Insurance

Curtains for 'SIP plus insurance'

2008-10-21T08:53:00.001-07:00

Recent media reports suggest that the ‘SIP (systematic investment plan) plus insurance’ phenomenon will shortly come to an end. Leading life insurance companies under the aegis of an industry association have taken a decision to that effect. An eminent personality from the insurance industry was quoted stating that insurers would not offer insurance cover on savings and investment products offered by competing entities. The statement should be read with reference to Asset Management Companies (AMCs) managing mutual funds.

Ever since unit linked insurance plans – ULIPs emerged as ‘bread and butter’ offerings of life insurance companies, fund houses and life insurers started vying for the same space. By offering insurance plus investments under a single product, insurance companies (in some ways) introduced a product that competed with mutual funds. Furthermore, not too long ago, media reports also suggested that AMCs approached the market regulator i.e. the Securities and Exchange Board of India seeking permission to sell insurance products to their investors. Perhaps the decision made by life insurance companies was the culmination of all of the above.

Whatever might have prompted the move, we believe this is a welcome step from the investor’s perspective. At Personalfn, we have never been enthused by the ‘SIP plus insurance’ offerings. There are several reasons for the same.

First, by opting for a mutual fund, simply because it offers an insurance cover as an add-on benefit, investors run the risk of getting invested in a fund that may not be right for them. Typically, a fund should find place in an investor’s portfolio for its investment proposition and its ability to help the investor achieve his long-term financial goals. Investing in a fund simply because of the add-on insurance benefit, would certainly not qualify as a good reason for getting invested.

Second, in the ‘SIP plus insurance’ offerings, the insurance cover is linked to the SIP amount and its tenure. This is certainly no way to buy insurance. Ideally, the insurance cover should be sufficient to indemnify one’s nominees against any financial loss arising on account of the individual meeting with an eventuality. Hence, the concept of Human Life Value must be put into play. By linking the insurance cover to the SIP amount and tenure, the offerings often deprive investors of the opportunity to be adequately insured.

Again, the definition of insurance in the ‘SIP plus insurance’ offerings needs to be looked into. In some cases, the insurance implies the unpaid SIPs i.e. if the eventuality occurs, the SIP installments that haven’t been invested as yet, will be invested on behalf of the nominee and on maturity, the requisite sum (based on market price) will be remitted to him. This would barely qualify as an insurance cover.

In cases where there is an insurance cover separate from the unpaid SIP, it is linked to the SIP amount. That the insurance cover is often capped (at Rs 1 m or Rs 2 m) doesn’t help. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the insurance cover is only available upto a certain age or the tenure of the SIP; based on the facts of each case, the investor might require an insurance cover over a longer tenure.

Simply put, in several cases, the ‘SIP plus insurance’ schemes were guilty of misleading investors to believe that they were adequately insured.

Finally, investment advisors had a gala time peddling the aforementioned schemes under the garb of financial planning. The mantra was, by combining insurance and investment under a single avenue, investors’ financial planning needs were being taken care of. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Any financial planner worth his salt will vouch for the fact that there is much more to financial planning than just investing in an investment plus insurance avenue.

In conclusion, we believe that investors would do well to address their insurance and investment needs separately. This will ensure that neither takes precedence over the other and in the process, investors give adequate weightage to both objectives. As mentioned earlier, irrespective of the reasons for the curtains being drawn on the ‘SIP plus insurance’ phenomenon, it is a positive step for investors.

How I lost my sleep over an insurance policy

2008-09-14T07:14:00.001-07:00

It's a bank whose tagline around the world glorifies its inability to sleep. And, after having been at the receiving end of Citibank's bordering on the manic enthusiasm to unfairly ferret out money from me, I am forced to admit the veracity of its advertising slogan.

When I signed on a relationship, tangentially, with Citibank three years ago, I didn't anticipate this at all. After all, I thought, it came with an impeccable global reputation.

Perhaps the fault lay with me. Despite being a Commerce graduate, despite having done a spot of CA articleship before becoming a journalist, I refused to invest in the stock markets although everyone around me made merry as the Sensex was preparing to take off. Probably it was in a moment of weakness that I let Citibank's Sunil meet me in the office about investing in a Birla Sun Life policy-cum-SIP (systematic investment plan).

Sunil was suave and sincere, two qualities that middle class folk like me unfortunately rate over other valid parameters. He had come fully prepared to paint a rosy picture of my financial future, if...

It was quite simple, really. Invest Rs 60,000 a year in the Birla Sun Life scheme under its Enhancer plan, and in 15 years at the then-existing Sensex levels (it was around 8,000 points then) the investment would make me a rich man indeed. If the Sensex went up to 10,000 points, it would be so much better, and if it went up to 12,000, man... You get the picture. Our money will be invested 70:30 in equity and debt, to balance out the risk factor.

Sunil had come with graphics, PowerPoint presentations, printouts, the works.

Looking back there were so many things I could have asked the suave Sunil who had by now started calling me on my cell phone, and visiting me at home to sell the plan. But I guess I was stupid, and raised a couple of points, what I thought then were critical.

I can't pay Rs 60,000 in lump-sum. And what happens if the market tanks? Very middle class questions, you will realise. And Citibank's Sunil had his answer ready.

The policy comes with a 3-year lock-in period, and we are free to walk away any time after that and we will be returned our investment plus 3 per cent interest, he said.

And we don't have to invest Rs 60,000 at one go. Citibank would provide us (yes, listening to the rosy picture, my wife too decided to invest separately) a gold credit card, it will pay Rs 60,000 to Birla Sun Life every year, which will be recovered from us @ Rs 5,000 a month each.

Seemed fair, and we bought into it. Soon after the Sensex started soaring, and we were happy that we had made at least one sensible financial decision/ investment, that someone else was investing our money wisely for us.

The first bummer came at the first renewal of the policy. Imagine our shock when we found Rs 120,000 (remember my wife too had bought one policy) as the amount due on our credit card statement at the end of the first year. I spoke to Citibank and told them their Sunil had told us we will be charged only Rs 5,000 per month and not asked to pay our premium at one go. And their answer was illuminating.

No, they said, that was applicable for only the first year; the second year on we are expected to pay Rs 60,000 per policy at one go. Frantically, I managed to trace Sunil, told him this went against his assurance to us, and somehow got Citibank to heed us. Ok, you can pay the amount over 12 EMIs, they agreed.

But, the next month on a penalty for this 'late payment' started appearing on our credit card statement, as a trickle initially, and no amount of remonstrating with call centre executives could shake it off. Today, after we have surrendered the card after paying off the legitimate dues, this amount is a bomb.

In the meantime part of our house burnt down, and among the things lost were our Birla Sun Life policy documents. And by the time we restored our home, got back documents like passports, PAN cards etc, it was into the third year of the policy. The Sensex had peaked in the meantime and was slowly returning to earth.

Shucks, we said, our investment must have done really well, there is something to look forward to after such gloom. We got duplicate policy documents done, got online access to our policy and decided to check out our NAV (net asset value).

Imagine our horror when we found that despite the markets booming, and despite the crash the Sensex was still higher than what it was when we got on, we had actually lost money! Even today, the Sensex is almost double what it was when we started on the Birla Sun Life policy.

We realised we had been sold a rotten lemon by Citibank, and decided to exit the policy at the end of three years. At least we will get our investment of Rs 360,000 (Rs 60,000 x 3 years x 2 of us) plus 3 per cent interest.

And once we terminate the policy, why do we need the Citibank gold card either! So we wrote to the bank that never sleeps asking them not to renew our card at the end of three years.

Now comes the best part. We got our money back from Birla Sun Life, but not Rs 180,000 plus 3 per cent each, but Rs 130,000 each. My wife and I had lost Rs 50,000 each, because we decided to trust a suave and sincere sounding Citibank executive. If we hadn't, and let our money sit idly in our bank accounts, we would have been better off!

As middle class people what can we do but shrug, be happy that we didn't lose the shirt on our back, and move on?

But Citibank is not one to give up easily, if it was it wouldn't have its tentacles all over the world would it?

I still get a monthly credit card statement from it even though the bank's customer care replied to my letter expressing sadness at our decision to part ways.

And, I still get collection agents ringing my doorbell, speaking on the intercom from the lobby asking me pay up the outstandings on my card. Once I asked them, out of curiosity, what was the amount pending according to Citibank since I had paid all my legitimate EMIs before terminating the card?

Rs 6,000, sir, he said. They sent you to my house to collect Rs 6,000, I asked the collection agent in wonder. Just Rs 6,000!

This month, out of curiosity I opened the latest credit card statement from Citibank which comes home despite me not possessing their credit card, and was shocked to find out that it demanded 'immediate payment' of Rs 137,454!

Truly, I can vouch for the fact that Citi not only never sleeps, it also ruins your sleep.

Health insurance policies YOU must have

2008-09-14T07:13:00.001-07:00

How many health insurance policies should you have? Should you have mediclaim policies at all if you do not have any medical problems?

Which are the best health insurance policies available for you today in India? How can one claim money after hospitalisation if you do not have a cashless mediclaim facility?

How and where can you lodge complaints against your mediclaim insurance company if you have a problem?

In a chat with readers on September 9, Harsh Roongta answered these and many more queries related to your and your family's health insurance needs.

For those of you who missed the chat, here is the unedited transcript.

dharmesh asked, Is it possible to have health insurance above age of 60.

Harsh Roongta answers, Of Course it is possible. Several companies allow fresh policies to be taken after the age of 60 years also. You could look up a partial list of such companies by using this link. http://www.apnainsurance.com/health-insurance-india/quotes.html This is right now a partial list only. You can look up the Varishta Mediclaim policy and the Star health policy for senior citizens as examples of polices tailor made for senior citizens. But other compaies also have such policies.

mehrv asked, Hi, Mr. Harsh. Good Afternoon to you. How are you doing? I am 28 and want to buy a mediclaim for my family i.e Myself & wife (SA 3-4 lac). Should I go for Individual Mediclaim or Family Floater? Also, suggest me which company should i go for??

Harsh Roongta answers, If you can afford it you should go for Individual policies rather than floater policy. Another rule of the thumb is that if the policy covers people younger than 35 years then maybe a floater is ok otherwise it is always better to pay a slighly higher price and take individual policies.

abhay asked, I am already having health [both domicillary and hospitalisation benefit] insurance cover from my employer for self and family. DO I need to get the same done seperately from other insuarnce co.

