The Amazing Himachal Pradesh

Gurgling rivers and streams playing on the lap of White mountains

Lush green meadows, that look greener when drenched with rains.

The Gothic buildings, reminding you of the bygone British colonial time

And reflecting the grand lifestyle that our former colonial masters enjoyed during their prime.

Enchanting apple orchards, accompanied by eye-catching potato fields

Simple but hardworking people, who lead a tough life with a dignified ease.

A marvelous and amazing place, where every day appears to be new

Dear all, this is Himachal Pradesh for you.

Jaipur – The City Of Magnificence And Past Glory

Jaipur – the city of magnificence and past glory

Jaipur – the city of gorgeous palaces, each of which has an interesting story.

Jaipur – the city of royals, and an epitome of class and aristocracy

Jaipur – the city for History enthusiasts, and also for those who are Polo crazy.

Jaipur – the marvelous capital of India’s desert kingdom of Rajasthan

A perfectly modern city that retains its touch with the past with aplomb and élan.

What Is Wrong With The ICICI Bank ATMs?

I suppose something is wrong with the ICICI bank ATMs. More-or-less regularly I have been finding their ATM machines to be out of order. Well, at least that what I have been experiencing in Noida, the satellite town adjacent to Delhi.

Just few weeks back I had found both the machines in the ICICI ATM near Noida’s NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) office to be out of order. This is the ATM near my Sector 22 home, and naturally this is the ATM that I generally visit. Since that ATM was of no use, I had to go to the ATM in Sector 12 (near Metro Nursing Home), which is a bit far away from my home.

Today morning when I went to the ICICI ATM near my home, i.e. the one near NTPC office, again I found both the machines to be out of order. So again I had to go to the Sector 12 ATM. Yes, it was OK, but partially. And what does that mean? It means that it has three machines, but one was out of order. That means, though it was OK, it was certainly not spotlessly OK.

I have been a customer of ICICI for quite some time now, and I am quite satisfied with their service. I will just humbly request them to be a bit careful about the health of their ATMs.

Confidential Mail From Burkina Faso

I got this “confidential” mail from Burkina Faso (a small country in Africa) on 24th July, 2009. The sender is some Mr. Tama Aku (tamank.a97@msn.com).

I just wished to share the content of the mail with everybody who comes across my blog. I feel people may find it interesting.




The Desk of Mr Tama Aku
Audit/Remittance Department of
African Development Bank (ADB)
Auagadougou Burkina Faso
phone: 00226-71 19 15 57



Dear Friend,

(CONFIDENTIAL)

I know that this email will be a big surprise to you, but i want you to calm down and read very carefully.

I have a business which will be beneficial to both of us.. the amount of money involved is ($5,700:000:00 five million seven hundred thousand us dollars) which i want to transfer out of the country to your bank account, all to my financial benefit and yours too. and also to take my wife abroad for treatment of liver damage.

This money is owned by a man called JIN SUN, a business commercialist in west-african regions. he has been dead since four years ago (2005) and since then, no claim has been placed on his bank account balance.

I want to transfer this money out of the country but such fund cannot be transferred without a next of kin attached to the fund. the fund could be transferred in these way; you shall present yourself as a business associate to the deceased person[JIN SUN) as details shall be that you are the care- taker business associate to mr. jin sun and his properties.

I shall make available to you materials and information with which a successful claim shall be placed on the fund. i shall also be your guidiance and instructor throughout the duration of this transaction so as to ensure a swift and sure transfer of the fund to your bank account.

As to your benefits,you shall be entitled to 40% of this fund for your co-operation in this transaction while 5% will be set aside for expences incured during the course of this transaction.

So if you are interested, send a reply to me immediately and in your reply please include your [private phone and your fax numbers] urgency has to be implied and this business must strictly be a deal between both of us.
Waiting for your urgent response so that i can move ahead and give you the indept details concerning this transaction and also the steps to take for a smooth transfer of the fund into your bank account.

Best Regards,
Mr.TAMA AKU





So this is the mail. As you can see, it talks about a business deal which involves a huge amount of money. So if anybody is interested, he may contact Mr Tama Aku for the deal.

PS – Guys, I hope you people have pretty well understood that it is nothing but a fraud. Please do not make the mistake of sending any document to this person.

I shared this mail only to alert those gullible people who fall prey to such frauds. I know all of us occasionally get such mails, and just ignore the same as we know that these are sent by cheats. However, there are some who still get carried away by such mails, and I just wanted to warn them.

News In Pakistani Newspaper – “Naked girls plough fields in India”

I was going through the online edition of the top Pakistani newspaper Dawn (www.dawn.com), when I came across this disturbing news about India with an equally disturbing headline –




Naked girls plough fields in India

PATNA: Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plough parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday.

Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state ploughed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the ploughs.

