Mitesh Mehta

Few tips for better photography (DSLR) cams

2011-12-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hii,

I have just went through some basic tips from here N there and trying to jot down for my future reference. Hope this will be beneficial for novice.

1. Landscape composition

If you're shooting landscapes, there is a very easy rule to follow: the rule of the thirds. The idea is simple: 1/3 or 2/3 of your image should make up either the sky or the foreground, depending on where you want to put the focus on. This gives the photo more depth and a more dramatic look.

2. How to use aperture

somewhere on your cam, there is a manual setting that shows the options P, A, S, and M. A stands for aperture. Personally, I find this the most useful manual override on any cam. Aperture indicates how much of the stuff you see in your viewfinder will be in focus. A low aperture means that only the foreground will be in focus, whilst the background will be fuzzy. This is typically used for close-ups and macro-photography, or when you simply want to highlight a subject in the photo. A high aperture means that everything will be in focus, this is typically used for landscapes.

3. How to shoot ultra-sharp images

The key to shooting ultra-sharp images is to of course keep your camera steady. Most cameras now have automatic stabilizers, giving you some tolerance in your movement. However, even with the automatic stabilizers, upon close inspection on a large LCD screen, most of our pics had subtle blur effects in them. The only way to truly avoid this is to use a tripod.

4. Shoot in soft light

This one was kind of counter intuitive when I first heard it. I thought the best time to go shooting was in full daylight, but nothing could be further from the truth. Direct sunlight is in fact a photographer's nightmare. It causes overexposure, harsh shadows and a loss of detail. The best time to go shooting is at diffuse light, i.e. at dusk, dawn or right before/after a shower. If you have to shoot during the day, always shoot from the side, never let the sunlight be in front of you or behind you.

5. How to use ISO

ISO is a setting on your cam that determines the film speed. For beginners like us it basically means that the higher you set your ISO, the more light comes in. So, in dark settings, you can increase the ISO to capture more light. This comes with a major downfall though: it dramatically increases the noise on your pictures, and noise is hard to remove during post processing. Ideally, you should keep ISO as low as possible, only slightly increase it when shooting in dark scenes.

6. What is Shutter speed?

Out of the P, A, S, M settings, S stands for shutter speed. A low shutter speed is useful to get sharp pictures from moving objects. You can also intentially set the shutter speed to a high value in order to create a more experimental picture, i.e. to capture fireworks, or the trail light of a car.

7. When to use Automatic mode

Out of the P, A, S, M settings, P stands for program mode. You can consider this the fully-automatic setting of your cam, where it intelligently sets the aperture and shutter speed for you based on what you shoot. The best use for P is when you are not sure what you will shoot. Examples can be wildlife, or an urban scene where the scene itself changes so fast that you do not have time to manually tune your camera for the shot. Be sure to shoot a lot, so you increase your chances of having a sharp shot.

8. Keep things simple

Don't try to capture it all at once. Often it is better to keep your subject simple. Particularly complex backgrounds can really ruin a picture. Another poor example is to shoot crowds, they are simply not interesting, too complex and don't bring a clear message.

9. Never trust your LCD!

With a modern cam, you can instantly check the quality of your shot. The problem is, everything always looks sharp on a 2 inch screen. It is not until you come home and project your pics on a large screen that you will notice the blur, unsharpness and composition errors. Do not trust your cam's LCD. If your cam allows it, zoom in to the maximum to check every portion of your shot for errors, while you still can. Also, take a lot of shots in order to increase your chance of success.

10. Move around and experiment

A lot of photographers walk up to a scene and just start shooting. Often you will not get the best shots this way. It is recommended to move around the subject and see it from different angles. Also, try out various settings on your cam to experiment. Film is cheap. This tip is kind of a no-brainer, but many do not put it into practice. A slightly different angle can make a world of difference in exposure.

11. Avoid built-in flashes

The problem with this flash is that it will point directly at your subject and cause hard light with harsh shadows. Diffuse light is much better. This is why most pro cams do not even have an integrated flash, instead they rely on an external flash which they point to the ceiling or wall to create diffuse light with soft tones. Also note that you can often avoid flash by tuning your ISO and white balance settings.

12. Choose one brand, and stick to it.

If you're into digital photography for the long run, it is best to choose a single brand and stick with it. the biggest investments you will make are in lens equipment and you will want to make sure that your lenses fit when you replace the cam body. There's plenty of good brands around, but if you ever want to evolve into a (semi) pro, it seems there is little choice: Canon or Nikon.

13. Consider purchasing filters

Filters are lens extensions that you can screw onto your lens. A common one to have is a U/V filter. It protects your lens from direct sunlight. Although many disagree with this, there's one other benefit. The filter will protect your lens if you drop it. The filter may be gone, but your expensive lens is likely to survive. Other filters you can consider are the polarizing filter (to decrease reflections), colorizing filters (increase richness of color) and the IR filter (to shoot in complete darkness). I'm not much of a filter fan personally, as most filtering effects can be done during post-processing.

Good sites

2011-08-10T01:49:00.000-07:00

Today i found a wonderful website

www.wolframalpha.com

2011-06-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

No more time to apologise

i've handed out all my free tries
I was so into you.....
and this is what you do!!!

So sorry, now i no longer bow
to your feet
cant take the heat

Always pushing me aside
taking me on one more ride
Im subsequently subdividing
no more pressure
no more hiding

You thought u make me tough

by passing me through all the rough

pardon........

am all bleeding now

and have lost trust in thou

standing alone and fear takes me over
no more greatness and am sinking lower

emotions swell inside

feel, walking on a broken path

I look up for rainbow… hoping

One day I’ll get off

This broken path and

Get board the heaven.

I am tired......

2011-06-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

Wish I could have an option

To end the sorrows or the self.

Am coward to take the later, former seems not to end.

Dears are at distance….. don’t they feel my pain?

Why they ad d……… to what I want to put an end.

Trust that binds relation is being washed in rain…….

Lord!! Can’t take it more……..don’t start it again.

Neither I pray, nor I say, but……….

now I have lost the way.

Tired… tired of all that keeps on and on,

I keep on trying but faith appears to have gone.

My nerve is starched and muscles ache

Mind is zapped and zeal has dead.

My HIT List

2011-06-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

1) You sang to me........... - Mark Anthoney
2) Love comes to thos who belive it..... - Celine Dion
3) Words are all i have to take your heart away.............. - Words
4) Story of my life, searching for the right............Unfaithful - Rihana
5) Sorry seems to be the hardest word - Elton Jhon
6) As long as you love me........Backstreet Boys
7) Quit playing games with my heart...........BB
8) Hotel California..........The Eagles
9) Everything I do...I do it for you........Bryan Adams
10) Please forgive me.........BA
11) Here I am.........BA

How to increase Internet Speed

2011-06-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

QoS Packet Scheduler is a method of network bandwidth management that can monitor the importance of data packets and depending upon the priority of the packet, give it higher or lower priority or bandwidth levels. It's not very useful unless you're using apps which are QoS-aware or running a server, so you can gain some network overhead back by turning it off.