Harsh Roongta answers, Not understood by what you mean by hospitalisation policy. If it covers you for reimbursing medical expnses incurred on illness or disease treated in a hospoital then you may not need aother policy. However if you may possibly look at changing jobs then you should look at having your own policy so that you can carry your no claim history with you when you leave your job.Some group schemes allow you to carry your claims history with you when you leave the group (i.e. you leave the job). In that case you do not need any additional insurance. Otherwise the short answer is if you can afford it go for your own policy as well over and above your employers policy.

mkmkmk asked, what are your views on critical illness cover policies? Thanks

Harsh Roongta answers, This is an absolute must which most people completely ignore. Given the stress and strain of modern lifestyles our chances of being afflicted by very serious diseases such as stroke, organ failure, multiple schelorosis, Cancer, bypass surgery, etc. has increased dramatically. If we survive these diseases our income generating ability is either nil or severally reduced. This is where the critical illness policy comes in. It pays off a lump sum frm which you can buy an annuity income. This is an absolute must even though it is very expensive.

satya asked, Hi Harsh, Many health insurance policies accept claim only if we admit in the hospital for min. 3 days. Is there any policy suitable for OPD like in developed countries?

Harsh Roongta answers, To teh best of our knowledge only ICICI [Get Quote] Lombard has a policy called Health Adavntage plus which allows this though hemmed in by various conditions. This information may not be fully complete and must be understood in that context.

hi asked, Hello Mr. Harsh. I am on look out for "economical" health policy for my aged parents 66 & 60 yrs. I had approached mediclaim, given the premium rates per year, we thought it is better to leave it to fate at this stage than go for health insurance. Are there any ideal companies out there, who covers insurance for the age but not so money minded. Thanks. Jeet.

Harsh Roongta answers, Please do not leave this to fate. You do have insurance companies who cover this. Please read the answer to a similiar question earlier in this chat.

Vishwas asked, Hello sir, my question is why don't we get the refund of premium incase of claim free period unlike normal insurance policies.

Harsh Roongta answers, It is your own money that comes back to you from Life Insurance companies. You pay the price in terms of very high premiums.At Apnainsurance we always advise our readers to segregate their insurance requirements from their investment requirements. We would advise you the same.

uuu asked, do you suggest how much one can have medicalim at the age of 30?

Harsh Roongta answers, It depends on your family's medical history, your economic profile and affordability. We would advise you to go for the maximum possible mediclaim kind of insurance as you can afford.

nidhi asked, can u get insurance even though u have heart problems

Harsh Roongta answers, Ifyou mean Life Insurance - yes that will be available by payment of extra health premium provided you are otherwise in good health now. For Mediclaim kind of policy this will be treated as a pre-existing disease and can get covered by most companies in the 4th or 5th year of the policy. Most companies will require a detailed health check up before they agree to provide an insurance cover for such a person.

PradeepKumar asked, Sir, I am 29 years old and my wife is 24 years old. My working company already provides me health insurance. But i wanted to take a policy from outside also. So can you suggest a policiy which can give me critical illness cover as well. I searched in the apna insurance website but i could not found one. I want both health insurance and critical illness policy

Harsh Roongta answers, I presume you are looking for a common policy that will provide Mediclaim kind of reimbursement as well as a lump sum on contracting (and surviving) a critical illness. Of the top of my head the only such policy that comes to my mind is Appollo DKV's Easy Health. However the Critcal illness cover on such a policy may not be adequate. I would suggest you look at separate polcies for mediclaim kind of polciy and for critical illness. The link for mediclaim kind of policies is given below: http://www.apnainsurance.com/health-insurance-india/quotes.html For standalone critcal illness policies the link is given here http://www.apnainsurance.com/health-insurance-india/critical-illness-quotes.html However on Critical Illness our advise is to take it as a rider on top of a term policy for the reasons mentioned in thsi article. http://www.apnainsurance.com/articles/health-insurance-india/Health-insurance-life-insurer-or-non-life-insurer.html. Trust this information was useful

uut asked, is there is any rating for health insurance policy

Harsh Roongta answers, Great question but so far unfortunately no ratings exist.

PUPPA asked, I HAVE TAKEN FAMILY FLOAT HEALTH POLICIES FROM icici LOMBARD FOR 4 PEOPLE.MY DAUGHTER BITTEN BY A DOG BUT I CLAIMED .THIS WAS REJECTED BY TTK TWICE.

Harsh Roongta answers, Whilst your individual polcy needs to be studied as a thumb rule unless she was hospitalised because of this dog bite you may not be eligible for any reimbursement. However if you belive this claim was incorrectly rejected you should complain to th Insurance Ombudsman at http://www.irdaindia.org/

bablookumar asked, Where we can complain regarding TPA and insurance firms?

Harsh Roongta answers, see the immeidately prior answer. Insurance ombudsman - details avialble on this link http://www.irdaindia.org/

Tushar asked, I am 49 yrs. old have no problem( Health). I do not have any insurance on health right now. Should I take ? if so then what would be right value? I can go upto Rs.1500/per year.

Harsh Roongta answers, You should definitely take a mediclaim kind of policy. See this link for getting quotes for the same: http://www.apnainsurance.com/health-insurance-india/quotes.html.

biswajitdas asked, hello, Mr. Harsh, i would like to know which one of the two would be better company for mediclaim - new india assurance company or reliance general insurance.

Harsh Roongta answers, There is a old chinese saying that says it does not matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice :-) :-). So decide based on your needs.

rnvs asked, I repeat my Q. Is there any health insurance where the cover grows each year in line with inflation. I am ready to pay increasing premium in line with that. As 1 lakh cover was enough in 2002 but we need now Rs 3 lakhs for the same kind of treatment.

Harsh Roongta answers, Please note that a mediclaim kind of policy is normally a yearly policy. Thus you can in any case increase the policy amount at the time of renewal.

uut asked, whether online mediclaim policy have less benefits?

Harsh Roongta answers, To the best of our knowledge there is no difference between the policy issued off line and online.

Vivek asked, Dear Mr. Harsh, This is my second que. Executive of Some cos. says even expenses of a small wound while visit to the doctor will be covered.Is it truely in practice?

Harsh Roongta answers, Very unlikley. Write in to us at CEO@apnainsurance.com with teh details offered by the company and we will be able to advise you more specifically.

risiranjan asked, What about Max new york life's Lifeline series ?? How u rate these products

Harsh Roongta answers, Max New york Life is a life insurance company. Whilst i am not completely aware of the specific plan details, in general life insurance companies offer Critical illness plans as well as hospitalisation cash (with surgery benefit plans). See this link for a discussion on health insuarnce from Life insuarnce companies versus from a general insurance company. http://www.apnainsurance.com/articles/health-insurance-india/Health-insurance-life-insurer-or-non-life-insurer.html.

Alok Gupta asked, Hi, I would like to take a term insurance of 50 L which one is best and I would like to pay it in one premium?

Harsh Roongta answers, Please see this link for a partial list of insurance companies (the list will be complete in a couple of weeks).

sunil sood asked, How do we tackle the reduced claims passed by compay instead of paying complete amount? Also, if i avail a claim today then does the rest of year cover remain?Also in next year will the premium for same cover increase / decrease.

Harsh Roongta answers, If you think that the claim has been wrongly reduced you can complain to the Insurance ombudsman (www.irdindia.org) . The cover continues to remain for the balance year and to the extent of balance amount. Renewal (whether on same or increased premium) is at the discretion of the Insurance company.

Tom asked, I want a medical insurance plus a investment plan....Plz guide.

Harsh Roongta answers, You cannot get a mediclaim kind of plan. However for other kind of Health Cover you can consider LIC's [Get Quote] Health Plus or Reliance's [Get Quote] Health and Wealth Plan. However please note that at Apnainsuarnce we recommend to our readers to segregate their insurance and investment requirements. In nay case niether of these plans can substitute for a mediclaim kind of plan.

sunil sood asked, Sir, continuing my earlier question, if RENEWAL is at their discretion, then they will never do it for same premium....Its cheating

Harsh Roongta answers, Sunil - Just to be fair to the insurance companies they also need to make money. Incraese in renewal premium if a cliam has been made is prevalent worldwide and not just in India. Consider that most Insurance companies also provide for a discount in case of no claim and this is the flip side to making a claim. The key issue is for the consumers to be aware of all ramification in an insurance policy and that is where comapnies like Apnainsurance witha well functioning research bureau play a vital role in spreading consumer awareness about insurance products.

rnvs asked, Citi bank credit card gives a health insurance, where they go on increasing their premium each year for same sum assured. Are they not violating any rules of insurance regulation in India?

Harsh Roongta answers, I am not aware of any regulation that prevents the insurance company from increasing the premium year on year (except a cap on the percentage increase which i am sure has been followed in this case). In any case if you send us the details on CEO@apnainsurance.com we acn provide you with a more detailed answer.

BIJAY asked, I HAVE MEDICLAIM FOR LAST 9 YRS.FOR SUM OF RS.2 LACS WITH ONE OF NATIONALISED CO.,SINCE NOW SO MANY PRIVATE INSURANCE CO.OFFERING ATTRACTIVE SCHEME ALSO. MY QUESTION IS THIS THAT IF I START ONE LAC SUM FROM PRIVETE INSURANCE AND REMAING 1 LACS I RENEW WITH OLD POLICY THAN IF ANY DIESEASE CLAIM OCURED THAN LOGIC OF PRE DEASESE APPLIED FOR CLAIM OF NEW 1 LAC POLICY OF PRIVETE INSURANCE?

Harsh Roongta answers, To the Best of our knowledge only Appollo DKV will take into account your claim free status with the PSU insurance company. Even here the pre-existing disease will be covered only in the 2nd year of the cover. Instead of what you are propsoing why dont you look at an additional cover with a private company rather tahn shif part of your cover as it might also lead to some logistical isues at the time of making a claim in either of the companies.

sunnysun asked, Dear sir i fully agree with you on being selective towards investment and insurance that is to say one must go ONLY for an insurance and forget the premium, instead of going for a endowmment policy. But i think these days the ULIP's are a better option. Your comments?

Harsh Roongta answers, Would like to repeat our recommendations. Take pure Insurance and put the premium saved in the mutual fund company of the brand that you prefer. It is likely to give you a better result than buying an ULIP apart from being more flexible and liquid.

asif asked, does health insurance cover the whole family

Harsh Roongta answers, Yes Asif if you pay for them. Also most insurance companies have definitions of who constitutes a family in relation to the main policy holder.

kishore asked, What is the point if --> Apnainsurance is niether a Insurance company nor an Insurance Broker/Agent. You should take professional advise before you take any desicion on buying insurance.

Harsh Roongta answers, I agree. Apnainsurance only provides unbiased expert advise. To keep our independence intact we have chosen to keep away from becoming a distributor or agent. This kind of forum is good for generalised advise. you should definitely seek specific customised advise for yourself before taking any investment or insurance buying desicions.

pappu asked, are smokers allowed to take mediclaim?

Harsh Roongta answers, Why not.

rakeesh asked, can we claim interest for the delayed settlement of claim.

