Dayanand Mandrekar, the winning BJP candidate of the Siolim constituency in Goa, being transported home on a motorcade by his supporters in Assembly elections in June 2007 in which the Congress party won the Goa Assembly elections with a wafer-thin majority.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Reverse mortgage as a financial choice for senior homeowners
The current financial meltdown has affected most people very badly, but senior homeowners living on fixed incomes like pensions, social security, annuities, etc. are the worst hit. Most of them have inadequate retirement funding and costs of healthcare, fuel, home maintenance and similar monthly recurring expenses have risen. Most seniors have mortgages to pay off and may have credit card dues. While these costs increase month after month, their incomes do not. This situation has compelled many to sell their homes, or for taking more drastic steps that bring in more problems than solving problems.
In such a situation a useful financial tool is a reverse mortgage that helps senior homeowners not only to save their homes from being sold of but also generate extra funds to pay off the existing dues and enjoy the usual monthly incomes they used to have. But the problem is they do not have qualified financial planners for guidance. The website of Reverse Mortgage Information, an independent site, not affiliated to lenders, is helpful. They have free information online to guide you through reverse mortgage plans.
Before you jump on a decision find out if reverse mortgages are right for you. Certainly, they are not advisable for everyone. They are very complex and you need to educate yourself about they can help you. You can get lots of guidance from many sources, but the best is the free tutorial guide that you can download or print a hard copy from this site.
Apart from info on reverse mortgage plans, they also advise what kind of Medicare insurance suits you, including medicare supplemental insurance. In short, there is no monthly payment to receive coverage under Medicare Part A that helps pay for inpatient medical care, once you turn 65. Enrollment is automatic if you are registered with the Social Security Administration. Medicare Part B, Part C and Part D can attract an additional monthly premium. Complete information about Medicare plans that are available for free and that attract a monthly premium is available in their site.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Indian elections, the biggest democratic exercise on planet earth
A village woman holds voting slip as she waits in queue to cast her vote at Londa polling station on India-Pakistan International border at Heera Nagar district about 60 KM from the Northern Indian city of Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir on 13 December 2008., originally uploaded by jaipalsingh.
This April-May the world is going to witness the biggest democratic exercise on planet earth, with India going to the polls to elect the ruling party or coalition of parties to govern the country for the next five years. This election is going to be especially important because a major chunk of voters are of what we call Generation Next, say, in the age group of 18 to 35 years. And interestingly most of them are first-time voters.
Apart from the ruling coalition of the Congress lead by Sonia Gandhi and the opposition coalition lead by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) lead by their leader and the Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani, a third front, mainly of the leftist parties, CPM - Communist Party of India (Marxist) - and other communist or socialist parties and powerful regional parties like Telugu Desam are also in the fray.
The third front may not be able to pullout a win by itself, but they are definitely going to decide who is going to rule India for the next five years. These parties used to be in one or the other of the main coalitions in the past and the swing of their votes usually decided the next ruling coalition, just because in the last few elections no single party could win a majority of its own.
Most of the third front parties were in the outgoing coalition of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Now, if they fight against their current allies the left parties and their allies in the coalition are definitely going to drastically reduce the winning margins and the number of seats won by the Congress lead coalition. The BJP may not have to worry much because the leftists were always against them. BJP has so many other factors to tackle if its coalition has to win.
All the major players are campaigning this time in the high-tech path, rather tech-savvy with the aggressive use of the Internet and social networking sites. For instance, Sonia Gandhi’s YouTube video of the kisan rally saw thousands of hits on the first day. BJP’s PM candidate L K Advani’s website (www.lkadvani.in) features his blog and the Advani Campus Program. BJP wants to do some Obamagic by hiring Kevin Bertram, the man behind Obama’s poll campaign. Bertram was in India recently and BJP wants to do a cellphone campaign similar to the one that lead Obama to victory, informed sources report.
Any way, young India, the major chunk of the electorate, will have a final say. There is very much the possibility of a hung parliament and post-poll re-alliances and regroupings of political parties and even elected members of parliament switching sides.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Kovalam Beach 2701092
Kovalam beach is known to many people as the "Paradise of the South". Kovalam is about 16 km from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital city of Kerala.
Kovalam is finding a new significance in the light of several Ayurveda salons, and recuperation and regeneration resorts which provide a wide variety of Ayurveda treatments and body massages for tourists.
