I am currently grappling with three different topics that interest me. One the literary theory of Saussure, Lacan, Barthes and others. I am doggedly reading the translations of the works of these writers even though I need multiple readings to make sense of them. Finally, I am getting a glimmer of what they are talking about and am getting immensely interested in what they have to say. I am also attempting to apply their theories to literary works!  A challenging and interesting task. Very intellectual!

I am also reading a wonderful novel by a Japanese writer in English called Kazuo Ishiguro called The Remains of the day.  The writer has wonderfully captured the essence of what “buttlership” (if you forgive my coining of this word) implies.  A copy of the novel is available online (in docstoc or is it scribd?–I am not sure). Truly relaxing!

I am also working out the nuances of contract law and bombarding myself with  topics like “invitation to treat”, “postal delay in contract law” and so on and so forth till I am getting a little cross eyed with the effort. Absolutely legal! Keeps my mind live and kicking.

Of course, I cannot complain that my life is drab and dull and lacks variety.  Will perhaps translate the results of all my efforts into little articles that may be of interest to you all?

Why do I do all this?  I like being an intellectual.  In fact I revel in it.  What comes out of it?  A lot of writing practice and of course a number of new creative ideas for books that I plan to write sometime in the future (only the future seems very dimly distant at the moment).   Some of the work may also find a way into literature journals and law journals and law journals.

I think I began to blog because I felt that I had a lot of information that I would like to share with others. I also felt that it would give me good writing practice as I am a writer by profession.  I was however, not very sure that anyone would want to read what I had to write.  Surprisingly, there are at least 60+ people out there who visit my blog and read it whether I have posted anything new or not.  Now I think I have another reason not become a drop out.  I have a readership who really find my blogs interesting enough to visit daily and read up. I owe something to them.

Blogging is generically very close to dairy writing. Of course you write your most secret thoughts in the diary and keep it under lock and key hoping no one else will get sight of the things you tell your diary about your fellowmen.  A blog on the other hand is an open diary. You write about everything that you are interested in and can be as democratic as you like about your readership.  Of course, you will not share your innermost thoughts and you secret cravings with your fellowmen? Yet, there is a satisfaction that there is someone out there who shares your interest and you feel joyful about reaching out to them.  I wonder what psychologists have to say about blogging?

To come to the meat of the question, I asked in the title–What is so addictive about blogging? The question follows: “Am I an addict?” Well No. I find that I can really live without blogging. It is not like diary writing. I am not searching for a confidant. I think I am reaching out to friends, like minded people who are interested in what I am interested in. One is not obssessed with one’s friends. It is just nice to have them around and have an occassional relaxing chat with them. I think my blogging fell off, because I am a healthy human being with a healthy work appetite. Sometimes I put work before friends and the need to reach out takes a back seat when work holds my attention.  Therefore, while I do not feel guilty about not continuing to blog, I do feel remorseful that I have not shared sometime with my 60 odd friends out there, who hang out at my blog hoping for a glimpse of me.

Perhaps, if I were depressed and unhappy, blogging could become a kind of addictive and I may end up blogging to myself or using my blog more as a diary than as a blog. Perhaps, I would find comfort in my readership and may even obssess about the number of people who visit my blog on a daily basis and worry if there is a drop in readership and so on…I hear people find pleasure in committing online suicide because the number of people who “like” you has changed or dropped or what not…. Even for them blogging is not an addiction–it seems more like a lifeline. They would drown if you prevent them from blogging. It is not merely a question of de-addicting them.

Business blogs are a whole new ball game. They are bloggers who are blogging for survival; to prove that they are better than their competition or just advertising as blogs attract readership. For them, blogging is a necessary adjunct to their business and not an addiction.

So, what is all this talk about addiction to blogging? I do not know. If you do know people who are addicted about their blogging do find out why and share it with us. Contact us using the contact form on http://www.consult4content.com and give us the meat on why someone finds blogging addictive.

Electrolysis uses a fine probe and electrical impulse to cauterize the blood vessels causing hair to release permanently from the follicle.  Though electrolysis has a longer history of practice, lasers are commonly used now and have been well received by patients and physicians.  Laser treatment has a much shorter procedure either permanently preventing or greatly hindering hair re-growth.  Patients may immediately resume activities.  Laser hair removal is a widely popular procedure with nearly a million people having the treatment in the United States every year.  Patients should have realistic goals and carefully select a physician while informing themselves of the procedure and potential risks.

Ideal candidates for laser hair removal may be those who seek to improve their appearance or smoothness of the skin, or simply wish to save themselves time by reducing time involved in methods such as shaving.  Once the initial consultation is completed, the actual laser hair removal procedure may take only moments or up to an hour, depending on the size of the affected area.  A beam of highly concentrated light produced by a laser is emitted, passing through the skin, and is absorbed by hair follicle pigments.  Different colors of light are produced by different types of lasers, and this is relevant to the effect on follicles.  The pigment is vaporized, disabling many follicles at once, by the duration of the laser light pulses to the area.

