'Chocolate as good as sex for women'

Is there anything that can provide a woman the ecstasy of sex, alleviate her mood or even make her melt her in your arms? Believe it or not, there is. And it’s called chocolate. Half of the women in a recent international study revealed that chocolate gives them pleasure similar to sex.

The research also said that close to 80% women consider chocolate to be an aphrodisiac. In fact, women love chocolate so much that they would stoop to even feigning pregnancy for it. Indian women have also admitted that they can even beg, borrow or steal to indulge in their “cardinal sin”. This known-though-never-studied fact comes from a poll by Axe Research Lab on 3,571 women across 13 countries.

Chocolate is scientifically known as ‘theobroma’ - which means food for gods. The study shows that women of any country and any origin would hide chocolates to avoid sharing it with others. In fact, Indian women are only second to Brazilians in hiding their chocolates. While a shocking 84.9% of 225 respondents from Brazil thought it fine not to share their “pieces of sin” with others by hiding it, 75.9% of the 220 Indians surveyed, thought along the same lines.

In fact, Indian women seem more desperate to get a piece of chocolate or to save their chocolates from others. A high 22.7% of Indian respondents said they would not think twice before stealing chocolate from a friend. This is the highest percentage across all the countries surveyed. Only Brazilians and Mexicans come somewhat close.

Indians also scored high using a fake excuse to get chocolate. Some admitted to even stooping to fake their birthday for it.

Interestingly, some said they would prefer licking their pieces of chocolate to avoid having to share it with others. About 31.4% of Indians agreed to fake birthdays, and an even higher 46.8% said they’d be happy to lick their bits to prevent others from taking a bite.

Among all the surveyed women, 78% women consider chocolate to be an aphrodisiac in comparison to celery, oysters among others. It also puts you in a good mood, felt 81% of women in India. In fact, most Indian women said chocolate was a treat they rewarded themselves with.

Men just tuned to lust: Study

Men are tuned to lust, irrespective of whether they found the women next to them attractive or not, a study has suggested.
Men have for long been seen as judging women on looks alone, but a study has now shown that the increase in male sex hormone level was not influenced by the perceived attractiveness of the women.

Human testosterone triggers an automatic reaction which has evolved in man when faced with a woman, to look for mating opportunities, and it does not matter if the woman is not attractive, the research reveals.

The research, published in the journal Hormones and Behaviour , suggested that the levels of their testosterone surged to the same extent whether they were talking to an attractive woman or someone they may not fancy at all.

The research involving 63 male students aged 21 to 25 found that their testosterone levels increased by an average of around 8% after just 5 minutes exposure to a stranger from the opposite sex and in some cases to women they not find particularly attractive.

"We found a testosterone increase after only five minutes of exposure to a woman. Our results suggest that the increase in testosterone levels that we found, may be an automatic male response that activates receptors in organs and the nervous system to prepare the human body for mate attraction," said Leander van der Meij, who led the study at the University of Groningen in Holland.

He said with the increase in testosterone levels males tend to display more dominant behaviour.

"They talk more with their hands, there is more eye contact, their posture is more upright, and they are more likely to tell stories designed to impress the woman. We know that women can be attracted by these kinds of things. All this, we believe, may be fuelled by the rise in testosterone that we have found," said der Meij.

Aggressive males showed greater rise in testosterone levels, an idea supported by research that men who exhibit more dominant-like behaviour tend to make more frequent successful contact with females.

Have Ambedkar's fears come true?

Moments of crisis always bring the best out of a nation, army or a person. When a nation faces crisis, citizens close ranks obliterating the caste, creed and religious divide. When an army faces war, soldiers close ranks and fight till the last. However, when a government plunges into crisis with its survival at stake, politicians show their true colours.

Crisis has befallen the UPA government, which will face the survival test on July 22. Till then, we all are spectators to a unashamed display of lust and bargaining in the political circus.

