10 things to do before New Year 2012

Check your 2011 to do list ... if you have one or just kick the idea out if you don't have one.  Let's start a fresh  for 2012 :

New Year 2012

• Shop shop shop - Check out for new year gifts for your girlfriend or wife.  
• Hit the road with your wheels ... go out of town with friends or family or your beloved. 
• Arrange a romantic candle light dinner for your one and only.
• Plan a night out with friends or a best pal.
• Take a day off from work, relax and laze around.
• Get a new dress for the New year party.
• Oh! those heels are a passe. Get your self a new pair of stilettos.
• Pamper your self with a spa.
• Let those tresses give him a run of a lifetime.
• Celebrate the New year with a bang.

Have a warm & prosperous New Year!

'Kolaveri di' in a cute way

It has been two weeks now that I am down with Kolaveri fever & don't want to get over it. Ever since I saw it trending on almost all the social networks I couldn't get enough of it. 


The lyrics and the music got me in on a relaxing weekend two weeks ago and to add to it I saw this cute version of  Kolaveri di by Neevan Nigam, Sonu Nigam's son.

Oh! Kolaveri can't get better than this for sure. 


The best part in Dhanush's & Neevan's Kolaveri - you don't have to find any meaning all you need to do is to relax and enjoy every bit irrespective of the language.

Photography tips

How to make the most out of photography?

1. The saying ‘Practice makes a man perfect’, is tailor made for photography. The more you capture the better you will get at it. So, capture a series of shots; this will not only make you explore the different horizons of photography but also help you understand and develop a personalised style.
   
   
2. There is no hard line as to how to go about taking a photograph. Nevertheless, it is always good to keep it focused, crisp and clear. It is as simple a fact that if you choose and focus on a particular feature of your subject the desired result can be attained.
   
   
   
   
   
3.  Use of tripod or hard surface is a must to avoid camera shake for a clear and crisp photograph. Camera shake destroys the clarity and the sharpness of a photo making it soft. Softening of a photo altogether defeats the purpose when displayed at 100 percent resolution. 

Photography tips

Photography is the best medium to document precious moments in life. With the availability of inbuilt cameras in mobile phones, the entire approach towards photography has undergone a tremendous change. It just takes a click to explore the unlimited options photography offers.

So, here are some simple ways with which one can approach photography to start with:

How to choose a camera?

1. Firstly, you need to choose a camera according to your need as well as interest. For a simple and fast click, opt for a point and shoot camera. Just go for a camera which is easy to handle to capture your family moments. For extra clarity go for a point and shoot camera with an optical zoom.
2. If you want to go into the modalities of photography like composition etc then a prosumer or bridge camera that is a digital camera, a hybrid of professional and consumer camera would be ideal. When looking for a digital camera don’t miss out on the variants it offers with regard to the modes.
3. For professional photography a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) is a perfect choice. A digital SLR not only enables to take high resolution pictures but also has a feature to manually choose from a wide range of settings such as shutter speed, aperture size, ISO speed. In addition to this, SLRs with interchangeable lenses gives you an option to upgrade the lens as compared to the fixed lens SLRs.

More updates on photography tips coming soon. Till then go and explore the wide range of cameras available in the market and choose the one made for you.

Dying Star

Dying it is sinking

to fall on mother earth

As I make a wish

unaware of the reality

There’s a question ringing around

How How How ?

How can a “DYING STAR” make my wish true.

True! Isn’t it?                                                                                 

But I remember how sitting on the terrace I used

to count the uncountable stars waiting one to fall

onto my lap. 
But time has elapsed and so has the outlook towards old granny’s secret beliefs.

Oh! heavenly stars come down to me as my wish to meet

my eyes glittering under this grey sky,

twinkling to make a wish.

A dying star to gift me a new life,

a messenger from the heaven to bless me with a new life,

life of a twinkling star.

Year after year

again the same hearth

with the old tattered terrace;                                                       

up as I see a full moon. 

But oh! 

where are the stars?

I see the street light

I feel the breeze

I can hear the halla-balloo

of the marriage procession,

firecrackers booming up in the sky.

But where is my “DYING STAR” in the

“dead sky” above; I see none.

And I make a wish to

the dead sky to return

my dying star so that

I can ask for my grandmother

back from heaven.

WHERE ARE YOU MY “dying star”?

