Hot Trending Topics: December 2012

Sunday, December 23

Sachin Tendulkar retires from ODI cricket

Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from One-day Internationals today, and with it comes to an end one of the memorable eras in world cricket.

The genius batsman from Mumbai ends his career with 49 hundreds, 18,426 runs, 463 appearances, and 96 half-centuries — all world records earned over a massive 23-year-long career — but he will value his 2011 World Cup win above all these.

Tendulkar, who will turn 40 in April, exited the 50-over-format quietly. The Board of Cricket Control in India’s website announced that Tendulkar had conveyed his decision to president N. Srinivasan.

“I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game,” his statement published on BCCI.tv said.

“I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years.”

The Press Trust of India quoted a source as saying that Tendulkar had gone off the radar after the Nagpur Test, where India surrendered the Test series to England.

"Once he was back in Mumbai after the Nagpur Test, he switched off his cell phone and became incommunicado for at least three days. The only possible way to contact him was through Anjali's (wife) number as he wanted some time to himself," the source, said to be a close friend of Tendulkar said on the condition of anonymity.

"By Friday night, he had intimated his family and close group of friends that he wants to quit from ODIs. Accordingly, he informed BCCI president N Srinivasan last night about his decision to retire from ODIs making it clear that he doesn't want to play in the ODIs against Pakistan," the source added.

Tendulkar’s last ODI was against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Mirpur, Bangladesh. He had scored a quick 52 in that game, as India chased down a massive score of 329.

The announcement of his retirement was somewhat surprising. Earlier this week, sections of the media had reported that Tendulkar had made himself available for selection for the upcoming games against Pakistan.

Tendulkar has been going through the poorest form of his long, illustrious career and there have been many calls in the cricket press for him to announce his retirement from cricket. He finally chose to take the dignified way out.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, former selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth reacting to Sachin's ODI retirement, said: “I am shocked. Didn't have any indication earlier about Sachin's decision to quit. He is leaving on a high.”

India’s performance since the World Cup win has been undoubtedly its poorest in many years. The period has also coincided with Tendulkar’s poorest run in a long time. In 30 Test innings, he has averaged 31.76 with a highest score of 94. In ODIs, those numbers are poorer: 333 runs in 11 innings opening the batting, averaging 30.27, with one painstakingly compiled hundred against Bangladesh.

Those numbers pale in comparison to what Tendulkar had achieved in the years gone by, and it could be argued that Tendulkar is not leaving on a high.

The upcoming Test series at home against Australia could possibly be his last — unless he can recreate the magic of old and prolong his playing days a little more.

Source: Yahoo!

Honey Singh's Brown Rang top trending YouTube video in India for 2012

Even as the world went crazy for PSY's Gangnam style, back in India it's Yo! Yo! Honey Singh who emerged YouTube's most trending video in India for 2012. Gangnam style had to manage only second spot after the Punjabi singer's super hit Brown Rang.

While remembering the most popular and moments in 2012, Googlesaid on its blog, “2012 has been a big year for YouTube globally and in India. Globally, users saw over 4 billion hours of video a month. Millions of creators world over are using YouTube channels to experiment with innovative forms of entertainment, explore their passions and interests, take creativity and pop culture to new levels. And we’re beginning to see amateurs filmmakers and video enthusiasts exploring their talent on YouTube in India.”

Google in the blog posted notes that the massive popularity of these videos in India shows YouTube has truly gone mainstream in the country with “million of users watching songs, their favorite TV shows and subscribing to their favorite channels. Language content is also picking up and has made its way to the top most subscribed channels”.

Here's a list of content that trended YouTube India in 2012:

Top trending videos in India for 2012: (Playlist)

In addition to the top trending videos, we have also compiled the list of most subscribed channels, most watched songs, TV Shows & Movie Trailers.
Most subscribed channels in India (2012):

Most watched songs 2012:

Most watched TV shows 2012:

Most watched mmovie trailers 2012:

Source: thinkdigit

How To Advise A Couple Starting A Family

Starting a family is one of the most exciting and important decisions a couple is going to make together. Properly raising children can be a rewarding and challenging experience, and setting a financial plan regarding how to handle the added expense and save for the kids' future is an important component of a journey that will run two decades, or more. By recent estimates, it can cost at least $300,000 to raise a single child and put him or her through college. Below is a discussion of how this individual amount is calculated, as well as some of the more important financial considerations.