At the drop of a hint about need of support, it brings forth in MPs an inborn trait of keeping suitors guessing. Their expertise in demanding their pound of flesh — both politically and financially — has been finetuned since the JMM bribery scam tainted the 1993 trust vote victory by the Congress government led by P V Narasimha Rao.

What role were the MPs expected to play in independent India? Dr B R Ambedkar, in his speech marking the closing of the Constituent Assembly in November 1949, had expressed apprehensions about misconduct of politicians and the grave danger that would pose to a young democracy. He wanted the political parties, endeavouring to lead India towards a robust democracy, to first sow the seeds of intra-party democracy to shake off the lurking danger of dictatorship within the party.

He had said ’bhakti’ or hero worship, as prevalent in Indian politics, was unparalleled in any other country. "Bhakti in religion may be a road to salvation of the soul. But in politics, bhakti or hero worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship," he had warned.

Neither Congress, BJP, BSP, SP nor the regional parties and to a certain extent the Left have escaped the influence of the ‘bhakti’ concept of politics.

Is this the reason for today’s state of affairs where the stocks of politicians in the political market are high, but very low in the hearts and minds of the people?

Ambedkar no doubt championed the cause of ’dalits’ but never forgot to mention the equal weightage that the economically downtrodden deserved. He wanted politicians to strive for removal of social and economic inequalities and had warned that failure to do so would imperil democracy.

"How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting political democracy in peril," he had warned. The path towards the exalted platform of social equality has been muddied by the rush to corner votes by first dividing it on caste lines. Social affirmative action has been reduced to a mere ritual of fattening the list of castes, which alone would get reservation in jobs and admissions to central educational institutions.

There appears no one who is ready to seriously stand up for the impoverished lot, despite the Supreme Court dropping hints about it in its recent judgment okaying 27% OBC reservation in admissions to central educational institutions. Why has politics, which common men increasingly perceive as devoid of ethics, come to such a sorry state. The concluding part of Ambedkar’s speech provides an insight.

"Independence is no doubt a matter of joy. But let us not forget that this independence has thrown on us greater responsibilities. By independence, we have lost the excuse of blaming the British for anything going wrong. If hereafter things go wrong, we will have nobody to blame except ourselves. There is a greater danger of things going wrong. Times are fast changing," he had said.

Despite the strides by India, things have actually gone wrong, especially in politics. Instead of accepting the blame, the politicians or those at the helm of affairs have always found the ’foreign hand’, ’communal forces’, ’pseudo-secular forces’, ’Manuvadi forces’ or ’imperialist forces’ handy to point fingers at.

Beggar in India is a millionaire in Bangladesh

For Mohammed Jakir, an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh, begging may have begun as a compulsion but through his ingenuity he turned it into a career option. The 42-year-old amputee, who begged in Indian cities for more than two decades, is today known to be a rich man in Bangladesh.

Indian intelligence sleuths, who nabbed Jakir after learning about his all-too-frequent visits to Bangladesh, claim that his wealth in that country could be around Rs 75 lakh!

Jakir crossed over to India illegally in 1986 at the Benapura Indo-Bangladesh border. Without hands to work with, he realised begging was his only option and he did so for years on streets near Gateway of India, Mumbai. The money he made not only supported his family in Mumbai but also helped him save.

"I earned a lot in Mumbai. Indians have sympathy for the handicapped. One man even donated Rs 1,100 to me," revealed Jakir during interrogation by the cops in Ajmer, who arrested him on Saturday night. It’s learnt that Jakir, son of Mohammed Ali, is from Mohammedpura district, Bangladesh.

"My earning was so good that I could marry Naseema, a teenage girl, and buy a house at Murtinagar and raise a family with her," he says. They had five children, four of them girls.

Naseema eventually left for Delhi with her kids. "Somehow, the hearts of people changed; their sympathy faded. Two years ago, I left Mumbai and arrived at Ajmer for ’Urs’. It proved to be the right decision.

Govt faces tight confidence vote

India’s parliament begins debate on a vote of confidence in the Congress-led government on Monday after its communist allies ended their crucial support in protest at a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

The vote, due on Tuesday, is so close that several MPs who are ill may be flown or wheeled in from hospital, and others have been granted temporary release from jail.