Patients generally require multiple treatments to achieve ideal results.  Though some patients may be satisfied after only one treatment, the typical regimen likely includes up to four treatments, up to eight weeks apart.  Because hair growth cycles are typically about a year, patients should wait about six months to assess results.  If the procedure is performed with qualified physician and adequate consultation and care, any pain during the procedure should only consist of mild stinging.  Worst case scenario might include burns or pain that might require local anesthetic application.  Less serious effects such as redness and swelling will resolve in a few days.  Those with darker skin tones may not achieve optimum results as the surrounding skin will absorb the light rather than the follicle itself.  Affected areas will be sun sensitive and patients should avoid exposure for several days following laser hair removal.  Though the hair removal may be permanent, it could also be simply more sparse and of a lighter color or texture or consistency after the procedure.

Summer brides often choose bouquet of gardenias for their weddings. It has featured in Royal and celebrity weddings. The Princess of Wales Diana, choose a bouquet of gardenias for her wedding with Prince Charles. The exotic, spicy sweet fragrance of the gardenia flowers and the pale ivory color the petals contrasts with the dark glossy leaves to create an impression of beauty and grace as the bride walks down the aisle. It also complements white bridal wear and appropriately symbolizes the purity of the bride.

But, did you know the Gardenia really belongs to the coffee plant family? The white multi layered petals of this beautiful flower belies this fact, does it not? Yet it is true that the Gardenia belongs to Rubiaceae family and is native to tropical and sub tropical regions of Africa. There are more than 250 species of this genus. The flower is named after Dr.Alexander Garden a Scottish born American naturalist.

The gardenia plant is a small evergreen shrub or a small tree that grows to 1-15 meters in height. The leaves are set opposite each other or in whorls of three or four. They have a dark green glossy and leathery texture. The flowers bloom singly or in small clusters and can be white or pale yellow. The tubular-based corolla has 5-12 lobes and is often 5-12 centimeters in diameter.  These plants flower from mid spring to mid summer and may or may not have a strong scent.

Chinese farmers raise the gardenia for the dye that can be produced from its fruit. In East Indies this plant is nurtured for a gum that exudes from its bark. In South Africa the hard wood from the tree is considered valuable. In America the plant is grown for the waxy blossoms it produces.

The gardenia flower has also been used extensively in oriental perfumes and oils. It is known to be an aphrodisiac. It is also used for medicinal purposes as an anti inflammatory drug, anti bacterial medication and for its fungicidal properties. It adds an exotic flavor to tea.

Since the gardenia is a tropical or sub tropical plant, growing gardenias in other climates can be difficult. They are finicky houseplants and require the bright southern light. If you must grow gardenias at home grow lights must be used to supplement natural lighting in cold places and in winter. A timer must be used to ensure that the plants have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. They must be watered with distilled water kept at room temperature. Hard or cold water will stunt their growth. The soil used to grow these flowering plants must be moist and must not be too wet and slushy.

If you would like to post comments please register on my blog. I will appreciate that.  You can contact me for registration using the Tiny contact form at the bottom right of the blog page(Side bar). My apologies once again to my readers for this inevitable step.

regards

Samantha

All statements made in this blog post are personal views and readers are requested to treat them as such. For advice on your tax returns please contact a qualified chartered accountant.

Let us begin by stating the seemingly obvious:

Calculation of tax on Income from House Property is governed by the provisions of the Income tax act 1961 as modified by the latest Finance Act relevant to the financial year.

Well, that is a mouthful. But is it really obvious?  I am not sure it is obvious! There are several terms that are obscure! I have highlighted them below:

Calculation of tax on Income from House Property is governed by the provisions of the Income tax act 1961 as modified by the latest Finance Act relevant to the financial year.

Tax: The amount of tax payable on this type of income is defined in the Finance act relevant to the financial year.

Income: Income or notional income from house property referred to here is the net income and not the gross income.

Finance act: This is the act that is passed every year in the parliament modifying the Income tax act 1961 to take into account the changing economic realities.

Financial year: the year beginning on 1st April of one year and ending on 31st march of the following year.

House Property: Any building or building with land appertuenent thereto that is owned by a taxable entity and from which he derives an income or notional income. Such a building can be self occupied property, let out property, deemed to be let out property or partly let out property.

Exception:Income from house property can become business income under certain circumstances. If an assessee uses a house property he owns for business or profession, then the income generated by this house comes under the income from business and not under the head income form house property. The case may be different if the Direct Tax code is passed in toto.

Did that bring clarity? No. There are several new terms that need elucidation!

Notional Income: Income that may be derived had the property been let out. Currently, this is generally taken to be ‘Nil’ if the property is self occupied.  It will have a value if the Direct tax code is implemented next year in toto.

Gross income: Total receipts by way of rent for use of property and amenities.

Net income: This is total receipts from house property minus any expenses that may be incurred by the owner by way of payment for repairs, taxes and other charges on the house property.

Building or building with land appertunent thereto: Land by itself is not defined as House property and there is no tax on income from land. However, if there is a building on the land and the building is let out or self occupied along with the land, then the total receipts from the property will be taxable under the head house property income as income from property.

Ownership: Income from house property is paid by the assessees’ who own house.

Ok, so we have the definitions and terms explained! What about an example of the calculation?  Stay tuned in. Our next blog post will do just that!

So much for the storm in the tea cup and the emotional outbursts against the RBI and paypal and all the ravings and rantings of my fellow freelancers who wished to commit a business suicide where freelancing was concerned!