Note: This following tip will not work on XP Home Edition.

Make sure you're logged on as actually "Administrator". Do not log on with any account that just has administrator privileges.

Start > Run > type gpedit.msc (not available in home version).

Expand the Local Computer Policy branch.

Expand the Administrative Templates branch.

Expand the Network branch.

Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left window.

In right window double click the "limit reservable bandwidth" setting.

On setting tab check the ENABLED item.

Where it says "Bandwidth limit %" change it to read 0 (ZERO).

Close gpedit.msc.

Effect is immediate on some systems, some need to re-boot.

2011-04-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

On her 40th Day, my daughter got her name - BHAVYA.

Blessed with Lovely Daughter

2011-02-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

Today I am blessed with a cute adorable daughter. Alas!! Something God gave me what i wanted.

THANK You LORD.

2010-04-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Come lets fall in love again –

Very hesitantly and gently,
The hand was extended –
Very gingerly and thoughtfully,
The other hand accepted!

Eyes on a quest, searching, seeking –
Waiting for the lips to do the speaking!
Where are we going to go from here?
The grip of logic, already weakening!

The sparkling crystalline film slowly drying up!
The promies of not letting another pearl drop!
The holding hands draw the bodies closer-
The feelings, thoughts and emotions on top!

The smiles return – replace the pain!
The fight forgotten …. Just an old stain!
The call of the heart to strong to be ignored-
Come … come lets fall in LOVE again!

'TIME' s' tribute to Sachin Tendulkar.

2010-03-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one

of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket,

Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car,

Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France,

Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion

Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.

When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming

Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of;

Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown

kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact,

USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to

"open" the Nehruvian economy.

It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on

the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen

in front of Sachin Tendulkar.

We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never

had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.

somethings missing.........

2010-02-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

I am not too sure whats occuping my mind sooo much. Not able to configure, thoughts are going vage.... ideas all shut. Life seems moving unplanned, and things taking different shape then expected.

I wonder, if i m too stressed or taking it unknowingly!! My routine is majorly divoted to work/office. hardly feel relaxed even in arms of beloved ones.

Not giving time to things what i like...... or unable to get time?? Question still remains!!

Puzzled.... confused... blank.... defines my state of mind??

Give me some sunshine.......

2010-01-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

This song of 3idiots seems so kool. I didn't noticed earlier, but after listening 4-5 times, i started buzzing the same......

Saari umar hum marr marr ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do jeene do
Saari umar hum marr marr ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do jeene do
Na na na ..
Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance i wanna grow up once again
Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance i wanna grow up once again
Kandho ko kitabon ke bojh ne jhukaya
Rishwat dene to khud papa ne sikhaya
99% marks laaoge to gadi varna chhadi
Likh likh kar pada hatheli par alpha beta gamma ka chaala
Concentrated H2SO4 ne poora poora bachpan jalaa daala
Bachpan to gaya jawani bhi gayi
Ek pal toh ab humein jeene do jeene do
Bachpan to gaya jawani bhi gayi
Ek pal toh ab humein jeene do jeene do

Saari umar hum marr marr ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do jeene do
Saari umar hum marr marr ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do jeene do
Na na na ..
Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance i wanna grow up once again
Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance i wanna grow up once again
Na na na ..

Aall is Well !!

2010-01-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

3 idiots - Wonderful - 5 stars from me. :)

Movie makes for an enjoyable watch, thanks to the bonhomie cracked up on screen by Aamir, Madhavan and Sharman. Aamir’s Rancho is a bouncy, fidgety genius with a golden heart. A 22-year-old collegian, bringing out in his character the juvenile buoyancy and vivacity few actors of his age can. Madhavan and Sharman give ample support from the flanks, but a word of praise needs to be reserved for Sharman who shines equally in dramatic as well as funny scenes.

Kareena, sadly, has been relegated to a corner but makes her presence felt in a few well-enacted sequences, but it’s Boman Irani who comes up with the best performance in the ensemble with his brilliant portrayal of an eccentric professor. His jawline protruded, his brows pursed, his gait ungainly, his speech lisped, Irani is every bit the vile and virulent Virus he’s supposed to be.

This is one of the excellent movie enjoyed by me and Bhavisha since past 3 years.

Happy New Year !!!

2009-12-31T11:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome 20x.

My New year's resolutions.

i) Visit Temple Everyday (If not then No Sweets that day :( )

ii) Wake up early and do regular Exercise

iii) To be more polite. (Especially with famil )

iv) To make one foreign tour in 2010.

Holiday at Puri

2009-09-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Today we returned back from the 3 days Holiday in Puri at ' Holiday Resort'.

I & Bhavisha were accopmanied by Rajiv his wife and cute daughter. Had a really nice time. though it was a bit tiring due to beach bath and hours spend at swimming pool. :)

Detailed update follows.....

Bhavisha's first blog writing.

2009-07-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Exactly 2 years back, I first met Mitesh. It was a formal guy seeing ritual.

We met at Scoop (Ganga ghat) at around 4 pm. I was preety nervous because everything was almost final and it was just a formality for which we were meeting but everything turned out gr8 . We went on for a short walk near the river side, talking and discussing abt few issues which we would face in future .He was talkative kind of guy (as he told me that day i do not like to waste time !!!!!!!!!!!). Than the very next day we met for the second time and on the third day we had "rishta pakka ho gaya" ceremony. On 15th of july we got 'Engaged'. Now we r celebrating our 2nd engagement anniversary. However celebration of our first Marriage Anniversary is yet to come :-))))))).

Two years went so fast that we never realised it. In these two years many things have changed but he is my same Mitesh whom i met for the first time. He cares a lot than I expected my hubby to do. He is supportive and at the end a very nice husband.

~ your beloved wife...........Bhavisha.

Best of Luck to my dear wife.

2009-05-31T16:48:00.000-07:00

I want to dediate this famous poem by Shri Harivanshrai Bachhan to my wife on the Eve of her CA Final Examination.

Lehron se Darkar nauka par nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti

Nanhi cheenti jab daana lekar chalti hai,
chadhti deewaron par, sau bar phisalti hai.
Man ka vishwas ragon mein saahas bharta hai,
chadhkar girna, girkar chadhna na akharta hai.
Akhir uski mehnat bekar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

Dubkiyan sindhu mein gotakhor lagata hai,
ja ja kar khali haath lautkar aata hai
Milte nahi sahaj hi moti gehre paani mein,
badhta dugna utsah isi hairani mein.
Muthi uski khali har bar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahi hoti.

Asaflta ek chunauti hai, ise sweekar karo,
kya kami reh gayi, dekho aur sudhar karo.