Harsh Roongta answers, Unlikely unless you file a complaint with the consumer court and this is allowed by them.

MohitVijay asked, Sir Can you please tell me some best insurance plan? Because many companies have some hidden terms and conditions. Please tell me some best Plan in your Knowledge. Currently I have my health insurance from NIC-SBBJ.

Harsh Roongta answers, If you already have a no cliam track record stick with them as tht is more important perhaps then the other terms and conditions.

rakesh asked, Sir, 1. When we have more than one mediclaim policy, how to go about the claim procedure if we want to claim from more than one? 2. Normally when the hospital knows that the treatment is on insurance they increase the bill. Is it possible NOT disclose this to hospital and claim is submitted later?

Harsh Roongta answers, Off course you can pay the hospital first and seek reimbursement later. for the other question about the claim procedure in the caseof multiple polies please send it to ceo@apnainsurance.com and we will respond.

Harsh Roongta says, Ok Folks. My typing Fingers just gave way :-) :-). Please go through the chat transcripts as a question similiar to yours might already have been answered. If you still have any further question please logon to www.apnainsurance.com or write in to ceo@apnainsurance.com. Take good care of yourself till we chat again next fortnight.

All you should know about health insurance

2008-09-06T18:19:00.001-07:00

What is the difference between a life insurance policy & health insurance policy? As an investment tool which one is better? Do you get any lump sum amount in case of a health insurance after its maturity?

Does health insurance cover pregnancy? Is there a medical cover for sexually transmitted diseases? Are there any insurance policies which take care of medical reimbursement for tax savings?

Can you have two health insurance policies from different insurers? Is a floater policy better than individual policy?

Is there a mediclaim policy which is truly 100 pe cent cashless? If you are young and have high blood pressure and diabetes then which health insurance should you buy?

In a chat with readers on August 25, Harsh Roongta answered these and many more queries related to your and your family's health insurance needs.

For those of you who missed the chat, here is the unedited transcript.

Harsh Roongta says, Hello everyone. Welcome to this chat on Health Insurance. Will try and answer as many questions as my typing skills will allow. But First a disclaimer. Apnainsurance is niether an insurance company nor an insurance broker/agent. We inform/educate consumers on various matters relating to insurance. Consumers can also use our Web site www.apnainsurance.com for getting answers from our panel of experts and to compare the offerings of various insurance companies. Please take the advise of your personal financial advisor and/or insurance agent/broker before buying any insurance policy.

bhaskar asked, Hello sir. I am 32 years and my wife is 31 years. My father is 63 years and mother is 54 years. I willing to insure my whole family with single premium i.e. I the prime holder of the insurance and rest of are dependent. Is it possible? Most of the companies are not willing to insure my parents in basis of their age. And if insure then their premium are too high for this middle class family. Please advice me some good scheme.

Harsh Roongta answers, I am assuming you are looking for a floater policy. As you are aware in a floater policy the sum insured (let's say Rs. 5 lacs) is available for all claims put for the entire family. versus in a regular policy the sum insured is separately stated for each member of the family. If floater policy is the only thing that you will go for then the only option available (given the age profile for your parents) that will cover both you and your parents is from Star Health Medi Classic Floating policy. However you might do well to look at the other kind of policy as well in which case your choice widens a bit. You can compare various policies by usig this link. www.apnainsurance.com/health-insurance-india/ compare.html In anycase the premium amounts for older people will be more expensive than younger people.

Hello asked, what is adequate amt of health insurance for the following family: self 30/wife 25/1 kid 2/ parents (65 & 55)

Harsh Roongta answers, It depends on a number of things such as your health profile, family history, financial profile, etc. As a thumb rule , if you can afford it, you should look at covering risks for each person at around Rs. 5 - Rs. 7 lacs. However this may be fairly expensive and you should take a decision after consultying your personal financial advisor.

vijayan asked, Hello, I would like to have your reply to my question. I am a 50 year old man and my wife is around 45, we do not have any health insurance right now. Previous policy was cancelled due to severe financial problems. Could you please help me how I get a new policy with low yearly premium without medical check up. Your guidence would be helpful to go ahead with the insurance plan. vijayan damodar 9375222694

Harsh Roongta answers, After 45 years most ( i think all but not completely sure) companies insisit on a helath check up before they will offer a helath plan to you. In any case if you have an pre-existing disease it is in your interest to fully disclose it since otherwise it will lead to issues when a claim arises.

vinay1 asked, Does health insurance cover pregnancy?

Harsh Roongta answers, National Insurance covers the same under its plan named UCO Medi + Care Bima Policy under additional cover this benefit is included, United India Assurance Co. Ltd, under a mediclaim policy, however there are not many companies available in the market that will provide such coverage, due to definite cost involved. Apollo DKV -- easy health has a waiting period of 6 years.

Appan asked, hello sir, I am 27 and my mother is 61. I am working as software engineer.Company already provides health insurance for me. I can't include my mother bcoz of their rules. Please let me know how can i insure my mother's health?

Harsh Roongta answers, Your mother is a senior citizen, hence there are only three such plans available in the market provided by three companies, which are Bajaj Allianz who offers silver health between the age 46-70, Star health and Allied Insurance offers Red Carpet senior citizen between 60-69, and lastly National Insurance offers a plan names Varishtha Mediclaim for senior citizens from 60-80 years.

KASHIF asked, is there a medical cover for sexually transmitted diseases??

Harsh Roongta answers, Normally all AIDS related expenses are excluded from health plan coverage.

mac asked, Are there health insurance policies which take care of medical reimbursement for tax savings? Which are the top 3 policies in these that u suggest?

Harsh Roongta answers, Any premium paid for a mediclaim kind of policy or for Critical illness (whether as a separete policy or as a rider to a life insurance policy) or for hospitalisation kind of plan are eligible for deduction under Section 80D.

aruns asked, Is it possible to transfer insurance from one company to another and yet get the No claim/history of claims.

Harsh Roongta answers, Not just as yet unfortunately portability is not yet available in india but IRDA is examining the matter and some guidelines are expected soon.

sourabh jain asked, Good Afternoon sir..My name is sourabh,i m 23 years old,currently i m studing n stayin in pune..i dont have any health insurance plan currently...but i think i'll need some medical checkup later..so i want to know the insurance company also give amount for that..and will i need to give the medical test before the policy...reply plz

Harsh Roongta answers, At your age most companies will provide you a mediclaim kind of plan without any prior medical check up. Also some companies provide upto 1% of the sum assured for conducting medical check ups after 4 claim free years.

Rahul asked, I am 32 Yrs old and my wife is 26 and a kid of 4 yrs. I am having annual income of 4 Lacs per annum. How much is the feasible Life insurance and Mediclaim Insurance

Harsh Roongta answers, As a very rough thumb rule you should go in for about 10-12 times your annual gross income as a term life insurance cover with Critical illness rider. Mediclaim depends on your family history and affordability as well. But take at least Rs. 2 lacs for each member of your family or a floater plan for at least rs. 3 lacs.

saran asked, Hi , I am Saranyan age 26 M and I took insurance in sundaram for me and my parents. My parents age are 53 and 46 respectively. Is it benifit ?

Harsh Roongta answers, please use this link to compare the various offers from insurance companies. www.apnainsurance.com/health-insurance-india/ compare.html

jaymeh asked, can i have two mediclaim policy in my name from different insurers?

Harsh Roongta answers, Yes you can but you cannot claim double reimbursement. suppose you have Rs. 1 lac policy from 2 separate insurance company and teh claim amount is Rs. 1.50 lac. the reimbursement will be shared by each of the company in the same proportion as the policy amounts (i.e. 1:1 in this case)

PB asked, whether Floater policy is good or individual policy?

Harsh Roongta answers, as a rule of the thumb a floater policy might work well for younger people but a fixed policy is better as the covered people reach mid thirties. See this article for a detailed discussion.

ajay asked, Hi, I and my wife both are 36 years old we have term plan of 15 lakh each and also mediclaim of 2 lakh each but i find we are not covered for many serious diseases shd we still go for that cover?

Harsh Roongta answers, You are right. You should look at a critical illness policy (or a rider on your existing term plans if the company allows it) . If you are looking for a standalone critical illness policy you can use this link to compare the various policies.

rajendra asked, Can we start health insurance at the age of 69 yrs?

Harsh Roongta answers, The kind of plans available in the market for senior citizens is Silver Health by Bajaj Allianz, and there are other senior citizen plan available in the market like, Red Carpet Senior Citizen from Star Health & Allied Insurance, and Varishtha Mediclaim for senior Citizen by National Insurance Co. Ltd. The maximum age at entry is 80 years for Star Medi Classic.

khullar asked, hai, i m govt servant having full indoor reimbursment and having an annual income of over 3 lakh having one daughter and a son. it it required that i want any health insurance?

Harsh Roongta answers, If the government covers your medical expenses post your retirement also (inlcuding your dependent children) then you may not need any mediclaim type of policy. But you should definitely look at Critical illness plans - so that if you are unfortunately stricken by any critical illness you will get a lump sum amount that will allow you to get a income for the rest of yuour life. You should also consider hospitalisation plans that pay a fixed amount for hospitalisation as it allows you to ccover expenditure that is other wise not coverd by mediclaim kind of plans.

deepvarsha asked, I have an inpression that the health insurance sector is not ragulated in india. If you have a policy and take a claim then next time the insurance companies denies the extension of the policy or minimun they do is to charge very hefty premimum. In that case what is the fun in taking medical insurance.

Harsh Roongta answers, All Insurance companies - including health insurance companies - are regulated by IRDA which is very active. IRDA has recently come out with a provision recently that restricts the maximum increase in premium from year to year for a policy to 50 cit-75% in case of senior citizens.

company asked, We are a Pvt Ltd Company and we have 15 employees. We would like to cover all our employees and dependants for maximum of 2 lakhs each? Can you suggest which insurance policy will be a best fit for our requirement?

Harsh Roongta answers, You should consider a group mediclaim policy. Please contact a good insurance broker.

vinodadlakha asked, Dear Sir, We have group insurance with Cholamandalam for company but now chola is refusing to honour the claims , what we should do

Harsh Roongta answers, If you think it is unjustified you should complain to the insurance ombudsman.

Mayank Mathur asked, Hello Mr Harsh I will be 36 on this 31st August , wife is 32 yrs, Daughter will be 9 in dec ; son is 3 years and mother is 58 yrs who stays with us . I wish to go for a mediclaim policy which is truly 100 % cashless . I have tried to look at the best option with lowest premium for a family floater , but the market place is too crowded and all claim to be offering what they claim is best , Please suggest ..what should I look for .. I have to get before 31st as I understand that the premiums for 36 year is a lot more . Thanks!

Harsh Roongta answers, You are very conscious person and that is good. You can take a desicion after consulting your advisor.