Before talking about the implications of this move and also what Indian freelancers need to look out for in the future, I would like to appreciate the extremely professional and collected manner in which Paypal has handled the crisis. While the Indian business is not very large, Paypal had a commitment to its clients and perhaps all the Asian clients were watching the fall out and outcome of the crisis. Paypal remained tightlipped during the initial phases of the crisis to avoid speculation and panic and calmly set about doing whatever it takes to set the situation right for everyone round. Kudos to Paypal!

Well, the purpose code as Paypal chooses to call it will give a hook for RBI to collect the data and also evaluate the amount of foreign exchange that is being transacted by Indians. It will also help the premier bank frame a policy for how it will handle this type of foreign trade in the future. In a sense this is real good news for the Indian freelancers and could be bad news for those who are making big money in this field and not paying their taxes on Income? There is now a tracking mechanism in place where transactions through paypal are concerned. The good news is that India is getting ready to regularize the largely unorganized sector that operates over the Internet.   Maybe Indians will no longer be vulnerable to the scamsters and sharks that populate the Internet. Maybe cyber laws will offer some newer modes of protection to this largely helpless and vulnerable set of small businesses that are mushrooming in India.

One question that needs to be answered is: What about those thousands of Auction sites like Rentacoder, Elance, guru, getafreelancer etc which also do a kind of payment settlement for Indians? They act as intermediaries between buyers and sellers and collect money from buyers on behalf of sellers and then settle accounts with the latter at the end of every month. Do they also need to get a license from the RBI to operate in the Indian context?  These sites have a tie up with Paypal and payment agencies like Payoneer or they send checks to Indians by snailmail. Will RBI be contacting them next with requests for compliance? The RBI does not seem to have contacted these sites as yet.

Let us wait and watch. Stay tuned in for more from me on this blog!

The Foreign Trade(Development and Regulation) Act 1992 stipulates that every exporter or importer of goods and services must apply for and obtain an Importer-Exporter Number(IEC Number).  The application for obtaining this number needs to be made under section seven of this act to the Director General. Under this act an importer is anyone who brings in goods or services into the country and an exporter is one who sends out goods and services via land, sea or air. However, the term “goods” is not defined in the act itself and the meaning is derived from the dictionary meaning of the word or from the Import-Export regulation act of 1947 which preceded the current act. As per this act “goods” is defined as any “article, animal, substance or property whatsoever”.

There has been a lot of controversy whether sending of digital material over the Internet would qualify as “goods” or “services” and whether the process of transmitting the information over the Internet falls within the ambit of sending out of India goods or services “by land, sea or air”.  Since the issue was unclear, freelancers were not asked to apply and obtain the IEC number under section 7.

However, there was a move to include services into the ambit of the act from time to time. Objections from the Finance Ministry kept the amendment at bay for some time.  The Standing Committee on Commerce made suggestions on Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2009 which included a suggestion to bring “Techonology” and “services” including “financial services” under the ambit of the act.  The bill was  submitted on the 25th of November 2009 to effect the following amendments.

2(a) (ii) Supplying Service or Technology from the territory of India to another country; from India to a service consumer in another country; by a service supplier in India through a commercial presence in another country; through a service supplier in India, through Indian naturals in the territory of another country.

Elaborate definitions of service and technology have also been included in the act. You can get more information at http://164.100.47.5/newcommittee/press_release/bill/Committee%20on%20Commerce/Foreign%20Trade%20%28Development%20and%20Regulation%29%20Bill,%2020090001.pdf .  The net result of this amendment would be that all freelancers who supply software or other kinds of services to consumers abroad must apply for and obtain a IEC number.

I am unable to ascertain whether the bill has been passed or is still pending. If it has been passed, freelancers should get ready to apply for the IEC number! Stay tuned in for more information!

So I would like to advise my fellow Indian freelancers to get cracking and find out what compliance with these laws imply and how to go about  complying with the laws and getting the numbers you require for continuing to operate. I shall keep you updated from my blog http://www.consult4content.com/blogs. So stay tuned in.

Finally, the Paypal spokesman stated in a blog post that

• Paypal had suspended the services to respond to enquiries from Indian regulators, specifically questions on personal payments and whether these payments constitute remittances into India.
• He assured the Indian clients that Paypal is working with the Indian regulators to get the issues resolved quickly and on priority and apologized for the inconvinience being caused.
• However, he could not give a timeline for resolution and said that it could take a few months, since the regulators had let Paypal know about the revised licensing rules only recently.
• Meanwhile Indian clients who had initiated withdrawals would be credited with the amounts withdrawn and any losses that may be incurred due to currency fluctuation and withdrawal charges.
• Negative balances arising from reversal of transactions would be resolved case by case if the client requests for a resolution by clicking the “Resolve Negative Balance” link on the Account Overview Page.
• All instances where business payments were erroneously reversed as personal payments can be resolved by requesting the payer to follow the instructions on the site and to make the payment again.

Why did this happen? What are the revised regulations that have impacted them? New York Times informed the Indian clientele. To quote them:

“Providers of cross-border money transfer service need prior authorization from the Reserve Bank under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act,” a spokeswoman for the Reserve Bank of India, Alpana Killawalla, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “PayPal does not have our authorization.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/business/global/11paypal.html

It is seen from the Paypal website that Paypal has license to operate a remittance business in many parts of the world but not in India. They feel that they are not in the remittance business in India because they perform online transactions only. Recipients transfer the money to a bank or withdraw it.