‘They (villagers) believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains,’ Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar’s remote Banke Bazaar town.

‘This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily.’

The region’s rich cultural heritage and extreme reliance on seasonal rainfall has led to the development of myriad rituals, ranging from wedding frogs to singing elaborate songs to evoke rainfall.

India this year suffered its worst start to the vital monsoon rains in eight decades, causing drought in some states. — Reuters


News Source URL: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/11-naked-girls-plough-fields-in-india--il--01


I would like to know whether this news is at all true. While I have due confidence on the Dawn authorities, I will like to mention that I have not come across this news in any Indian newspaper or news channel.

Nation Salutes the Kargil Heroes

There are some events which fade away from one’s memory within 10 days. And there are events which remain fresh in the memory even after 10 years. And such an event is the Kargil War, which witnessed the height of the Indian army’s bravery, dedication and professional excellence. It is an event which has made a permanent place for itself in the history of India, and will be remembered even after 100 years from now, during the youths of our grandchildren.

10 years have passed. But I still remember the shock, tension and thrill that we all had to go through during those days when the war was going on. The entire nation was following the “live coverage” of the war on TV, with the same tension and thrill that we have while watching a cricket match between India and some other country. The only difference was that it was not cricket. It was a full fledged war, where our brave hearts were fighting not for winning any glossy cricket tournament, but for protecting the territorial integrity of India. And they were doing so by putting their own lives at risk, with smiling faces. And then one day India finally succeeded in saving her land from the clutches of the nasty intruders, who had stealthily entered into our territory and occupied the same.

Personally, the war was a great eye opener for me. That was the first time I found so many boys of my own age to lay down their lives for our motherland. Everyday I would come across news of the martyrdom of boys in early 20s, i.e. in my age group. And this forced me to go for an introspection, a self-analysis. I just questioned myself – “So many boys and girls of my age are fighting for their motherland, by risking their own lives. And what am I doing? Still leading a comfortable life under the shadow of my parents?” It was this thought that inspired me to think of doing something meaningful in life, so that I can be proud of my human birth. Yes, till now I have not been able to do anything worthwhile. And I do not know whether I will even be able to do anything likewise. But at least I had this enlightenment that I had rooms for development in my nature. And I am grateful to the young Kargil martyrs for helping me have that realization.

The Poor Public Image of the NGO Sector

For last few days we have been looking for a new flat for rent, as we are having some problems with the flat where we have been staying for last 3-4 years. Now, other day we came to know from a local shopkeeper that a gentleman – in our neighbourhood itself – was looking for tenant for the ground floor of his house. So my mother went to meet him. The conversation that they had is described below –

The Landlord: “You want to rent the flat? Fine. Who are there in your family?”
Mother: “Me, my husband, and my son. Actually me and my husband will go back to Calcutta, our hometown. My son will stay here, as he is working here. We actually want to rent the flat for him.”
The Landlord: “OK, what does he do?”
Mother: “He is working for an NGO.”
The Landlord: “What? NGO? Sorry, I do not want a tenant who is working for an NGO.”
Mother (terribly shocked): “Why?”
The Landlord: “The NGOs do not pay their employees regularly. I am sure your son will not be able to pay the rent regularly.”
Mother: “No no! His NGO is a good one. A prominent one. Please listen to me….”
The Landlord: “I am sorry madam. Please, do not insist me. I cannot accept your request.”

Shuts the door.


Well, no matter how much shocking it may appear, this is the harsh reality. This is the popular perception of NGOs and NGO professionals. A common man’s idea about an NGO is that it is a sub-standard organization with a sub-standard and unprofessional working environment, functioning from a dilapidated office building located in a shabby corner of the town. And the people working in that organization are all sub-standard people, who have joined the NGO sector only after failing to grab any opening anywhere else.

If only these “socially illiterates” knew the reality.

Let me just say a couple of things about Pragya (www.pragya.org), the NGO that I am working for.

It has its office at Udyog Vihar Phase –V in Gurgaon, one of the most up market areas in the entire NCR (National Capital Region).

We get our salary sharp on 2nd of the month.

My colleagues include IIM MBAs, PhDs, etc., with some of them having degrees/diplomas from prestigious institutes abroad. And yes, there are some who have even worked for prominent organizations abroad, organizations where a person can work only if he can prove himself to be a professional with highest level of competence.

As far as the perception of lackluster and unprofessional working environment is concerned, I must highlight that when a task is assigned to somebody in our office, he is also given a deadline within which he must finish the task.

I know that all that I said about my organization are true about many other NGOs, as well. But, unfortunately, a number of people are still having such a wrong perception about the NGO sector, without even bothering to know the reality. They do not even know about the various commendable jobs that various NGOs are doing in various areas, winning laurels from the government and other prestigious organizations and bodies.

By carrying stupid ideas about the NGO sector, these people are simply proving their own stupidity.