum returns in long terms. If you have long term plans, then you think about the returns in long terms.

Risk, Reward and Liquidity seldom go together in financial world. Savings & Current account has highest liquidity, but the returns will be on lower side. They are not risky. We have Debt funds, National Savings Certificates, Fixed Deposits, etc, where returns are slightly higher, but liquidity is lower. No risk.

When you go for Gold, liquidity is higher; handling is our risk; returns are slightly higher than debt funds. Real estate! It has good rewards, very low liquidity and needs very high capital. Risk is low, if paperwork is good.

Then you have equity. The father of all investments! You can become King or turn a beggar if you do not do your own due diligence while directly investing in stocks. If you study the stocks, understand the business and invest in long term, you will be richer. If you want lower exposure in equity or do not understand stocks, best way is to invest in equity linked mutual fund. Mutual fund minimizes your risk as your fund manager is more experienced than you.

Equity is associated with risk but comes first when we consider rewards. So, if your age is 25 years, you must invest 75 % of your funds into equity. This will ensure that you grow the highest.

Magic of Turnaround

2013-08-06T15:59:00.003+05:30

This may interest Business people more. This may not be applicable everywhere. But wherever it is made use of, it will be magic, True Magic.

I was dealing with one of my dealers. He said that I should take at least 15 % margin on the products that I sell. His turnaround was 90 days. So, I prepared this sheet. This was an eye-opener for me also. Like the Magic of compounding, the Magic of turnaround is no less. It tells us that lesser the cycle of completion (turnaround), more you earn on your amount. Now, this is qualitative. When you look at it quantitatively, the numbers are pretty good.

In the below table, I have kept the margin same and have varied the turnaround days. So, if I have Rs. 30 lacs as starting amount and my cycle is completed in 15 days, I can have a turnover of Rs. 60 lacs in that. With 5 % margin, I can earn Rs. 3 lac on basic amount Rs. 30 lacs. Look at the below chart.

				Earnings
Amount, Rs. Lac	Days	Turnover	% margin	Rs. Lac/m	Rs. Lac/annum
30	15	60	5	3	36
30	30	30	5	1.5	18
30	45	20	5	1	12
30	60	15	5.00	0.75	9
30	75	12	5.00	0.6	7.2

Magic of Compounding

2013-08-05T16:05:00.002+05:30

If you are already 30 and do not have investing habits, chances are that you have already lost Rs. 77 lacs. This is considering that you could have started earning when 23 and started investing Rs. 5000 each month when 25. Compounded average of 10 % pa will become huge elephant when you retire. This is the magic of compounding.

I have read this before, but the impact is so huge that whenever I read it again I think of sharing. The assumptions are simple. You invest every month till you retire. The rate of interest is 10 % pa.

Sl No.	Starting Age	Years of investing	Corpus at Retirement (in lacs) when Rs. 5000 invested/month	Corpus at Retirement (in lacs) when Rs. 10000 invested/month
1	20	40	316	632
2	25	35	190	380
3	30	30	113	226
4	35	25	66	132
5	40	20	38	76
6	45	15	21	42
7	50	10	10	20

This is the magic of compounding. So, now you see how you lost your money.

Youngsters must start the habit of investing at an early age. Time is the biggest factor that you have on your side.

Remember ‘Time is Money’ when you use it that way.

Power of Pranayama

2013-05-11T18:36:00.002+05:30

Once I had been to the program of Baba Ramdev. It is a Open House Yoga Class starting early morning. People there would be getting trained in doing Yoga. Among other exercises there is one breathing exercise also called as Pranayam or Anulom Vilom. It is nothing but breathing alternately with your nostrils. You keep one nostril closed and take breath through other nostril. Then you have to open the first nostril and close second nostril. Release breath through first nostril and again inhale through the same nostril. You have to follow the same procedure for as long as you can – 10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins - the more the better.

After the total session ends, he invites people who have been practicing Yoga for long and have been cured of numerous diseases. I had listened first on television and then I heard it during this program. Various people will come and tell how their dangerous diseases have been cured. Patients with whom normal doctors had lost hope were sharing experiences of how they were cured just by doing Anulom-Vilom. Some women had problems getting pregnant and just by doing Anulom-Vilom they were cured.

The power of Pranayama seems to be endless. What are your views on this? Please share it.

New Rahul Dravid?