The Indian Payment and Settlement Systems Act, however, demands that anyone desirous of setting up a payment system in India should apply for and obtain a license to operate in India under section 5 of the act.  Under the provisions the Reserve Bank of India will have the right to regulate and supervise payment systems including electronic payment systems. The bank can lay down standards for the setting up of such systems; authorize the set up of the system; determine the criteria for the membership; and oversee the administration and regulation of the guidelines laid down under the act.

Consequently, Paypal has no choice but to decide to apply for an authorization under this act if it wants to continue its operations in India. It is expected that Paypal will be applying for the license immediately and will be allowing its Indian clients to withdraw monies into their Indian bank accounts soon. So those who hold accounts with Paypal hang on! A resolution of the problem seems to be on its way!

Collagen, a natural protein, may produce results that last up to four months.  Certain types of collagen may require preliminary allergy testing in some patients.  Results of six months or more may be achieved by hyaluronic acid, a natural substance found in our bodies.  This may be used to fill in creases or plump lips.

To fill in deeper folds near the nose, frown lines, or to enhance fullness of the cheeks, hydroxylapatite may be used.  This is a compound found in human bones that is suspended in gel form and has mineral-like qualities.

Human fat harvesting and injection requires more extensive procedure because it uses liposuction to do the harvesting before the filler injection may be done.  This can fill in creases and contours to enhance fullness of the face.

FDA-approved PMMA is recommended to correct facial wrinkles such as smile lines.  PMMA is 20% polymethylacrylate and 80% purified collagen gel.

Though there is wide variance in results, patients may expect results to last up to a year in some instances.  Preserved fat injection results are more favorable if the fat is used at time of harvest.  Some filler may be FDA approved on a basis not specified to a particular application.

Patients may expect almost immediate improvement in appearance with some potential for bruising or swelling that will resolve.  There may be redness, sensitivity or itching briefly after the procedure.  Complications are rare and will vary depending on the type of filler used.  Rarely, filler may migrate to an unintended area producing temporary paralysis or there may be skin necrosis. There may be overcorrection. Milder symptoms from some fillers should resolve in just a few days, while the fat injections may produce symptoms that endure for a few weeks.   For the most part, fillers produce marked improvement in appearance and are safe and effective.  Choosing someone who is trained specifically in administering fillers and other types of rejuvenation is important.

Patients may experience anxiety about the procedure and are encouraged to have realistic expectations and ask questions.  Many variables affect results of fillers, and the results are not permanent though the substance is.  Issues such as continued aging and the way that the body absorbs the material will affect duration of results.  Without repeated treatment, issues such as thin lips or wrinkles and scars will reappear over time. With aging, fillers may shift or clump and surgical removal may be required to avoid unwanted changes in texture of soft tissue.  Consultation is required prior to treatment, but follow up visits take only moments.  Costs vary greatly, but many surgeons have financing available. Patients should inquire about their surgeon’s board certification and membership, years of experience, accreditation, the procedure and recovery period, and the way in which complications might be handled.

The pyramids of Egypt were constructed by the 3^rd to the 6th Dynasties. They lie scattered along the western side of Nile stretching to the south of the apex of the Delta.

The pyramids, today, stand isolated against the backdrop of the Egyptian deserts. At the time of their construction, these pyramids were part of a complex of buildings that were surrounded by a walled enclosure.  The temple was normally located on the east of the pyramid and was dedicated to the worship of the dead.  There was also a raised and enclosed causeway on this side, leading to the western edge of the cultivation. Near this was the ‘Valley Building’ in which the embalmment of the bodies was carried out and interment rites performed.  A canal connected the ‘Valley building’ to the Nile.

The ancient Egyptians designed shape of the pyramid to represent the primordial mound from which the earth was created. The shape is also believed to represent the descending rays of the sun. The names of the pyramids also referred to solar luminescence.  They were highly polished to reflect the rays of the sun and give them a brilliant appearance. One of the narrow shafts from the burial chamber within the pyramid extends to the centre of the pyramid that point to the sky suggesting that the pyramid was conceived of as a means of magically launching the deceased pharaoh’s soul into the abode of the gods.  The West (the side on which the pyramids are built) also has mythological associations with the land of the dead.

The early pyramids were architecturally similar to Mastabas.  The step pyramid of Pharaoh Zoser at Sakkara is an example of the intermediary stage of evolution of the pyramid from mastabas. One of the pyramids at Meydum and two at Dahshur by Seneferu(bent pyramid) can also be cited as examples of the evolving architecture of the pyramids. The finest examples of true pyramid architecture can be seen in the famous three pyramids of Giza built by the fourth dynasty successors of Seneferu.

The construction of pyramids involved a lot of labor and materials. Each pyramid was a lifetime project of the Pharaoh.  The pyramids were built on living rocks which were first levelled and built upon.  The limestone rocks, of which the pyramids were built, were brought from the quarries.  The outer face of the pyramid was built with limestone quarried locally, while the inner face was built with limestone from Tura (on the eastern side of Nile). Some amount of granite has been used for linings of the chambers and passages.  This granite was brought from Aswan.  The tomb chambers and their approaches were cut into the rock below or were constructed in the core of the pyramid.  The entrances to the pyramid were normally in the northern side of the pyramid. The sides of the pyramid were scrupulously oriented with cardinal points.

