Happy New Year :)

May your New Year bring.....

Time.... for
reflection and renewal........

Time for.....

little celebrations ......

Time for.. Wonder

Time to discover.....

Newer heights.....

Newer destinations.....

Time for dreams......

Wishing U All a Very Happy New Year filled with Joy, Happiness & lots n lots of Fun.

Lets welcome this New Year with a wish to bring peace, happiness and joy for all of us... :)

Have Nice n Funfilled Weekend... :)

Kabul Express....

Saw Kabul Express on Sat... wanted to post the review but cldnt find time. Finally, got some and here it is... :)

Lets welcome a debutant kabir Khan, a documentary film maker to present a film with some different theme...

The film takes u to Afghanistan .... a country most of us haven’t visited. Yes, Dharmatma and Khuda Gawah did visit Afghanistan, but the post-Taliban Afghanistan hasn’t been witnessed on the Hindi screen. Tht makes Kabul Express a novel experience indeed! A film like Kabul Express is more for the elite viewer than the aam junta.

Kabul Express is set in post 9/11 Afghanistan.... wher the American bombing has destroyed the Taliban regime.... nd the Taliban soldiers r trying to escape to Pakistan.... to avoid the wrath of the Afghans. Against this turbulent backdrop.... Jai Kapoor [Arshad Warsi] and Suhel Khan [John ] .... two Indian television reporters -- hav entered Afghanistan nd their aim is to somehow get a rare interview with a Talibani..... Helping them in their pursuit of a Talibani, is their Afghan guide, translator and driver Khyber [Hanif ] in his Toyota Jeep called Kabul Express.

The trio is having their share of adventure..... as they go frm being blindfolded nd taken to secret hideouts in the mountains to interview Taliban prisoners..... they nearly get trampled by horses while shooting a game of Buzkashi ....... They are saved from getting trampled by an American photo-journalist .... Jessica [Linda Arsenio].

Despite all their attempts, the Taliban remains elusive. But unknown to them, these hunters are being hunted down themselves...

One cold winter morning in Kabul..... they get kidnapped at gunpoint by a Talibani who wants to escape to the Pakistani border...... The kidnapper, Imran [Salman Shahid].... is a Pakistani army soldier who was part of the Taliban..... He knows that as journalists.... Jai and Suhel’s movements in the country will not be questioned and acting as their local guide, he can reach the safety of his country.

From here on.... begins the 2 day journey from.... Kabul to Afghan-Pakistan border..... Jai and Suhel’s mission becomes a nightmare as they r taken hostage aboard the Kabul Express and made to drive across the most dangerous country in the world..... Jessica sees their car driving away from Kabul and mistakenly thinks that they are onto a big story.... She begins to chase them.... Before she knows it..... Jessica gets stuck in a bizarre situation and inadvertently... also gets taken hostage by Imran. By the end of the journey..... Jai, Suhel and Jessica actually help Imran reach the border of Pakistan .... his country that he is very proud and patriotic about. But... as he moves forward to the border... hez being killed by the soldiers on pakistan border post.. as the Major is in the impression tht... none of their ppl r left ther.... so they feel tht hez some terrorist... and kills him.

The film is carried very well.. the moments like arguements between Imran and Jai for the All rounder cricketer- Imran Khan or Kapil Dev, Imran's asking for cigarette from Jai.... and everyone including Imran altogether singing song 'Mein Zindagi Ka saath nibhaataa chalaa gayaa.. har fikr ko dhue mein udaataa chalaa gaya' was beautiful.

Kabir deserves full marks for taking the film to an appropriate finale. ... And yes the Cinematograher.. I guess.... Anshuman... has done a very well job. The way he has covered Afghanistan is excellent.