Jab tak na safal ho, neend chain ko tyago tum,
Sangharsh ka maidan chhodkar mat bhago tum.
Kuch kiye bina hi jai jaikar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

– Harivansh Rai Bacchan

AILA aila re !!!

2009-05-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Monday morning started with heavy rain and followed by drizzles and climate was wet till i finished an hour's job at my office. It was around 11 when we felt that wind was blowing at good speed to make gushing sound in the airconditioned chambers.

By 12 we saw the real cyclone bending all the tall trees and waving the roofs...... withing an hour got phone calls and email upates about the cyclone that hit the State.

AILA......... thats what the cyclone is named. It blew @ 80-100 kmph. It was at it peak during 12-2 pm. RBI declared off. Folowed by our Boss who asked us to pack back and move if we want. I was back home by 2:45 pm. Whlie ridding back from office in my bike at the speed of 20km (max) i could see almost 8-10 huge trees uprooted with the main road full of dust and slow moving vehicles.

City and suburb witnessed 5 deaths till now (8:30pm) and MET department warns for more bad news in comming hours.

A huge old tree got uprooted just 30 feets outside the house which has blocked the full broad road of 40ft.

Exam 's over :)

2009-05-24T02:41:00.000-07:00

After years I appeared for any competitive exam on 24th May - Sunday.

It was JAIIB Examination on 'Principles & Practices of Banking' with 120 objective questions tobe answered in 2 hours and score 50% to clear.

It seemed Okey. Not to sure about marks as there were many close call options........

My only paper got over by 1 hour and another hour i just had tic tac toe.....(as there was no negative marking :)

I got exemption in two papers (being CA) - Legal & Accounts.

Now the main point. Why i gave this exam !!!

: Just to try my theory knowledge. I could have appeared this exam a year back, but was not to sure about continuing the banking industry so skipped. I still havn't changed my plan, i am equally mobile now too.

One more good reason is if i clear 2 stages (JAIIB & CAIIB) i get increment of 5% on my Basic on each stage.

Good part of the day was, Bhavisha came to my exam center and gave a surprise when I was about to start my Bike to get back home.

Soooo sweet of you dear........

Marvellous Monday !!

2009-05-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Sensex recorded its fastest ever 2,000 points surge in history, taking not more than a few minutes to jump from 12,173.42 to 14,284.21, as the bulls stormed the bourses following the Congress-led UPA front getting a strong mandate in the general elections 2009.

On expectations the new government would speed up reforms and give the necessary thrust to boost the sagging economy, the bulls shrugged off weak global markets and thronged the major Indian bourses today. So strong was their presence that the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit the upper circuit in a flash. While the Sensex shot up by over 10%, the Nifty flared up by more than 15%, forcing the market authorities to halt trading for a couple of hours.

And the trend was not any different when trading resumed at 11.55 a.m., The Sensex, which had moved up by 1305.97 points or 10.73% to 13,479.39 when trade was halted for the first time this morning, shot up to 14,284.21 immediately on resumption of trade a little before noon, recording an incredible gain of 2110.79 points or 17.34% for the day. The Nifty, which had flared up to 4271.40 at the bell, galloped to 4384.30 and was up 17.74% or 651.50 points for the session.

Turning stock market into a money- making machine, the investors added well in excess of Rs 10,000 crore in every second of trade today - a frenzy they must have wished continued beyond just a minute.

To my Wife...... with Love.

2009-05-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

How do I begin to tell you how lucky I am

to have you in my life?

I'll start by saying what a gift you gave me

the day you became my wife.

You're my best friend in the good times

and my rock in times of sorrow.

You're the reason for sweet yesterdays

and my promise for tomorrow.

I never thought I could feel this loved

until you became my wife.

You made this year and every year

the best one of my life.

Facts and figures on India's general election.

2009-05-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Information on India's general elections.

* More than 714 million people form the electorate, an increase of 43 million voters over the last elections in 2004.

* Voter turnout has ranged from 55 to 63 per cent since the first general elections in 1952.

* Voters are to select 543 members of the Lok Sabha, or lower house of the Indian Parliament.

* Two unelected members are nominated by the president as representatives of the Anglo-Indian community, a minority community of mixed Indian and British ancestry.

* Of the 543 constituencies going to the polls, 79 and 41 seats are reserved for disadvantaged castes and designated tribes, respectively.

* The elections are accompanied by state assembly polls in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa in the east and north-eastern

Sikkim

POLITICS

* The Indian National Congress party has been in power during 48 of the 61 years since the Republic of India was formed.

* The only non-Congress government that completed a full five-year-term was the 1999-2004 Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance administration.

* The shortest-lived government in Indian history was formed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1996. It lasted 13 days.

* Of the 543 elected members of Parliament, 128, or 24 per cent, have criminal cases pending against them. Several cases are for serious crimes, including murder and corruption.

MAJOR ISSUES

* Economic turmoil and the loss of millions of jobs

* National security in the wake of continuous terrorist attacks

* Communalism

ORGANIZATION

* A total of 828,804 polling stations are to be supervised by 2.1 million security personnel.

* More than 1.1 million electronic voting machines are to be used. They were first introduced in 2004.

* The 2009 polls are the first in

India

to feature the use of photo electoral rolls in nearly the entire country. About 585 million photographs have reportedly been included in the rolls to prevent impersonation and bogus voting.

* The elections are being contested on redistricted constitutional boundaries based on the findings of the Delimitation Commission. Of the 543 constituencies, 499 have been redrawn.

SYMBOLS

Parties have been given symbols by the Election Commission. Among the most widely-known election symbols are:

Hand – Congress, Lotus – BJP, Hammer and sickle - Communist Party of India (Marxist), Elephant - Bahujan Samaj Party, Cycle - Samajwadi Party

CANDIDATE AGE

The members of

India

's Parliament are primarily of advanced age. In 2004, the oldest candidate and winner was 94-year-old Ramchandra Veerappa from Karnataka in the south. Several 25-year-olds also ran in the election.

LONE VOTER

One polling booth is to be set up in the Gir Forest in

India

's western state of Gujarat to enable a lone voter, a priest, to cast his vote.

INDELIBLE INK

State-run Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd is to supply 2 million bottles of indelible ink for the 2009 elections. Each 10-millilitre bottle inks 700 fingers. It has exported ink to many countries, and with nearly 60 countries going to elections this year it is expecting brisk business. (dpa)

1st Day of 3rd Year :)

2009-05-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

May 8, 2009 when i entered my office, with a deep breath and feel of satisfaction I greeted by colleagues on completing two years and starting Third year as an IDBI'an.

I really wonder how fast time is moving. It was like a recent past when I got selected in Interview and had my Induction training ........

To be honest, I never thought I will be completing two years in the first Organisation (that too.. Pulic Sector). Howevr, still learning and enjoying the work.

Thanks to my Organisation and my colleagues and seniors.

