2009 – a fantastic year comes to a close!

Another year comes to a close! First, let me wish you all a fantastic New Year ahead! May all your wishes and dreams turn true!!!

To me, 2009 turned out to be one of my best years so far! Many firsts, many challenges overcome and goals reached, an addition of a cutie-pie in my family (baby girl) and much more!

The most important thing was the birth of my daughter! She was born on 21-Nov-2009. She has changed me forever. My world is now filled with fairy tales! Here is a pic of her.

Financially too, the year has been great. I reached my personal networth goal for 2009 in July itself, aided hugely by the stock market surge. I managed to better my own goal by 33%… inspite of more than expected spending. My yearly savings figure for 2009 stood at 51.6%.

If you kept adding to your folio during the downturn without listening to naysayers, you made a killing. The Nifty in 1 year went from 2959 to 5201, a rise of almost 76%. If you picked your stocks well, you even made 3-5 baggers. My biggest gainers were Yes bank, BEL, LMW, GDL, etc all of which had a high weightage in my folio in addition to Nifty bees and Junior nifty bees. Ever since the Nifty hit P/E of 18+, I had been a seller. In Sept, Nifty P/E hit 22 and I sold almost 40% of my index holdings. However, I am holding onto my individual picks except Yes bank which I had sold during the year.

I had also topped up on term insurance coverage for self and spouse from Aegon Religare. Also invested a bit of money in Aegon Religare Invest Maximizer as I really liked the switch options provided by ULIPs (they are tax free unlike in the case of MF switching). Also, it is one of the cheapest ULIPs in market today. Post June, I have been putting my money into floating rate funds mostly. I am not finding anything attractive enough. And I dont want to put it into the index unless P/E drops below 18. My regular contributions towards PPF, EPF (voluntary), MF’s, etc have continued too.

Professionally, 2009 was a dull year. I was working on things I was not really enjoying doing. And I was free most of the time, and you know what happens to an idle brain. It rots!! But all that is set to change. I am changing project starting Jan 4. Am looking forward to it. (In hindsight, having been free has really helped me get into a lot of extra-curricular activities that I really enjoyed. Also, this phase, I believe has helped mould me into a much better person)

2009 was a fantastic year for extra-curricular activities. Few being cycling, traveling a ton, going on bird watching trips, driving to exotic locales, photographing fantastic landscapes, meeting different people, etc.

A few things that I did in 2009 on my hobby front

1. Purchased D90 Nikon DSLR and added 3 lenses to my kit. 50mm prime, 18-70 and the 70-300VR, all Nikkor lenses.
2. Purchased a Trek 4300 cycle and a ton of accessories.
3. Cycled in Coorg, Ooty and Agumbe in addition to places around Bangalore
4. Birding in Masinagudi, Coonoor, Ooty, Mysore, etc in addition to places around Bangalore like Kanakpura, Ragihalli, Devarabetta, Valley school, GKVK, Jakkur, Manchinebele, Komaghatta, etc.
5. Photography trips to places like Sigandoor, Keladi, Ikkeri, Belur, Halebid, Koodali, Ooty, Bokapuram, Coonoor, Kotagiri, Shimoga, Gopalaswamy betta, etc in addition to places around Bangalore
6. Developed interest in the heritage of our country. Want to explore more forts, temples and ancient buildings in S.India
7. Researched so much about Nilgiris that I can write a book myself. Discovered a few old British trails, alternative routes via forests to places like Doddabetta, Kalhatty falls, etc. Read a ton on Nilgiris. Went on birding trips to almost every corner in and around Ooty. Tried to find out the present day locations of 200 year old paintings. Spoke to tribals. What not. And, also purchased the domain www.neilgherries.com (Old British name for Nilgiris), but havent had the time to set it up.
8. Attended Kalyan Varma’s photography workshop
9. Watched a lot of plays @ Rangashankara and have been bitten by the drama bug ever since.

A few pictures from my portfolio.

A few shots taken during my cycling rides (using compact camera)

Need a pet dog!

Am thinking of getting a small sized pet dog for our family. Please suggest

• any breed that suits the below requirements
• any place in Bangalore that sells pups

Preferable characteristics are

• coat needs to be short and fairly easy to groom
• reasonably active / not lazy
• easy to train
• needs to be energetic. Ability to run beside me during my cycling rides (20-30km cycling) every week
• 1-2 walks per day.
• easy with kids / family
• apartment friendly, medium to small size size

I had always been a dog lover. We had 2-3 stray dogs in our home in Ooty that lived for several years. Also, we had a couple of German shepherds that unfortunately didn’t live for long. Also, I had at different times pet pigeons, cats, etc. I love pets!!! I am not an expert on the breeds. But after a very brief research, here is a list of preferred breeds. Please do help me add to this preferred breed list. Also with the seller information.

• Beagle
• Bull Dog – English , French
• Jack Russel Terrier

Mere paas ma hai!

The most easily taken-for-granted person in our lives.. mother!

The most easily taken-for-granted thing… her love!

Volunteering for an educational NGO

During the photography workshop, Kalyan Varma spoke about involving ourselves with NGO’s. I liked the idea. Not for an environmental cause though, but for an educational cause. (Educational causes touch me more than anything else.)

I am trying to find out good NGO’s dealing with education. I would like to volunteer (maybe 2 days per fortnight or month) for such an NGO and involve myself in some useful activity.I am sure such an act will help build myself as a person.

If you know any good NGO in Bangalore, please do let me know.

Life’s little instruction booklet

Source : Email from a friend. Author unknown.

This morning I received a fantastic mail. I loved it. I think you will too. Please read on.

Life’s little instruction booklet

1. Have a firm handshake.
2. Look people in the eye.
3. Sing in the shower.
4. Own a great stereo system.
5. Keep secrets.
6. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.
7. Always accept an outstretched hand.
8. Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.
9. Whistle.
10. Avoid sarcastic remarks.
11. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.
12. Lend only those books you never care to see again.
13. Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.
14. When playing games with children, let them win.
15. Give people a second chance, but not a third.
16. Be romantic.
17. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
18. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.
19. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for your convenience, not the caller’s.
20. Be a good loser.
21. Be a good winner.
22. Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.
23. When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.
24. Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.
25. Keep it simple.
26. Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.
27. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.
28. Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets.
29. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the one’s you did.
30. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
31. Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.
32. Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.
33. Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.
34. Begin each day with some of your favorite music.
35. Once in a while, take the scenic route.
36. Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, ‘Someone who thinks you’re terrific’.
37. Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.
38. Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.
39. Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.
40. Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.
41. Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.
42. Become someone’s hero.
43. Count your blessings.
44. Compliment the meal when you’re a guest in someone’s home.
45. Wave at the children on a school bus.
46. Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.
47. Don’t expect life to be fair.

Well, wasn’t that a wonderful list?

Inspiring story: The connectedness of life!!!

Sourced from a forwarded email. Author unknown

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn year after year. Each year he entered the state fair and won several prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him.

The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours who are your competitors?” the reporter asked

“Why sir, “said the farmer, “didn’t you know?

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