Thursday, August 20
Indian News and Blogs
We rolled out few new pages in our site www.nrispot.com. The idea behind was to bring in a variety of news, movie reviews, gossips and blogs all in one page. As a matter of fact we bring in from more than 50 sources and all this is presented without any advertisements or pop ups. At present the English, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam version are live and the work is on for the other major languages. Do take a look at let me know what you think.
Sunday, May 17
How to find out the best exchange rates when sending money to India
I have been in the US for 7 years now and would have send money to Indian on numerous occasions, be it for family maintenance or for some other purposes. Never thought too much about it and I have been a regular user of money2india services offered by ICICI bank. Never had any major issues with Money2india, however as years progressed, my dissatisfaction slowly grew and i always felt that the exchange rate was always little less than the market rate, but never gave it a serious thought.
One day it struck me that why don't I just find spend some time on the world wide web and find out who are the other providers and what kind of rates they provide. It was a real eye opener for me that they are at least a handful of providers (5-6 at least) and each of them offer different rates on a daily basis. If you are going to be like me, there is good chance that your bank may take advantage of your laziness. Majority of the users don't have the time to search and compare the rates of all these providers, they just stick with one provider .
Now after doing my research I have found SBI (no kidding, the old age licence raj nationalised monolith) to be the best in terms of rates and service. However the rates fluctuates and on a given day and ICICI or Times Money could be better. To help of my fellow NRI i also created a portal nrispot.com and built in a page, where you can not only find all the providers but also compare their exchanges rates / fees for sending money to India. However I would like to clearly state that please don't rely solely on my for the information, and my sincere advice you to do your own checks on the rates. A couple of minutes on checking the rates could end up as additional money for loved ones
One day it struck me that why don't I just find spend some time on the world wide web and find out who are the other providers and what kind of rates they provide. It was a real eye opener for me that they are at least a handful of providers (5-6 at least) and each of them offer different rates on a daily basis. If you are going to be like me, there is good chance that your bank may take advantage of your laziness. Majority of the users don't have the time to search and compare the rates of all these providers, they just stick with one provider .
Now after doing my research I have found SBI (no kidding, the old age licence raj nationalised monolith) to be the best in terms of rates and service. However the rates fluctuates and on a given day and ICICI or Times Money could be better. To help of my fellow NRI i also created a portal nrispot.com and built in a page, where you can not only find all the providers but also compare their exchanges rates / fees for sending money to India. However I would like to clearly state that please don't rely solely on my for the information, and my sincere advice you to do your own checks on the rates. A couple of minutes on checking the rates could end up as additional money for loved ones
NRISPOT.COM- A NRI directory service focused on Non Resident Indians
NRISpot is an internet directory or simply a guide to every NRI’s India-centric needs. We built the site to enable NRIs to stay up to date with all the popular and new India-centric services that are available on the web. By India-centric services we mean websites providing information, products and services in and outside India that would be of interest to NRIs.
Today, NRISpot.com includes over 190 services, hand picked based on diligent research and assessment. We work hard to keep them current and remove services that are no longer available or working. NRISpot exists to provide you with the knowledge and access to useful services, that you would not have known otherwise.
Most importantly, NRISpot.com will continue to be a easy-to-use and clutter-free website that can be used by every Indian from across the globe, be it an astronaut in Houston or a construction worker in Kuwait or a diplomat in Stockholm or student in Melbourne.
You can visit NRISpot multiple times a day to check out the one-page view of latest news, exchange rates, stock market indexes. Or You can visit NRISpot few times a week to casually check out new websites in various categories.Or You can visit NRISpot few times a month when you need to know the sites for recipes or for parenting. Or You can visit NRISpot just when you think of something you need to get done in India but don’t know how or where to go. We will be here to serve you, at your convenience.
Happy Browsing!
Today, NRISpot.com includes over 190 services, hand picked based on diligent research and assessment. We work hard to keep them current and remove services that are no longer available or working. NRISpot exists to provide you with the knowledge and access to useful services, that you would not have known otherwise.
Most importantly, NRISpot.com will continue to be a easy-to-use and clutter-free website that can be used by every Indian from across the globe, be it an astronaut in Houston or a construction worker in Kuwait or a diplomat in Stockholm or student in Melbourne.
You can visit NRISpot multiple times a day to check out the one-page view of latest news, exchange rates, stock market indexes. Or You can visit NRISpot few times a week to casually check out new websites in various categories.Or You can visit NRISpot few times a month when you need to know the sites for recipes or for parenting. Or You can visit NRISpot just when you think of something you need to get done in India but don’t know how or where to go. We will be here to serve you, at your convenience.
Happy Browsing!
Sunday, April 9
Tamilnadu elections- My wish
I am not sure why, but I always like balance of power in politics. If Amma is bad, Kalaingar is worse. If DMK is bad then ADMK is worse. Nowadays it has become a question of which of the evil is the lesser evil. In center DMK is ruling the roost, Given this, I would prefer Amma to be in state, so that the balance of power is maintained. With SUN, KTV, SCV, Suriyan FM, Dinakaran, Tamil Murasu and Kungumam, DMK virtually controls the media in Tamilnadu. If their stronghold on the media continues, then what they say will become news. Either the media arm has to come out separate or atleast the party should be out of power for the next few years both in state and center so that they will be forced to play fair with rest of the competitors.
