Christmas Quiz for Christmas gifts

Christmas is a fun time and celebration, carols; festivity is in the air everywhere!!!


As every year, I plan to play a bit of Santa and give something to 5 people. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me select people, so here is a small quiz.

Please take this quiz and send in your entries to puzzles_4m_amy@yahoo.com by the end of the year.

Do not forget to give your address and contact details.

If you are lucky you may get something out of my Christmas stocking.

All the best!!!

1) Jesus was born in the year ……………

2) Where does Santa live?

   a. Arctic

  b. Antarctica

  c. North Pole

  d. South Pole

3) Three gifts that the Magi brought for Jesus were …………………………………..

4) The king who wanted to kill Jesus when He was born was ………………………………….

5) The original version of the track “Jingle bell rock” in the movie “Mean girls” was by the singer ……………….

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you...

When I was told to tell GOODBYE

This was a life changing incident that I want to share with you all. I have always been very grateful to God for all that He has blessed me with. I have had no reason to complain to Him. I was kind of an all-rounder in school. I was very good at studies; I was very good at painting; I was into dancing and singing (however, pathetic in acting); I was into athletics and a host of extra-curricular activities. I was a popular person in school. When I reached my 8th grade, I developed some problem in my left knee. I couldn't run or dance for long. It used to be painful. At first doctors couldn't diagnose it properly but by the time I reached my 10th grade, I was in such pain that I underwent an operation. The doctor said that it was a knee-tumour and I should be very careful not to strain myself too much.
I vividly remember the feeling I had when I was anesthetized. It's a floating feeling. You feel like floating in the air or riding a horse that gallops gently. All the tensions and worries leave you and you are not afraid or sad for anything. I kept reciting the names of all my friends as the anesthetist gave me the anesthesia. I felt I had to take all names, I could not miss anyone out and time appeared to be flying away... I tried to rush but I couldn't.
When I woke up that night, I found that I have to be in bed for at least a month. And later, I got to know that straining would lead to problems and then I would have to undergo some surgery relating to the patella. It was awful. Dance and sports were my passion. It was the first time that I felt angry with God for sometime. But as I said earlier, it was a life-defining experience as then I became a poet.
And now, life is just as beautiful as it would have been with dance and sports but without poem.
To take a peek into my world of poems, visit: http://www.amyimapoet.blogspot.com/

DO YOU HAVE TIME TO STAND AND STARE?

Knowingly I have put this Spooky, Dull picture that tells of how we live... Amazed?? Well, this is very true. How many of us take time to admire the beauty of the rising sun or the twilight when the birds are flying back to their nests? How many of us have the time to look out of the window and see the beckoning hills and feel the gentle breeze? How many of us can feel nature around us?

Our negligence has stripped nature of so much of its beauty. Let’s find time to bring greenness, beauty and life once again...

And then we can find beauty in what W.H. Davies says through his poem;

                  Leisure

by William Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

Alchemist; Once again

During the last week, I read the most appreciated novel by Paulo Coelho, once again. Mind you, it is one such book that is so simple yet filled with so many of life's teachings.
Generally, people associate books with great learning and most people who are not too book savvy, generally do not look at books as fun. The Alchemist, is a truly simple book on par with the simplicity of teachings like 'learning from the ants'.
The most likable feature of the story-line is that it does not teach some complex ideas but the truth in 'believing in your dreams and trying to realize it'.
Well, movie lovers will find that the popular dialogue from the movie: Om Shanti Om; where Shahrukh Khan gives a speech when he is drunk "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to acheive it" is from this very book.
If you haven't yet read this simply beautiful book, it is a MUST READ!!!!

Microfinance - The only way to inclusive growth(Revisited)

“We asked the assembled 40 odd women, ‘Is there anything that you wish was different about the way the loan is provided; any little thing that would have made it easier for you?’ Most of them shook their heads to signal that there was no such thinking. We persisted in silence for an answer. Though they had whispered conversations for a couple of minutes there were no reactions to the question. Then an old lady got up and started, ‘I have something to say.’ We asked, ‘What?’ She said, ‘You see, I run a small bangles and cosmetics shop in the local market. I could not be running this shop but for the loan from the MFI. I started with a smaller loan and over two cycles of repayment, the loan had become Rs 10,000. With this I could start this shop.’ So what was the problem, we wondered? She continued, ‘I repay the loan instalments every week without fail. But I find that after six months, the repayments become more difficult for me. I have to borrow from elsewhere to keep up weekly instalments and around the tenth month I look for an external loan with which I can repay the balance of MFI loan and take a fresh loan.’ We asked her why she suddenly finds it difficult to repay after six months of loan. She looked at us in amusement that how could we be ignorant of such a simple thing. Then she patiently explained, ‘Initially when I stock my shop with Rs 10,000 worth of goods, there is a large range and variety. My sales are higher and cash inflow is higher. But after each sale, I am unable to replenish my stock as I have to meet my family needs and service the loan every week. By the sixth month my shop has half the stock I started with. With half the stock, I cannot maintain my sales volume at a high enough

level. Very often the stock that I am left with is not the first preference of customers and cannot be sold at good profits. My cash flow declines and I am unable to meet all my commitments. This is what constrains my repayment.’ We again asked her, ‘What do you want the MFI to do?’ She explained, ‘Nothing extraordinary. They (MFI) should relend the repayments at the end of each month after every four instalments. This would ensure that I replenish my stock and my cash flow from sales remains high.’”