2013-04-29T23:39:00.002+05:30

I remember I had written an article two years ago. It was IPL second season - 2011. Rahul Dravid was playing for Royal Challengers. He was captaining the team. Ironically, his team was called test team. And this was T20, the fastest form of cricket, where it does not matter whether or not you have talent. You just have to win games. Being of short nature, it was bang bang. And to his dismay, Rahul’s team was in the bottom half of the table.

IPL is such high profile, high money game that the team management (probably owners) decided to change captain. Rahul’s friend, his Indian teammate for many years Kumble was made captain. And the wonderful thing about Kumble’s leadership was that RCB won every do or die game that season, except for final. It played in the final. It seemed difficult when Kumble had taken the mantle of leadership.

In 2013, IPL 6 the scene has changed. Rahul is playing for Rajasthan Royals. He seems to like name ‘Royal’. He is captain of the team, which had won IPL 1 under the charismatic Shane Warne. Shane Warne had turned the domestic talent into a powerhouse and in pressure situations had won matches and the ultimate title. People in the ‘Rajasthan Royal’ team agree that there is a huge difference in Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid. Both cannot be compared.

But you have to see the result at the end of the day. In mid-IPL, Rajasthan is among the top teams having hardly lost game. There seems to be no major hero for the team. People put their hands up and win the matches for their team. So, what has changed for Rahul Dravid. Had he learned some secret? Or is it simply that it is the last format of the game that he plays actively and he wants to do better. Whatever it is, Rajasthan seem to be going all the way.

Twist to a Dal khichdi?

2013-04-25T01:44:00.003+05:30

I was hungry in my room and was dying to eat something. I remembered the catalogue given by neighbouring hotel which gave home delivery. I ordered Dal khichdi. It arrived in 20 minutes and it was piping hot. I liked it very much. Next, I searched on the internet about how to make Dal khichdi?

The recipe is simple. First you cook Dal (moong dal or any other dal as you like) in pressure cooker. If you take one cup dal add two & half cups of water and cook it. Remove it from pressure cooker. Soak one cup of rice in water. Then in a cooker (you can rinse the same cooker), heat oil. Add the different spices, onion, groundnuts, etc. Add rice and then the cooked dal. Let everything cook in the pressure cooker. After cooking, serve piping hot.

Now, I gave a simple twist to this recipe. I had eaten dal methi or dal palak in a hotel and it also tasted great. So, I tried to mix up these recipes. What I did was, I put the Methi (fenugreek) leaves inside the cooker along with the Dal. Let the two cook together in pressure. After this, repeat the above procedure for Dal khichdi. It tastes great. Do give reviews.

Rape Cases in the time of Shivaji Maharaj

2013-04-22T15:06:00.000+05:30

Such are the incidents occurring about rape in India that it reminds the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji. At that time too, there were too many cases as the Village Heads used to sexually abuse the women of village. When Jijabai gave the power of decision to Shivaji, he started unique punishment. One hand and one leg were cut whoever had done the crime. No one was spared.

This brought such a good time in Maharashtra at that time that quickly Shivaji became popular. Today the law is such that it takes too much time for punishment. The criminals are living outside and the cases are pending. After some time the intensity of the case is reduced and the criminal gets off with either no or lesser punishment. So, there is no deterrent punishment for the criminals. The punishment of Shivaji was a huge deterrent as people would rethink before doing crime. Law makers today should think about the same and make way for some deterrent punishment which would really make criminal think twice before doing the heinous crime.

Record of Sachin Tendulkar

2012-03-19T13:33:00.002+05:30

Congratulations to Sachin Tendulkar for getting a ton of tons. No words to describe the feat. A feat which is very difficult to repeat since it represents class as well as takes time and has to endure a ages to remain fit. In fact, Sachin was a slow starter on the century front. His first ODI century came in the Mid nineties.

In the current lot though, I find this qualities in the one Virat Kohli, who is playing these Virat roles. In very few matches, he has already amassed 10 centuries. He could be the one who can get closer to Sachin.

Your views.