Few quotes that came to memory lane.....

2009-04-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

# A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

# I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.

# If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.

# Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.

Mandar Mani - Office leisure trip.

2009-03-14T23:24:00.000-07:00

A long awaited reward was finally awarded in the form of a trip to Mandar mani for the whole of SME team. Though I was asked to take my wife along.... but we preferred not to be exceptional. So I had to go alone, leaving my darling wife at home.

Coming back to the venue, its' a beach resort in Purba Medinipur district of South Bengal , one of the southern districts of West Bengal . It is almost 180km from Kolkata Airport on the Kolkata - Digha route and just 14km from Chaulkhola.

Mandarmani is one of Bengal’s recently developed tourist destination that lies close to ever-popular Digha and Shankarpur. With sun and surf, pristine sea beach and untrammeled silt coloured sand, this beach is slowly becoming popular among the tourists. Mandarmani boasts of a 13 km long motorable beach, probably the longest motorable beach road in India. On the beach you will undoubtedly get the chance to feel the divinity and tranquility, try to loll on the sand and listen to the waves crashing upon the shore, which surely drives away your bustling pressure.

We were a group of 15 colleaues, started at 3PM on Saturday(post office) and reached the hotel after 9PM. Though it takes 5 hours, our time was spoiled on haluting and some routing difficulty. Our effective stay at hotel there was hardly 18 hours, and we boarded back to our 20 seater luxury bus at aroud 3 PM on Sunday, thus reaching back home by 8PM. though max time was travelling, but then thats the most fun time when you are on picnic :-)

As max of colleagues were of same young age, we really had great time. We had a beach walk at 11PM night, then since early morning 6Am, we had real sea bath/swim. Full 3-4 hours of fun untill Sun forced us to shelter back to hotel for lunch. We booked the full hotel (8 rooms) as it was recently built medicore stadard hotel, we didn't had much complains for the stay. Yeah one thing that we shouldn't forget to mention is tha food. Delicious food (veg) was served to us.

Though there is nothing else than the great beach but overall it was fun fun and fun. So you can plan for just 1 day, and can take most of it.

Chat with.......

2009-03-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

Often thought of discussing problems/worries/ways/ideas with someone to lead us to the position where we find comfort/happineww/solutions......... Seldom we realise that most healing person on earth is 'Self'.
When we are happy we first thank ourself but seldom we do when we have problems. We have many arround to put the Gun on shoulders and start the Blame Game. Half the problem gets settled if we start introspection and opt for silence over words. Once the game is started we loose the most precious - 'Valuale thoughts'. Our prejudised mind takes the front seat and starts planning the 'moves' than Love. We loose control and knowledge. Self justifing becomes the prime goal than pacifing the situation.
Seldom we blame self for the mess........
Loosing control is easy but its difficult to control the loss.

Honeymoon to Munnar & Kodai

2008-12-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

After a week of our marriage, we planned for honeymoon in south. Earlier I thought of deep waters in kerala, but then later we finalised for Munnar & Kodai along with one couple.

We left in the luxurious 1st class cuppe of Coromondal Express for chennai on 5th Dec. However, due to delay of train by more than 6 hours, we missed the connecting Chenar exp to coimbatore. This was the tragic start of our happy times :-)

As we were 2 couples, we took the time out and boarded for the bus at mid night for journey to Coimbatore via Salem. After reaching Coimbatore at4pm, we were picked by our car for Munnar. Reached Munnar Sterling Resort at 10pm.

However, after this long tiresome journey Munnar was the right place to be.

Munnar is nestled in the undulating mountain ranges of the southern Western Ghats and is unrivalled among the tourist destinations of Kerala. Its inescapable natural beauty lured us like anything. I can highlight Munnar for its remarkable ambiance, lush green tea gardens, mesmerizing lakes, dense forests and a cool salubrious climate. Munnar is located at the confluence of three mountain streams, Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala.

Our Sterling resort was situated further 15-17 kms uphill to proper Munnar, thus the scenic beauty was just breathtaking. Its the perfect place for honeymoon couples. I recommend Munnar as a must trip for leisure and relaxation. There is much more about Munnar that simply cannot be put in words. Yeah onething i shall say is be informed about this magnificent hill retreat before embarking on a tour.

After 3days of lovely stay we departed for Kodai Kanal in early morning, and after approx 4-5hours drive we were at Kodai. Kodai or Kodaikanal is a hill station in the Palani range. It is also called the queen of hills. On the way you can see a hill river or two and also two waterfalls called Rat tail falls and silver cascade. In some places you can also see forests. The Kodai town, like many other hill towns is built around the lake. As compared to Munnar, its a very crowded place and has many market places. We arrranged for Sterling Resort in Kodai, which can be rated above standard resorts, and of the all, very resonable.

Our Kodai trip was more adventurous than leisure like Munnar. We enjoyed boating in the lake, double cycling, roller skates, and horse riding was just unforgotable. Also visited view points like Pillar rock, coackers walk, Bryant park, Jain Temple, berijan lake - where we did speed boating, Guna caves - was closed ;( and deep forest of huge tall eucaliptous trees.

All the 3 days were full of fun and enjoyment. After this we moved to Bangalore via Volvo, whic took almost 8 hours. Here we stayed at Shitalbhai's (our eldest cousin's) place and visited Wonder-La! Water theme park. After 2 days at bangalore, our journy took flight back to Kolkata. Unfortunately our booking in evening flight was not confirmed and we had to stay overnight at bangalor's new airport. ;) Again, this was a tregic end of our Honeymoon, and morning flight went delayed for 5 hours...... so it took almost 24 hours to reach back home from bang'lr to kolkata via flight. :)

Wedding Bells

2008-11-30T21:58:00.000-08:00

I finally became WE. Now i am a proud husband of one of the most lovely and cute girl - Bhavisha.

Our wedding ceremony got finished by the noon and had a gala reception in the evening.

details in the following blog....

Fiancee's Finals' finished.

2008-11-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

CA Final's exam's finally over today. My Fiancee is releaved of one tension. :-) Though couple of papers didn't sdtrike well, but still hoping to get degree by 2 months.

Happy birthday, mom [:)]

2008-11-10T21:35:00.000-08:00

Bliss isn’t the word to describe the feeling
Neither does Happiness fill the meaning

Nothing synonymous to the emotion, rhymes
Nor do exorbitant words match her mimes

Hands quiver… lips shiver…
Teary eyed, as she caresses her possession in her hand
She smiles: what more from the lord could she demand?

As she is born yet again to give a new life
Kisses her new born baby who is Her reason to live and not just survive.

Happy birthday to my mother.

The Fed Rate Cut

2008-10-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

The Federal Reserve policymakers voted unanimously for a half-percentage-point cut in the federal funds rate yesterday.

