What Recession are we talking about?

I got this great piece of news today. While maintaining that this might not be great for me, but it certainly made me feel good. The hint here is that if more similar news keeps hitting my ears, i'll feel more secure and the feeling of the 'feel good factor' may soon return.

Doing away with the suspense i'm quickly jumping on to the news.

ICICI Pru Life set to increase headcount by 3,000

The country's largest private sector life insurer, ICICI Prudential Life, said it will hire 3,000 people in the next two months, debunking reports of any reduction in workforce.

"We are a growing organisation, and we have already started hiring the next round of 3,000 people over the next two months, the process for which is in full swing," insurance company's senior vice president and head-marketing Sujit Ganguli said.

The employee strength the insurer stood at 25,000 at the end of March 2009.

The insurance company, which has a network of over 2,000 branches, has already rationalised its branch network for optimal utilisation of resources, he added.

The company added 40 branches to its network in the second half of 2008-09 notwithstanding branch rationalisation exercise, he said, adding that the number of branches have gone up to 2,009 as on March 31, 2009.

Net of opening new branches and rationalising, the number of branches has actually increased from 2,055 in September 30, 2008 to 2,099 as on March 31, 2009, he said.

Source:Financial Express
(http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ICICI-Pru-Life-set-to-increase-headcount-by-3-000/458525/)

Contradictory proverbs

Every Action has an equal and an opposite reaction.

Similarly, every proverb has an equal and an opposite proverb! There are always
sides of the same coin.

All good things come to those who wait.
BUT
Time and tide wait for no man.

The pen is mightier than the sword.
BUT
Actions speak louder than words.

Wise men think alike.
BUT
Fools seldom differ.

The best things in life are free things..
BUT
There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Slow and steady wins the race.
BUT
Time waits for no man.

Look before you leap.
BUT
Strike while the iron is hot.

Do it well, or not at all.
BUT
Half a loaf is better than none.

Birds of a feather flock together.
BUT
Opposites attract.

Don't cross your bridges before you come to them.
BUT
Forewarned is forearmed.

Doubt is the beginning of wisdom.
BUT
Faith will move mountains.

Great starts make great finishes.
BUT
It ain't over 'till it's over.

Practice makes perfect.
BUT
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Silence is golden.
BUT
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

You're never too old to learn.
BUT
You can't teach an old dog new tricks

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
BUT
One man's food is another man's poison.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
BUT
Out of sight, out of mind.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.
BUT
Many hands make light work.

Hold fast to the words of your ancestors.
BUT
Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat

Bound or Free

This one line summarizes it in the best and yet the most concise manner.

Here it is:

'If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free,
and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound.
Here this saying is true, "Thinking makes it so."

-Ashtavakra Gita, 1:11,

--
Sent from my mobile device!

I am thankful

Another forward that i got. Very simple, yet elegant and meaningful lines. So here it is a part of my blog!

For the wife
who says it's only dal and roti tonight,
because she is home with me, and not out with someone else.

For the husband
who is on the sofa
being a couch potato,
because he is home with me
and not out at the bars.

For the taxes i pay
because it means
i am employed .

For the mess to clean after a party
because it means i have
been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means
i have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work
because it means
i am out in the sunshine

For a lawn that needs mowing,
windows that need cleaning,
and gutters that need fixing
because it means i have a home.
For all the complaining

I hear about the government
because it means
we have freedom of speech..

For the parking spot
i find at the far end of the parking lot
because it means i am capable of walking
and i have been blessed with transportation .

For my huge heating bill
because it means
i am warm.

For the lady behind me in church
who sings off key because it means
i can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing
because it means
i have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles
at the end of the day
because it means i have been
capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off
in the early morning hours
because it means i am alive.

And

finally, for too much e-mail
because it means i have friends who are thinking of me.

save

For just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM

This is another forward that i got. I tried to relate to this, I couldn't. But, nevertheless if all that is written has even an iota of truth then the life of this guy really sucked big time. I'm glad that i'm not making the same mistake as the guy mentioned in the post.