Sadia asked, I have a mediclaim policy for last five years, now if I declare a disease like diabetes or high blood pressure, how long does it takes for me to be covered for this particular disease under this policy. Please advise.

Harsh Roongta answers, If you have got the disease post your taking the policy (assuming rest of the yaers have been renewed on time from the same insurance company) then you are covered anyways.

sanjaykr asked, do company give any discount at the time of renewal when you don't claim single penny from the insured sum. I am having floater policy of 2 lacs for me, wife and daughter from ICICI [Get Quote] Lombard since 2004,

Harsh Roongta answers, Most companies usually give a bonus in terms of incraesing the amount of coverage in subsequent years without charging additional premium. however this facility is not available for most floater policies (normally available only for each person policy).

krik asked, sir What is the difference between a life insurance policy & health insurance policy.As an investment tool which one is better? Do we get any lumpsum amount in case of a health insurance after its maturity?

Harsh Roongta answers, At apnainsurance our advise is to segregate your insurance requirements from your investment requirements. However if you are looking for health plans that give a lump sum return on maturity you can look at LIC's [Get Quote] Health plans. This should be in addition to and not in substitution of regualr mediclaim kind of policy.

BablooBadshah asked, Roongta Ji, aapse insurance karane par kitna commission dete ho Bhaiya ??????

Harsh Roongta answers, We have already stated that we are niether insurance agenst nor insurance brokers. We only help you compare various insurance products and you can reach various insurance companies or their agents or brokers by using our search facilities.

Four Frogs

2008-08-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

Four frogs sat upon a log that lay floating on the edge of a river. Suddenly the log was caught by the current and swept slowly down the stream. The frogs were delighted and absorbed, for never before had they sailed.

At length the first frog spoke, and said, "This is indeed a most marvellous log. It moves as if alive. No such log was ever known before."

Then the second frog spoke, and said, "Nay, my friend, the log is like other logs, and does not move. It is the river that is walking to the sea, and carries us and the log with it."

And the third frog spoke, and said, "It is neither the log nor the river that moves. The moving is in our thinking. For without thought nothing moves."

And the three frogs began to wrangle about what was really moving. The quarrel grew hotter and louder, but they could not agree.Then they turned to the fourth frog, who up to this time had been listening attentively but holding his peace, and they asked his opinion.

And the fourth frog said, "Each of you is right, and none of you is wrong. The moving is in the log and the water and our thinking also."

And the three frogs became very angry, for none of them was willing to admit that his was not the whole truth, and that the other two were not wholly wrong.

Then a strange thing happened. The three frogs got together and pushed the fourth frog off the log into the river.

Ask, Ask, Ask

2008-08-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

The greatest saleswoman in the world today doesn't mind if you call her a girl. That's because Markita Andrews has generated more than eighty thousand dollars selling Girl Scout cookies since she was seven years old.

Going door-to-door after school, the painfully shy Markita transformed herself into a cookie-selling dynamo when she discovered, at age 13, the secret of selling.

It starts with desire. Burning, white-hot desire.

For Markita and her mother, who worked as a waitress in New York after her husband left them when Markita was eight years old; their dream was to travel the globe. "I will work hard to make enough money to send you to college," her mother said one day. "You will go to college and when you graduate, you will make enough money to take you and me around the world. Okay?"

So at age 13 when Markita read in her Girl Scout magazine that the Scout who sold the most cookies would win an all- expenses-paid trip for two around the world, she decided to sell all the Girl Scout cookies she could - more Girl Scout cookies than anyone in the world, ever.

But desire alone is not enough. To make her dream come true, Markita knew she needed a plan.

"Always wear your right outfit, your professional garb," her aunt advised. "When you are doing business, dress like you is doing business. Wear your Girl Scout uniform. When you go up to people in their tenement buildings at 4:30 or 6:30 and especially on Friday night, ask for a big order. Always smile, whether they buy or not, always be nice. And do not ask them to buy your cookies; ask them to invest."

Lots of other Scouts may have wanted that trip around the world. Lots of other Scouts may have had a plan. But only Markita went off in her uniform each day after school, ready to ask - and keep asking - folks to invest in her dream. "Hi, I have a dream. I am earning a trip around the world for me and my mom by merchandising Girl Scout cookies," she would say at the door. "Would you like to invest in one dozen or two dozen boxes of cookies?"

Markita sold 3,526 boxes of Girl Scout cookies that year and won her trip around the world. Since then, she has sold more than 42,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, spoken at sales conventions across the country, starred in a Disney movie about her adventure and has co-authored the best seller, How to Sell More Cookies, Condos, Cadillacs, Computers ... And Everything Else.

Markita is no smarter and no more extroverted than thousands of other people, young and old, with dreams of their own. The difference is Markita had discovered the secret of selling: As, Ask, Ask! Many people fail before they even begin because they fail to ask for what they want. The fear of rejection leads many of us to reject ourselves and our dreams long before anyone else ever has the chance - no matter what we're selling.

And everyone is selling something. "You're selling yourself everyday - in school, to your boss, to new people you meet," said Markita at 14. "My mother is a waitress: she sells the daily special. Mayors and presidents trying to get votes are selling ... I see selling everywhere I look. Selling is part of the whole world."

It takes courage to ask for what you want. Courage is not the absence of fear. It's doing what it takes despite one's fear. And, as Markita has discovered, the more you ask, the easier (and more fun) it gets.

Once, on live TV, the producer decided to give Markita her toughest selling challenge. Markita was asked to sell Girl Scout cookies to another guest on the show. "Would you like to invest in one dozen or two dozen boxes of Girl Scout cookies?" she asked.

"Girl Scout cookies? I don't buy any Girl Scout cookies!" he replied. "I'm a Federal Penitentiary warden. I put 2,000 rapists, robbers, criminals, muggers and child abusers to bed every night."

Unruffled, Markita quickly countered, "Mister, if you take some of these cookies. maybe you won't be so mean and angry and evil. And, Mister, I think it would be a good idea for you to take some of these cookies back for every one of your 2,000 prisoners, too."

Markita asked.

The Warden wrote a check.

Quotation Marks--Before or After?

2008-08-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

I was teaching The Keys to Error-Free Writing in Vancouver, Washington, and one of the hot topics was the placement of periods and commas with quotation marks. When we checked this site in class to see if I had written about the topic (using the search bar on the right), we came up dry.

I have hesitated to cover the topic. That's because U.S. writers follow a different style from much of the rest of the world when it comes to periods and commas with quotation marks. If you write in a country that follows different rules, please add a comment to enlighten us.

Here are the rules in the United States:

Periods and commas always go inside the closing quotation marks. (There are very rare exceptions to this rule, but I prefer to say always.)
Examples:
The poem is titled "Ode to the Semicolon."
He responded, "This is the way to punctuate with quotation marks."
"I cannot remember that rule," Linda announced.
"Planning Your Life," which is the first chapter, helps the reader set priorities.
Semicolons and colons always go outside closing quotation marks. This situation doesn't come up often. But when it does, handle it like this:
Examples:
Mark will read "Punctuation Matters"; Rio will cover the other sections.
This is the last line of Frost's "The Road Not Taken": "And that has made all the difference."

To learn about question marks with closing quotation marks, refer my earlier Article "? Or ?" -- Which Is Correct? If I put quotation marks around the title of the post, it will look like this:

"'? or ?' -- Which Is Correct?"

And if I asked you a question about it, it would look this way:

Have you read my Article "'? or ?' -- Which Is Correct?"

Notice that we do not double the question mark at the end of the sentence.

Before anyone even thinks about turning the above example into a direct quotation, I am signing off.

wow

2008-08-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

Last spring I was walking in a park. A short distance ahead of me was a mom and her three-year-old daughter. The little girl was holding on to a string that was attached to a helium balloon.

All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind took the balloon from the little girl.. I braced myself for some screaming and crying.

But, no! As the little girl turned to watch her balloon go skyward, she gleefully shouted out, "Wow!"

I didn't realize it at that moment, but that little girl taught me
something.

Later that day, I received a phone call from a person with news of an unexpected problem. I felt like responding with "Oh no, what should we do?" But remembering that little girl, I found myself saying, "Wow, that's interesting! How can I help you?"

One thing's for sure - life's always going to keep us off balance with its unexpected problems. That's a given. What's not preordained is our response. We can choose to be frustrated or fascinated.

No matter what the situation, a fascinated "Wow!" will always beat a frustrated "Oh, no."

So the next time you experience one of life's unexpected gusts, remember that little girl and make it a "Wow!" experience. The "Wow!" response always works . . .

MAD AT U

2008-08-24T01:58:00.001-07:00

Girl: Hey baby i want to show you....
Boy: ( cutting her off ) Ugh I'm so mad
Girl: Why? Whats wrong ?
Boy: Ugh everything
Girl: Explain baby
Boy: Just lost a championship game,
parents flipped out on me for no reason,
and im catching a cold
Girl: Well hey there will always be other games,
you know I'll take care of you when your sick,
what your parents flip about ?
Boy: They are making me pay them for a car repair
Girl: Is it a lot of money
Boy: No it just sucks
Boy: But hey I dont feel well I'm going to go lay down
Boy: Bye
Girl: Wait I want to give you some...
Boy: Can't It wait 'til tommorow ?
Girl: Yeah, sure
Girl: Bye
Boy: Bye

2 hours later a friend of hers asks her to go for a drive ...she
goes.....

Her friend swerved to avoid a truck....hitting a tree instead

Her friend was killed instantly....she's in critical condition

This is the conversation between her sister and her boyfriend.....

Sister: Omg ( crying )
Boy: What? Whats wrong ?
Sister: My sister...your girlfriend was involved in a major car wreck
Boy: Is she OK??????
Sister: She's in critical condition
Boy: I'll be there in 10 minutes

He shows up to the hospital room ...standing outside the door going over the last conversation in his mind over and over as he heard the machines beep and beep and breathing tubes pump oxygen into her lungs

Boy: She wanted to give me something or tell me something
Girls mom: Yeah this...

It was an envelope smelling like she sealed it with a kiss in lipstick

He opened it.....

It said ..... You're everything to me....I love you with everything I am and everything I have...I want to spend the rest of my life with you

Sealed in it was a ripped movie ticket from the first movie they went to...

...and the first picture they took together

He kissed the picture as a tear fell from his face onto the picture

It looked as if in the picture she was crying

Then the machines flatlined....3 minutes later she was pronounced dead

TO ALL THE CUTE GUYS!!!****

2008-08-24T01:58:00.000-07:00

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn't worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you'd ever orchestrated in Halo2 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn't have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing "serious" between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: "oh, but we're just friends!" And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you're nice like that.