Saving for Education
College may be 18 or more years off for a couple that is planning to start a family, but it will take that long to make sure the savings are in place. For many years now the costs of attending a four-year university has increased at a pace that's well ahead of inflation. Money magazine recently estimated that the cost to attend an Ivy League school can average close to $40,000 per academic year, including tuition and living expenses. A private college can run around $30,000 annually, as can attending an out-of-state university. In-state college options are much more affordable at around $13,000 annually.

Add in a couple of children, and a couple will need at least $100,000 to pay for their children's college education. There are a couple of programs to help couples get ahead with savings. State 529 plans allow contributions to grow tax-free until the child attends college. Many states also have tax deductions for 529 contributions. Federal tax credits are currently available. These include the American Opportunity Tax Credit that allows a college tax break for families earning $160,000 or less.

Adjusting Your Budget for Additional Spending
There is little questioning that raising kids is going to be expensive. In addition to the need to save for college, there are additional healthcare and childcare options to consider. Bloomberg recently cited a Department of Agriculture report that estimated that it will cost nearly $227,000 to raise a single child to the age of 18. This means that college costs are additional but include the aforementioned childcare and healthcare costs, as well as transportation, which collectively make up the bulk of child-rearing expenses and it can get expensive. Food, clothing and shelter will also apply.

Again, there are programs and tax savings vehicles for families to take advantage of. Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) allow families to put away pre-tax dollars to pay for doctor co-pay payments as well as many other applicable health-spending needs. Children usually require standard check-ups and are going to be sick more often as they build-up their immune systems, so a FSA will easily pay for itself. Also, federal child and dependent care tax deductions exist and can allow deductions for as high as $6,000 annually.

Estate Planning
Having a financial plan means planning for the long haul, and though thinking through estate planning and the inheritance that your children will receive many decades forward may not seem needed, it is important to get the process going from day one. A rule of thumb, according to Warren Buffett, is to leave your children with enough assets to do something, but not enough to do nothing. This means that parents should consider leaving sufficient assets for their children to live comfortably and have enough savings for a rainy day, but don't leave too much where they no longer have a need to work and potentially grow lazy in their old age.

Families blessed with excess savings levels will want to consider how to minimize inheritance and estate taxes. Individuals are currently allowed to gift $13,000 without incurring taxes, which means that a couple with more than one child can give $26,000 to each child annually. Starting young could mean nearly half a million dollars is transferred to the child by the time he or she turns 18. Trusts are also viable options for wealthier families.

For instance, a generation skipping trust will provide a benefit for your children's children but also for your children while they are alive. It currently allows for around $2 million that can bypass estate taxes and leave a comfortable nest egg for future generations that can minimize taxes that can go to the government.

The Bottom LineWhen it comes to important tax and other deductions that can help a couple save to start a family, it is important to talk with a personal financial advisor or accountant. The tax code is very complex, and unique personal situations need to be considered to make sure that couples qualify for the number of benefits that exist. An equally important topic, not discussed above, is to also teach your kids about saving and spending responsibly. As they get older, it can help the parents save but can also prepare the children for when they are on their own and eventually raise their own families. There are, of course, cheap and expensive options for raising children. Returning to the Department of Agriculture study, costs can range from $163,000 to $377,000 for the first 18 years of life, depending on income levels, tax deductions sought and just how much parents are able to save from their salaries for their children.

Source: Yahoo!

Why starting to save early makes sense

You are probably among the many young people who have left their parents' home in pursuit of a career, a better pay cheque, power, fame or simply to find yourself. As easy as it may sound, living alone has a lot more responsibilities than you can think of. Tasks like house hunting, paying rent on time, managing daily expenses, watching movies, traveling to work, spending on food and after all this sending some money back home, can take a toll on your finances. But with the higher disposable income this has become increasingly rampant. Saving or Investing is a thing that is far-fetched. When we’re young, we just want to spend the money, but think how much you are taking away from your future self. So start saving for your goals and plan up early

Seeing is believing, here’s an example –

Starting Age of investment	25 years	30 years
Monthly Contribution	10,000	10,000
No of years for investment	35	30
Total Contribution	4,200,000	3,600,000
Rate of Returns	12%	12%
Value at maturity	64,309,595	34,949,641

If we look at the above calculation, we can easily make out that the contribution of Rs. 6 lakh done in first five years actually gives boost to your overall wealth. The difference of wealth creation is close to 46%.

