Alka Dwivedi

Author: Alka

  • Indulgence vs. Regret: Investing in Future Memories

    I was reading a paper published by Anat Keinan who is an assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School. I find the following results interesting:

    Good news for makers of $20,000 watches and other luxury goods and services. Recent
    research from Harvard Business School professor Anat Keinan and a colleague suggest that we
    often regret not indulging ourselves earlier in life. Key concepts include:
    • People can be too farsighted, or hyperopic, leaving wistful regrets of missing out on life’s
    pleasures when they look back at how they spent their time.
    • It’s possible to motivate consumers to indulge themselves by simply asking them what they
    think they will regret in 10 years.
    • Marketers can convince consumers that buying their product is actually a farsighted behavior,
    an investment in future memories.

    The findings seem to suggest that we should give in to our buying impulses and they in turn will create good memories for us in future. Maybe we can tell our children and grandchildren about them.
    But the million dollar question is, do any of us remember where we shopped 10 years ago and what caught our fancy but we didn’t buy?

    If we follow Ms. Anat Keinan logic then it seems that Paris Hiltons, Victoria Beckhams, Lindsay Lohans all are creating big time pleasant memories for the future. That will seem strange to any logical thinking person. It means that Abhinav Bindra who has spent the last ten years of his life in a shooting range and did nothing except shooting, won’t have pleasant memories to reminiscence about? Or I know some persons who slogged like anything to pull out their families from lower middle class strata to upper middle class strata. Would they regret that in future?

  • Video of the Song

    Can anyone tell me, where can I get the video of this beautiful song, “Khamosh sa afsana”?

  • The Richest Man on This Planet!

    I came to know about this incredible fellow here. He ended Bill Gates’ 13-year reign as the richest man. He must be owning world’s biggest, largest, bestest … Whatever the money can buy must be under his belt. But I was sadly disappointed.

    He does not have a cellphone, has no computer on his desk, drives his own car and does not have security guard with him. He is the world’s richest man, the living legend, Warren Buffett!
    But he is not the one to flaunt his riches, simple and down-to earth, Buffett continues to live in the same house in Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
    He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world’s largest private jet company.

    But I was more interested in knowing how much he will leave for his children.

    His children will not inherit a significant proportion of his wealth. Buffettt says, “I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing”.

    I wish all parents can read what the richest man on this planet thinks. This world will see few less spoiled brats!

  • Attention Male-kind!!!

    I got this from Ritu. Normally I don’t post forwarded materials from my mail box. But this one is different. 🙂

    Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

    Each kid will play
    Two sports
    And either take music
    Or dance classes.

    There is no fast food.

    Each man must
    Take care of his 3 kids;
    Keep his assigned house clean,
    Correct all homework,
    And complete science projects,
    Cook, do laundry,
    And pay a list of ‘pretend’ bills
    With not enough money.

    In addition, each man
    Will have to budget in money
    For groceries each week.

    Each man
    Must remember the birthdays
    Of all their friends and relatives,
    And send cards out
    On time–no Emailing.

    Each man must also
    Take each child to a doctor’s appointment,
    A dentist appointment
    And a haircut appointment.

    He must make
    One unscheduled and inconvenient
    Visit per child
    To the A & E.

    He must also
    Make biscuits or cakes
    For a social function.

    Each man will be responsible for
    Decorating his own assigned house,
    Planting flowers outside
    And keeping it presentable
    At all times.

    The men will only
    Have access to television
    When the kids are asleep
    And all chores are done.

    The men must
    Shave their legs,
    Wear makeup daily,
    Adorn himself with jewellery,
    Wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,
    Keep fingernails polished
    And eyebrows groomed.

    During one of the six weeks,
    The men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches,
    And have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or
    Slow down from other duties.

    They will need to
    Read a book to the kids
    Each night and in the morning,
    Feed them, dress them,
    Brush their teeth and
    Comb their hair by 8:00 am.

    A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
    Each child’s birthday,
    Height, weight,
    Shoe size, clothes size
    And doctor’s name.
    Also the child’s weight at birth,
    Length, time of birth,
    And length of labour,
    Each child’s favourite colour,
    Middle name,
    Favourite snack,
    Favourite song,
    Favourite drink,
    Favourite toy,
    Biggest fear and
    What they want to be when they grow up.