The structure of the pyramid involved building a series of concentric sloping slices or layers around a steep pyramidical core. During construction the pyramid appeared to be a mass of step like tiers that were later filled in to give it the finished smooth steep look with its specific angle of inclination. The steps were filled in with packing blocks and brought with finely finished facings.  The finishing was done from top to the bottom and the apex stone was sometimes gilded.

Interestingly, the Egyptian construction tools were very primitive.   They had no knowledge of the pulley and their principal tool for raising the stone blocks was the lever.  Wooden sledges with or without wheels were used to transport the blocks to the construction site. Broad topped, sloping sand ramps reinforced with crude brick walls were built on the pyramid and the blocks were dragged up these ramps of sand and bricks.

There are as many as hundred pyramids scattered along the western side of the Nile. Many of them have been rifled and pilfered in the chaos that followed the 6^th dynasty.  They have also been the target for tomb robbers over the years. A few pyramids have been well preserved and are great tourist attractions today.

A two day visit with one night stay at Kurukshetra is recommended.  Popular hotels for overnight stay at Kurukshetra are: Saffron, Heritage, Neelkanth Yatri Niwas and Parakeet hotel. There are also a number of guest houses and Dharmashalas that accomodate travelers to this historic city.

Places of Tourist Interest

Sheikh Chehli’s Tomb is a beautiful tomb constructed by Dara Shikoh(1650 AD), the eldest son of Shah Jahan the Moghul Emperor, for the sufi saint Abd-ur-rahim or Sheikh Chehli. The tomb is constructed over an artificial terrance and is octogonal with a south facing entrance. It is built of buff sandstone and crowned by a pear shaped dome of marble with a high circular drum.  A smaller tomb with beautiful floral carvings dedicated to the wife of Sheikh Chehli can be found near the west entrance.  The whole overlooks a Madrasa which has a nine arched opening on each side of the central courtyard. It has been declared a monument of National importance.

The Kurukshetra Panorama and Science center is located near the Sri Krishna Museum in Kurukshetra. It is a two storeyed building that exhibits Indian heritage science and technology. Ancient Indian concepts of properties of matter, structure of the atom, geometry, mathematical rules, astronomy, medicine and surgery are on display.  The highlight of the museum is the life like panorama of the historical battle of Kurukshetra with 34 feet high paintings of the episodes from the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas.  The sound and light that accompany the scene along with the background Gita Chanting create an illusion of reality. A science park has been set up in the grounds with busts of all the greatest scientists of India.

The Krishna museum exhibits the collection of archelogical material from 5000 years of Indian History. Effort has been made to sequence the material culture from the Kurukshetra war pre epic, epic and post epic periods. There is no effort to establish the historicity of the war, only to display the archeological findings pertaining to the different periods. The museum has six galleries and a rich heritage of art and sculpture is housed in these galleries. A whole day can be spent examining these exquisite pieces of history and art!

Kalpana Chawla Memorial Planetarium was built to impart non formal education in Astronomy. A number of excellent programs with high tech digital and optomechanical systems are conducted in this building.  Science and technology exhibits, astronomy shows and the astro park are highlights of this spot.

Gulzarilal Nanda Institute of National Integration and Peace is a personalia museum built in honor of the erstwhile Governor of the State who did much to improve and preserve the historical and places of tourist importance in Kurukshetra.  The musuem highlights his career, spiritual beliefs and his services for Kurukshetra.

Brahmasarovar is a beautiful tank with a temple dedicated to Shiva in the center of the tank. This spot is believed to be the location at which Brahma begins his act of creation after the great Pralaya that destroys the world. A number of bathing ghats named after the characters of the Mahabarath can be found round this tank.  The waters of this tank are considered sacred and pilgrims visit this tank in large numbers during the Solar eclipse and on New moon day to take a dip in the holy waters.

The Sannihit Sarovar in Kurukshetra is said to be the confluence of seven sacred saraswatis. A large number of pilgrims visit this tank on New Moon day to absolve themselves of sins.  Adjacent to this tank are the temples dedicated to Dhruv Narain, Lord Vishnu, Laxmi Narayan, Lord Hanuman and Mother Goddess Durga.

Places of Historical Importance

Kurukshetra is replete with history.  The site has been the cradle of Indian civilization for more than 5000 years. A number of archelogical sites have been excavated and the findings from these sites are housed in the different museums located across the city including the Krishna museum.

The Archeological site museum and Harsha’s Palace are located behind the Tomb of Sheikh Chehli. The museum houses the archeological findings at the excavation site of the Palace of Harsha, the King of Thanesar.  The Archeological Survey of India has unearthed from the mound, stone and terracotta sculptures, coins, ornaments, ritualistic objects. The exhibition also has on display the schematic plan and its findings and architectural buildings that have been exposed during the excavation.  The mound itself is located close to the  museum and the contours of the palace are very visible. The settlement pattern, the architectural style, religious life and artistic endeavor are visible to tourists.

Jyotisar is the most revered historical location in Kurukshetra. It is believed that Krishna elucidated the Gita to Arjuna at this spot. While the historical truth of this assertion is not proved, tradition has it that the message was delivered under a holy banyan tree at this spot. Jyotisar lies 5 km from Kurukshetra on the Kurushetra Peshowa road.  The banyan currently found on the spot is said to be an offshoot of the original banyan that existed at the time of the discourse. The site has a beautiful marble statue of Krishna and Arjuna on a chariot.  A sound and light show on the theme of Bhagawat Gita is mounted by the ITDC as part of the tourist promotion of Kurushetra here.