I might come across as a person against DMK, but that is not the case. In 1989(I was in my 9th) , 96 and 2001 I supported DMK. But this election I would love to see Vijaykanth. Not because I have high hopes on him but just to see a new face than these two. I am not sure if captain can even come close, it will be nice to see him get some good percentage(double digit) of votes, so that he stays motivated in politics till the next general election .
Being so far from homeland, I am not really able to gauge the mood of the public. Media is really worse this time, just by looking at their reporting, you can easily find out whom they are supporting. Any way lets see what happens and who is going to come this time.
I might come across as a person against DMK, but that is not the case. In 1989(I was in my 9th) , 96 and 2001 I supported DMK. But this election I would love to see Vijaykanth. Not because I have high hopes on him but just to see a new face than these two. I am not sure if captain can even come close, it will be nice to see him get some good percentage(double digit) of votes, so that he stays motivated in politics till the next general election .
Being so far from homeland, I am not really able to gauge the mood of the public. Media is really worse this time, just by looking at their reporting, you can easily find out whom they are supporting. Any way lets see what happens and who is going to come this time.
Monday, April 25
Shruthi's Birthday
Sunday, November 14
Dead weight loss of gifts
Creating a blog is one of the easiest thing one could ever do. The toughest part is to update and keep blogging on a continuous basis. I really wonder how some people are able to do it with such a consistency. Sudhar and Arun are good example of the this kind. It is just not laziness, I think it is more than that. Might be you need to have a way with words and the interest to update regularly. Hats off to Arun and Sudhar for constantly updating their blogs.
Today I was reading about the dead weight loss of gifts in rediff. It says that the dead loss of gifts during Christmas could be as high as 5 to 17 billion. The whole underlying concept is that people who receive get what they actually don't want. It further goes to say that it is an excellent indicator of inefficiency as it graphically portrays the difference between what people want and what they get. Might be a good enough reason to give cash as gift, hope I remember this next time when I think of a gift.
Today I was reading about the dead weight loss of gifts in rediff. It says that the dead loss of gifts during Christmas could be as high as 5 to 17 billion. The whole underlying concept is that people who receive get what they actually don't want. It further goes to say that it is an excellent indicator of inefficiency as it graphically portrays the difference between what people want and what they get. Might be a good enough reason to give cash as gift, hope I remember this next time when I think of a gift.
Monday, October 4
Shruthi's bon voyage
At many times I feel a prisoner of the situation in the US. Today is one such occasion. I have never felt this way before. Time has come by for Shruthi to go and stay with her Patti and Thatha in Hong Kong. For the next few months she will be away from us. For the past six months, we always had someone at home. People were visiting us all the time. But from Monday it is going to be the just the two of us and to make matters worse, winter is stepping in. I am sure the winter is going to amplify the feeling of being alone. Hopefully my course work and job search will keep me busy. I don’t know how Lakshmi will manage. Hopefully Sun TV (Metti Oli, Anaamdam and Kolangal) and household work will keep her occupied. I wish we could have kept Shruthi with us but for US and its climate.
Few days’ back we had been to Pittsburgh perumal kovil. After having the darshan, we spent the day sightseeing few places in Pittsburgh. We stopped at Udupi for dinner. In the table next to ours, two guys were having their dinner. We were not able to see them but I was able to hear them talk. I could not control my laughter when I heard this, I guess one was having a vadai and I guess he preferred to have it dipped/soaked in sambahr. So the other guy asks the guy having vadai. “Do you like like that” and I immediately knew it was desi’s. Who else can use a Like Like in a single sentence.
Few days’ back we had been to Pittsburgh perumal kovil. After having the darshan, we spent the day sightseeing few places in Pittsburgh. We stopped at Udupi for dinner. In the table next to ours, two guys were having their dinner. We were not able to see them but I was able to hear them talk. I could not control my laughter when I heard this, I guess one was having a vadai and I guess he preferred to have it dipped/soaked in sambahr. So the other guy asks the guy having vadai. “Do you like like that” and I immediately knew it was desi’s. Who else can use a Like Like in a single sentence.
Thursday, September 16
Vaiko - The dark horse
Its surprising to see a politician like Vaiko, whatever may be his true intensions. His decision to walk for 42 days and 1050 Kilo meters, be in jail for 18 months without applying for bail and his decision to be out of the central ministry, all have helped to raise his stocks among the public and made him a dark horse. I can hear you saying, after all he is a politician, but just ask yourself has any other contemporary Indian politician gone through this ordeal or made such bold decisions. Before even receiving a arrest warrant, we have people getting admitted into hospitals and parties (Read PMK and DMK) getting plum ministerial berths for their kith and kin. In such a surrounding its refreshing to see a politician like Vaiko. I have heard him speak in the parliament and during the AIADMK tirunelveli conference. I should say that he is well learned and well spoken and as a matter of fact impressed me a lot. I guess among the present crop of politicians, he is a welcome change.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