You walk out of Kabul Express with two actors in mind .... Arshad Warsi and Salman Shahid, the Pakistani...... Arshad is brilliant.... scene stealer .... he has an amazing sense of timing .... The actor is lovable.... whereas he also contributes to the light moments in the thriller..... Salman Shahid is excellent..... He is a super actor.... He enacts his role with precision and his sequences.... more towards the concluding reels.. the climax.... will win him ample fans in India..... Ah ha... John doesn’t really get a chance to exhibit his performance.... but gets two major scenes.... one, whn he talks 2 d Pakistani abt his daughter nd the other..... whn the Pakistani is offering prayers..... John handles them with supreme confidence..... Hanif, the Afghani.... is first-rate..... while Linda, the American journalist..... does an okay job.

All-in-all.... a good movie to watch.

Two yrs on.... revisiting tsunami tragedy

Source: Here

Two years passed.... With Silence and tears, TodayIt is the 2nd anniversary of the devastating Tsunami waves that crashed into coastlines killing more than 2 lakh people n leaving millions of people homeless.

Indonesia, Srilanka, somalia, thailand, maldives being destroyed badly....

Dont know wht all steps hav been taken till now.. but... as per the sources.. scientists are trying to meet the Sept, 2007 deadline of putting warning system for the killer waves.

Some tide guages hav been installed in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean tht wld be able to monitor the tidal activity round-the-clock.

Some more such gauges will be installed along the Indian coastline.... to alert the residents of the coastal regions of an impending tsunami.... and so on...

Hope Government.... helps those who lost their family and their houses ..... Hope the fund raised for the victims n for the reconstruction projects are utilised in a proper way... n for the very purpose.

Life Goes on....

Life has a strange way of finding its own rhythm. As per the news.... the houses have been rebuilt, people are busy with their daily activities.... but..... ppl who are still staying ther feels tht...... somewhere, something is missing. The vacuum created by the tsunami simply refuses to go away...... but still... v all know... tht... Life Goes on.....

Lets pray for those who lost their lives and for them who lost their family members and dear ones. Lets pray for the survivors. Hope they r safe and happy wherever they are.

Stock market ka filmy funda

Look at the market… its jst going zooooommmm….. hav reached somewhere around 13471… completely unpredictable.... i dont hav much knowledge abt it... but thanks to my boss from whom i hav learnt a lot... initially when he used to discuss it with me.. i used to feel all these quite boring.. but slowly found it interesting... i jst invest in the stocks recommended by him... lets c how was the yr 2006....

The year 2006 wld go down in history as the yr tht saw impossible dramatic moments like milestones being added at lightening speed, and draggers & achievers being churned out simultaneously at evry dip...... Simply put, the yr had all the masala to make a blockbuster. Herez the annual analysis of stocks compared to the most talked about bollywood releases of the yr. Some made a significant impact while some failed miserably at the box office…. err stock exchanges... lets c....

Dhoom - Stocks that took markets by storm: GMR Infra & Tech Mahindra. Both the IPO’s were over subscribed. Info Edge (even this IPO was oversubscribed. Got overwhelming response from FIIs) and the last one Parsvanath Developers tht took the markets by storm.


KANK - Stock u shld never giv away under pressure: Reliance Industries (featured in the Fortune 500 list for the 2nd consecutive yr.) ONGC & NTPC (wont let u down). SBI, ICICI Bank & HDFC Bank (It pays to hold them), Cipla (this stock doesnt fear from market news). Bharti Airtel & Relaince Communications (New ones but good one). Tata Steel (All set to make big news).


RDB - Stock tht hav put the Tricolour on the Global Map: Infosys Technologies - the sole contender having its presence in Nasdaq 100. It’s truly a global company with Indian origins. On July 31, it became the first company to ring the opening bell of the Nasdaq stock exchange from India. Infosys' website lead netizens to a special homepage that declared tht the "World is Flat." The event was broadcasted live from the Infosys campus to Nasdaq's MarketSite tower in New York's Times square that carried a msg welcoming 'Infy' to Nasdaq :)

Khosla Kaa Ghosla - Small to medium cap stocks tht hold promise: Sasken, Polaris, Moser Baer, Sonata Sotware, 3i infotech, nd some of them, cldnt recollect - these midcap stocks hav exhibited tremendous potential.