Here's what you need to know:

The gist: The Fed dropped its key interest rate from 1.5 percent to 1 percent in a bid to boost economic growth and increase the availability of credit. This rate cut follows a 50-basis-point reduction earlier in the month, when the Fed acted in concert with several central banks around the world to address what has clearly become a global credit crisis.

The Fed's decision met the expectations of a market that had rallied considerably in anticipation of the cut. The Dow gained 890 points Tuesday and was up another 230 points on Wednesday immediately after the announcement. (A sell-off shortly before the close left the index down for the day.) Notably, in its statement, the Fed hinted at further rate cuts to come.

What it means: The Fed clearly doesn't like what it sees in the broad economy. Its statement points to tight credit amid market turmoil, as well as declines in consumer spending, business equipment spending, and industrial production. The Fed also expressed a new concern about weakened economies abroad "damping the prospects for U.S. exports." The last time rates were slashed to 1 percent was 2003, when the market was trying to recover from the bursting of the tech bubble and to soothe investor anxieties after the 9/11 attacks. The rate cut comes on the heels of several ugly economic reports, including a record decline for the S&P/Case Schiller 20-city housing index for August and a record low for the Conference Board's monthly measure of consumer confidence.

What the pros are saying:
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics"The rate cut is accompanied by a very downbeat statement, with all mention of upside inflation risks expunged from the record. Indeed, the statement says that the drop in commodity prices and the deteriorating growth outlook mean 'the Committee expects inflation to moderate in coming quarters to levels consistent with price stability.' Moreover, the door is open to further easing, with the [Open Market Committee] stating baldly that 'downside risks to growth remain,' thanks to the decline in consumption, 'weakened' industrial activity and worsening export prospects. In short, we view this as the first entirely realistic assessment from the Fed in this whole cycle. We expect another 50 [basis point drop] on December 16."
Robert Brusca, chief economist at FAO Economics"The Fed cut the discount rate by 50[basis points] as well and it got requests for FOUR district banks out of twelve on that. When the number of discount rate cut requests diminish[es], it is often a sign that the string of rate cuts is over."
Goldman Sachs U.S. Economic Research:"The most significant change in the statement announcing this move was the downgrading of inflation as a policy concern. Whereas the September 16 statement following the last formal meeting had indicated virtual parity between growth and inflation worries, this statement did not even mention inflation in the final paragraph summarizing the committee's policy framework.... Both the acknowledgement of growth as the main worry and the promise to "act as needed to promote sustainable economic growth and price stability" imply the possibility of additional rate cuts. At the moment, we think the bar to such cuts is probably high as suggested by the small number of banks applying for a 50[basis point] rate cut, and we are not forecasting more easing as a central scenario. However, risks clearly lie in this direction."
Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group"The latest Fed move is not going to hasten the economic recovery by a single day or accelerate the cleansing of bank balance sheets. What is needed more than anything else at this stage is simply patience....
"Tomorrow we'll get GDP growth for the third quarter and we're looking for a contraction of 0.8%, largely on the decline of consumer expenditures—the first drop since 1991—along with slipping inventories and exports. We expect conditions will get even worse in the final quarter, with GDP growth contracting by 3%. The recession should bottom out in the first half of next year, as the emergency financial rescue package and the monetary stimulus work their way into the economy. This is not to say we'll see stellar growth in the second half of the year. Growth will remain below potential at least until mid 2010, which means joblessness will continue to rise next year, to 8%."
Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at the Bank of New York Mellon"While the rate cut was consistent with expectations, the statement did little to signal the Fed's future intentions. Still, the Fed maintained downside risk to growth and removed its upside risk to inflation, which suggests the possibility of further rate cuts. The Fed clearly did not want to disappoint markets today by failing to cut rates. The futures market had discounted a 100% probability of a 50 bps rate cut and approximately a one-third chance of a 75 bps cut. The statement was reworked, but not to the degree that market conditions probably warranted."

The ABC of CDOs and the sub-prime crisis

2008-10-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

In early 2005, the US housing market was booming. As conveyed by the June 2005 Time magazine’s cover title “Home $weet Home,” the housing market was minting money for everyone. Amid this, every individual in the US was living the American dream to own a house. Housing prices were consistently rising and appreciation was the highest over the past 30 years. This, coupled with historically low interest rates, prompted most people to buy “investment properties”. In the US mortgage market, by borrower quality, a mortgage is prime, sub-prime, or Alt-A. Prime borrowers are those who have good credit scores, a strong debt-to-income ratio, provide required documentation, tax history, residence records and so on. The mortgage is a first-lien mortgage. A sub-prime mortgage is to a borrower who does not qualify as per prime norms, or it is a second-lien mortgage. An Alt-A is to a borrower who is not necessarily poor quality, but does not qualify for prime lending due to documentation problems. Understandably, spreads are quite high in sub-prime lending; yet defaults were low largely due to home prices. Buoyed by this, US banks pressed the accelerator on sub-prime mortgage loans. The outstanding volume is estimated $1.8 trillion. Many of the mortgages originated in 2005 and 2006 had features to make the mortgage enticing — interest-only mortgage, negative amortisation mortgage and teaser-rate adjusted-rate mortgages.

Securitisation game:

A large part of money for this came from the securitisation market — that implies pooling together mortgage loans and issuing securities that are repaid from out of the cashflows of the mortgage loans. The proportion of sub-prime mortgage securitisation reached peak levels in 2005 and 2006. Roughly 60-70 per cent of the sub-prime mortgages were securitised.

Leveraged vehicles:

Securitisation transactions need first-loss support, that is, junior pieces which would suck losses in the mortgage pool upto a level that can make senior pieces safer. Who would buy these junior pieces? Here came collateralised debt obligations (CDOs). A CDO is similar to a securitisation transaction, except that its asset pool is not retail assets but mostly bonds and corporate securities. CDOs buying into other securitisation transactions are known as structured finance CDOs. Data indicates that structured finance CDOs grew very fast from 2004 — today, they form about 70 per cent of all CDO issuance. If CDOs supply equity to home equity securitisations, what provides equity to the CDO market? After all, the CDO also has subordinated tranches, rated like BBB or BB, which are meant to absorb the losses upto specific levels. The rate of return on these tranches could be upwards of 300 bps. Hedge funds saw an opportunity here. Note that the hedge fund also might leverage itself, and that is quite common. Now add up all the pieces of the leverage — a home equity mortgage is itself a leveraged product, as it might be backed by a second lien on the house. These are pooled into a home equity securitisation, which is a leveraged product. The equity of these is bought by CDOs, which are leveraged vehicles. The equity in CDOs is supplied by hedge funds, which are also leveraged. A $1 of equity in typical hedge fund might ultimately create assets of $1,000, implying a total leverage of a thousand times. The combined impact of economic leverage in the market today may put LTCM, the infamous hedge fund that went bust in 1998 mainly due to a hundred times leverage, to shame. Hedge funds and other yield-hungry investors found yet another way of betting on the sub-prime mortgage market — the credit derivatives market. Credit derivatives are derivatives that trade the risk of default of an entity or a security. Linked to a bunch of home equity securitisations, there is a credit derivatives index called ABX.HE. Trades in ABX.HE increased in 2006 and 2007.