How to save without compromising on luxuries?

As a new investor, you should start a contribution of atleast 10%- 20% of your salary towards savings. You can start with investment in mutual funds through Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) which allow you to invest into market with moderate amount of risk. SIP also helps you to invest on regular basis. Systematic and disciplined approach to investment can lead to wealth creation.

In the early stages of your career, you can also take high risk as there is no financial or social responsibility on you. You can take aggressive investment approach and start investing into some mid cap funds or equity shares also. However, indulge in them only if you have the required expertise.

During the first few years of your career you should also start accumulating some money for your immediate need or emergency needs. You should at least have 3 to 6 month salary as an emergency fund. Ideally you should park this money into liquid funds which offer better returns than a saving bank account and you can also get the money immediately (i.e. within 1 or 2 days).

Tax planning is also one crucial aspect for wealth creation exercise. In order to save tax, you can start with Equity Linked Saving Schemes (ELSS). ELSS gives you tax benefit under section 80C. This option has lock in of 3 years which makes you a long term investor.

Key Takeaway

Little drops of water fill the ocean. Your small monthly savings can help you to achieve your goal of wealth creation in big way. Consider the big picture. The decisions you make today about your career, education, debt and retirement will stick with you and shape your future. So, invest in yourself.

Source: Yahoo!

Author, 'Whorehouse' Playwright Larry L. King Dies

Larry L. King, a writer and playwright whose magazine article about a campaign to close down a popular bordello became a hit Tony Award-nominated musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and a movie starring Burt Reynolds, died Thursday. He was 83.

His wife, Barbara Blaine, said King died after battling emphysema at Chevy Chase House, a retirement home in Washington where he had been living the past six months. "One of the things that I will always remember about Larry is that he remained funny all the way through this illness," she said.

He wrote in a good ol' boy vernacular style similar to other Southern authors such as Roy Blount and Charles Portis. King wrote two musicals, five plays, 14 books, a few screenplays and hundreds of magazine articles, for which he won an O. Henry Award in 2001.

His books include "None But a Blockhead" about the act of writing, and a children's book called "Because of Lozo Brown," about the fears children have of meeting others. Collections of his essays were also published, including "The Old Man and Lesser Mortals," which began as an article about his father.

"King's strengths are his energy and wit and his integrity not to compromise the fundamentals. He rings an American bell," Norman Mailer once said.

His "Confessions of a White Racist" — he called it "a gratuitous admission of guilt on behalf of all white racists past and present, malignant and benign" — was a finalist for a National Book Award. He won an Emmy for his 1982 television documentary for CBS, "The Best Little Statehouse in Texas." He taught at Princeton and was a fellow at Duke.

"Writing looks much easier than trapeze work, I know, until you sit before a typewriter long enough to realize it won't speak back unless spoken to," King wrote in "None Bit a Blockhead."

King came to Washington in 1954 to work for a newly elected Congressman from El Paso. A journalist from West Texas, he had planned to remain on Capitol Hill for about three years and then go to work for a newspaper.

He wound up staying in politics as an aide in Washington for 10 years. His experience produced a best seller in 1978, "Wheeling and Dealing: Confessions of a Capitol Hill Operator."

He said President John F. Kennedy's assassination caused him to reevaluate his life. King quit politics and headed to New York where he taught, worked on books and free-lanced for magazines.

King was not shy about his battles with alcohol and kicked the bottle decades ago. "If you're not out getting drunk, and waking up with hangovers and having fights with people, there's a lot of time to write," he said in an interview with The Associated Press in 1987.

King wrote his most famous piece about the Chicken Ranch brothel in 1974 for Playboy magazine, took the $3,000 and thought no more about it. But Peter Masterson, a Texas actor, saw the article and thought it would make a great play. He and King got together with songwriter Carol Hall, another Texan, to create the smash musical. Tommy Tune was the director and in charge of musical staging.