The nice guys don't often get credit where credit is due. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can't. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative b**ches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as "oh, he's too nice to date" or "he would be a good boyfriend but he's not for me" or "he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn't possibly ask him out!" or the most frustrating of all: "no, it would ruin our friendship." Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can't figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I'm going to sleep with this complete a** now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn't last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you're sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

The Salty Coffee

2008-08-24T01:57:00.000-07:00

He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many guys chasing after her, while he was so normal, nobody paid attention to him.

At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him, she was surprised but due to being polite, she promised. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, "Please, let me go home..."

Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why you have this hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are still living there." While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home... Then she also started to speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.

That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm, careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married to the prince, and then they were living the happy life... And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's the way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said, "My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life's lie. This was the only lie I said to you---the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead. I never thought that could be the start of our communication! I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything... Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth, I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste... But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for the second time, still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again."

Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her,

"What's the taste of salty coffee?" She replied, "It's sweet."

Pass this to everyone because love is not toforget but to forgive, not to see but understand, not to hear but to listen, not to let go but HOLD ON!!!!

GIFT OF LOVE

2008-08-24T01:56:00.000-07:00

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he'd told her was empty. Then she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan, 34, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. And all she had to cling to was her husband, Mark.

Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to become independent again.

Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted Susan, and fulfilled Mark's need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task.

Soon, however, Mark realized the arrangement wasn't working. Susan is going to have to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But she was still so fragile, so angry - how would she react? Just as he predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again.

"I'm blind!", she responded bitterly. "How am I supposed to know where I am going? I feel like you're abandoning me."

Mark's heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be done. He promised Susan that each morning and evening he would ride the bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each day.

He taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat.

Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Mark, her temporary bus-riding companion, her husband, and her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, And his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan had never felt better. She was doing it! She was going to work all by herself.

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was paying the fare to exit the bus, the driver said, "Boy, I sure do envy you." Susan wasn't sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year? Curious, she asked the driver, "Why do you say that you envy me?"

The driver responded, "It must feel good to be taken care of and protected like you are." Susan had no idea what the driver was talking about, and again asked, "What do you mean?"

The driver answered, "You know, every morning for the past week, a fine-looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you as you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches until you enter your office building.

Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks away. You are one lucky lady." Tears of happiness poured down Susan's cheeks. For although she couldn't physically see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn't need to see to believe - the gift of love that can bring light where there is darkness.

please read it though its a little big

2008-08-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am.. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.'

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me.'

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything' s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'

There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around.' Today I sent you this story and I'm asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine.

Don't delete it, don't return it. Simply, pass this on to a friend

Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

Follow Your Heart

2008-08-23T21:06:00.001-07:00

Billy loved Katie with all his heart. But he never told a Single soul. Katie secretly loved him too. But she thought she would never have a chance with him. Billy asked his friends what they think of her and his friends thought she was gay. They didn't like her at all. So Billy just went along with them. They all made fun of her and made her feel really bad. Katie was so upset.

One day they followed her home from school making fun of her the whole way home. Once she got inside her house she dropped to the floor cringe. She had a crush on Billy since 3rd grade. She didn't know what to do. When Billy got home he felt real bad about what he had done. So he decided to go to Katie's house to tell her he was sorry and that he really loves her.

When he got there he knocked on the door no one answered.

The door was open so he walked in. He walked into the living room and found Katie lying dead on the floor. She had slit her wrists. Billy was so up set . He knew it was his fault she killed her self. And now he could never tell her how he really felt.

The lesson of this story is: Don't wait to until the last minute to tell someone how you really feel. Because it just might be too late. And don't always go by what your friends say, follow your heart.

A Teacher's Lesson

2008-08-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same.

But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners. He is a joy to be around."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to." After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.

Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer - the letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.

The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

LIFE'S LIKE THAT

2008-08-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun
threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly
without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer
office.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country
hicks had no business at Harvard & probably didn't even deserve to be
in Cambridge.

'We'd like to see the president,' the man said softly. 'He'll be busy
all day,' the secretary snapped. 'We'll wait,' the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would
finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't, and the secretary
grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even
though it was a chore she always regretted.

'Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave,' she said to him!

He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance
obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, and he detested
gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.

The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the
couple. The lady told him, 'We had a son who attended Harvard for one
year.

He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was
accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial
to him, somewhere on campus.'

The president wasn't touched. He was shocked. 'Madam,' he said,
gruffly, 'we can't put up a statue for every person who attended
Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.'

'Oh, no,' the lady explained quickly. 'We don't want to erect a
statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.'

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and
homespun suit, then exclaimed, 'A building! Do you have any earthly
idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million
dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.'

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he
could get rid of them now.

The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, 'Is that all it costs
to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?'

Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and
bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away,
traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the
university that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a
son that Harvard no longer cared about.

You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those
who they think can do nothing for them.

Keep the Spark Alive!!!

2008-08-23T20:27:00.001-07:00

Keep the Spark Alive!!!

Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program 2008

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak
to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college,
leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to
become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few
days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college
is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling
in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the
teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be
curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes
you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the
spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not
all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year
old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make
them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A
story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for
birthday party - several months in advance - just for the day they will
cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see
older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the
spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected,
aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs
the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how
to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing -
to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard
against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve
and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is
possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to
company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material
landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money
constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big
achievement.

But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr Ambani would
not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance
anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he
sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What
makes them come to work everyday?

They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them
feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you
study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to
interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice,
your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become
Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that
next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we
were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of
nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.

I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give
you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before
successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental
peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup.
There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not
enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a
marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of
those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a
spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming
first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble.
Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else,
you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being
excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously.
One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One
student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga
practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote
has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my
relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my
writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism.
If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I
live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary
here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are
lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500
weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few
classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not
programmed devices.

I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking
it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four
storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These
must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration,
unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the
expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure.
Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out
stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need
to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to
when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill
themselves over low grades - how silly is that? But that is how much
failure can hurt you.

But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease
to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that
means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to
be.

Disappointment' s cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you
ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is
especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you
deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose
the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as
I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took
me five years to get close to a release.

Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into
something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it?
A realistic assessment of the time involved - movies take a long time to
make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment
in the process rather than the end result - at least I was learning how
to write scripts , having a side plan - I had my third book to write
and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life -
friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to
be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too
seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is
how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful
faces, pedigree find it easier to make it - not just in Bollywood, but
everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few
opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make
it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in
the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately
things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than
you.

In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this
speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards.
Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what
we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot
even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't
look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more
beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you
grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all
kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you
still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize
you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel,
may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create
conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop
some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing
basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up
something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But
in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love
yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment,
frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like
the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just
need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If
someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose
college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, you eyes will
shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive,
not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I
hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as
we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is
something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

A Very Nice Story

2008-08-23T20:26:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time ...

There was a rich King who had 4 wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighbouring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day
she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short.

He thought of his luxurious life and pondered, "I now have 4 wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good!
When you die, I'm going to remarry!"

His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me
and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only accompany you till your grave."

Her answer came like a bolt of thunder and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out:

"I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny,
she suffered from malnutrition.

Greatly grieved & ashamed of himself, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!" & His eyes filled with tears.

In Truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives ....

Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth.
When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

AND

And our 1st wife is our Parents ,

often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego.
However, our Parents are the only ones that will follow us and guide us, wherever we go.

So Love them at ur best ..... They need and Love you most !!!
You are their greatest gift. Make them yours TODAY.

Tell them how much you love them today. Tomorrow may never come. If they are not living with you, call them by phone, visit them, email them...do whatever it takes. Also, reply back to me, to tell me how whether you liked this mail.

Daughters-in-law

2008-08-23T20:25:00.001-07:00

It is a known fact that all daughters-in-law have problems with their mothers-in-law.

Anyway, One day the daughters-in-law all got together and decided to apologise to their mothers-in-law for everything they had apparently done wrong.

A week later the daughters-in-law decided to take their families (including their mothers-in-law) on a picnic.

The mothers-in-law were all in one bus, which was the first to leave.

On the way their bus had an accident and all the mothers-in-law died.

The daughters-in-law were devastated but one in particular was more heart broken than the rest.

Everyone tried to console her by telling her that at least her mother-in-law had died without any tension between them.

But still she cried.

Eventually when she was calm enough to speak the other women asked her:

'why are you crying so much? Was your mother-in-law that special?'...........................

The woman replied: 'no, she missed the bus!'

Don't be ashamed of our flaws

2008-08-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

Always remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

To enjoy In The Rain

2008-08-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's,arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb.

He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch, and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health; he told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are'?

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is'.

I had to hold back tears as he left; I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life'.

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
'Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
But how to enjoy in the rain.'

KINDNESS = MIRACLES

2008-08-23T20:19:00.001-07:00

KINDNESS = MIRACLES

One day a woman was walking down the street when she spied a beggar sitting on the corner.
The man was elderly, unshaven, and ragged. As he sat there, pedestrians walked by him giving
him dirty looks They clearly wanted nothing to do with him because of who he was -- a dirty,
homeless man. But when she saw him, the woman was moved to compassion.

It was very cold that day and the man had his tattered coat -- more like an old suit coat rather than a warm coat -- wrapped around him. She stopped and looked down. "Sir?" she asked. "Are you all right?"

The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life.
Her coat was new. She looked like that she had never missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before. "Leave me
alone," he growled.

To his amazement, the woman continued standing. She was smiling -- her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "No," he answered sarcastically. "I've just
come from dining with the President. Now go away."

The woman's smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm. "What are you doing, lady?" the man asked angrily. "I said to leave me alone."

Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" he asked.

"No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get this man to his feet.
Will you help me?"

The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?" "See that cafeteria over there?" she asked. "I'm going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile."

"Are you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. "I don't want to go in there!" Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. "Let me go, officer. I didn't do anything."

"This is a good deal for you, Jack," the officer answered. "Don't blow it."

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd
had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived. The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by the table.

"What's going on here, officer?" he asked. "What is all this. Is this man in trouble?"

"This lady brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman answered.

"Not in here!" the manager replied angrily. "Having a person like that here is bad for business."

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. "See, lady. I told you so. Now if you'll let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. "Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?" "Of course I am," the manager answered impatiently. "They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."

"And do you make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly meetings?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company."

"Oh."

The woman smiled again. "I thought that might make a difference." She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. "Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officer replied. "I'm on duty."

"Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"

"Yes, ma'am. That would be very nice."

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel. "I'll get your coffee for you Right away, officer."

The officer watched him walk away. "You certainly put him in his place," he said. "That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this."

She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently. "Jack, do you remember me?" Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes "I think so -- I mean you do look familiar."

"I'm a little older perhaps," she said. "Maybe I've even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?" the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

"I was just out of college," the woman began. "I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat."

Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he said. "I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy."

"I know," the woman continued. "Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble. Then, when I looked over, I saw you put the price of my food in the cash register. I knew then that everything would be all right."

"So you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered." She opened her purse and pulled out a business card.
"When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons. He's the personnel director of my company. I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to do around the office." She smiled. "I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet And if you ever need anything,
my door is always opened to you."

There were tears in the old man's eyes. "How can I ever thank you," he said.

"Don't thank me," the woman answered. "To God goes the glory. He led me to you."

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways. "Thank you for all your help, officer," she said.

"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he answered. "Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget. And... And thank you for the coffee."

She frowned. "I forgot to ask you whether you used cream or sugar. That's black."

The officer looked at the steaming cup of coffee in his hand. "Yes, I do take cream and sugar --
perhaps more sugar than is good for me." He patted his ample stomach.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I don't need it now," he replied smiling. "I've got the feeling that this coffee you bought me is going to taste as sweet as sugar."

------------------

If you have missed knowing me, you have missed nothing.

If you have missed some of my emails, you may have missed a laugh or even a tear.

If you've never done a random act of kindness - you have absolutely no idea what you've missed!

Do one today and witness a miracle!

A Girl With An Apple (true story)

2008-08-23T20:17:00.001-07:00

August 1942. Piotrkow, Poland. The sky was gloomy that morning as we waited anxiously. All the men, women and children of Piotrkow's Jewish ghetto had been herded into a square. Word had gotten around that we were being moved. My father had only recently died from typhus, which had run rampant through the crowded ghetto. My greatest fear was that our family would be separated.

'Whatever you do,' Isidore, my eldest brother, whispered to me, 'don't tell them your age.. Say you're sixteen.' I was tall for a boy of 11, so I could pull it off. That way I might be deemed valuable as a worker. An SS man approached me, boots clicking against the cobblestones. He looked me up and down, then asked my age. 'Sixteen,' I said. He directed me to the left, where my three brothers and other healthy young men already stood.

My mother was motioned to the right with the other women, children,
sick and elderly people. I whispered to Isidore, 'Why?' He didn't answer. I ran to Mama's side and said I wanted to stay with her. 'No,' she said sternly. 'Get away. Don't be a nuisance. Go with your brothers.' She hadnever spoken so harshly before. But I understood: She was protecting me. She loved me so much that, just this once, she pretended not to. It was the last I ever saw of her.

My brothers and I were transported in a cattle car to Germany. We
arrived at the Buchenwald concentration camp one night weeks later and were led into a crowded barrack. The next day, we were issued uniforms and identification numbers.

'Don't call me Herman anymore.' I said to my brothers. 'Call me
94983.'

I was put to work in the camp's crematorium, loading the dead into a
hand-cranked elevator. I, too, felt dead. Hardened, I had become a number.

Soon, my brothers and I were sent to Schlieben, one of Buchenwald's
sub-camps near Berlin.

One morning I thought I heard my mother's voice, 'Son,' she said
softly but clearly, I am going to send you an angel.' Then I woke up.
Just a dream. A beautiful dream. But in this place there could be no angels. There was only work. And hunger. And fear..

A couple of days later, I was walking around the camp, around the
barracks, near the barbed-wire fence where the guards could not easily see.
>I was alone. On the other side of the fence, I spotted someone: a litle girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half-hidden behind a birch tree. I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in
German.

'Do you have something to eat?' She didn't understand. I inched closer to the fence and repeated question in Polish. She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet,

but the girl looked unafraid. In her eyes, I saw life. She pulled an apple from her woolenjacket and threw it over the fence. I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

I returned to the same spot by the fence at the same time every day.
She was always there with something for me to eat - a hunk of bread or, better yet, an apple. We didn't dare speak or linger. To be caught would
mean death for us both. I didn't know anything about her, just a kind farm girl, except that she understood Polish. What was her name? Why was she risking her life for me? Hope was in such short supply, and this girl on the other side of the fence gave me some, as nourishing in its way as the bread and apples.

Nearly seven months later, my brothers and I were crammed into a coal car and shipped to Theresienstadt camp in Czechoslovakia. 'Don't return,' I told the girl that day. 'We're leaving.' I turned toward the barracks and didn't look back, didn't even say good-bye to the little girl whose name I'd never learned, the girl with the apples.

We were in Theresienstadt for three months. The war was winding down and Allied forces were closing in, yet my fate seemed sealed. On May 10, 1945, I was scheduled to die in the gas chamber at 10:00 AM.

In the quiet of dawn, I tried to prepare myself. So many times death seemed ready to claim me, but somehow I'd survived.. Now, it was over. I thought of my parents. At least, I thought, we will be reunited.

But at 8 A.M. there was a commotion. I heard shouts, and saw people
running every which way through camp. I caught up with my brothers. Russian troops had liberated the camp! The gates swung open. Everyone was running, so I did too.

Amazingly, all of my brothers had survived; I'm not sure how. But I
knew that the girl with the apples had been the key to my survival. In a place where evil seemed triumphant, one person's goodness had saved my life, had given me hope in a place where there was none.

My mother had promised tosend me an angel, and the angel had come.

Eventually I made my way to England where I was sponsored by a Jewish charity, put up in a hostel with other boys who had survived the Holocaust and trained in electronics. Then I came to America, where my brother Sam had already moved. I served in the U. S. Army during the Korean War, and returned to New York City after two years. By August 1957 I'd opened my own electronics repair shop. I was starting to settle in.

One day, my friend Sid who I knew from England called me. 'I've got a date. She's got a Polish friend. Let's double date.'

A blind date? Nah, that wasn't for me. But Sid kept pestering me, and
a few days later we headed up to the Bronx to pick up his date and her friend Roma. I had to admit, for a blind date this wasn't so bad. Roma was a nurse at a Bronx hospital. She was kind and smart. Beautiful, too, with swirling brown curls and green, almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with life.

The four of us drove out to Coney Island. Roma was easy to talk to,
easy to be with. Turned out she was wary of blind dates too! We were both just doing our friends a favor. We took a stroll on the boardwalk, enjoying the salty Atlantic breeze, and then had dinner by the shore. I couldn't remember having a better time.

We piled back into Sid's car, Roma and I sharing the backseat. As
European Jews who had survived the war, we were aware that much had beenleft unsaid between us. She broached the subject, 'Where were you,' she asked softly, 'during the war?'

The camps,' I said, the terrible memories still vivid, the
irreparable loss. I had tried to forget. But you can never forget.

She nodded. 'My family was hiding on a farm in Germany, not far from Berlin,' she told me. 'My father knew a priest, and he got us Aryan papers.'

I imagined how she must have suffered too, fear, a constant companion. And yet here we were, both survivors, in a new world.

'There was a camp next to the farm.' Roma continued. 'I saw a boy
there and I would throw him apples every day.'

What an amazing coincidence that she had helped some other boy. 'What did he look like? I asked. He was tall, skinny, and hungry. I must have seen him every day for six months.'

My heart was racing. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be. 'Did he
tell you one day not to come back because he was leaving Schlieben?'

Roma looked at me in amazement. 'Yes,' That was me! ' I was ready to burst with joy and awe, flooded with emotions. I couldn't believe it! My angel.

'I'm not letting you go.' I said to Roma. And in the back of the car
on that blind date, I proposed to her. I didn't want to wait.

'You're crazy!' she said. But she invited me to meet her parents for
Shabbat dinner the following week. There was so much I looked forward to learning about Roma, but the most important things I always knew: her steadfastness, her goodness. For many months, in the worst of circumstances, she had come to the fence and given me hope. Now that I'd found her again, I could never let her go.

That day, she said yes. And I kept my word. After nearly 50 years of
marriage, two children and three grandchildren I have never let her go.

Herman Rosenblat, Miami Beach, Florida

This is a true story and you can find out more by Googling Herman
Rosenblat as he was Bar Mitzvahed at age 75. This story is being made
into a movie called The Fence.

This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people world-wide!

Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it
around the world.
Please send this e-mail to SOMEONE you know and ask them to continue
the memorial chain.

Confidence Level

2008-08-23T20:02:00.001-07:00

Story told by a man which is most frightening yet thought-provoking experiences of his life.

He had been on a long flight. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: "Fasten your seat belts."! Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened. "As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time.

The turbulence is still ahead of us." And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean.

One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. The man confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. And then, I suddenly saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat and was reading a book. Everything within her small world was calm and orderly.

Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm, when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid. "The man could hardly believe his eyes. It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, he lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time.

Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The sweet child replied, "Sir, my Dad is the pilot and he is taking me home." when you are sure of your self, your confident level is steady and you are never shaky you do the things calmly and successfully.

An Autograph - Part 1

2008-08-23T20:01:00.001-07:00

HE:
I wait everyday till 8.00 in the office even if there is no work. All of my teammates ask me why; how can I tell them that I don't wait for any
personal or official work but the only reason why I wait is the 'secretary'- a girl in my 8.00 p.m bus.
'Secretary' is not her real name, it's sort of a code name given to her by me and my friends. Truly speaking, I like her. She might not be one of those
who look like Aishwarya Rai or Preitty Zinta, but she is cute and simple and that's the reason I like her. For past 6 months I have been staring at her in the bus, while going to office and coming back from the office. When I get into bus, somehow my eyes search the whole bus just to have her glimpse.
I never had a girlfriend till now, not that I don't like to have friendship with girls but somehow they usually prefer tall-dark-handsome qualities in their boyfriends, out of which I possess none. I don't want to jump to any relationship like this with the secretary but at least just a friendship, is it possible? I want to talk to her. I want to have friendship with her. I know her name, for I had seen her ID card one day. But I don't have the guts to talk to her. I even don't know whether she knows me even by face. I know, no one can help me here; no-one other than myself, but I simply have no guts. At least someone probably a common friend, might at least formally introduce us to each other.

SHE:
There is one guy in my office bus. His name is Niranjan. I think he likes me, for me and even my friends have observed him many times staring at myself. Even when he gets into the bus, rather than searching for an empty seat, his eyes search the whole bus for me. Don't know why but I kind of like it. Sometimes the feeling of knowing that someone loves you is far better than actually loving somebody. I didn't have any affair till today, not that I didn't like or love anyone, there was a guy in my college, whom I liked a lot but somehow he stayed away from me, not that he didn't like me but probably because I am not that beautiful and he wanted someone much more better than me.
This guy, Niru, that's what his friends call him, I had heard it once in the bus; he seems to be interested in me, not sure about love as such but friendship might not be bad. At least the guy seems to be descent one. I would like to be his friend, but how can I go forward?
After all he is the boy, he should come one step ahead, not me.