    The kids vote them off the island
    Based on performance.
    The last man wins only if….
    He still has enough energy
    To be intimate with his spouse
    At a moment’s notice.

    If the last man does win,
    He can play the game over and over
    And over again for the next 18-25 years
    Eventually earning the right
    To be called Mum!

    .

  • World’s First Wind-powered Vehicle Race

    Vento Mobile

    I simply stumbled upon this article. This one is world’s first wind powered vehicles race. How nice the time will be when we will not only watch wind-powered vehicles’ race but will be able to drive sleek designed wind-powered vehicles. Just imagine children waiting for their school bus will not be inhaling polluted air into their lungs. The alarming asthma rate in children would be down. We will show our wind-powered vehicles proudly to friends and family and not feeling the pangs of guilt that is the hallmark of a sentient citizen.
    Wish our broadcast media can create a sensation out of this event and show its “REAL” creativity in the field of journalism. At least they can show this wind-powered vehicle on their 24×7 news channels. At least some of the young lads, dying at the DND highway while racing dangerously and trying to outsmart one another, might be inspired enough to create something like this air-powered vehicle.

    The Aeolus Race will be run in Den Helder, a sea port in the Netherlands, on August 23, 2008. Six European teams will participate to this competition with wind-powered vehicles (WPVs). The track is a 5.3 kilometers seawall on the boundary between land and the sea. The students’ team at the University of Stuttgart is ready to race the wind and will show its Ventomobile during a presentation at the University campus in Vaihingen on August 12, 2008. Of course, as the Aeolus Race is a competition, awards will be given by the organizers. And while it’s logical that awards are given to the fastest team or for the best design, an unusual one will be granted for ‘bad luck.’

  • Sushil Kumar Wins Crores in cash!!!

    Sushil Kumar has won bronze medal in free style wrestling for India at Beijing Olympics! And at the same time he is showered with cash awards from various state governments and rightly so. Sushil Kumar deserves every lakh he is getting as cash prize now and more. Afterall someone is able to win a bronze at Olympics for India after 56 years!

    So who won it before 56 years? And how much cash award he received? I was unaware about him before Leander Paes won another individual bronze in Athens Olympic in 1996. His name was Khashaba Jadhav. He won a bronze for India in wrestling at Helsinki Olympics in 1952. Khashaba Jadhav ensured that his son didn’t go for wrestling as a career or as a sportsperson.

    Today after hearing about Sushil Kumar what Khashaba Jadhav’s son said? But why son came forward to say something on his father’s behalf? Because Khashaba Jadhav died unsung and in penury in an road accident in 1984. And we didn’t know about that incident till 1996.

    Read what the son is saying

    Remembering his father’s plight, Ranjit said, “People would not know my father till 1996. When Leander Paes bagged the individual bronze medal in Athens, press wrote about my father and people came to know that it was Khashaba Jadhav who had bagged India the first individual medal. He lived in a world of obscurity and penury.”

    Khashaba Jadhav had to participate in matches to pay off his debt because he went to Olympics by borrowing money.

    “His (Khashaba Jadhav) feat is unparallaled… just for the fact that he had to face so many hurdles. The environment that time was very different. India was trying to stand in its feet, having just gained independence five years back… there was no encouragement for a sportsperson,” Ranjit told PTI from Goleswar, hometown of Khashaba, in Karad district of Maharashtra.

    Denied any financial help from the erstwhile chief minister of the then Bombay, Moraji Desai, who told Khashaba, “We don’t have money to go to Olympics”, the wrestler ran from pillar to post to arrange Rs 4,000, says Ranjit.

  • Our Desi BBC

    I was searching for the boxer Akhil Kumar who lost the quarterfinal round at Beijing Olympics. And what I come across is a dedicated coach, Jagdish Singh.

    “In 2001, I had the thoughts but not the funds. Eventually, I had to withdraw from my GPF, utilised the money from the output of the agricultural land I had 24 kms from Bhiwani, mortgaged my home here and some other land in Bhiwani, to get a loan of Rs four lakh from the Grahmin Bank to buy the land on which stands the BBC now,” reminisced Jagdish.

    And then you can get a feel about the facilities and what the government and sports officials are doing;

    A tin of covers the boxing arena. A majority of the kids here don’t have their own gloves. And to drink water after practice, the lone hand-pump has to be operated very slowly, otherwise sand particles will start coming out along with the water.