The movie version starring Dolly Parton and Reynolds was less than a smash with critics, including King, who thought Hollywood had ruined the story and turned it into a sex romp.

King was one of a group of journalists who spent 1969-70 at Harvard University and his 8,000-word account of the year, "Blowing My Mind at Harvard," appeared in Harper's magazine. He also wrote for The Texas Observer, Life and Texas Monthly, among others, and penned a biography of former Harper's editor Willie Morris in 2006.

As a humorist, he had a jaundiced affection for the folks he wrote about. "I would say Larry was a man who had a lot of fun with life. He had a twinkle in his eye," his wife said.

In the late 1980s, King had some success with his play "The Night Hank Williams Died," a pungent yet poignant tale of lost loves, missed opportunities, unfulfilled expectations and fatal mistakes that made it off-Broadway. It was set in 1952 at a bar and Williams' music wails from the jukebox as a colorful group of characters try to find meaning with coarse Texas humor.

AP theater critic Michael Kuchwara wrote in a 1989 review that it was flawed but "has enough low-key charm and homespun humor to soften the hardest of hearts."

King, Tune, Hall and Masterson came together in 1994 to create a sequel the flopped spectacularly. "The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public" closed after 28 previews and 16 performances.

Blaine said King had ups and downs in his writing career and that he didn't necessarily consider his plays to be his most important works. "To him, his most important works are really his essays."

King has three grown children by his first wife. His second wife died in 1972. He also had two grown children with his third wife, Blaine. A private funeral was planned and King would be buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, she said.

"I'm of the belief that sad endings, or bad endings, make for better drama than happy endings," King told the AP in 1986. "And life really works more that way anyhow for most people."

———

Associated Press Writer Brett Zongker in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: abcnews

Talakadu – forgotten by the sands of time

Talakadu in Karnataka—a confluence of history and myths.

It is the classical Indian story. A tale told by gods and demons, filled with kings and queens, replete with curses and boons. There is a little bit of history here, blended with some geology and topped with legends and myths. Set on the banks of the river Cauvery, this saga dates back to the 4th century and has certain intriguing elements, defying the very laws of nature. This is the tale of Talakadu, the erstwhile capital of the Ganga Dynasty which is now partially buried under sand dunes. Many rulers have reigned over this once flourishing city, but today it is a lost forgotten town, blown over by the sands of time

Talakadu

It was a natural curiosity to unearth the secrets of Talakadu that drove us from Bangalore one Sunday morning. It was one of those beautiful moments. The weather was just right. An eagle scooped down and soared away with the same ease. A herd of goats clamored for attention. Flanked by the verdant greenery, we passed fresh dewy fields, lotuses jostling for space in ponds, flitting butterflies and a few scattered hamlets. We saw glimpses of rustic life as various stages of harvest were in progress. The entire scene was an ode to the countryside. We ambled on for a couple of hours on the Mysore Road and took a detour at Maddur, passed Malavalli en-route to this sacred, historic town.

We were rather unprepared for this. At the first glance, it was just a prosaic picnic spot, overcrowded with swarms of loud local tourists and besieged by persistent guides. We made our way towards the river bed, where the Cauvery flowed at her own pace. It presented an unusual, yet a stark picture. There were huge mounds of sand by the banks of the river, like a beach. With a canopy of tall eucalyptus trees spread out from the sand, it felt like being in the middle of a forest. The dense shrubbery, some lively birds and monkeys dangling between the branches completed the picture.

The mounds of sand were everywhere, like small hillocks, some as high as even 15 meters. It was a steep climb, as the feet sank in with each step. It was an inexplicable sight; nobody could fathom where the heaps of sand came from. The fertile soils of the Cauvery basin seemed to have become fine particles of soft sand by sheer magic. While the answer may be with a geologist, my local guide narrates this legend.