The rout begins:

Circa 2007, the US housing market was declining. While increasing interest rates halted new origination volumes, foreclosure rates on existing mortgages of 2005 and 2006 vintage went up as they were to enter the floating phase, when rates of interest would be hiked. Delinquency levels have gone up to the highest levels, historically. And then the perfect storm began. Since different vehicles in the leverage game were all inter-connected, there is a chain effect building all over. Mortgage lenders are suffering losses; some have filed for bankruptcy, some have gone out of business, some have liquidated portfolios at huge losses, and so on. These include New Century (filed for bankruptcy), HSBC (provided huge losses), People’s Choice Home Loan (filed for bankruptcy), Countrywide Financial (suffered huge losses, credit spreads have almost doubled), Wells Fargo (quit sub-prime business) and Fremont (sold subprime portfolio at huge discount). Hedge funds suffered losses in either home equity securitisations, or trades in the ABX.HE; many have stopped redemptions and some have filed for bankruptcy. New issuances in the CDO market that supplied liquidity to the securitisation market dropped from $42 billion in June 2007 to $3.7 billion in July 2007. Rating agencies ruthlessly downgraded securitisation transactions and CDOs. Leveraged finance supply has crashed, putting off lots of acquisition financing plans. Credit spreads have gone up for most financial entities substantially. This might eventually lead to rising cost of capital for financial intermediaries. Funding costs for asset-backed commercial paper conduits, another vehicle that supplies liquidity to Wall Street, have gone up. The $1.15 trillion ABCP conduits have cost going upto 5.75-5.95 per cent compared to corporate commercial paper at 5.25-5.3 per cent.

Credit derivatives indices plummet:
As may be expected, sub-prime credit derivatives indices took a beating (see chart of ABX.HE which is linked with 20 home equity securitisation transactions).

Global implications:

The biggest worry is the contagion impact. There are two big reasons for worry: first, the level of leverage, and second, the nature of the vehicles that have created leverage in the market. As already indicated, the levels of leverage in the financial markets are extremely high. Leverage is a magnifier — it magnifies profits, and magnifies losses. Secondly, most of the leveraged vehicles we discussed have automatic deleverage triggers. When their assets suffer losses or decline in market value, they are required by their constitutional documents to reduce their asset size. In other words, they have to make fire sales, which further exacerbates the problems. The hedge fund industry exceeds $1 trillion in assets — some analysts predict that in next five years, that would be reduced to half. The hedge fund industry supplies the equity that holds the huge inverted pyramid of structured finance that Wall Street is. So, the worry that the problems that emanated in the sub-prime market might spread into a crisis of global scale is not entirely unfounded.

INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM as the BEST National Anthem

2008-09-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Announces INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM as the BEST National Anthem in the World.

Bank Strike :-)

2008-09-24T02:14:00.000-07:00

For the first time in 18 months I got leave due to strike :-)
Today its an All India Bank Strike called by ' United Forum of Banks Union.' The unions are protesting the proposed merger between public sector banks and are pressing for an early settlement of wage revision. Besides, they have demanded another pension option for those who had opted for provident fund earlier. The unions also want restoration of appointments on compassion grounds.

I have so many pending personal assignments to do....... thank God I got a Paid Leave for completing that :)
Planning to start with Shopping.....:)

Indthalia - The Coffee Bar & Global Cuisine Restaurant

2008-09-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

It was just by chance we came across the coffee shop at 10pm in Southern Avenue.

Its a cafe and cousine restaurant. Cafe bar is comparatively small and more of ethnic look than trendy. Smoothy as well as Mocha were good.

Its located ahead of Vivekanada Park, opp. to Nazrul Manch. Nice ambiance and oveall I can give 3 stars out of 5. :)

Vizeg & Navrangpur (Orissa) trip

2008-08-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

It was an official trip to Navrangpur (Orissa) via Vizeg. Ontime Deccan flight reached me Vizeg at 9am, but due to Bandh called in Orissa, I had to stay vizeg for 6 hours. Its a nice place. Visited Kailash Giri Hill and Sea Beach.

Kailashgiri is a popular tourist spot offering a panoramic glimpse of the Bay of Bengal and the city. The air is cool and fresh, and both Kailashgiri and the surrounding hills are covered with lush greenery. One of the attractions at Kailashgiri is the Floral Watch-—a huge watch-like shape covered with grass. the statue of Shiva-Parvati is the chief attraction on the hill, made of marble-white stone, are of stunning beauty. They stand on a stone platform, and from near the feet of Kailash, flows a stream down a broad staircase.A Ropeway service is way of going up to the top and coming down in addition to the Pictrusque Road that takes you to the Top of the hill.

Sea Beach is popularly known as R K Beach.

Ramakrishna Beach is a long beach, ideal for fun time. Overlooking the Bay Of Bengal near R.K. Beach a Public Aquarium that houses a variety of aquatics are also added attraction. It's also ideal for eat outs Number of food courts offering a variety of delicacies of India as well as Oriental.

Bachna ae Hasino!!

2008-08-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

BIG BORE.

Thats what i'll tag the film starring Ranbir, Deepika, Bipasha & ___ Lamba.

First half was such a boresome that i was waiting for interval just after 40 minutes. Though post interval there was something in the script, but still it was not of my taste.

Goodthing: Nice photography, and couple of songs. Especially punjabi number.

Ranbir is looking handsome, but I didn't find a gelling pair with any of the three.

Happy Independance Day!!

2008-08-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hoisting 62nd time Indian flag on Independance day, Country seems going more n more youthful.

In morning I went to office for flag hoisting. But saddly it was a very thin turn arround. I guess now people takes it ONLY as an Holiday, nothing else.
earlier.

1945: World War II: VJ Day - Victory over Japan. The official date for the ceremony to mark the formal surrender of the Japanese to the Allies less than 24 hours earlier.

1914: The first ship sails through the newly-built Panama Canal. An estimated 50,000 died during its construction.

Whats this Nuclear Deal afterall??

2008-07-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

The US-India agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation has provoked controversy over its potential damage for the non-proliferation(avoiding testing of nuclear weapons) regime and internal politics.
The 123 agreement
1: The legislation amends Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. It lets the US make a one-time exception for India to keep its nuclear weapons without signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) (The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT)) is to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. There are currently 189 countries party to the treaty, five of which have nuclear weapons: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the People’s Republic of China (the permanent members of the UN Security Council) .
2: The amendment overturns a 30-year-old US ban on supplying India with nuclear fuel and technology, implemented after India’s first nuclear test in 1974.
3: Under the amendment, India must separate its civilian and military nuclear facilities (nuclear plants for military purpose like bomb manufacture) and submit civilian facilities (nuclear power plants used for generating power) to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Why is it controversial?
Nuclear deal has provoked controversies in both the countries. While the US critics feel it undermines the NPT, which holds that only countries which renounce nuclear weapons qualify for civilian nuclear assistance. India says 14 of its 22 nuclear facilities are civilian (the facilities will be under IAEA surveillance). The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization of United Nations that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes. Critics say the pact could make bomb making at the other eight facilities easier, as they are not under international surveillance.