    What the coach yearns for:

    Jagdish has “ambitious plans” for the BBC. “I want to build an AC indoor hall with two wooden rings. I also want mirrors for the boxers so that they can correct their techniques.”

    I am wondering if this is coach’s “ambitious plans” then what can be termed as basic facilities?

    And read about the results;

    And because of this, despite the very basic facilities, Bhiwani has become the boxing hub of India. In the recent Asian Boxing Championships in Mongolia, five of the 11-member squad were from this town. They bagged four of the seven medals India won.

    We the ungrateful, ever sleeping, self centered onlookers, salute the BBC boxers’ spirit. Lets see, if some of us can learn something from you, besides reading about your glorious journey as boxers.

  • Feeding the Wolf

    This is simply brilliant. I have read this on Paradox’s blog.

    One evening a Cherokee elder told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between the two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all. One is Unhappiness. It is fear, worry, anger, jealousy, sorrow, self-pity, resentment, and inferiority. The other is Happiness. It is joy, love, hope, serenity, kindness, generosity, truth, and compassion.”

    The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

    The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

  • A Love Story and $ 29 Million!

    Love story

    We love and care deeply for each other but due to irreconcilable differences we are getting divorced!!! The publicists of celebrity couples often reiterates this sentence to media, making a mockery of couples “love” and “deep care” for each other. Presently when relationships are breaking at slightest pretexts, I come across this story and still wondering what love is all about!

    It is a story of plain injustice. FBI kept mum all the time in the court to protect its informant. This led to the conviction of four men for a murder they didn’t commit. Two of them died in jail and two are out of jail after spending 30 precious years of their lives behind the bars! One of them is Joseph Salvati who is 75 years old now. His lawyer fought his case for three decades without charging a penny and grew old with his client.

    When I read this story what hit me hard is this fellow has something which the coolest, richest, sexiest hunks surviving in this world can’t have; the love, affection and care of Marie Salvati, his wife of 53 years! Was Jeseph a catch? Read for yourself:

    A high school graduate with no trade skills, Joseph Salvati put in ten-hour days, six days a week, working three jobs to support his family. “It was casual labour,” he says. “You got what you could. I’d run down to the pier and help unload the fish. Lumpin’, it was called. It was dog’s work. But you could make US$60 a week. I unloaded trucks in the meat market. I worked as a doorman. The hours were late, but US$40 in tips was US$40.”

    For the past 30 years Joseph was in the prison when Marie Salvati unflinchingly took care of their four children. She had faced many hardships. She couldn’t go for a full time job because her children were small. Marie recalled that she barely managed to put food on the table earlier. She had joined a charity organization at a lower rank and later on rose to the position of Director. She along with her children never failed to pay a weekly visit on Saturday to Joseph. And Joseph? He never failed to send a weekly greeting card to his family which he purchased from his 15-cents-a-day prison wages. Each card was placed on the top of the television until the next arrived. Marie stored her precious collection in shoe boxes, tied with red ribbon. What a way to keep your romance alive! And what a way to keep in touch with children!

    Did they think of separating or divorcing each other during those times? Yes! Joseph once suggested Marie to divorce him and “move ahead” in life. He promised that he would not contest it. What his wife said was not something flowery and romantic but simple, plain truth. “Are you crazy?” Marie responded. “I took a vow for better or worse. We love each other.”
    The court has awarded him $ 29 million in compensation. Salvati, now 75, knows he may not live long enough to see a penny of the award. But today Joseph is a free man. He is spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He loves the feeling that he can walk anywhere he wants.

  • Abhinav Bindra Creates History at Beijing Olympics

    I was just having my first/second/third cup of tea and on impulse press the remote button of TV and forgotten everything! Abhinav Bindra has won GOLD medal at 10m Air Rifle Shooting at Beijing Olympics!!!! This has never happened in the past 112 years in Indian Olympic sports scene. No individual gold medal for India in the last 112 years!!! You are real cool dude Abhinav.
    Later on TV channels are telecasting Kapil Dev’s statement that winning Olympic gold is a bigger event than winning World Cup Cricket in 1993!!! Right now he is getting cash prizes left, right center from various organizations and government. But what made me ecstatic is that my WHOLE country is celebrating. I witnessed that one state government after another keep on announcing cash prize money for Abhinav Bindra. I am waiting for Mr. Raj Thackrey’s reaction on cash prize announcement of Maharashtra’s government for Abhinav Bindra (Maharashtra CM announces Rs 10 lakh cash prize to Abhinav Bindra). Should it go to true blue blooded Marathi manush according to Mr. Raj Thackrey? 🙂