Krishh - Stocks tht got empowered: Capital goods like ABB, BHEL, L&T and Siemens (Each of these have fat power projects in their kitty). V can alos include Tata Power - which pocketed ultra mega power projects.



Omkaraa - Investors never got paid for their faith in these stocks: Biocon & Ranbaxy (no change in their price performance during the year.



Lage Raho Munnabhai - Stocks tht resisted volatility: Cement stocks such Grasim, Gujarat Ambuja & ACC. M&M, Maruti Udyog & HDFC were good as well.



Malamaal Weekly - Picks tht gave incredible returns in short trem: Bombay Dyeing, Gamon India & Unitech made quick buck in short term.


So.... this was Stock Markets Filmy Funda.... i guess it wld reach 14000 v.shortly. Lets c wht new year brings 4 all of us... :)

Merry Christmas to everyone.....

Hav a funfilled long weekend.... Njoi

Beautiful Wedding

Two days passed.. nd m jst finding some time to update my blog. Am completely occupied with lot of wrk.. but cldnt stop myself from dropping a small post. So… here it is… :)

After a funfilled Ros Ceremony.. came a beautiful wedding day. Everyone reached Church on time. Its lovely Church… newly constructed. Nafu was looking v.beautiful in her wedding gown nd melwin (bridegroom) was looking very smart, good to see tht he has reduced those extra pounds. During college times, he was quite healthy n overweight thn after graduation for sometime he worked here in India and thn shifted to Kuwait. Nafu nd melwin had committed each other whn they were in final yr of graduation. Yaa.. forgot to say… bestmen and their respective bridesmaids were looking v.nice. And how can i 4get... v all were looking beautiful... :P

Everyone took their seats. It was a wedding in context of mass started with a musical procession of Entrance rite called Introductory rite where Father introduced bride n bridegroom and their respective families greeting them with a song. Thn ther was an Opening Prayer and after that some holy readings by Father.

Thn came Rite of Marriage where the priest asked the couple some questions about the faithfulness to each other, acceptance and upbringing of children.

Thn there was exchange of consent of each other, thn blessing of rings by the priest and thn exchange of rings followed by some readings and once the rings were exchanged, the priest offers his blessings and asks bridegroom to giv a lovely wedding kiss to her bride.

Thn therz presentation of gift to the preist such as fruits , Candles – as symbol of light, bread & wine, clothes, and finally some cash (each one has some symbol behind it.. but don remember it :( ...)

Again, ther are some more prayers… some holy songs, and thn final blessings.

Finally the priest asked to collect holy water as the blessings and as ther were some non-catholics whom they asked to collect Rose as a blessing.

Now.. it was a time for reception. As ther was some time for reception to start.. so v all decided to go to roshni’s place, had some tea n breakfast n went on talking, talking n talking, as clock was showing 8pm so everyone realized tht v shld move to reception venue.

Thank God.. v reached on time.. the couple was jst entering…. It was beautifully organized. Everyone was given a balloon in their hands… and were asked to stand near the stage making a big round. As the couple came forward followed by their bestmen n their resp. bridesmaid.. small introduction of them was given by the organizer, followed by cake cutting, the moment they cut the cake.. v were asked to raise the balloons in the air.. It was really looking beautiful.

Everyone settled.. and thn Sebi, nafu’s bro was asked to raise a toast. He did it v.nicely. Thn the couple visited everyone’s table to greet n to take blessings.

Thn came a Dance time… couple was askd to start a dance march, everyone following thm, n thn making tunnel and everyone passing thru tht tunnel. It was fun. V enjoyed dancing on some bollywood numbers :)).