To be continued...stay tuned

An Autograph - Part 3

2008-08-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

HE:
Today when I got into the bus and looked at her, she returned back a cute smile. Was she serious?
I don't know; probably she must have told her friends about me and they must have been making fun of me and that's why
when I got into the bus she started laughing and I misunderstood it for smiling. Such a fool of me.
Damn, her friends must be having fun discussing things about me.

SHE:
Today when he got into the bus, I smiled at him. But he seemed to be more puzzled than pleased.
Is he really interested in having friendship with me or not? I really don't know. Why am I thinking so much about him?
Have I started liking him? Or is it just like you just get used to some things as a habit, and then you unknowingly start liking them?
I think it's the latter case here. Please god please let that guy be a descent one. My sixth sense says he is a descent guy.
I think he must have got puzzled because of the smile I gave him. It wasn't my fault, for I showed him that I am interested in friendship.
Now the ball lies in his court. Will he dare first to talk?

Date : Follwoing Day

HE:
I am damn confused. I don't know what to do. Every day everyone around me is bombarding me with some tactics to approach her
but nothing seems to suit me well. My roommates even started taunting me that I can't have a girlfriend or at least the guts to approach the gal.
I am leaving it now on luck. I will just continue whatever is going on; let the luck take us wherever and however intended.

SHE:
Today was a holiday. So I couldn't see him, although I wanted to. I actually wanted to apologize for whatever happened yesterday.
I got into the bus and searched for the seat. He was sitting alone on the seat for 3, it was a good chance for me to sit with him and have a word or two.
I was just thrilled. I was about to sit on the same seat when Kruti said something. I didn't hear it properly so I turned to her.
She said, See, Raghav is there, he has reserved seats for us. I just hate that Raghav; he is always ready to flirt provided the other person is a girl.
Whenever I see him, somehow I try my best to be as away from him as I can, I even show hatred to him directly on my face but this guy simply ignores this.
I don't know why Kruti likes him so much.
So the point is I went to the seat that Raghav had reserved specially for us. I felt really bad for Niru, but if I would have denied Raghav's offer and would
have sat on Niru's seat; it would have just been too obvious. He must have felt embarrassed. Poor guy.

Date : Follwoing Day

SHE:
Today he seemed to have lost in thoughts. When he got into the bus, surprisingly he didn't search for me. He even didn't look up.
He just went straight to the last seat and started reading a novel. I tried looking at him once or twice but he didn't lift his head at all.
I think he is hurt, I am feeling sorry, but what can I do? When we got down at the office gate,
I purposefully lingered a bit more at the gates to give back him a smile, but I couldn't spot him in the crowd.
Niru, I am sorry, please be normal again.

Wrong number

2008-08-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

It was the day of her son's XII results and she was so tensed. She sat beside him while he logged on the website with his registration no. "Ma", he screamed in excitement," I scored 1191, with centum in 4 subjects.

I cant believe it. " She kinda became numb in my excitement. Her eyes became wet. She kissed him on his forehead and smiled.

Soon they realized that he stood first in the state. Oh, her joy knew no bounds when Reporters and media persons soon swamped her house for interviews and photos. She was so honored to join him in the snaps.

She wanted to call her "wrong-number- friend" to tell him the news......She was so excited. He was someone whom she has known for more than 20 years.

She still did not remember when they became friends, but certainly cannot forget the first day he called her when she blasted him for giving her so many wrong calls.....after that he had called up a week later asking apology, for he had now got the right no of his friend whom he wanted to talk to . They spoke for an hour that day...even without knowing each other's names.
Though he kept pestering her to reveal her name she never did and so he kept a name...Sweety. She used to get so shy whenever he called her 'Sweety'. She was doing first year of BSc. Maths then, and he was a Computer Engineering
student.

From then he used to call her very often . They almost discussed everything ..

By the final year of her college, they probably were in love, but she had been cautious. She was in a dilemma whether to tell him. But what if he was of a different religion? Does she have the courage to talk to her parents about it? ........all these questions ran through her mind.

She decided tat she'll not talk to him thereafter. When he called next time she lied to him that she was going to Delhi for her post graduation. He gave her his office number and asked her to ring him up once she reach there.

She never called .......

A couple of months later her marriage got fixed with a guy of her parent's choice. She was not happy but she did not complain; rather accepted it as an obedient daughter. At times she felt she missed her wrong- number- friend...... .

Her hubby was a moody person; she has hardly spent any good time with him- but he was genuine indeed and never bothered her personal space. After 2 years they had a boy... Yet,she was not very happy with her married life... One day she happened to browse through her diary and found that she still had her old friend's office phone no that he had given her. she dialed it and spoke with him. He said he was married and got a kid too. She was happy for him though in the bottom of the heart she felt bad that she could not marry him.

From then she used to occasionally call him on that number. She never gave him hers as I felt that would put her in trouble.. And till today she almost shared everything with him including her relationship with her hubby..... today she was so happy and wanted to call him.

Just then she got a call. "Your husband met with an accident and died on the spot"

She banged the phone down. She broke. She did not call her friend.....She somehow started feeling guilty. She has never tried to talk to him properly when he was alive or moved close with him.... She felt that she had been a bad wife........

A couple of years passed and one day her son brought home a Bengali girl and said they wanted to get married. She got them married as she did not want her son to go through what she did.

She decided to give her son his father's room and started clearing it. There was a phone book. She gently opened it to find, "Wrong No Sweety -26579785"

God always puts the right numbers together. Its we who interpret it wrong!!!!!

Selfless Love

2008-08-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

My wife called, 'How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you
come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter,
Sindu, looked frightened; tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of
her was a bowl filled to its brim with curd rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite
intelligent for her age.

I cleared my throat and picked up the bowl. 'Sindu, darling, why don't
you take a few mouthful of this curd rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear'.

Sindu softened a bit and wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
'Ok, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this.
But, you should...' Sindu hesitated. 'Dad, if I eat this entire curd Rice,
will you give me whatever I ask for?'

'Promise'. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with
mine, and clinched the deal. Now I became a bit anxious. 'Sindu, dear,
you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items.
Dad does not have that kind of money right now. Ok?'

'No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly and painfully, she
finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and
my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with
expectation. All our attention was on her.

'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand.

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'A girl child having her head shaved off?
Impossible!'

'Never in our family!' My mother rasped. 'She has been watching too
much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV
programs!'

'Sindu, darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad
seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried
to plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'.
Sindu was in tears. 'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.
Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of

King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no
matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots. 'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out of your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on ourpromises, she will never learn to honour her
own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes
looked big and beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to
watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around
and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car,
and shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!' What struck me was the
hairless head of that boy. 'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!' Without introducing herself,
a lady got out of the car, and continued, 'that boy who is walking
along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from...
leukemia'. She paused to muffle her sobs. 'Harish could not attend the
school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the
side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the
unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last
week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue. But, I
never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!
Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'

I stood transfixed and then, I wept. 'My little Angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!'

The happiest people on this planet are not those who live on their own
terms but are those who change their terms for the ones whom they love !!

TIME GETS BETTER WITH AGE

2008-08-23T09:38:00.001-07:00

TIME GETS BETTER WITH AGE
Read it through to the end, it gets better as you go!

I've learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we
sings "Silent Night".
Age 5

I've learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli
either.
Age 7

I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they
stop what they are doing and wave back.
Age 9

I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it,
Mom makes me clean it up again.
Age 12

I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should
try cheering someone else up.
Age 14

I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly
glad my parents are strict with me.
Age 15

I've learned that silent company is often more healing than
words of advice.
Age 24

I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's
great pleasures.
Age 26

I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers
have followed me there.
Age 29

I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me,
I must live so that no one will believe it.
Age 30

I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but
just don't know how to show it.
Age 42

I've learned that you can make some one's day by simply
sending them a little note.
Age 44

I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the
greater his or her need to cast blame on others.
Age 46

I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies.
Age 47

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems
today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
Age 48

I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits
for hours.
Age 49

I've learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away
from the phone.
Age 50

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he
handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and
tangled Christmas tree lights.
Age 51

I've learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a
medicine cabinet full of pills.
Age 52

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your
parents, you miss them terribly after they die.
Age 53

I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as
making a life.
Age 58

I've learned that if you want to do something positive for
your children, work to improve your marriage.
Age 61

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
Age 62

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers
mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
Age 64

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you.
But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your
work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can,
happiness will find you.
Age 65

I've learned that whenever I decide something with kindness,
I usually make the right decision.
Age 66

I've learned that everyone can use a prayer.
Age 72

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be
one.
Age 82

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch
someone. People love that human touch-holding hands, a warm
hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
Age 90

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
Age 92

I've learned that you should pass this one on to someone you
care about. Sometimes they just need a little something to
make them smile.

Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what
their journey is all about

MEXICAN OYSTERS

2008-08-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

A big Texan stopped at a local restaurant following a day roaming around in Mexico
While sipping his tequila, he noticed a sizzling, scrumptious looking platter being served at the next table. Not only did it look good, the smell was wonderful. He asked the waiter, 'What is that you just served?'
The waiter replied, 'Ah senor, you have excellent taste! Those are called Cojones de Toro, bull's testicles from the bull fight this morning. A delicacy!'
The cowboy said, 'What the heck, bring me an order.'
The waiter replied, 'I am so sorry senor. There is only one serving per day because there is only one bull fight each morning. If you come early and place your order, we will be sure to save you this delicacy.'
The next morning, the cowboy returned, placed his order, and that evening was served the one and only special delicacy of the day. After a few bites, inspecting his platter, he called to the waiter and said, 'These are delicious, but they are much, much smaller than the ones I saw you serve yesterday.'
The waiter shrugged his shoulders and replied, 'Si,Senor. Sometimes the bull wins.

inspirational quotes

2008-08-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

" Energy and persistence conquer all things. "
~ Benjamin Franklin

"If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. "
~ Emily Dickinson

"Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. "
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap,
But by the seeds you plant."
~Robert Louis Stevenson

"If you're going through hell, keep going. "
~ Sir Winston Churchill

"Your talent is God's gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God. "
~ Leo Buscaglia

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life:
It goes on. "
~ Robert Frost

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
~ George Eliot

"The future depends on what we do in the present."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

"To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful
And hopeful than to be forty years old."
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

"What we think or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence.
The only thing of consequence is what we do."
~ John Ruskin

Three Friends.............. inspiring

2008-08-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

In one of the Kingdoms, there lived a person named John who had committed few petty crimes, for which the King summoned him to his court for trial. John was very much worried & fearful and hence he wanted somebody to accompany him to the court and hence he approached three of his close associates / friends.

The First friend refused fearing any consequences which can be enforced on him; John disgusted with his reply approached his second friend.

The Second friend with a little bit of hesitation accepted that he will come with him till the entrance of the court only. John declined his support since he thought that, what use will his friend be if he is coming only till the entrance which will no way help him and hence approached his Third friend.