This is an excerpt from “Microfinance India – State of the sector report 2008”. I hope this throws some light at the state of microfinance in India.

More than half of India is rural and more than 70% of rural India suffers from lack of credit availability. Of the rough 30% who manage to get credit, there is sheer dearth of knowledge on how to utilize it as can be seen in the above excerpt. The state of Indian microfinance requires more of consultancy than financial engineering of credit needs. Just as finance is no longer credit and debit but a bundle of a whole gamut of financial and allied services, microfinance needs to be a bundle of credit and other financial service availability along with entrepreneurship, business development, consultancy, literacy programmes and innovations to usher in inclusive growth in India.

Microfinance in India and not just India but for all economies that has a sizeable population who do not have access to credit is more about empowerment. It is like teaching people to fish and not just providing them fishes to eat. When people do not have access or timely access to credit they end up borrowing from informal lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. A study of about 28 studies on informal lending in about 14 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America found that about 76% of the lenders charge more than 10% interest on a monthly basis and about 20% of them have rates about 100% per month. Mind you, the rates are monthly and not annualized.

The question that now awaits us is: Are we ready to provide for the needs of rural India? If the potential to grow lies in India, there is still huge untapped potential in rural India. Are we ready to fulfil our rural CSR by helping the rural India in areas like encouraging entrepreneurship among rural population, business development, consultancy, literacy programmes and innovations?

Microfinance - The only way to inclusive growth

It is not a sudden finding. It has been in the back of most people. It does not find proper articulation because we are too greedy to part with even a small portion of our profits to let the deprived population emerge. As we all know, the majority of Indian population is lower middle class to poor people. Of late, a sizeable portion of the Indian community has become middle-class and upper middle-class. But if India, needs to realize its potential, it doesn't just lie in the middle-class but in trying to bring up the lower levels. Even the world is looking at the second largest nation in terms of population to realize this and emerge more powerful.

Just imagine the huge opportunities that lie ahead if this huge population turns a consumer to the products and services that are produced... It's unimaginable!!!!!!!!!

I am working on this paper on microfinance and as I was going through the reports of the last three years it felt so depressing to find that about half of the Indian population that live in rural India do not have access to any sort of credit. Of those, who have access to credit, a majority do not know how to use the credit available. There is lack of consultancy services or business development that could help the rural population.

There has been a slight spark because at many places where innovative and socially active business people have taken steps that has led to the formation of co-operatives like GCMMF, e-Choupal, etc. However, in most other places, people are deprived of any such help.

Microfinancing along with proper business model developments and consultancy can however help this deprived population and help India march forward.

The big question is: When you are in a position to join and help will you be willing to help this initiative of rural development become a movement in inclusive growth???

When You Look Back!!!!!!!!!!

I have been pondering a lot these few days thats why I am writing down this particular post. It is so strange that when you look back you always regret because you realize that you never gave life a fair chance. Well, this is how I feel. It is cool to be carefree but at the end when all cares come crashing down there are no tougher roofs to shield your hurt. You get slapped right across your face and you can't do anything at all because you realize that you were wrong and it is a fair punishment.

Sadly though, I have found that we have become so callous that even this mighty jerk is insufficient at times to wake us up from the dream that appears so pleasant.

I sat for quite some time this last Saturday, thinking of all the ways that I have let go things so easily when I should have given them a fair chance. Believe me, it is incredible. I mean, sitting back and giving life a thought not because you want to cry but because you get a chance to wake up and start afresh.

Well, my placements are near and though I am not that bad, I was feeling terribly scared because I realized that I can give more of myself than I have given. It is like the utilization is pretty low. And with it I realized how many time, we let go the chances to make our people proud of us; how many times we neglect our talents just because we either do not want to share them or we are scared that it's not a talent at all.

And it is sad because we are all unique with so much to give to others that can make a huge difference to a lot of people and this world.

All I want to say here is its high time that we have been lost in the world and it is time now to know who you are.

So take some time out and think about yourself and your life than thinking about the latest release or the upcoming party and watch the difference that unfurls...

Life is beautiful and so you ought to be yourself and Speak your heart....