Close to Jyotisar, infact at the entrance to the location, stands an ancient Shiva temple between the trunks of two trees. The temple is said to date back to the Kurushetra war.

Temples in Kurukshetra

The Staneshwar Mahadev temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of destruction. It is said that the Pandavas visited this temple before the battle of Mahabarat to receive the blessings of Lord Shiva. The waters of the tank adjoining the temple is said to have cured Kind “Ben” of leprosy.  A pilgrimage to Kurukshetra is complete only when the pilgrim takes a holy dip in this tank.   The temple is constructed in the regional style and has a domical roof and the facade of this dome has the shape of an “amla” or gooseberry with a tall pinacle.  The sanctum sanctorum houses a Lingam in the traditional style.

The Bhadrakali temple is a temple dedicated to Shakti, the consort of Lord Shiva. It is one of the fifty one Shaki peetas or seat of power of the Goddess.  The right ankle of Shakti is idolized in this temple.  A large number of devotees congregate in this temple to worship the Godress. Local legend has it that Krishna and Balarama had their “Mundan” ceremony or the removal of first growth of hair was conducted in this temple. It is also believed that the Pandavas visited this temple to pray to the Goddess for victory in the Kurukshetra war.  Worshippers offer terracotta horses to the diety when their prayers are answered by the Goddess.

The Kalmaki temple is also dedicated to Bhadrakali. This temple is associated with Tantricism and is said to have existed even in the sixth and seventh centuries AD at the current location.  The style of the temple, however, is 19th century.  The brickwork is in Lakhori style and is double storied. The style of the sanctum santrum is offbeat with the sanctum juxtapositioned to form a single structure bearing a composite domical and vaulted roof styles.  Four domical spires are located around the central domical spise.  The entrance to the temple has a vaulted alcove design.  Beautiful murals decorate the sanctum interior and the octogonal wall below the inner dome and square chamber of the sanctum.

Bhishma Kund or Narkatari tank is located about a mile and half from Thanesar on Kurushetra Pehowa road. The legend says that Bhishma, the elder of the Pandava and Kuru clan gave up his life voluntarily at this spot. It is believed that the waters of the tank were summoned forth by Arjuna to quench the thirst of Bhishma. There is a temple dedicated to Bhishma on this spot adjacent to the tank.

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Pope Gelasius I established the Valentine’s day by declaring the 14th of February AD 496 as the memorial day for Saint Valentine.  In the middle ages the character of the celebration once more assumed the garb of the Juno festival and came to be associated with romantic love.  Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle of friends had much to do with the tranformation.   So if you celebrate Valentines day, you are part of a tradition that goes back several centuries.

There are several customs and beliefs associated with Valentine’s day.  Here are a few you may like to know about:

• Men presented their beloved with a wooden love spoon. Keys, keyholes or hearts were carved on these spoons to tell them “you unlock my heart”
• In the middle ages, young men wore the name of their beloved on their sleeve to tell the world what they felt abou the girl. The phrase to “wear the heart on the sleeve” originated with this practice.
• In some countries young men presented their girl with an article of clothing. If she kept the cloth, it was considered to be a promise to marry.
• Women in the middle ages looked skyward to find out what kind of men they would marry. If they saw a robin, it was believed that the husband would be a sailor; if she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and if she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a rich man.
• Women twisted the stem of an apple reciting the names of the boys they might marry. The boy whose name is recited when the stem comes off was believed to be the person the girl would marry.
• X was written on paper as a symbol for a kiss.

Interesting facts about Valentine’s day

• Esther Howland produced the first commercial for American Valentines in 1840.  She sold $5000 worth of cards during the first year of her business.
• The Valentine industry is a booming industry. More than 1 billion valentine cards are sold every year in America each year.
• Chocolates and flowers are sold in large quantities. The sales figures for these are only slightly lower than that for cards.
• About 85% of the Valentines are purchased by women.
• Teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then, sweethearts. Children between ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine’s cards with teachers, classmates, and family members.

Happy Valentine’s day!

However, it should be noted that income from every type of house property is not treated on the same footing in all countries, for a variety of reasons. Depending on the scope of encouragement to be given to house building activity, the  income tax benefits available on the  first property owned by a person may be different from the income tax benefits available on  the second property owned by the same person.

It follows that income tax benefits available on properties owned by the individual in countries other than the country of residence, may also be different. The tax on income from such properties may be computed with reference to any tax treaties that may have been entered into by the parent country with the country in which the property yeilding income is located.

Having said this, let us go on to examine what is commonly understood as income from house property.

Income from House Property, also referred to as rental income, is any payment you receive for the use or occupation of your property (referred to as Lessee or owner) by another (referred to as lesor or tenant).

Broadly, Income tax legislations the world over define income from house property as any or all of the following:

• Periodic payments by the tenant for use of property fully or partially
• Notional rental value of property that is intended for self occupation
• Payments by tenants towards amenities provided with the property
• Any amounts paid by tenant to cancel a lease
• Any expenses paid by the tenant on your behalf
• A security deposit that is intended to be adjusted against unpaid rent or final payment of rent
• Any security deposit that is adjusted because tenant does not comply with the terms of the lease

The type of accounting system you adopt will also make a difference to the amount of income from house property you report under the tax legislation. So most tax legislations recognize two types of accounting proceeduces as legitimate–cash system or accrual system.  A cash system of accounting implies that you account for the rent only when you receive the cash. Under the accrual system you will include all rent that is due to you and not necessarily received.