WRITTEN BY AN INDIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER…

A Bitter Reality

As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in
Software Engineering and joined a company based in USA , the
land of braves and opportunity. When I arrived in the USA , it
was as if a dream had come true.

Here at last I was in the place where I want to be. I decided I
would be staying in this country for about Five years in which
time I would have earned enough money to settle down in India .

My father was a government employee and after his retirement,
the only asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat.

I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling
homesick and lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and
speak to my parents every week using cheap international phone
cards. Two years passed, two years of Burgers at McDonald's and
pizzas and discos and 2 years watching the foreign exchange
rate getting happy whenever the Rupee value went down.

Finally I decided to get married. Told my parents that I have
only 10 days of holidays and everything must be done within
these 10 days. I got my ticket booked in the cheapest flight.
Was jubilant and was actually enjoying hopping for gifts for
all my friends back home. If I miss anyone then there will be
talks. After reaching home I spent home one week going through
all the photographs of girls and as the time was getting
shorter I was forced to select one candidate.

In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I would have to get
married in 2-3 days, as I will not get anymore holidays. After
the marriage, it was time to return to USA , after giving some
money to my parents and telling the neighbors to look after
them, we returned to USA .

My wife enjoyed this country for about two months and then she
started feeling lonely. The frequency of calling India
increased to twice in a week sometimes 3 times a week. Our
savings started diminishing.

After two more years we started to
have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a girl, were gifted to us
by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my parents, they asked
me to come to Indiaso that they can see their grand-children.

Every year I decide to go to India … But part work part
monetary conditions prevented it. Years went by and visiting
Indiawas a distant dream. Then suddenly one day I got a
message that my parents were seriously sick. I tried but I
couldn't get any holidays and thus could not go to India ... The
next message I got was my parents had passed away and as there
was no one to do the last rights the society members had done
whatever they could. I was depressed. My parents had passed
away without seeing their grand children.

After couple more years passed away, much to my children's
dislike and my wife's joy we returned to India to settle down.
I started to look for a suitable property, but to my dismay my
savings were short and the property prices had gone up during
all these years. I had to return to the USA ...

My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to
stay in India ... My 2 children and I returned to USA after
promising my wife I would be back for good after two years.

Time passed by, my daughter decided to get married to an
American and my son was happy living in USA ... I decided that
had enough and wound-up every thing and returned to India ... I
had just enough money to buy a decent 02 bedroom flat in a
well-developed locality.

Now I am 60 years old and the only time I go out of the flat is
for the routine visit to the nearby temple. My faithful wife
has also left me and gone to the holy abode.

Sometimes

I wondered was it worth all this?

My father, even after staying in India ,

Had a house to his name and I too have
the same nothing more.

I lost my parents and children for just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM.

Looking out from the window I see a lot of children dancing.
This damned cable TV has spoiled our new generation and these
children are losing their values and culture because of it. I
get occasional cards from my children asking I am alright. Well
at least they remember me.

Now perhaps after I die it will be the neighbors again who will
be performing my last rights, God Bless them.

But the question
still
remains 'was all this worth it?'

I am still searching for an answer.................!!!

START THINKING

IS IT JUST FOR ONE EXTRA BEDROOM???

LIFE IS BEYOND THIS …..DON’T JUST LEAVE YOUR LIFE ……..
START LIVING IT …….
LIVE ITAS YOU WANT IT TO BE …….

T20 World Cup India Team

India’s team for upcoming T20 World Cup was announced today. There were no big surprises in the team.


Team - MS Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, R P Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan.

Men Vs Women

I don’t want to sound as a misogynist. And this is certainly not meant to be disparaging. The intent here is a quick chuckle and a quick laugh there.

I found this courtesy google, when it added it automatically to my signature and that was when I noticed it. So, it is here for the keeps.

Now, this one was damn funny (have no clue who the author is):

"Women are wiser than men because they know less and understand more."

– James Thurber