    Today Abhinav Bindra’s father must be feeling very proud on his son’s success. I am glad that his well off family has used the wealth to promote his son’s talent instead of spoiling him with fancy cars and latest gizmos and producing another spoiled brat. Abhinav Bindra’s father was saying that Abhinav went through commando training with German Army for his fitness. Wow! What a foresight and determination. I think that’s why he was standing at the victory podium with poker face just like a commando who has achieved his task and feeling that’s what he has been trained for.So what’s the big deal!!!! I am glad that this lad has not chosen to spend his time and money on chasing girls and appearing on page 3 parties.
    THANK YOU Abhinav Bindra for giving us a proud moment and make us feel as Indians for a change.

  • Field Marshal Manekshaw

    I am feeling too tired to put the scanned images of the front page of our newspapers. But if you want you can view it here, Field Marshal Manekshaw Vs. Sehwag

    Today when I picked up the newspapers and ran a cursory glance over headiness I was simply amazed. No doubt journalists and newspaper editors have stopped commanding the respect they used to few decades ago. But I still believe that an average Indian is (not ultra intelligent like journalists and newspaper editors) still able to differentiate who should have grabbed the headline, Virendra Sehwag or Field Marshal Manekshaw. Both have defeated Pakistan but with a difference. I wish that Field Marshal Manekshaw’s soul is resting in peace and he still has faith in the goodwill of an aam average Hindustani.

  • Not Cool by any Standard!

    What is life according to us (synonym is market)
    1. Earning lots of money.
    2. Wearing designer dresses and possessing designer accessories
    3. Having latest gadgets at home and in our pocket
    4. Fine eating and dining experiences
    5. Visiting hip and happening places
    6. Having designer holidays
    7. Children and wife should match the interior decor of your drawing room. Rather they too should look like an extension of your designer drawing room.

    Then why this imbecile person is doing things akin to suicide? AnIIM topper as veg vendor? Earlier too I had written about a member of the same ilk . He too was an IIM-Ahmadabad graduate and wanted to do something in the field of primary education.

    I tried very hard for the past two days to find a link about this person, Kaushledra, an IIM-Ahmadabad graduate ( Read India’s Harvard). Correction, He is not a mere graduate but topper at IIM-Ahmadabad. He might have been offered 50 lakhs/annum as salary and soon be earning in crores/annum as some hifi executive sitting in his air conditioned chamber. BUT he is selling vegetables on a thela in the sweltering heat of Patna. I listened to him in an interview saying that he didn’t want to earn crores. But his career aim is MERELY TO IMPROVE THE LIVING STANDARD OF FEW LAKHS PEOPLE and subsequently their families! And even the foolish professors of IIM-Ahmadabad are proud of him. But as I have already said he is not a cool guy, so for two days I couldn’t find any information about him on net. But it seems it’s cool to publish at least something about uncool guys.

    A topper from one of India’s finest B-school has turned into a vegetable vendor, but of course there is more here than that meets the eye.

    After being at the top of his management class at IIM – Ahmedabad, Kaushlendra should have been sitting in an air conditioned cabin pulling a hefty salary at a multi-national company. Instead, he stands in the sweltering heat of Patna – selling vegetables.

    Kaushlendra reacts to his profession says, “Every one seems to be migrating from here, I wanted to do something for my people.”

    Bravo Kaushlendra! It takes exemplary courage to stay away from herd mentality and chalk out your own path. Your parents should be saluted for adding such a valuable member to our society. People like you make this world a better place to live.You have already found so many followers. “Log sath aate gaye aur karavan banta gaya” will not remain a beautiful line for you.

  • Teenage “pregnancy pact”

    I read this news yesterday, Teen “pregnancy pact” shocks Massachusetts city. They said:

    “A Massachusetts city is investigating an apparent teenage “pregnancy pact” that has at least 17 high-school girls expecting babies, four times more than last year, including many aged 16 or younger.

    A high school health clinic in the city of Gloucester became suspicious after seeing a surge in girls seeking pregnancy tests. Local officials said on Thursday nearly half of those who became pregnant appear to have entered into a pact to have their babies together over the year.