There are three beaches at Kovalam. The larger beach is called the Light House Beach for its 30-meter-high light house. The second largest one is Hawah Beach named so because of the topless European women who used to throng there. It was the first topless beach in India. Top-free bathing and parading is now banned, except in private coves owned by resorts and hotels that are plenty here. Mostly visitors frequent these two beaches. The northern part of the beach is known as Samudra Beach. A large promontory separates this part from the southern side. Samudra Beach does not attract many tourists. The local fishermen ply their trade on this beach.
The sands on the beaches in Kovalam are partially black in color due to the presence of ilmenite and thorazite. The normal tourist season is from September to May, though it is an all-weather beach with moderate climate round the year.
The sea port of Vizhinjam is about 3 km from Kovalam and famous for its special varieties of fish, old Hindu temples, big churches and a mosque. The Proposed International Trans shipment Terminal at Vizhinjam is also close to Kovalam.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Kottakkavu Church of St. Thomas, 52 AD
The author of this photo says, “The new Church replacing the original Kottakkavu Church consecrated by St. Thomas, the Apostle around 52 AD at, what is today, North Parur, in Ernakulam District of Kerala. Tradition says, St. Thomas (Mar Thoma) landed in Malabar Coast around 50 AD and set up seven churches. This is the site of one of the oldest Churches in India. The present structure is the fourth building erected at the site, the third having been built in the 14th century AD.”
According to Wikipedia, the indigenous Church of Kerala, India, has a tradition that St. Thomas sailed to Kerala to spread the Christian faith. He is believed to have landed at a small village, at that time a seaport, named Palayoor, near Guruvayoor, which had a priestly community at that time. He left Palayoor in AD 52 for southern parts of the Kerala State, where he established the Ezharappallikal, or Seven and Half Churches. These churches are at Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam (situated midway between Cochin and Kumarakom, on the western shore of Vembanad Lake, 5 km east of Cherthala), Kottakkayal (Paravoor), Palayoor (Chattukulangara) and the half church in Thiruvithamcode Arappally (Travancore).
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sculpture at the Lakshman Temple, Khajuraho
Lakhmana Temple is the oldest and the finest of the Western Group of Temples in Khajuraho. This beautiful Vaishnavite Hindu temple is named after the ruler who built it. There is a horizontal beam over the entrance of the temple showing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva with Lakshmi, Vishnu’s consort.
There is a nominal entry fee for all visitors to enter the Western Group of temples. All the temples are open from sunrise to sunset. These are the most spectacular and largest of all temple groups.
The other important temples in the Western Group of Temples are:
Kandariya Mahadeo Temple is decorated with a profusion of sculptures that are among the greatest masterpieces of Indian art during the reign of Chandela Dynasty of Central India, built between 950 and 1050 A.D.
Devi Jagdamba Temple is dedicated to Goddess of the Universe (Jagdamba), a smaller and much more delicately proportioned temple. It is home to some of the finest sculptures of Khajuraho. The garbha griha has a huge image of Goddess Jagdamba. It has the usual three bands of sculptures, but the third and most uppermost of these houses some of the most sensual sculptures.
Matanageswara Temple is a temple dedicated to Shiva and a huge 8ft Lingam adorns the temple.
Chitragupta Temple is dedicated to the Sun God (Surya) and as such it faces eastward to the rising sun.
Chaunsat Yogini Temple is the only granite temple in the Khajuraho group.
Lakshmana Temple Khajuraho
The photo shows the highly decorated Lakshmana temple along with Matengaswara Temple of simple architecture and ornamentation - picture shot from the Varaha temple. The Matengeswara temple houses a Shiva idol where daily pujas are being performed, unlike in the other temples in the western group of temples in Kahjuraho, built by Chandela kings. Lakshmana temple is believed to be built by the Chandela King of the same name.
The maturity in the sculpture can be seen in various temples as one proceeds from the earlier built temples to the later ones and can be discerned from the form and the variety of the facial and other forms of expressions in the sculptures. It is evident in the most developed, largest and the tallest of the temples, Kandariya Mahadeva Temple on the south western most corner of the temple complex. Location: Madhya Pradesh, India; photo by: Jayashankar, uploaded to Flickr.com on 20 Feb 07, 10.05AM PST.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Khajuraho 1701093
Welcome to Khajuraho Group of Monuments, A World Heritage!
Khajuraho (Hindi: खजुराहो) is a village located in Chhatarpur District, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is 385 miles (620 KM) southeast of Delhi, the capital city of India.
The Khajuraho group of monuments is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu temples and Jain temples which are famous for their sculpture. The name Khajuraho, "Kharjuravahaka" in olden times, is derived from the word "khajur" that means date palm.
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