What makes the US keen on signing the pact.?
The deal would generate $150 billion in commercial opportunities for American companies, even the deal will likely lead to defence cooperation. US defence is ready to sell brand new F-35 fighter to Indian Air Force, these transactions worth million dollars.

Opposition in India ??? what so much confusions??
Critics in India fear the loss of country’s sovereignty. This agreement will make it difficult for the government to carry out any tests, when such a need arises out of security reasons. The 123 agreement to operationalise the nuclear deal would also stymie India’s right to reprocessing fuel received from the US. Plutonium, retrieved from spent fuel, is key to India’s goal of securing energy independence. Plutonium could be reused with thorium, which is abundant in India unlike uranium, can be used to operate fast-breeder reactors to generate power as well as make full use of the nuclear fuel cycle. The reprocessed fuel, though expensive, yields 30 times more energy than conventional nuclear plants.
This reprocessing technology of India is curbed by the agreement which doesn’t allow the fuel from US to be reprocessed.
The Communist Party of India , the main opposition to the agreement fears the imperialistic policy of US. They fear that this deal may tie our hands when it comes to national security as we cant act with sovereignty. Any decision taken today should not inhibit the nation’s future ability to develop and pursue nuclear technology for the benefit of the nation. The opposition mainly concerns about India’s foreign policy.
The pressure on the government would grow. America being a more powerful and more important party would come every other day asking for India’s support. For example take Iraq as an example. India will never accept any such type of intrusions in others land. Imperialism is not our foreign policy. And we cant support the US in these situations.
So the deal contains many loopholes when it comes to national security. But at the same time helps to satisfy India’s growing need for power.
So its going to be a tough time for this minority government to finalise a decision regarding the deal.

Six Sigma

2008-07-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

Six Sigma is a business management strategy, originally developed by Motorola, that today enjoys wide-spread application in many sectors of industry. The essence of the six sigma idea is to avoid product or service failure, and consequent user dissatisfaction, by designing the product or service in such a way that wide variations (six sigma!) in production or implementation do not affect the use of the product or service.
Six Sigma seeks to identify and remove the causes of defects and errors in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization ("Black Belts" etc.) who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified financial targets (cost reduction or profit increase).

Origin and meaning of the term "six sigma process"
The following outlines the statistical background of the term Six Sigma.
Sigma (the lower-case Greek letter σ) is used to represent the standard deviation (a measure of variation) of a statistical population. The term "six sigma process" comes from the notion that if one has six standard deviations between the mean of a process and the nearest specification limit, there will be practically no items that fail to meet the specifications. This is based on the calculation method employed in a process capability study.
In a capability study, the number of standard deviations between the process mean and the nearest specification limit is given in sigma units. As process standard deviation goes up, or the mean of the process moves away from the center of the tolerance, fewer standard deviations will fit between the mean and the nearest specification limit, decreasing the sigma number.
Experience has shown that in the long term, processes usually do not perform as well as they do in the short. As a result, the number of sigmas that will fit between the process mean and the nearest specification limit is likely to drop over time, compared to an initial short-term study. To account for this real-life increase in process variation over time, an empirically-based 1.5 sigma shift is introduced into the calculation. According to this idea, a process that fits six sigmas between the process mean and the nearest specification limit in a short-term study will in the long term only fit 4.5 sigmas – either because the process mean will move over time, or because the long-term standard deviation of the process will be greater than that observed in the short term, or both.
Hence the widely accepted definition of a six sigma process is one that produces 3.4 defective parts per million opportunities (DPMO). This is based on the fact that a process that is normally distributed will have 3.4 parts per million beyond a point that is 4.5 standard deviations above or below the mean (one-sided capability study). So the 3.4 DPMO of a "Six Sigma" process in fact corresponds to 4.5 sigmas, namely 6 sigmas minus the 1.5 sigma shift introduced to account for long-term variation. This is designed to prevent overestimation of real-life process capability

Jaane Tu......

2008-07-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

A nice time-pass movie. Acting and chemistry of both Imran Khan & Genelia D'Souza is apprciable as debut appearance. I & Bhavi had a nice matinee show time at 'Priya Cinema'.

Movie is an enjoyable and high on entertainment. If u r looking for a movie on friendship and love that makes you smile and laugh at times, then this one is for you.

Celebration Time!!

2008-07-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

We had been to 'Ivory' (Grain of Salt) for dinning and celebrating our First Engaggement Annivrsary. though we ordered Jian food, but still it was really good and tasty.

Very nice ambiance and a markable Candle Light Dinner.

My Beautiful, Darling Fiancee.

2008-07-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

This Poem is dedicated to my Sweetheart, on our 1st Engagement Aniversary :)

A gentle word like a spark of light,
Illuminates my soul
And as each sound goes deeper,
It's YOU that makes me whole

There is no corner, no dark place,
YOUR LOVE cannot fill
And if the world starts causing waves,
It's your devotion that makes them still.

And yes you always speak to me,
In sweet honesty and truth
Your caring heart keeps out the rain,
YOUR LOVE, the ultimate roof.

So thank you my Love for being there,
For supporting me, my life
I'll do the same for you, you know,
My Beautiful, Darling Fiancee.

Basel II

2008-06-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Basics of what Basel II is all about:-

Basel II is the second of the Basel Accords, which are recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The purpose of Basel II, which was initially published in June 2004, is to create an international standard that banking regulators can use when creating regulations about how much capital banks need to put aside to guard against the types of financial and operational risks banks face. Advocates of Basel II believe that such an international standard can help protect the international financial system from the types of problems that might arise should a major bank or a series of banks collapse. In practice, Basel II attempts to accomplish this by setting up rigorous risk and capital management requirements designed to ensure that a bank holds capital reserves appropriate to the risk the bank exposes itself to through its lending and investment practices. Generally speaking, these rules mean that the greater risk to which the bank is exposed, the greater the amount of capital the bank needs to hold to safeguard its solvency and overall economic stability.

The final version aims at:

1) Ensuring that capital allocation is more risk sensitive;
2) Separating operational risk from credit risk, and quantifying both;
3) Attempting to align economic and regulatory capital more closely to reduce the scope for regulatory arbitrage.

Basel II uses a "three pillars" concept – (1) minimum capital requirements (addressing risk), (2) supervisory review and (3) market discipline – to promote greater stability in the financial system.

