Mukesh Ambani to Build a Mansion

Mukesh Ambani; the son of the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani of Reliance Industries is building his house in Mumbai – A mansion that that will cost $1 billion and will be 170 meters tall! It will supposedly be managed by a staff of 600 people. The house is being built on a 4,500 square meter plot. The building will have 27 floors and construction is currently under progress. The tower will have parking facility for the first 6 floors. The tower will provide a view of the entire city of Mumbai. It will have 3 helipads an entertainment floor, swimming facilities and a health floor.

Critics are saying that this is an ostentatious display of wealth. Well I think there is nothing wrong in flaunting wealth. Most billionaires do it. Ambani has it and is showing it off! Forbes places Mukesh Ambani with a fortune of $20.1 billion as of March 2007. Of course the richest global Indian is Lakshmi Mittal with a fortune of $32 billion who is the fifth richest in the world.

Loan For Plastic Surgery!

We all know of mortgage loans, personal loans, auto loans, commercial loans, education loans…but have you heard of loans for Plastic Surgery? This looks like a new segment. There are banks that lend for your personal beautification – For Plastic Surgery also. This is cool! Well, there is no arguing that looks for a person is the best passport to a better life.

Go ahead and take the loan if you can afford it. But as the person who sent me this picture rightly put it: “How to recover / repossess in case of a default in this kind of a loan?” Reset the “Nose” to how it was before the loan!?

First Day Welcome in a Software Firm!

Software industry undoubtedly contributes to India's growth more than any other sector of the Indian economy. Year on a year basis the software industry continues to put up a spectacular performance. Despite a slight US slowdown and appreciating Indian rupee software majors like Infosys, Satyam, Wipro and TCS have come out with excellent results. Revenues rise and profits surge. Indian software engineers command amazing salaries in software. Recruiting and retaining skilled software professionals in India is not an easy task for a software company. It is getting costlier and harder for software firms to retain talent. Salaries for top performers have reached dizzying heights. Workers who are sacked from a company usually end up getting better offers. Average salary increases in India are now at around 14 per cent a year, compared with around 8 per cent in China. India’s top software firms plan to add 100,000 new jobs this fiscal year.

In light of the above, now watch this video.

This is a video of the first day in Aditi Technologies a Bangalore software firm. This was the welcome given by the company to the new employees. The CEO, VP, President, Senior Mangers, Board Members are all there welcoming the new staff! Unbelievable! Speaks of the extent to which software firms can go to keep employees happy. The video reminded me of my marriage which was much like this except that there was no elephant. Personally I would be uncomfortable with such a reception and would wonder if I came to the right place on my first day at work! Probably Aditi realizes that it is the employees that make a company. Well, I think it’s a smart move from the software firm.

I've Become A Father!

There is good news on my personal front – I became a father to a baby girl for the first time. Shubha delivered a 2.82 kilograms baby normally after 9 hours of grueling labor. It’s a nice feeling. Indeed an exciting feeling. Considering that both of us are thinnies a 2.82 kg baby I felt was quite normal. Baby and my wife are doing fine. People say the baby looks a lot like me. They say it’s lucky for her and lucky for me if a baby girl takes after the father! She has already brought me some luck - I just changed my job! I am leaving a few photos of her...

How Big Is Planet Earth? A Relative Comparison.

Just compare the size of Earth with other giants in and outside the solar system.

Diameter of: Earth: 12,700 kms, Mercury: 4,900 kms, Venus: 12,100 kms, Mars: 6,800 kms, Pluto: 2,400 kms



Diameter of: Jupiter: 143,000 kms, Saturn: 120,000 kms, Uranus: 51,100 kms, Neptune: 49,500 kms

Diameter of Sun: 1.4 million kms.

Diameter of Sirius: 1.8 times the Sun's diameter, Pollux: 9 times that of Sun, Arcturus: 25 times that of Sun.

Aldebaran: 40 times that of Sun, Rigel: Has a diameter 70 times that of Sun, Betelgeuse: The star has a diameter 650 times that of Sun, Antares: has a diameter 700 times that of Sun,

Source: Unknown, via email

Mothers Day – 10 Things Your Mom Might Have Told You.

Mothers Day has arrived – I am sure you will agree that your mother told you all these things!

1. Work hard: She must have told you this umpteen times – There is no substitute to hard work. The harder you work the luckier you get.
   
2. You can do whatever you want: She told you to set goals and write them down so you that you stood a better chance of achieving your dreams. She told you that if you set your mind to something you can do it. Did she not tell you? Are you implementing it now? For creating wealth, for a better job…?
3. Don’t be late: Obviously she was referring to your school and to be there on time. Are you making it to work on time? Are you disciplined now? In how many realms of your life are you implementing it as a grown up?
   
4. Have a place for everything: Keep things in their place; so you will find them when you want. She asked you to be organized. How organized are you now in your work, in your finances..?
5. Don’t be afraid: She told you not to be scared and not to be self effacing. It won’t take you anywhere. Ask for help when required is what she told. There are situations in which you need others help. A lot of people miss out on a lot of things because they are not getting correct advice. Take advantage of the professional and the more learned and the more successful if you ant to succeed. Are you doing it?
6. Be what you are. Be yourself: She told you to be your own self and not ape others. She told you to say what you wanted to say. She asked you to think for yourself, coolly calmly even in the worst of situations. Try to take some time and listen to your own voice.
7. “Practice, Practice, and Practice”: Practice makes a man perfect. To maintain your high level of skills or to perfect skills and beat the others in this dog eat dog world you have to work hard and practice like a mad man. Mediocrity is not the prescription for success.
8. Take your time: Don’t be in a hurry: Take your time. Ponder over important matters. In money or in relationships it is easy to get fooled and get conned. Check your facts. Take a little time to make a decision. This usually comes with age but learning this early gives you an edge.
9. Have you done your homework?: Whether you are looking for the best mortgage rate in town, the best auto loan deal or an investment in stocks you are considering; doing your homework thoroughly makes you a superior individual. You are one up on others. It puts you in control. You get in control by doing research and educating yourself on the things that interest you and that require you to do so.
10. There’s a lot more to life than money: Your mom knew the importance of an extra dollar but she knew even better the importance of the other valuable things. Relationships and values are above money and above all else.
    

Now apply these to your day today life, to your finances and to all the other areas. You can only move forward I suppose…