V all had dinner and the clock was showing 11.30pm. As it was too late so v decided to stay back at nimi’s place as v al were meeting after a long time… went home and as usual kept on gossiping till late night. It was a real fun… had a gr8 time.... njoyed a lot… :)

Ros Ceremony

Yesterday, I attended Ros Ceremony of one of my friend Nafisa, whoz getting married tomorrow. I don’t know much about the customs catholics follow. But, it was quite exciting as u come across some different kind of customs.

Its like, on the eve of the wedding day, in the evening an important ceremony is performed which is called 'ros'-oil bath. The ros is a mixture of coconut juice and coconut oil. They say tht the brides skin gets a good glow by applying ths mixture one day before the wedding. Its just like ‘Haldi’ ceremony which v hav on the eve of the wedding day. V too have the same reasons behind it like by applying Haldi the skin gets a glow on the wedding day, also Haldi is considered quite auspicious and its used along with kumkum while performing pooja n all, I m sure ther mst b some scientific reasons too.

Coming back to Ros ceremony, Nafu, the bride and her three bridesmaids (including one more frnd of mine out of *eight– Shilpa) are made to sit….. and three bowls of coconut water is kept in front of them.

It all started with a small prayer by Sebi, Nafu’s elder brother where he thanked God to bring such a wonderful day, he prayed for his parents, for nafu and for all who were present there for the ceremony.

It’s a custom tht, bride’s father is the first person to apply ths juice to the bride. So, Uncle first took some coconut oil on his fingers and made a cross on her forehead. Thn, he took some coconut juice in his hands, applied on her hairs n thn on her face. Same is to be done with Bridesmaids too. One by one all her relatives n frnds has to come n repeat the same procedure. It was fun.... whn our turn came...... I n nimisha enjoyed applying on her face, her hairs and her hands…. Hmmm …. Thodii aur gorii ho jaayegii…. :)) And at last v all poured the remaining juice on all three of them ….hehehehe ….. It was a real fun…

Then ther was a round of slice cakes n cold drinks.. n after tht a delicious dinner. I was getting too late coz it was already 9.30pm n I had to reach virar which takes 15 mins by train n thn 10mins walking to home. So left without having dinner … :(

It was a real fun… :)

Now, looking forward for Saturday….. for more fun n mastii… :)



*eight - Roshni, Grishma, Jayee, Manisha (all married - manu got a babbuu recently), Nafu, Shilpa, Nimi and myself - eight of us r v.good college frnds :)

Njoi the confusion … Once again

After 3 days of wrkng on ths assignment, now I hav got some idea of wht the concept is and how to wrk on it. But, its full of calculations and a total brain wrk.

Ok … so get ready to get more confused…. Ha aha ha….

The situation is like, we got a private equity assignment for a company A. Now, the client company has other two group companies B & C. Their promoters (shareholders) hav plans to consolidate operations of all the three companies in future. Now, one of the investors wants to know the exact impact of consolidation exercise and wants to check the consolidated financial statements.

As I explained in my previous post, ther r 3 companies A, B & C all promoted by common promoters.

Co. A is listed co. (public ltd. co. whose shares r listed in stock exchange) with promoters holding some % of equity and public holding some % of equity. V r given its Share Capital and Reserves.

Co. B is unlisted co. where promoters r holding the entire equity, Share Capital & Reserves provided.

Co. C is newly ptromoted by Co. A, B & individual promoters.
V r given Co. C’s Sh. Cap & its equity holding pattern wher A hold some %, B some % , other promoters some % and Private equity investors or outsiders (Minority Interest – called as per Co. Law) holding some % of equity.

The proposal is:

In Year 2006-07, Co. A will acquire say 60% equity of Co.B wher Co. A shall issue some amount of shares in consideration to the shareholders of Co.B.