The first pillar
The first pillar deals with maintenance of regulatory capital calculated for three major components of risk that a bank faces: credit risk, operational risk and market risk. Other risks are not considered fully quantifiable at this stage.

The credit risk component can be calculated in three different ways of varying degree of sophistication, namely standardized approach, Foundation IRB and Advanced IRB. IRB stands for "Internal Rating-Based Approach".

For operational risk, there are three different approaches - basic indicator approach or BIA, standardized approach or STA, and advanced measurement approach or AMA.

For market risk the preferred approach is VaR (value at risk).

The second pillar
The second pillar deals with the regulatory response to the first pillar, giving regulators much improved 'tools' over those available to them under Basel I. It also provides a framework for dealing with all the other risks a bank may face, such as systemic risk, pension risk, concentration risk, strategic risk, reputation risk, liquidity risk and legal risk, which the accord combines under the title of residual risk.

The third pillar
The third pillar greatly increases the disclosures that the bank must make. This is designed to allow the market to have a better picture of the overall risk position of the bank and to allow the counterparties of the bank to price and deal appropriately

Financial Tips for Young Adults

2008-06-22T05:55:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, personal finance has not yet become a required subject in high school or college, so you might be fairly clueless about how to manage your money when you're out in the real world for the first time. If you think that understanding personal finance is way above your head, though, you're wrong.

Here are few basic tips which shall guide you to be more alert / aware of your own fund.

* Learn self control now, not later.
* Don't put your financial future in someone else's hands.
* Pay attention to where your money goes.
* Start an emergency fund.
* Start saving for retirement now.
* Get a grip on taxes.
* Guard your health.
* Guard your wealth.

After all, "Its Money - Honey !!" :)

TRUST SEED

2007-08-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ah the trust seed you sow
To watch it handsomely grow.
The perpetual care you, on me shower
Letting my dreams be alive and flower.

The way we laugh, sway together
taking care all the blessings we gather.
Walking on path smooth or steep
together we laugh, think or weep.

The world’s along us
Or we miss the bus
Winds dancing our way
determined, come what may.

Overcoming all the worldly strife
gaining the experience of life
You and I, I and you run along
Singing the sweetest of sweet song.

The confidence in you I have
The belief in me you have
You watch it handsomely grow,
Yes the trust seed I sow.

Boating Time

2007-08-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

Nalban is lakes fringed by groves. It is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of city life, roughly 10-12kms away from the heart of city. Its unpolluted environment offers a respite and soothes the visitors. Treat yourself to an exclusive boating tour on one of the many boats available such as paddle boats, hovercraft or deluxe sikara.

Nalban Boating Complex is literally the paradise of the young hearts burning with passion and eager to enjoy the beauties and bounties of nature in private.. in seclusion, far away from the madding crowd. It is considered the perfect haunt for romancing in Kolkata. Nalban, the unique aquatic joint with its placid waters and rows of shady trees under the vast expanse of the welkin above. If you really want to indulge in fun and frolics with your beloved in the bosom of nature, Nalban Boating Complex is an ideal and automatic choice in the city today.

It was our first visit post enggagement. Though in a year, we have been more than 4-5 times, and long bike ride adds more fun to it.

Engagement Day.

2007-07-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

This was one of the most precious and memorable day of my life. I have got engagged with 'Bhavisha' one of the most beautiful and lovable partner.
Within couple of meets it was all arranged and our life commitment was celebrated with a gloriuos function.

Induction Program in IDBI

2007-07-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

I had been to induction training prgrm for 2 weeks (25 June to 8 July 2007) in Hydrabad.
It was more of fun and interating session than learning thories. We were 46 fresh qulified AMs posted all over India participated in the progrm.
We 12 of us formed a banging group. Had a really nice and unforgotable time. We use to do morning walks in a huge lush green campus, use to attend all classes and then roam around Hydrabad in evening and late night chat/gossip/interactions. All in all a best tour till now.

My First Job

2007-05-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today I joined IDBI Bank as an Asst. Mngr in Corporate Finance Dept. My first job, post qualification.
I will be incharge of credit appraisal for working capital finance and will also have to handle the followup issues.

Gautam’s on the Bypass

2007-05-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Gautam’s on Bypass is an excellent place for drive-in coffee or tea sip and as well a great hangout with friends. It is on the right side when you drive towards Ultadanga from Park Circus.

The best part about Gautam’s is, it is open late nights also. So in case you want to go for a drive with friends, cousins or family and want to sip coffee or tea then Gautam’s is the ideal place to be. It has got number of shops lined up. Coffee out there is amazing and along with it you can go for some good snacks as well.

INTROSPECTION ABOUT MARRIAGE…

2007-04-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

Comes to everyone a different stage
when one is made to envisage
that it would be really very nice
if in life there would be some spice.

It is when they think that the answer
to it lies, in getting oneself a partner
so that one can could lead one’s life
by having beside, a husband or wife.

Family from all four corner
ensure that all, somehow, garner
to be a part of this happy and joyous tiding
as someone would be starting a new inning.

For parents, it is a complete deed
though they would try to meet all need.
I still wonder it is still hard to remain single
especially when the other isn’t ready to mingle.

On our shoulders if we were to take the guarantee...........
whether there would be the desired felicity ...........
in the spectrum of life that is to be really vast
whether a marriage, till eternity, everlast.

When there is joy, there is bound to be hardship
and what if one doesn’t have that companionship
as the other may would think to give a ditch
instead of enduring together the seven year hitch.

Another thought that always would remain.........
is what all, one must undergo, the pain
especially when doesn’t live upto the expectation...........
that the partner has and ends up in frustration.

All these thoughts came as an usual worry
which made me look at this as very scary
as doesn’t want to, in this web, caught
especially to be a lifetime, when it is taught.

Hope one could be at some sort of peace
if these doubts were to get cease
so that before I can get into like the few
I would know as there would be some clue.

I'll Wait

2007-01-17T07:27:00.000-08:00

You may live the way you choose
Everything you say or do has an excuse
If you’re doing it, do it slowly my friend
but you’re breaking my heart in the end.

I sit by the shore and stare at the sea
Wondering when this feeling is gonna leave me,
A wishper, a silent tear……. I want to stop the pain..

I close my eyes, and stand in the gushing rain
Let it wash away my tears
Doesn’t wash away the fears
There are seconds I wish you’d turn up
Behind me, touch my shoulder
tell me that I’ll never let you go – ever.

Friends tell me, that,
“There’s always a dawn, after the night”
but do they know, that for me,
The Sun only rose in your eyes.

The biting winds of winter hits my face
but that’s alright,
it’s the wall of silence
that I don’t like.

I wakeup lonely, sit by my window
thinking of you, missing your love.
but nothing changes, a wait that never ends.
The truth ‘s slowly dawning on me.

Did I get all wrong from the day one??????
Maybe you never loved me …after all……….