Leadership & IPL

2011-05-14T06:04:00.002+05:30

This time I am going to write about the leadership example which we saw during IPL 2nd season.
Twenty-20 is a strange game. People used to say that Sachin Tendulkar is not a good captain. In fact, he himself gave up captaincy in late 90's so that he could concentrate on his batting. But come IPL and he is leading Mumbai so well. In this year's IPL his team is leading the pack. Agreed, his team has the best of balance. But still winning is a habit.
Cut back to circa IPL-2. Rahul Dravid was leading the team - RCBangalore. Nothing to takeaway from Rahul, but his team was called a Test team playing T-20. In the middle of IPL, when the RCB is at bottom of tables and has very slim chance of going for top 4, Mr. Anil Kumble is handed over the reins.
And it's Magic! The person turns around the same Test team into a perfect T-20 outfit and his team plays in the final.
Isn't that we call leadership qualities.

Negotiating the CTC

2009-12-30T21:26:00.002+05:30

Though I have left my job and have taken a plunge in entrepreneurship, I have some points to tell while you negotiate the salary for new job. Though not all, but some of the points I have learnt from one of my colleagues (Mr. D) in my previous company - which also features in Forbes. One of the foremost point that you must remember is that it is not only you who is in need for a job. Our company also wants us to be their part and they look to cover 100 times from you than what they give you. So, you must be confident enough for what you are demanding.

You should keep a tab on your college mates to know what is your current market rate. You should not be shy of demanding that or close to that amount. One of the thumb rule while you change job is a hike of around 30 % if you are purely looking from money point of view. When you change locations, you should have your eye on the standard of living of the city. For example, if you have a CTC of 3 lakh per annum in Mumbai and you have the same in Kolkatta, you are much richer in Kolkatta. You can save much more there compared to that in Mumbai.

You can also cite the experience that you have gained (in case you are experienced) or your skills. In case you are not too sure about the list, you can sit especially for that and note it down. Close yourself in a room and list down all the positive aspects of yourself and note down in your CV.

Nowadays, there is new trend going on. There is a term called CTC - Cost to Company. All the things are added to this. When you get that offer, you should actually calculate what is your pay in hand at the end of the month. You should not consider the amount that you will get at the year end. More often than not, you will be leaving the company in between and shall not get that money. The most important part of that is the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) or Bonus or whatsoever you call it. It is made a part of your CTC and you are convinced to get that amount at the end of year. But this is not always the case.

From what I experienced, company can chose to not pay, pay half the PLI or even exceed that amount. When the first two options are done, you are left with no choice. You are left with less than your calculated in-hand pay.

Look for some golden personal finance rules from me on this space. For any queries, please let me know on phbawankule@gmail.com.

Swine Flu and Media

2009-08-16T19:44:00.002+05:30

For the last couple of weeks, everybody in Pune has been wearing masks. There has been fear due to which many of colleges, institutions and some public places were shut down for about a week. Such has been the craze of the news that another news of about 20-30 people dying because of diarrhea or other such diseases in Manmad has never come to the fore. There are other diseases too. While I am not denying the need to take precautionary measures against such disease, I am only trying to say that media should also be responsible. There have been more than a couple of cases where people have been reported dead due to H1N1 virus without being waited for test results. These test results were later declared as negative. But the impact of the first news is there.
Media should also report positive things, so as to console public. There have been more than 500 cases where people have been identified to be infected with H1N1 virus, were treated and then released from hospital after being fit and fine. These cases should also come to the fore. Along with mentioning the total national toll, they should also mention the cases that were cured successfully.
To give your comments, write to phbawankule@gmail.com.

Office

2009-07-30T07:23:00.002+05:30

In one of my blogs, I had written that travel sucks. Energies are drained not in work but in travel, for most of people. And this is true in Metros like Mumbai where there is a mismatch in residential and office locations. The Main Mumbai where most of the offices are located is so costly that people cannot afford to live there. Mostly people have to leave in a location where they have to travel atleast half an hour and about an hour for most locations. The job nature is different for every person.
I feel that with technologies being developed at such a speed, the day will not be far when people will operate from home. It is not possible for all jobs, but 20-30 % of the jobs could be of such a nature that they could be operated out of anywhere. We have fax, scannig facility, internet, video facility, mobile, etc., which is enough to make us work from home.
The offices will be just like a conference hall or meeting rooms where people come and meet whenever required, weekly or fortnightly. Less office space is required and the cost to the company could come down. Only targets have to be given to employees.
People will love to do this. They don't have to travel frequently and they can work one or two hours extra, which is saved due to less traveling.

Give your feedback on this to me on phbawankule@gmail.com.