So, now v hav to prepare consolidated accounts of Co.A for 2006-07, making adjustments in Profit & Loss A/c and Balance Sheet …... As Co. A hav to pay some amt. of shares, so Co. B’s Net worth wld change to the extent consideration recd. from A and the presentation in consolidated B/S wld change to tht extent. Ther r lot of calculations keeping in mind the swap ration n all to adjust the reserves of the co. …. But .. if I explain tht, u all wld go mad… :)))

Now, In 2007-08, Co. C will acquire some % of equity of Co. A by issuing some amt of shares of C to shareholders of A and some % of equity of B by again issuing some amt of shares to shareholders of B (As A holds 60% of B and C holds some % of A, so C will hold some % indirectly as well as directly).

So, now v all r busy preparing their individual financial statements, thn consolidated and thn projected ones for future years.

The most difficult thng is …. How to give the treatment of investments made by A & B in C and investment made by A in B, whether to knock off from equity of C or to adjust against the reserves. And another difficult thng is Presentation. After giving all these effects, how to present those financial statemtents showing those adjustments… ??

So …. hands on ur head .... I guess u wanna kill me ….. hahaha ah…. I can understand tht … v too had the same feelings when our manager was explaining it…. :)))

Feel The Spirit...

Yuuuu hoooooooooooooo ...... me registered for Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, 2007 ...... for 6 km Dream Run :)

Run Mumbai Run.... n Feel the Spirit... is the slogan u can hear everywhere. So... 21st Jan, 2007 is the day of Greatest Race on Earth. I m so excited n happy..... our training will start right from week 1 ..... they hav given us a Training and Nutrition Chart. I know i hav to work out well.... I was bit scared coz of my weight.... which is jst 39/40 kgs..... hehehehe. Thnk God.. therz no clause mentioning ... underweight ppl not allowed. I knw i wld manage.... :)

Its so exciting to participate.. n tht too for a cause :)

There r five categories:

MARATHON - 42.195 km, HALF MARATHON - 21.097 km, DREAM RUN - 6 km, SENIOR CITIZENS' RUN - 4.3 km & WHEELCHAIR EVENT - 2.5 km

One can even run with different costumes.... for which they hav kept best costume prizes.

Thn therz Standard Chartered Marathon Mobile & Go Fida Marathon Drive.. where u can see beautifully crafted Standard Chartered Marathon Mobile canter on the streets of Mumbai, particularly hubs, colleges, shopping malls, gardens, etc with fun, music & games. Also, Ford hav sponsored Go Fida Marathon drive for the early morning joggers to spread the marathon information by providing them registration forms n other information.... Ford Event Partner is also offering free test drive after the run.... Get Set Go Fida!

Then therz Get Active Mumbai Marathon show sponsored by Radio Mirchi, 98.3 FM.

And... therz lots n lots more.....

So... i m all set.... n looking forward for tht special day.......

Ps: Explanation on previous post is coming soon..... :)

Critical Assignment after a wonderful weekend...

Weekend was quite good.. half of the sat went in helping mom in her daily household chores nd the other half... went to supermarket with mom to buy some grocery. Then came beautiful sunday.... went to Express Inn for the dinner with some of my frnds. It was a fun... wanna write detailed story... but :(( loaded with lot of wrk.... :(

Y do ths monday comes... :( Got a new assignment of preparing consolidated accounts of one of the company. U knw wht... After our manager was done with the detailed explanation... everyone was like ..... totally dead.... eyes wide open... hehehe....

Ok.. lemme write it down.. so tht it wld b a revision 4 me ... n also so tht i can confuse u all too .... :)) Its like ther r three companies A, B & C all promoted by common promotors. Now A is listed co. wher some % of equity is hold by promoters n some by public. And co. B is unlisted wher promoters hold entire equity. Co. C is newly promoted by A, B & other individual promoters with A,B n others holding some % of shares.