Urban legend

A curse of a woman he says is the cause of this sand blown town, an erstwhile fertile capital of several dynasties that ruled over Karnataka. A tale filled with greed and lust for power. It was the time when Talakadu and Srirangapatna were under the Vijayanagara Empire. The death of the last Viceroy, Srirangaraya provoked the Wodeyars of Mysore to declare war. As Srirangapatna fell, the Wodeyar ruler sent his soldiers to covet the jewels of the late Viceroy’s widow, Alamelamma. As she fled from her pursuers, she is supposed to have jumped into the Cauvery, uttering the curses. My guide gets all dramatic as he proclaims the curse, “May Talakadu be always covered with sand and may the kings of Mysore always remain without heirs.” The locals fear the curse as they say that it has come true. Talakadu is mysteriously engulfed with a sea of sand and the family tree of Mysore rulers show a large number of adopted heirs.

The story moves from being a mere myth to some startling historic discoveries as well. Recent excavations have unearthed temples from these mounds of sand and each dynasty has left their architecture stamp on them. My guide points out that 30 such temples are still buried underneath the sand dunes as we climb our way to the excavated areas

Panchalingas

Talakadu is famous for the Panchalingas – the temples dedicated to Lord Shiva called Pathaleshwara, Maruleshwara, Arkeshwara, Vaidyanatheeshwara and Mallikarjuna .Of these, the first two are the oldest, built by the Ganga kings. The locals here say that the Shivalinga in the former is said to change color according to the time of day – from red in the morning to black in the afternoon and white in the night. To us though, in the cool afternoon, it was simply black.

We paused to give our feet a bit of rest and heard the story of Tala and Kada, the two hunters, after whom my guide says, this town is named. One more story, this time, it fuses a bit of religion as well. A sage, Somadutta and his disciples were killed by wild elephants when they were doing their penance. They were said to be reborn as elephants in the same forest. Two hunters, Tala and Kada watched the ritual of the elephants offering prayers to a silk cotton tree and out of curiosity, axed the tree down, only to find it bleeding. A voice then instructed them to heal the wound with the leaves and the blood miraculously turned milk which immortalized the hunters and the elephants as well. A temple later was built here around the tree, and the place became known as Talakadu.

We resumed our journey and reached the Vaidyanatheeshwara, the largest of them all, which was built by the Cholas. All these temples are neatly thatched and embedded in pits as we climbed down to visit them. Remnants of the bygone era were seen in some scattered stones, broken pillars, an ancient well and even some idols. The Pancha Linga festival is celebrated with much fanfare once in 12 years during the Kartika season, where the temples are allowed for worshipping. The last festival happened in 1993 and the next scheduled late this year. The lost and forgotten township sees throngs of devotees only during this period, while at the rest of times; it remains a desolate spot, with a few picnickers.

Besides the Panchalingas, another magnificent temple stands out even in the ruins. The Keerthi Narayana temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, built by the Hoysalas, to celebrate the victory of Talakadu over the Cholas. Scattered stones lie all over the place along with the pillars, stone inscriptions and some carvings are still prevalent. The main temple, intricately carved houses an eight foot tall idol of the deity.

Excavations, they say have unearthed a 12-foot tall stone mandapa along with remnants of Garuda kamba. Work by archaeologists is still in progress here, as we stroll among the many stones, which my guide claims are ‘originals’. It looked like each piece of stone was being numbered and the mantapas were being rebuilt to recreate the splendour of the past.

We had walked for more than a couple of hours, deeply engrossed in the continuous banter of our guide. Our feet caved in many a time, as we scaled the steep sand dunes. In the last two hours, we had traveled back to several centuries. We paused for a moment, taking in the sight. The silence was overwhelming. The voices of the past were buried under the layers of sand. We sat there, trying to build castles, but the wings gently swept them down. This, we realized was the destiny of Talakadu -the confluence of the historic and the holy spirit, where myths and legends merged, but were all completely swept away by the blasts from the past.

Getting there

Talakadu is just three hours by road from Bangalore, en route to Mysore. It is about 130 km from Bangalore, which is the closest airport. You could drive down from the Kanakpura Road or take the good old Mysore Road upto Maddur, past Mallavalli and proceed on the road towards Kollegal. About 5 km before the detour for Shivanasamudra Falls, there are sign boards indicating Talakadu, 22 km to the right. The road is bad in patches and very often, it is long and winding, without any landmarks or signboards.