Farmers in India

2008-09-22T17:03:00.000+05:30

The agriculture scenario of India is not as good as it was a couple of years ago. The rains are not very consistent and are the biggest problem. Along with it the rising fertilizer costs, seed cost, etc. all make the life of a farmer miserable. My uncle has agricultural land, and out of fascination I have mentioned to him that I too want to become a farmer. The first reaction to this is – it is very difficult to be a farmer. So many things have to be managed. Resources, manpower, etc. and in addition to this there are also out of hand interventions like rains, insects destroying the crop, among others.

The other problems are the small pieces of land that the farmers have. They simply lack the capital and the scale that should be there for agriculture. Imagine a farmer doing farming only on small piece of land like quarter of an acre. This does not give the desired output as it mars the efficiency.

As against this if we watch the system in other countries, you will see that there are vast stretches of lands on which agriculture is done. In fact, due to such facts they have also started sowing seeds through aero planes. They can afford this as this is fastest way and also a virtual ‘sea of land’. This also makes way for applying modern technology in agriculture.

I believe that life for farmers in India could be made somewhat simpler. Frankly I do not know how this will work. But if it works, there will be nothing better than that.

Corporate should enter this field. Every farmer shall lease his land to the corporate. In turn, the corporate shall give them a pre-determined amount. I have seen this happen in villages, though on a small scale. Big farmers lease land from small farmers, mostly families who do not have a farming capable person. Whatever produce is generated in that land, half of that is given to the land owner. This is a win-win situation. With advanced technologies, science and information, corporate should be able to use the land in a much efficient manner producing more-value crops.

Some of the farmers giving land can also get a job at the farms, while other farmers could take up a job in nearby industrial area. I know even if these ideas are implemented, it will take a period to make that happen in a country like ours. Being a democratic country, even if 100 farmers are ready and one is not, it will be a problem.

Problems apart, I visualize a prospering India which has education as its backbone. Land owners become employees of other industries, while corporate becomes a modern farmer. Think about the efficiency and the development it will bring to the rural front. There are huge landscapes lying in India.

Give your comments or write to phbawankule@gmail.com.

Nano – My perspective

2008-09-02T12:08:00.000+05:30

Nano! The showcase of innovation, India showed to the world. The whole world is looking at the development of Nano. People cannot believe that cars could be manufactured and sold at that price. Only one man should be given honors for doing the near impossible. Mr. Ratan Tata. There are many persons opposing the very idea of such a cheap car. Some people believe that this will pack the roads. Traffic movement on the roads will be blocked. A few others feel that such cars should not be allowed in the metros. I feel that why not? Metros can have cars like Nano.

The solution lies not in stopping Nano from entering Metros, but in the indirect methods. These can be like putting congestion tax on the car; levying a tax like pollution (carbon) tax on the car; increasing parking charges, so that taking out car is discouraged. I would suggest that small cars should cost somewhat like Honda City. The small cars pollute lesser than the bigger cars.

Public transport should be improved to such a level that people find it very easy to use public transport rather than traveling in their personal vehicle. The introduction of Meru cabs and Golden cabs have made it easier for many people. But these facilities must increase. I remember when I was in IIT Bombay for about two years (2001-03), electrical rickshaws were introduced for internal travel in IIT campus. They were such a huge hit. From any point to any point you had to give Rs. 2/- per trip. They were such clean vehicles and would not pollute – neither gas pollution nor noise pollution. These could be some of the good ideas in Metros.

Now, returning to the present situation in Singur. I find it utmost unfortunate that Tatas are not welcome in West Bengal. I see it as a conspiracy against Tatas – political as well as other powers who do not want Nano to come. Tata group is respected widely in the world and is looked upon as the Most trusted organization. The group mentions that it would not make a hostile takeover of any company. Its policy with employees as well as for others around them is so good. You have to go to Jamshedpur and look how different it is from other cities/towns in the state.

Since I am not at the location, some of my views or understanding of the situation may be wrong. But I believe it may be set right with talking. Mamta has taken the cause of the farmers; it may give her the votes. But West Bengal will be getting many steps behind in terms of development. If Tata leaves WB, many other investors will think thrice before entering in WB. The employment will never be there and people will run in other states for jobs. If government has not given them enough money (GOD only knows what the right amount is), they should give them. The farmers may also be given employment either in the government or in factories so that they have continuous source of income instead of one time sale money. Alternatively, the farmers can be given land in other places.

I have some more ideas about how life of farmers could be improved, which I shall discuss in my next blog. To give your views, please mail to phbawankule@gmail.com.