    “Some girls seemed more upset when they weren’t pregnant than when they were,” Gloucester High School principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine, which broke news of the pact on its Web site.”

    Wow! I don’t want to talk about girls (none of them are older than 16!) entering into pregnancy pact and ecstatic. Just thinking of how much parenting these girls received from their own parents? Were these parents following today’s mantra, “Be friends with your children”? Of course it’s so easy to be friends with your children. Drink beer with them. Go to movies. Discuss boys/girls. Give them fancy mobiles, cars and hep attires! But it’s so difficult to set deadlines. Define dos and don’ts. Setting personal examples. It’s so easy to create wanting machines and so difficult to resort to parenting.

  • Just A Few Thoughts!

    I was rewinding the track record of this honest, upright CBI official Arun Kumar. He took up Rizwan’s case and it became amply clear that it was a suicide and the haves father and uncle duo just abetted the crime. Rizwan committed suicide by throwing himself under a running train but the cutest thing was his cell phone was intact in his pocket. A socially and economically backward family couldn’t do much but tried to come to terms with the CBI theory.

    Next case, this same bright officer Arun Kumar was entrusted with was infamous “Nithari Killings.” Again everything was done by the have not servant. The have Sri Moninder Singh Pandher was totally clueless what his all powerful servant was upto in his helpless master’s house. Not one, not two, not three, not thirteen but officially acknowledged NINETEEN murders had taken place in Pandher’s house but he is totally unaware of each and every murder! How cute! How fascinating!

    Now the same clever CBI officer Arun Kumar is investigating the Arushi murder case. Compounder Krishna is already arrested and another domestic help is being interrogated. What do you say? Isn’t it obvious who might have committed the crime and who are totally innocent ?

  • WOW!!!

    I find an interesting comment here.
    This time I haven’t asked Tanmoy whether I can publish his comment on my blog. I know he won’t mind. 🙂

    I remembered a small incident at a very early professional life of mine. In those days, I had just joined as an Economist with Confederation of Indian Industry. While I was attending the CII World Economic Forum(CII’s flagship event attended by big names from industry), I met this elderly gentleman who has standing alone in one corner of the huge hotel room. I was just two months old in the profession perhaps and I thought I shall start by introducing myself to this man who appeared “not-so-posh”and “not-so-important” (actually many people attend CII meetings by paying huge sums just to come close with CII employees). Thus, I went up to him without any inhibitations and started talking to him about different topics. He was not very impressive while speaking and more than him I was the one who was speaking . I was immature to say the least, and I was very proud within, feeling as if I was telling an ignorant man – what all CII does and what all I generally do! I was foolish not to even remember how he introduced himself. After a while, I gave him my visiting card (the first ever person to whom I gave my first professional card) and told him that if he needs any help from CII he can contact me. He told me, he did not have his card in his pocket but asked me if I can give him a paper so that he can give me his contact details. I gave him another of my visiting card, on which he wrote his name and office phone numbers.

    As I thanked him and went away I looked at the card – he was Mr. Narayanmurthy – the then CEO of Infosys whom I could not recognize. I felt really silly but was amazed to see his modesty while listening to literally “stupid chatter” from a young executive like me. The entire day at the event I did not even come near to him. However, during the evening when I accidentally bumped into him he recognized me and told me; he liked listening to me and wishes that I do very well in my career.

    I shall forever remember this incident not because he is a wellknown executive but because in my early days in profession after meeting him I realized despite being an achiever one can remain grounded and one’s face can reflect that “Yes, I have toiled hard and have become an achiever”.

    I felt enriched after being touched by the sheer genuineness. I wish India has more professionals like him.

  • For the Would be Teachers

    Alex has expressed his desire to be a teacher. And a veteran Suvro Chatterjee has some advice for him.