Third friend without any hesitation accepted his request and accompanied him not only till the court but also spoke in support of his friend John & freed him from the clutches of the Kings Trial.

The moral:

The first friend is your MONEY, which means to say that he will not support you or come with you till your end

The Second friend is our RELATIVES - they too cannot help in full but they may max accompany us till the burial ground.

The Third friend is our GOOD DEEDS which will accompany us till the end and there after it will further release us from all sorts of problems / bondages of life cycles also.

HENCE PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT MONEY / WEALTH, RELATIVES HAVE THEIR OWN LIMITATIONS.

So Let's all begin the cycle of GOOD DEEDS to one another selflessly, so that we get released from the cycle of Birth and Death & gain entry easily in Heaven after this life.

Let us all rise above our fights & squabbles and take the mighty plunge into good deeds.

The Horse & The Donkey

2008-08-23T00:36:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there were two cart-horses. They worked together for many years, pulling the cart of a peasant. Over the years, they often argued with each other, complaining that the other was not keeping to its side, or was going just a little too quickly or just a little too slow.

One day, one of the two horses suddenly died.

The remaining horse was very upset about this.

It realized that in all the time that they had worked together, it had not once told the other horse how much it valued its company and its faithful help in pulling the cart. Now the chance was gone forever.

The horse also reflected on all the squabbles they had had. It suddenly understood that it need not have taken offence as easily as it had done, that it need not have borne as many grudges, that it could have been less arrogant, in short, it realized that it had wasted all the energy that had been available for friendship and kindness on unworthy and unnecessary thoughts and emotions.

The horse was ashamed and resolved to lead a different life in future. Whoever its new partner was going to be, things were going to be different.

But time passed, and the horse forgot. One day, it caught itself in exactly the same kind of behavior that it had sworn never to engage in again.

The horse could not understand why it had returned to its old ways.

That evening, in the stable, the horse decided to seek out the peasant's donkey, which had a reputation for wisdom among the animals.

The donkey listened to the horse's story. Eventually, it replied. "It is good that you have noticed what has happened. If you truly want to change, this is possible; but it will, for a long time, cost you your peace of mind. Are you prepared to accept this?"

The horse replied that it definitely did not want to return to its old ways. Anything was better than that.

So the donkey continued, "There is one very simple, and at the same time very hard thing that you have to do. Remember every day that one day, perhaps today, perhaps many years from now, you will die.

Remember every day that the horse next to you will die.

Remember every day that every other creature you will see, will one day die.

Remember that all animals alive today are part of a wave, which will soon break and be lost on the beach forever, to be followed by a new wave, and another, and another.

No wave is permanent. The only thing that is permanent is the ocean."

There were tears in the horse's eyes.

The donkey continued, "Only if you remember death will you become strong-willed and alert enough not to postpone love. This is my advice to you, and in following it, perhaps one day you may come to know that which is deathless."

Lesson from a Rainy Day

2008-08-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

August 26, 1999 is a day that many New Yorkers would probably like to forget. However, this New Yorker will always remember that day because that is the day that I learned what a powerful gift appreciation can truly be.

On August 26, 1999, New York City experienced a torrential downpour. The relentless rain caused the streets to flood. New York City's subway system came to a screeching halt as the subway stations were inundated with water. Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour.

Many people who were going to work were stranded and forced to go home. Some battled with fellow New Yorkers to hail a cab or to get on a bus. Still others braved the storm, walking miles to get to work.

I happened to be one of people on her way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most service had stopped. After running around like crazy and making my way through crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was operating. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to board the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the platform. Undaunted and determined to get to work, I decided to take the train uptown several stops and then switch back to the downtown train. It was a hassle, but it paid off. However, the train got more packed at each stop. People pushed and shoved. I was constantly hit with elbows and bags. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the train reached my stop.

But the journey was not over yet. I would still have to walk several blocks to get to my office. The rain had intensified, and no umbrella was enough to withstand the forces of Mother Nature. When I finally got to work, I was completely soaked and left a puddle of water everywhere I sat. I was also exhausted and discouraged from my commute.

My coworkers and I spent most of the day drying off. When 5:00 rolled around, I was ready to go home. I was about to log off my computer when I received an email from Garth, my Deputy Director. I opened the email and found the following message:

I would like to thank all those associates who made the effort and eventually reported to work. It is always reassuring, at times like these, when employees so clearly demonstrate their dedication to their jobs. Thank you.

As you can see, Garth's email was short, but I learned more from that brief message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of appreciation could make a big difference. The rainstorm and the transit troubles had made me miserable and weary. But Garth's words immediately invigorated me and put a smile back on my face.

Garth's actions also made me realize that words of appreciation not only make you feel good but it also motivates and inspires you. After reading his email, I felt that coming to work that day was an accomplishment that I should be proud of. Suddenly getting drenched and the extremely long commute did not seem so bad. In fact, his email made the whole subway ordeal all worthwhile.

Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our lives that we forget the magical power of appreciation. Garth had been caught in the rain like the rest of us. He had to tend to his responsibilities. He also had to cope with the numerous absences in the five areas that he manages. In addition, he had to take on his boss' responsibilities, as she was unable to get to work. Yet, he still found time to send an email thanking his employees for their dedication and the extra effort they had made to get to work. Garth taught me that I should never be too busy to show people my appreciation and to acknowledge the positive things they do. This was the most valuable lesson that anyone could ever give me. For that, I will always be grateful to Garth.

August 26, 1999 may have been one of the darkest days in New York City history, but it was one of the brightest days in my life thanks to Garth.

A Clever Dog

2008-08-22T20:22:00.002-07:00

A butcher watching over his shop is surprised when he saw a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again.

Therefore, he goes over to the dog and notices he has a note in his mouth. He takes the note and it reads, "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in his mouth, as well."

The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a ten-dollar Note there. Therefore, he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it is about closing time, he decides to shut up shop and follow the dog.

Therefore, off he goes. The dog is walking down the street when he comes To a level crossing.

The dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. Then he waits patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and he walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way.

The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.

The butcher is in awe at this stage. The dog checks out the times, and then sits on one of the seats provided. Along comes a bus. The dog walks around to the front, looks at the number, and goes back to his seat.

Another bus comes. Again, the dog goes and looks at the number, notices it is the right bus, and climbs on. The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, follows him onto the bus.

The bus travels through the town and out into the suburbs, the dog Looking at the scenery. Eventually he gets up, and moves to the front of the bus. He stands on 2 back paws and pushes the button to stop the bus. Then he gets off, his groceries still in his mouth.

Well, dog and butcher are walking along the road, and then the dog turns into a house. He walks up the path, and drops the groceries on the step.

Then he walks back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself against the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and again, it throws himself against it. There is no answer at the house, so the dog goes back down the path, jumps up on a narrow wall, and walks along the perimeter of the garden. He gets to the window, and beats his head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door.

The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him.

The butcher runs up, and stops the guy. "What in heaven's name are You doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me!" to which the guy responds: "You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's forgotten his key."

Reflection:
Looks like some, people will never be satisfied with what they have got.

When it comes to the work place, Employers do not know how to appreciate their people who have served them loyally through the years. I have seen companies lose good people for the simple fact their leaders failed to show appreciation. Employers with big egos enjoy the fact that they have more power and authority than others. They show, in the way they give orders and directions, that they think they are superior. They get a kick out of displaying this superiority. People who do this are fools, and everyone but them knows it. They are never satisfied because they could not be satisfied even if their people perform well.

They do not listen to the opinion and ideas of their subordinates.

Why? Because of their stupid pride and insecurity.

People of this kind will never be satisfied. Why? Because they are so, busy wrapped up in them and, fact is, the self can never be satisfied. Happy and productive people are always those who are "others-centered" rather than "self- centered." The greatest idea of leadership is not someone who throws his weight around. Rather, he is a servant. As Bible would say, "He who wishes to be a leader should first be a servant."

His joy is derived from delivering a job that others benefit from his contribution. Aim for service and success will follow.

The Courage of His Convictions

2008-08-22T20:22:00.001-07:00

ABE LINCOLN made the great speech of his famous senatorial campaign at Springfield, Illinois. The convention before which he spoke consisted of a thousand delegates together with the crowd that had gathered with them.

His speech was carefully prepared. Every sentence was guarded and emphatic. It has since become famous as "The Divided House" speech. Before entering the hall where it was to be delivered, he stepped into the office of his law- partner, Mr. Herndon, and, locking the door, so that their interview might be private, took his manuscript from his pocket, and read one of the opening sentences: "I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free."

Mr. Herndon remarked that the sentiment was true, but suggested that it might not be good policy to utter it at that time.

Mr. Lincoln replied with great firmness: "No matter about the policy. It is true, and the nation is entitled to it. The proposition has been true for six thousand years, and I will deliver it as it is written."

The "Please Advise" Habit

2008-08-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

We all have unconscious habits. I learned about one of mine when I was visiting an elderly relative and she asked me, both of us standing in the kitchen, "Don't you ever close a drawer all the way?" I was confused--until I looked around the room and saw several drawers open about two inches. They were all drawers I had "closed."

That was last year. I still leave drawers open a bit sometimes, but now I notice them open, and then I close them all the way.

Do you have any unconscious habits in your business writing? Last week in a business writing seminar for people in the shipping industry, I noticed an unconscious habit among attendees: "Please advise."

They used "Please advise" in their opening sentences, their closing sentences, and sometimes in the middle, like this:

Please advise of shipping status.
Please advise what happened with the delivery.
If you have any questions or concerns, please advise.

This use of "please advise" is a habit. It's like my leaving the kitchen drawers open--not a terrible, serious problem. But it does get in the way of a clear, efficient message.

One of the problems with "Please advise" is that advise is a transitive verb, that is, it must have an object. Someone must be advised. For example, I can write, "The doctor advised me about taking supplements" or "I advised him to eliminate the angry tone in his writing."

Some usage experts accept advise in place of inform or tell. Others use advise only in situations that involve advice (as in the doctor's advice on supplements and my advice on eliminating the angry tone). I prefer that limited use.

Here are revisions of the "Please advise" examples above:

What is the shipping status? [or]
Please inform us of the shipping status.

Please tell me [us] what happened with the delivery. [or] Please let me know what happened with the delivery.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me [us] know.

If using "Please advise" is a standard practice in your industry, then improve upon it. For example, "Please advise of shipping status" may seem perfect in your office, but it reads like an old telegram, in which each word cost money. These days, with no additional cost you can add us or me and have a clear, complete sentence: "Please advise us of the shipping status."

It's time to break those old, unconscious habits. Since my elderly relative "advised" me of my habit, I see those open drawers, and I close them. Look for your "Please advise" or other habitual expressions, and get rid of them.