Office Locations

2008-08-21T14:51:00.000+05:30

Commercial Real Estate prices are sky-rocketing. Look at the various Real Estate prices around the world.

Earlier the offices used to be just about one or two floors. If you go to Tier II/III cities, even now you could find such buildings. As the population grew, business grew, manpower increased, open spaces in the metros started to diminish. Concrete jungles were all over the existing arboraceous jungles. There was a shift from rural to urban areas. In Metros, the real estate is so costly that only offices or elite few can afford them. The working class or even the middle management lives at far off places where residential areas cost less. So there is distinct divide between office and residence; people travel for more than half hour, sometimes even more than hour and a half to reach their offices. This means traveling two-three hours daily.

Travel sucks. Energies are lost not in work but in travel. I have my own views about the situation and I have some vision by which such problem could belittle. Look for those in my next blog.

Do you have some views about it? Or if you want to share some solutions of yours you may write mail to phbawankule@gmail.com.

Indian Post Office – An asset or a liability

2008-08-18T15:42:00.000+05:30

The symbol of brother-sister love, Raksha Bandhan is just round the corner in India. Our group of friends was discussing about going to our dear sisters to tie up that ‘thread of love’ Rakhi. Some said that Rakhi will be sent to them and this triggered one comment – Do Not Send Rakhi by Post. It Will Not Reach in Time. I too told about my experience last year that inspite of sending (wife send them) Rakhis by Speed Post two weeks earlier, it reached destination only after Raksha Bandhan was over. Other friends too shared their experience. I informed them that this year I couriered it and it reached in just two days.

But then again we began discussing the Indian Post Office (IPO) infrastructure. It is huge by any standard. Indian rail network is considered as the complex and far-reaching network. The IPO network is larger than this. It will reach to the place where electricity or railway is not there. There may even be places where good roads are not there but Post Office exists.

The telephone, courier, internet, mobile, investment options, etc., defeated the major part of IPO business. Now it remains as the largest infrastructure with low usage. We need a ‘Laloo Prasad’ here who turned around the largest rail network and created huge profits.

Post office has taken a step to utilize its network and it has tied up with Income Tax office so that people can file returns. But we need such more instances which could make some use of IPO network. Recently I read some sites in which the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) had difficulty in terms of penetrating in to the rural network. No enough infrastructures are available. There could be a tie-up between IPO and other such parties who want their services to be given to rural networks.

Do you have some more ideas about the use of IPO network? Do write to me on phbawankule@gmail.com.

Choosing Black Template

2008-08-12T11:02:00.001+05:30

This is my first blog on internet. There were various templates available on this site, but I went for this black template. It is not because Ramu's film 'Phoonk' which is awaiting release is based on black magic. Black is not considered auspicious in India. In fact, my father would often say don’t wear black. Black is considered as Evil. All the evil things like to have black as their color. Even their representation in films, serials, etc. is depicted mostly as Evil. Black is also the color of Crow. Does that mean that I want to project myself as an Evil? No it does not mean that.

Then why I went for this template when there were enough beautiful templates available. It is also not because I like black. I can bet that Black trousers or jackets would be the top selling in the respective categories. The Black as well as White color goes on so well with any color combination. Most people in corporate world will go for black pants or suits. This is preferred to any other color. Any light color shirt would suit on the Black trouser.

Black is considered to be the color of Shani – The Saturn. Many people in India fear about him and I would say people do not know fully about Shani. For them I would say, know more about Shani’s history and do not fear him or black.

When I saw black template, I suddenly remembered about one mail. My friend had forwarded this mail as information and I read, admired and kept that in archives. I relocated that mail and it gave an astounding figure. The information was given on Treehugger, a website. It was a blog titled ‘Black Google can save 750 MW-hrs a year’. As per the calculations, an all white web page would use 74 watts to display, while an all black would use about 59 watts. With Google being the favorite site for Web-users, a whole lot of energy could be saved just by changing the home page of Google to black. This is as per the calculations done by the blogger.

Though I did not go into the details of checking the information and calculating it, I thought when there is an opportunity I shall do it. This is the reason that I went for black template the moment I saw it. I said to myself, let me do my bit for Earth.

You will see some more blogs coming up on this page. Keep coming and reading. I would be sharing my thoughts on this blog and would like people to come and share their point of views on the topic.

Happy reading. You can write to me on phbawankule@gmail.com.