Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Rythm Divine.....
We all at some point of time have had wrong misconceptions about therapists and the term ‘therapists’ has also been used in the wrong context. But after knowing about Tripura Kashyap and her dance therapy one would realise that venturing into an unexplored territory is about having confidence and strength to pull you through difficult times.After finishing her graduation in classical dance from Kalakshetra College of fine arts Chennai, Tripura Kashyap started her career as a performing artist in Chandralekha Dance Company in Chennai. She continued to work as a performing artist and a choreographer for many years. But she always craved to do something extraordinary with her art. To boldly go where no one has gone before does indeed require a leap of faith and a hope for a market that may not even exist but she was determined to overcome all hurdles when she was introduced to the concept of ‘dance therapy’. Dance therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of dance for emotional, cognitive, social, behavioural and physical conditions.The therapy enhances emotional and physical unity of individuals, making effective changes in feelings, cognition and physical functioning. Her brother who is physically challenged was her source of inspiration. “I used to see him responding to various forms of music and that made me think about the possibilities of using dance as a tool for healing. I wanted to know more about dance therapy and hence, I studied dance therapy at Hancock Center for Movement Therapy in US,” says Kashyap. On her return from the US, Kashyap started Apoorva Dance Theatre in Bangalore. Later she received the Ashoka International Fellowship for her innovative work in dance/movement therapy. “During the fellowship, I travelled all over India training special educators and trainers to use dance therapy as a way of healing. It was an enriching experience,” adds Kashyap. Later Kashyap founded Rainbow Inc, a school where various forms of art like dance, drama etc. are used as therapeutic tools. She is currently researching on the therapeutic potentials in Indian dance forms under a fellowship of the Indian cultural ministry. One of the country’s first dance/movement therapists, Kashyap has many awards to her credit including the ‘Sangeeth Nadak Academy’ award, recognising her contribution to dance/movement therapy. “Dance, for me is a direct expression of oneself through the body. And I want people to understand the significance of gauging a person’s behaviour through the very simple art of dance.” says Kashyap.She has proved that "where there's a will, there is always a way".
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Ekaant.....
I think that Aishwariya and Hrithik make a good pair 'onscreen'. So I was quite enthusiastic to see the movie Jhodha Akbar by the director Ashutosh Gwarikar. The opportunity came all of a sudden. As usual after the hectic class of Actuarial Maths I was feeling tired so after lunch was planning to take a nap. But Anil came up to my room and asked what I’m going to do in the afternoon. I had no idea so he gave me the proposal of going for a movie. I felt very excited because the cost of the ticket would be only 10/- (Satyam cinema has got a speciality which you won’t find anywhere in India. One can see the movie for only Rs. 10 which is available for the first three rows in the hall. So all the rickshawalas, thelawalas, factory workers and students stand in long queues for these tickets. So one should go at least before an hour to get the ticket otherwise would have to wait for the next show.) We went stood in the line but since it was a huge line we didn’t get so went to Spencer’s did window shopping and then returned to get the tickets for the 7:30 show. But the wait was worth it. I liked the really liked the movie. 'Jodhaa Akbar' is a sixteenth century epic romance with heavy doses of electrifying drama and wide canvas battle sequences. Possibly being the most ambitious and gutsy film to come out in the scenario of Indian cinema in recent years, 'Jodhaa Akbar' creates an unchartered cinema territory, breaking new ground in its filming and its mis-en-scene.
Ashutosh Gowariker takes on the mammoth task of making a prequel to 'Mughal-E-Azam', writing the possible love story between Emperor Akbar and Jodhabai, which starts as a marriage of alliance when King Bharmal of Amer gives his daughter’s hand in marriage to Emperor Akbar.
From the Battle of Panipat where the thirteen-year-old Jalaluddin was crowned to his conquests and his benevolent and just role that won him the title of ‘Akbar,’ meaning ‘The Great,’ the film traces the graph of the mighty emperor and his love for the defiant Rajput princess. While 'Mughal-E-Azam' was Salim’s love story, 'Jodhaa Akbar' is Akbar’s love story. No other comparisons can be made between these two films, and both are masterpieces in their own sense, as well as rich and wide in their staging. But 'Jodhaa Akbar' is a film for today, contemporary in its outlook, with the central love story flavoured with political conspiracies and palace intrigue, and a very important film that besides its dramatic entertainment makes us to realise the many shades of secularism and its importance.