Now, v r provided with diferent proposals for the coming years... wherein they hav given the proposed shareholding pattern n swap ratio... Now, v hav to prepare Projected Profit & Loss A/c and Balance Sheet for all these three companies individually.... n Consolidated P/L nd B/S of A& B, and then A,B & C for the coming years. He kept on asking whether ther r any queries or somthng... but v ourself were so confused... wht question v cld ask... its so difficult to jst calculate mentally... wht % of holding is in current yr... n wht is proposed for the next yr.. how much to knock off... how to show Investments.. adjusting their reserves n goodwill.... Whew!!
I knw v can do it.... but its going to b a real test ... nd on the other side... its going to b fun with lot of learning :)

Gokul kii panihaarii

Gokul kii .... paniihaarii .... paniyaa bharan chalii .....
Bade Bade Nainaa taa mein.... khubh rahyo kajraa.....
Pahre kasumbhii saarii... ang ang chabii bhaarii.....
Gorii gorii bahiiyan mein... motiinn ke gajraa..... (1)
Gokul kii.... paniihaarii .... paniyaa bharan chalii....

Sakhii sang liye jaat... has has bujat baat....
Tan hu kii sudhii bhoolii.... sees dhare gagraa....
Nanddaas balihaarii.... beech mile girdharii....
Nainan kii sainan mein... bhool gayii dagraa...... (2)
Gokul kii panihaarii... paniyaa bharan chalii......
Bade bade nainaa taa mein...
khubh rahyo kajraa..... khub rahyo kajraa
Khubh rahyo kajraa.... gokul kii panihaarii......

This kirtan is sung in Todii raag (raag jo shabdon ko todtaa hain). Its really beautiful. Just learnt 2day only.... and i was completely lost while singing. Malkouns, Todii, Lalit are all warm, soft n slow raag… and thtz the reason they r sung specially during winter.

Is It Fair.....???

We all know abt the violence and riots that took place two days back all over Maharashtra. Its agreed that, vandalisation of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Statue might have hurt the sentiments of the dalit community.

We too respect him equally But, is it fair to create violence and destruction all over and to destroy peace in the country? Is it fair to get so violent that you start destroying the property of ypur own country? Creating a panic everywhere by pelting stones over local trains nd ST busues, setting fire to trains and buses? Yaa... its agreed that you show your anger by protesting on streets, but y to get so violent which causes harm to the public and to its property. Isnt it ur equal responsibility and ur fundamental duty to protect it.

It was shocking tht on account of 3 burnt trains, the CR have suffered a loss of Rs 7 crores. But... Deccan Queen which was set ablaze.... has taken the biggest hit... 6 out of 17 coaches r completly rattled to ashes and now the train had been brought from Kalyan to Matunga Workshop for maintenance.

                            

With each coach costing Rs 55 lakh, the damage to Deccan Queen is pegged at Rs 4 crore. Now the officials have to hunt 4 spares from the market so tht the train can run at the earliest.

According to the officials, Ulhasnagar station was also completely destroyed, necessitating construction of several installations from scratch and the station has suffered a loss of nearly Rs 20 lakh.

Now, does anyone has the answer tht who wld pay for all these damages and the losses in lakhs and crores tht our State has suffered? Isnt it a total waste of Taxpayer's money.....?? Dont these protestors realise tht they r ultimately destroying their very own property which comes from none other than their very own money. How can ppl b so furious n violent ? ts like v r finding solutions to the problems by detroying those very things which r actually meant 4 our own convenience. I dont understand wht they want to prove from all such protests...... The situation is forcing to take some major steps and to reform the legal policies of punishing such ppl who creates tension and destroys the peace by such offences..... 

If v look at the trends... no doubt our country has developed at a very fast pace during the last decade.... n is doing still better.... the economy is rising with a high speed.... but on the other side.... do v hav any answer abt such violence, those blasts, those rape and murder cases of Jessica Lall, Katara n Priyadarshini which r pending since years....?? All these actually makes us wonder…… Is our country really Shining......???