However, the entire amount you receive from your tenant is not taxable.  The income at the point of receipt is “gross rent”.  The actual taxable rent could be far less than what you have received from your tenant in the course of the accounting year. Why? All tax legislations allow legitimate and reasonable expenses that may be incurred by an individual in collecting the rent or maintaining the property in a rentable condition. The rent arrived at after deducting expenses is the “Net taxable rental income”.

Deductible expenses on gross rental income could include:

• Expenses on upkeep of the property
• Finding a tenant to occupy the property
• Expenses incurred for collection of rental
• Expenses incurred for payment of property tax and
• Other taxes/charges on property.

A few tax legislations may also allow you some deductions such as:

• interest that is paid on loans taken by you for the purchase of property;
• vaccancy allowance for the period when the property remains untenanted or
• loss of income you have appropriated the property for personal use during a part of the financial year.

A few legislations allow a standard deduction on income from house property in place of deductions for various expenses. Other legislations may allow depreciation on house property income.  You must compute your house property income in accordance with the definition of house property income that is enshrined in the legislation of your country of residence and deduct expenses that are allowable under that legislation.

The total income from house property can be a loss if the expenses on property exceeds the gross income from property. This may or may not be set off against income from other heads as defined in the tax legislation of the country.

[Subsequent tax talk posts will be devoted to "How to compute house property Income" under different tax legislations. So stay with us and we hope this information will be useful to you for the tax filing season in your country!]

Certain medications may have to be stopped and antibiotics begun before the  commencement of the procedure. Patients will also be asked to avoid alcohol during the course of treatment.

Patients will be required to shampoo the night before the hair transplant  is performed in the dermatologist’s office or a hair transplant center.  The dermatologist will remove a strip of scalp from the back of the head that has good growth under local anesthesia. This is called a “prep strip”.  The prepped strip will  be divided into sections for suturing onto thinning or bald areas of the head.  Prepped slivers are carefully divided by technicians into grafts containing up to three hair follicles.  The procedure itself may last from 5 to 10 hours depending on the level of hair loss and transplant.  For optimum results, other restorative procedures such as scalp reduction or expansion may be combined with the transplant.  Often only one restoration treatment is required to produce satisfactory results.  If patients require additional restoration, it will be scheduled 6 to 12 months later.

Patients must take care to follow instructions for post-restoration recovery.  Instructions are normally given to prevent infection and minimize soreness that is inherent in the procedure.  Since it takes about five days for the hair to attach to the new area, patients must apply medication  carefully as directed.  Rubbing can cause the restored hair to fall out.  If scabs develop post restoration,  they must be left alone.  They generally heal in two weeks or less. Patients must wait a week to ten days to resume normal activities such as exercise to help prevent restored hair from falling out.

Though hair transplant is relatively safe and effective, it is not completely without risk of complication.  Follicle damage or other factors may produce poor or slow growth to the affected area.  Infection, scarring, or hyperpigmentation may occur.  Patients must keep their hair covered and protected from the sun for at least one month following the transplant to encourage ideal healing.

SANSymphony is for enterprises that aim to virtualize their storage area networks, while SANmelody is for small Fiber Channel and iSCSI SANs of up to 32 TB.  The virtual disk pooling, synchronized mirroring for high availability, load balancing, thin provisioning and other advanced features are exciting and will be welcomed by enterprises using these software.  The 64 bit controller software supports large cache on the physical server up to a theoretical limit of 1 TB as against the earlier versions which supported only 20 GB cache.

Jack Fegreus, CEO Southborough, Mass-based openBench Labs points out that a terabyte of cache is “at the far edge of reality for most normal sites today” but given Moore’s Law “1TB of cache may well be average”.  Today many organizations use as much as 256 GB of cache on average. This increased cache will imply that there will be a denser consolidation of servers into virtual machines and performance of VM backups may improve by minimizing I/O to disk.

The Transporter Option that comes with SANmelody and SANsymphony can also perform conversions between physical and virtual servers. This feature is significant as a server can be converted from a physical Windows box to a Microsoft Corp.Hyper V Image and then to a VMware ESX image.  It can then be converted back to a logical unit Number (LUN) mapped to a physical server. This feature could be an advantage to people who are running multiple virtual servers with different operating systems.

Themis Tokkaris, Systems Engineer, Truly Nolen, Tuscon, Ariz (a pest control company) appreciates that “it is also an open idea” and further says: “”If I’m not happy with ESX in the future, I’m not stuck with it.”

DataCore SAN offers its users the option of using a new free plug in for VMWare Inc’s Virtual Infrastructure Client.  James Price, Vice President of Product and Channel Marketing, DataCore SAN, claims that it will offer “cleaner visibility and easier to understand mappings and paths”.  He further points out that the upgrades will provide a way to reclaim free capacity on volumes using thin provisioning.

DataCore SAN is not alone in this storage virtualization space. Many of the features offered by DataCore such as 64 bit support, thin provisioning and so on have been included in the packages of other vendors.  Symantec Corp., Double-Take Software Inc and others offer 64 bit support for the data protection space.  Compellent Technologies Inc. too offered free space recovery for thin provisioning about a year ago.  DataCore SAN’s offer, however, combines these features into a server centric approach and appears to have set the trend for the future of networked storage solutions.