Hrithik Roshan as Akbar is magnificent, giving a fantastic performance that has to be seen to be believed; his vocal intonations and commanding expressions, working on every facial muscle in delivering his lines, makes you almost believe he is a Mughal. When he proclaims ‘Yeh hamaara Mulk hai’ or when he says ‘Hamle ke liye tayyaar’ or when he admonishes his religious adviser Saadir Adasi in his court for interfering in matters of governance, you realize what a fine actor Hrithik is. But among all I liked 'Ekaant....' when he orders his subjects to go for his privacy with Malaika Hindustan. It amused us a lot. Gowariker may have taken his time to make this film, but the effort is all there on the screen. You see a mature Hrithik who not only delivers fine dialogue with great command, but Gowariker puts him through an elephant taming sequence, a sword duel with Jodhaa, battles, and a climactic combat with the main villain; making good use of the build and prowess of the star, the director makes this magnum opus as young and contemporary as possible and at the same time vividly detailed in time.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Jodhaa is so real and convincing as a Rajput princess that you feel she has never before looked so good in a role. Aided by the grand jewellery and costume finery, she shines as the princess who makes the greatest sacrifice for her people, consenting to a marriage of alliance with the Mughals. The grace of her swordplay coupled with some fine horse-riding makes you wonder what kind of preparation went behind this film. Kudos to Gowariker for making his stars every inch the character they are enacting, and more.
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Insurance Industry
Introduction:
We can say that insurance appears simultaneously with the appearance of human society. We know of two types of economies in human societies: money economies (with markets, money, financial instruments and so on) and non-money or natural economies (without money, markets, financial instruments and so on). The second type is a more ancient form than the first. In such an economy and community, we can see insurance in the form of people helping each other. For example, if a house burns down, the members of the community help build a new one. If the same thing happens to one's neighbour, the other neighbours must help. Otherwise, neighbours will not receive help in the future. From here came the concept of Insurance. Now with the growth of our civilization and with it the growing importance of trade and industrialization there has been a growing demand for insurance.
The basic human trait is to be averse to the idea of taking risk. There is always an urge to minimize the risk and take protection against possible failures. Any risk may be insured against at a premium commensurate with the risk involved. Insurance is a complex mechanism and it is consequently hard to define. However in simple terms it has two fundamental characteristics:
(a) Transferring or shifting of a risk from one individual to a group; (b) Sharing loses, on some equitable basis, by all members of the group.
India is a perfect market for Insurance:
With a population of 1.1 billion, India is a perfect market for insurance and can generate sufficient long-term funds for development of infrastructure sector. "You cannot be anything but bullish about the Indian market if you are a multinational. With 1.1 billion population, relatively young population, relatively well educated population, this is a perfect market for insurance," says MDRT President James E Rogers. Insurance is also important as it leads to capital formation. Countries with strong insurance industries should have strong infrastructure and strong capital formation. According to Rogers, “It generates long term capital to build super highways, mortgages for buildings, at the same time it protects families and businesses in case somebody dies." Since India and China are fast growing economies. So in respect to it he suggests “It would be foolish not to be interested in this part of the world, especially India, and increasing our membership because this is an economic story that is very exciting and we want to be a part of it. The country has the potential to add 40,000 members to the organization, which is an international association of professionals representing 476 companies spread over 76 nations. In terms of the financial sector, he added, India is in an excellent position to grow in exponential fashion in the short run”.
“Indian Insurance Industry Forecast (2007-2009)”, provides extensive research and objective analysis of the growing insurance industry, its product quality, and services in India. This report helps to analyze the leading-edge opportunities critical to the success of the insurance Industry in India. Detailed data and analysis helps investors, financial service providers, and global banking players to navigate through the evolving insurance market in India.