Janmashtami 2011

Janmashtami also known as Krishnashtami, Gokulashtami and Srijayanti will be celebrated on August 22, 2011 as the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. According to the Hindu calendar Janmashtami is celebrated in the month of August/September on the ashtami of Krishna Paksh; the eighth day of bhadon.

Janmashtami is celebrated with great enthusiasm at Mathura and Vrindavan where Lord Krishna is said to have spent his childhood. Devotees from all over the world come to these places to celebrate the birth of the most famous Hindu God Lord Krishna.

It is believed that Lord Krishna was born under the Rohini Nakshatram on a dark and stormy night to end the evil rule of his maternal uncle ‘Kansa’.   

Janmashtami is a 48 hour celebration. The first day goes in the preparation for the arrival of the deity Lord Krishna. The actual festivities start at around midnight by welcoming Lord Krishna amidst prayers and arti. The deity is bathed with a holy mixture of milk, ghee, oil, honey and Gangajal called Panchamrit. The Panchamrit is later distributed among devotees as Prasad. Some devotees fast on the first day and end it with the arrival of their lord at midnight while others continue to fast till the second day.

It is estimated that there will be around 5000 devotees this year on Janmashtami. A two day Janmashtami celebration will take place on August 22 at Kukatpally and in Secunderabad on August 23 by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

People's bill Jan Lokpal Bill

The Jan Lokpal Bill since its first introduction nearly four decades back in 1969, never got such a heart strong backing as it is getting now. The time for change has come; common people fed up of corruption are in a desperate need for change in their lifestyle.

People from all parts of India have emerged out in support of Jan Lokpal Bill to be accepted in its original form. The Jan Lokpal Bill is not only drafted to stringently deter corruption but also redress grievances and protect whistle-blowers. 

In light of the frailty of the existing laws and  to put a stop on corruption a few key highlights of the proposed bill are:

1. To establish a central government anti-corruption institution called Lokpal, supported by Lokayukta at the state level.
2. As in the case of the Supreme Court and Cabinet Secretariat, the Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the Election Commission. As a result, it will be completely independent of the government and free from ministerial influence in its investigations.
3. Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.
4. A selection committee will invite shortlisted candidates for interviews, videorecordings of which will thereafter be made public.
5. Every month on its website, the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief details of each, their outcome and any action taken or proposed. It will also publish lists of all cases received by the Lokayukta during the previous month, cases dealt with and those which are pending.
6. Investigations of each case must be completed in one year. Any resulting trials should be concluded in the following year, giving a total maximum process time of two years.
7. Losses caused to the government by a corrupt individual will be recovered at the time of conviction.
8. Government officework required by a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed time period will result in Lokpal imposing financial penalties on those responsible, which will then be given as compensation to the complainant.
9. Complaints against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within a month and, if found to be substantive, will result in the officer being dismissed within two months.
10. The existing anti-corruption agencies (CVC, departmental vigilance and the anti-corruption branch of the CBI) will be merged into Lokpal which will have complete power and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
11. Whistleblowers who alert the agency to potential corruption cases will also be provided with protection by it.

The Jan Lokpal Bill is a proposed anti- corruption law and the need of the hour is to give a wave to the Jan Lokpal Bill. Then once the Lokpal Bill culminates into a law, it will only be a beginning of a new era in the Modern Indian Society. The Jan Lokpal Bill can then create an ‘Ombudsman’ called the Lokpal  i.e the protector of the people.

The Lokpal or an ombudsman will then be an independent body which will have the power to keep a check on politicians and bureaucrats by investigation without prior government permission. Lokpal will have the powers  1.to investigate the prime minister 2.to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from any citizen if it deems it worthy 3.to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty 4.that of police as well as the ability to register FIRs 5.to be one independent body with anti corruption wing of  CBI 6.to give punishment of a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.

The strategy of the Jan Lokpal Bill seems to be a strict hard hitting answer to the heinous corruption which has come to light in recent times in form of various scams like 2G, 3G & CWG committed by the politicians.

But the question arises will the citizens of India fighting in solidarity for the Jan Lokpal bill; the bill of the people, for the people and by the people will win it in its original form?

Will the Jan Lokpal bring with it relief and justice to the common man who has been a victim of corrupt governance and bring ‘Poorna Swaraj’in real terms to this nation?