However, Fegreus says DataCore’s combining these features into a server-centric approach looks like the wave of the future for networked storage as integration increases between SANs and servers.

In Australia property tax is known as property or land rates. The frequency of payment is determined by local councils who use land valuers to determine land worth. The land value does not include value of any buildings that may be erected on the land or any other improvements that are made to the land. Quarterly payments of land rates are common across Australian councils.  Land owners are also expected to pay water rates in addition to land rates.

In Canada property tax is linked with land use. The current use of the property plus the value of the land will be considered for the purposes of taxation. The tax is levied by muncipal governments and the valuation criteria is laid down by provincial legislation.  Normally market value is adopted for valuation purposes in most provinces. However, there may reevaluation cycles for refixing the value over a period of time.

In Hong Kong property tax is not an ad valorem tax. It is a kind of income tax.  Property owners who receive rentals are said to have received a “consideration” and hence the property is subject to tax for the year of assessment. The net assessable value of the property is computed at 80% of its assessable value multiplied by the property tax at a standard rate less any bad debts and rates paid by owner.

In India property tax resembles the US wealth tax. The property tax is a tax on buildings along with appurtenant land. The power to tax vests with the State Government and is implemented by the local authorities within whose jurisdiction the property exists. The tax base is an annual rateable value or area based rating. Owner occupied properties are assessed differently from rented properties. Commercial properties have yet another rate. Vacant land is exempt from tax and government properties are not taxable.  A number of related taxes are also imposed such as water tax, service tax, drainage tax, conservancy tax, lighting tax using the same tax base.  The rate structure is rather flat in rural areas and mildly progressive in urban areas.  Personal property in India is taxed under the Wealth tax act and is a central government levy on personal property.

In UK there is currently no ad valorem tax on property as on date.

Property tax in the USA is levied by the local government at the municipal or county level.  Assessment consists of two components–the improvements to land and the land itself.  A few states also tax personal property.

The assessment of property for tax levy in the USA is done by a tax assessor.  The appraiser takes into consideration the selling price of similar properties in the area or the income derived from the property or replacement cost of the property to arrive at the value of the property.  Assessment may be at 100% of the value or at a lesser rate taking into consideration other relevant factors.  Tax is then collected as a percentage of the value.

Additionally some states may impose a non ad valorem tax on property that is known as special assessments. Street lighting and storm sewer control facilities may be taxed under a fixed rate from property owners regardless of the value of the property they own in the area.

Personal property tax in the USA is a tax on the value of movable property owned by the individual. These include vehicles owned, durable goods such as works of art, business inventory and intangible assets such as stocks and bonds.  This tax can be imposed theoretically by any level of the Government but is practically imposed by the States.

Levy of property tax is often regarded as a regressive step by taxation gurus. It is believed that incorrect implementation of property tax can lead to a huge burden on property owners who have accumulated property but yield from property is low.  Others argue that property tax is a progressive levy because most property round the world is owned by corporations and not individuals.  However, it is to be acknowledged that the progressive or regressive nature of the tax will be determined by the prevailing environment of property ownership within the country and the play of market forces within a given locality.

In fact, the downturn threw into sharp relief all those things you should have been doing (but never did) even when there was no downturn to scare you silly. A few learnings of industries over the last two years have been summarized below:

• Tweak your business model but don’t cut down on marketing innovation
• Stay with your long term goals
• Exploit your strengths
• Keep a tight rein on costs by running your business efficiently–keep positive cash flows
• Do not push profits at the cost of stability
• Invest in a few strategic things that will help you maintain your balance in differing environments
• Never expand in a fractured market using debt
• Treat employees as partners  in your success at all times
• Network with your customers constantly–your business depends on them
• Advertise your products aggressively all the time
• Keep watch on your competition and their product strategies but do not imitate them-learn from their mistake

Maybe we should say with John Heywood:

“If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.”

John Heywood quotes (English Playwright and Poet, 1497-1580)

There are many arguments in support of meditation being an active state!  They would point out that you can actually burn calories by doing meditation. Visit http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/fitness/exercise/meditating/ and you will be told that meditation helps you burn 66 calories per hour for an average person–average being a person who weight 145 pounds.  http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-burned-light-meditating-a148 says that you can burn 70 calories  per hour if you weigh 150 pounds by doing light meditation.

You may then,  turn round to argue that even people who are sleeping burn calories. Of course, you do that in the assumption that sleep is not an active state! Well, it must again be pointed out that the active or passive state of sleep is itself in question.  However, studies show that you burn 60-72 calories an hour(per 150 lbs weight) during sleep. So sleep too is an active state for the purposes of our thesis.

Of course, we do not have to believe all this. We can look to scientific proof. Siebert, Gessner and Klasser who studied the energy consumed by the central nervous system when a person sits down to do some deep thinking reveals that the brain burns 230-270 calories an hour. {Energy supply of the central nervous system.PMID: 3516137 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Bibl Nutr Dieta. 1986;(38):1-26.].

While this is not much when compared to calorie loss during exercise, it is certainly a large amount for a small organ accounts for such a small part of the body weight! Also, it is a clear indication that “thinking” is activity that burns calories. It follows, that meditation which is a kind of focused and concentrated thinking, is an active physical state and not a passive one.

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