Key Findings:
(1) Taking into account the changing socio-economic demographics, rate of GDP growth, changing consumer behavior and occurrences of natural calamities at regular intervals, the Indian life insurance market is expected to reach the value of around Rs 1683 Billion in the year 2009. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 200% YOY from the year 2006.
(2) In 2006-07, pension premium contributed about 22.11% to total premium income of insurers. Interestingly, the figure in the first nine months to December 2005 was 25.22%.
(3) In the non-life segment, the established players control 65% of the market. So it is their monthly performance that determines how the market as a whole would perform.
(4) In Motor Insurance Business, Public sector covers almost 68% of the market value whereas the private sector just had 32% market share till September 2006.
(5) In Accident Insurance Business, private sector players have almost 53% market share with ICICI Lombard as the lead player. Public sector players constitute about 47% market value with New India as the leading player followed by United India.
Liberalization of the Insurance Industry
An insurance policy protects the buyer at some cost against financial loss arising from a specified risk. Different situations require different mix of risk – cost combinations. Insurance companies thereby offers scheme of different kinds. Among the emerging economies, India is one of the least insured countries but the potential for the further growth is phenomenal. The demand for insurance is likely to increase with rising per capita incomes, rising literacy rates and increase of the service sector. After the Korean and Taiwanese insurance sectors were liberalized, the Korean market has grown 3 times faster than GDP and Taiwanese market has grown at a rate of almost 4 times than that of its GDP. Further opening of sectors to private firms will foster competition, innovation and a variety of products.
Role of the IRDA:
IRDA’s primary function is to protect consumer interests. This means ensuring proper disclosure, keeping prices affordable but also insisting on some mandatory products and most importantly making sure that consumers get paid by insurers. Further ensuring the solvency of insurers is a very important function of regulatory authority. IRDA has evolved a set of operational guidelines to deal with maintaining the solvency of the insurers. Growth of insurance business entails better education and production to customers, creating better incentives for agents and intermediaries.
Conclusion:
Privatization of insurance is a now a reality towards further liberalization of the Indian economy. With the opening up of the industry after reforms, private sector operators in collaboration with their overseas partners are likely to bring in a more professional and focused approach. Hence in this millennium, Insurance Industry is likely to play an important role in changing the economic landscape of the country.
We can say that insurance appears simultaneously with the appearance of human society. We know of two types of economies in human societies: money economies (with markets, money, financial instruments and so on) and non-money or natural economies (without money, markets, financial instruments and so on). The second type is a more ancient form than the first. In such an economy and community, we can see insurance in the form of people helping each other. For example, if a house burns down, the members of the community help build a new one. If the same thing happens to one's neighbour, the other neighbours must help. Otherwise, neighbours will not receive help in the future. From here came the concept of Insurance. Now with the growth of our civilization and with it the growing importance of trade and industrialization there has been a growing demand for insurance.
The basic human trait is to be averse to the idea of taking risk. There is always an urge to minimize the risk and take protection against possible failures. Any risk may be insured against at a premium commensurate with the risk involved. Insurance is a complex mechanism and it is consequently hard to define. However in simple terms it has two fundamental characteristics:
(a) Transferring or shifting of a risk from one individual to a group; (b) Sharing loses, on some equitable basis, by all members of the group.
India is a perfect market for Insurance:
With a population of 1.1 billion, India is a perfect market for insurance and can generate sufficient long-term funds for development of infrastructure sector. "You cannot be anything but bullish about the Indian market if you are a multinational. With 1.1 billion population, relatively young population, relatively well educated population, this is a perfect market for insurance," says MDRT President James E Rogers. Insurance is also important as it leads to capital formation. Countries with strong insurance industries should have strong infrastructure and strong capital formation. According to Rogers, “It generates long term capital to build super highways, mortgages for buildings, at the same time it protects families and businesses in case somebody dies." Since India and China are fast growing economies. So in respect to it he suggests “It would be foolish not to be interested in this part of the world, especially India, and increasing our membership because this is an economic story that is very exciting and we want to be a part of it. The country has the potential to add 40,000 members to the organization, which is an international association of professionals representing 476 companies spread over 76 nations. In terms of the financial sector, he added, India is in an excellent position to grow in exponential fashion in the short run”.