    >>>>
    Thanks for that article from one who has been a teacher by choice for 27 years now, Alka, and best wishes to Alex, who wants to become one. But Alex, especially, be warned:

    1) In todays’ milieu, you will have to earn respect the hard way, and that too will be partial (the kids may respect you while the parents may not!), and mixed with a lot of opprobrium and ridicule;
    2) You are not very likely to make the kind of money that your talent and your labour deserves – society expects teachers to be poor or at best middle class, while it’s all right for cricketers, filmstars, surgeons and lawyers to be rich;
    3) To make things worse, your friends and relatives will call you a fool for having chosen such a ‘bad’ career, so nothing can sustain you except your own convictions and ideals;
    4) Most heartrending of all, most of your students will never understand just what you did for them, or will forget quickly, or will take ages to realise and get back to say ‘thank you’!
    5) If you want to get rich, you will have to turn your tutorial into a sausage factory, so that all the heart and most of the mind will go out of education, and you will end up selling cram-sheets to allow vast numbers of mediocrities to get through this examination or the other.

    Naturally, there are few takers for the career: it’s only the rejects from all other professions who fill up 90% of the posts. What that augurs for any nation’s future is the thought that gives me sleepless nights.

  • The Salute

    I am reposting one of my old poems. The idea of reposting this poem germinated yesterday, the Valentine’s Day. But I resisted posting it on that grand day. 🙂

    Music floating in the air,
    Whispering voices
    enveloping me,
    Fizz of dainty wine,
    Playing on my tongue,
    Transporting me
    to a different planet,
    Not at the happening restaurant
    Of town.
    They promised a slice of heaven
    And kept it too!

    At peace with the world and myself
    laughing vivaciously,
    I came out.
    The Doorkeeper sprang into action
    Saluting us promptly.

    But why this salute?
    Done nothing
    except, having fun
    Money can offer.

    Searching for answers,
    I remembered
    those weighty sentences,
    ALL of us being greatest creation
    Of nature.
    Why does one equal
    bow to another equal?
    Why this abject gesture
    of one creation
    to another creation of the same God?
    Why? Why? Why?
    I asked aloud.

    Stupid!
    Spirit always cloud your faculties,
    He was saluting to
    The Distant future,
    Sparing his progenies
    from saluting my progenies.

  • Being Different

    I found Helen “Item girl” or cabaret dancer of yesterday in a totally different dance number. Its a pleasant surprise to watch her dancing like this.

  • BUT it won’t sell…

    When I watch TV or read newspapers and magazine I often whine over how can they publish substandard materials and oversell glamor to unsuspecting readers. Whenever anyone dares to ask why they don’t publish much about people who are doing substantial service in the various fields the answer is, “It doesn’t sell.” People are more willing to read about Aish Rai sipping tea in a dhaba than what an obscure person is doing to educate street children. Is it correct?

    Here are some facts:

    “Although Reader’s Digest was founded in the U.S., its international editions have made it the best-selling monthly magazine in the world. The magazine’s worldwide circulation including all editions has reached 21 million copies and over 100 million readers.

    The first international edition was published in the United Kingdom in 1938 and was sold at 2 shillings. Reader’s Digest is currently published in 50 editions and 21 languages and is available in over 61 countries. In 2006, the Reader’s Digest continued to expand, marketing three more new editions in Slovenia, Croatia and Romania. As from October 2007, Reader’s Digest expanded in Serbia.”

    “Reader’s Digest is a monthly general interest family magazine. Although its circulation has declined in recent years, the Audit Bureau of Circulation says Reader’s Digest is still the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States, with a circulation of over 10 million copies in the United States, and a readership of 38 million as measured by Mediamark Research (MRI).”

    What does this magazine publish? Juicy details of lives of Britney Spears or Pamela Anderson? Certainly not. This magazine sells optimism, extraordinary battles of ordinary souls, clean humor, family values etc. Reader’s Digest sells and sells better than other magazines whose editors claim that story of ordinary mortals don’t sell.

  • What about Loyalty to India?

    It seems as if Maharashtra is a privately owned property by Mr. Raj Thackeray. And only he has the privilege to decide who can reside in Maharashtra and what festivals they can celebrate. Why he questions Mr. Amitabh Bachchan only? I think Vinod Khanna too was a MP, fought elections from Punjab and not from Maharashtra? Mr. Shatrughan Sinha contested elections from Bihar and not from Maharashtra. Mr. Rajesh Khanna was a MP and was elected from Delhi. Mr. Dharmendra is a MP and not chosen to represent Maharashtra but Rajasthan. Why single out Mr. Bachchan? That his name will provide maximum publicity? Or Mr. Thackeray knows the Punjabi spirit of retaliation? They will not take it kindly to be beaten up on the streets of Mumbai and pay him back in the same coin?