“Indian Insurance Industry Forecast (2007-2009)”, provides extensive research and objective analysis of the growing insurance industry, its product quality, and services in India. This report helps to analyze the leading-edge opportunities critical to the success of the insurance Industry in India. Detailed data and analysis helps investors, financial service providers, and global banking players to navigate through the evolving insurance market in India.
Key Findings:
(1) Taking into account the changing socio-economic demographics, rate of GDP growth, changing consumer behavior and occurrences of natural calamities at regular intervals, the Indian life insurance market is expected to reach the value of around Rs 1683 Billion in the year 2009. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 200% YOY from the year 2006.
(2) In 2006-07, pension premium contributed about 22.11% to total premium income of insurers. Interestingly, the figure in the first nine months to December 2005 was 25.22%.
(3) In the non-life segment, the established players control 65% of the market. So it is their monthly performance that determines how the market as a whole would perform.
(4) In Motor Insurance Business, Public sector covers almost 68% of the market value whereas the private sector just had 32% market share till September 2006.
(5) In Accident Insurance Business, private sector players have almost 53% market share with ICICI Lombard as the lead player. Public sector players constitute about 47% market value with New India as the leading player followed by United India.
Liberalization of the Insurance Industry
An insurance policy protects the buyer at some cost against financial loss arising from a specified risk. Different situations require different mix of risk – cost combinations. Insurance companies thereby offers scheme of different kinds. Among the emerging economies, India is one of the least insured countries but the potential for the further growth is phenomenal. The demand for insurance is likely to increase with rising per capita incomes, rising literacy rates and increase of the service sector. After the Korean and Taiwanese insurance sectors were liberalized, the Korean market has grown 3 times faster than GDP and Taiwanese market has grown at a rate of almost 4 times than that of its GDP. Further opening of sectors to private firms will foster competition, innovation and a variety of products.
Role of the IRDA:
IRDA’s primary function is to protect consumer interests. This means ensuring proper disclosure, keeping prices affordable but also insisting on some mandatory products and most importantly making sure that consumers get paid by insurers. Further ensuring the solvency of insurers is a very important function of regulatory authority. IRDA has evolved a set of operational guidelines to deal with maintaining the solvency of the insurers. Growth of insurance business entails better education and production to customers, creating better incentives for agents and intermediaries.
Conclusion:
Privatization of insurance is a now a reality towards further liberalization of the Indian economy. With the opening up of the industry after reforms, private sector operators in collaboration with their overseas partners are likely to bring in a more professional and focused approach. Hence in this millennium, Insurance Industry is likely to play an important role in changing the economic landscape of the country.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sarang,2008
Well Saarang the IIT(Madras) fest , perfect hangout for young guys and gals....... This year I got a chance to visit SAARANG,2008 with my friends ands thats for free. It was a good luck for me that I got to see such a wonderful thing due to a frnd studying there....."Good Luck" because it was the bad luck of my frnd that he couldn't attend due to his personal reasons and so I could go in his place. There was so much craze to see Lucky Ali's performance and also two rock bands 'Firebrands' and a Delhi based band 'Prestorika'. It was good I loved it.....specially the crowd. I thought Chennai lacks good chicks...but from that day I had to change my opinion. Besides the shows there were exhibitions which exhibited handicrafts, designer wear based on rural culture of India, pottery and different handworks. In another place I found people doing 'rangoli' with different coloured powders I also tried my hand in it. The purpose of it was to pull the people together and have a feeling of togetherness and integrity. Thats the theme. We friends walked around the campus and praised its beauty, its cleanliness, its vastness. A person doen't need to go out of the campus ....u can get everything inside. Slowly it became dark and we were getting excited to go in and see the show. Nyways I'm not a fan of Lucky Ali ya like some of his nos. But the ambience of the place excited me. At 7:30 the show started. He sang his popular nos. like "Ek pal ka jeena..." , "Na tum jano na hum..." , songs in SUR, etc.During the show every body put there mobile's display screen on and waved there hand ........ It seemed thousands of stars flowing in the sky. It was awesome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