If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government falls, there will be early elections, possibly by year-end. This would almost certainly lead to the cancellation of the nuclear deal and halt all economic reforms, from insurance and banking to pensions.

The vote essentially pits the Congress Party-led government against the communists and a coalition led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A host of smaller regional and caste-based parties hold the balance. It is unclear which way they will vote and a spate of horse trading in recent days even included the re-naming of an airport to honour the father of one wavering MP.

A government defeat would be a boost for the BJP, which has won a string of state elections this year amid rising inflation and criticism that millions of poor Indians were not benefiting from the booming economy.

The prime minister will kick off the confidence motion with an opening statement, followed by a parliamentary debate and a final electronic vote, expected on Tuesday evening.

While numbers are in flux, some analysts say the government is about 10 votes short of a 272 majority in the 543-member house.

"Nobody is sure, it’s too difficult to predict," said Sudha Pai, professor of politics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. "It’s perhaps the tightest parliamentary vote we have seen."

In 1999, a BJP-led government lost a confidence vote by a margin of just one.

SHADY DEALS

Weak party discipline, under-the-table deals and accidents like MPs falling ill make the result almost impossible to predict.

"The problem is that money changes hands, dirty deals are struck and MPs do a volte-face nonchalantly," said political commentator Amulya Ganguli. "It’s hard to predict when the race is so tight."

A week ago the government was confident of securing a majority with the support of the regional Samajwadi Party (SP), which replaced the communists as its parliamentary support after the left walked out, saying the nuclear pact was bad for India.

Since then there have been signs of a rebellion in the ranks of the SP, including the defection to an opposition group of senior party member Shahid Siddiqui.

Two small political groups -- the JD(S) and RLD with six MPs in all -- also decided to vote against the government.

Other MPs have vacillated over voting for a government already battling rising inflation, which is hitting millions of poor voters, ahead of general elections due by next May.

Analysts say the government is hoping for some abstentions in the opposition camp, and the government says it is confident of winning the vote. "We have the numbers. Our flock is together," said Congress spokesman Veerappa Moily.

Is this a good time to invest?

The mood is sombre. Dark clouds have gathered on the horizon. The future looks bleak. No, this is not a new novel, just your typical market analyst commentary. The experts are concurring these days that the scenario is one of gloom and doom. In fact, there is wide choice of options to worry about, so pick the one you want to start with - inflation , fiscal deficit, oil prices, elections, industrial growth, corporate earnings, and many more.

All the homilies - buy when the market dips, buy good companies, buy value, buy growth - have disappeared from analyst verbiage . Warren Buffett is forgotten . Is this ’gloom and doom’ scenario for real?

The recent performances of all portfolios seem to reinforce this outlook. Stock prices have been battered in recent weeks, reflecting this new perception of reality. Some of the largest companies have been battered by the recent fall

Even mutual funds have not been spared, with most funds falling faster than the indices. Analysts have been revising Sensex targets to 12,500 or even as low as 10,500. What’s an investor to do? Run for cover, or brave the tide? Buying in this market would be a brave decision indeed. Or perhaps it would be foolish ?

Let us try to make sense of the current worries. Are they as overwhelming as feared, or will they just be footnotes on the pages of history within a year or two?

Most of the current worries are short-term in nature. Worries about a global slowdown have already started to weigh on commodity prices. And as infrastructure bottlenecks are resolved and additional supplies flow into the market, commodity prices look set to head downwards . Most commodity stocks have already corrected sharply from their respective peaks.

Countries dependent on commodities have also seen a sharp drop in their markets over the last two months, due to worries about global growth rates. Brazil’s Bovespa is down 20 percent and Australia’s All Ordinaries down 15 percent in just two months. Any cooling off of commodity prices will put India back on the growth track. This time around, this is likely to be one of the few markets offering growth opportunities as credit-induced growth seizes up in most other economies. The domestic growth potential and attractive valuations should put India back on the buy list over the next few months.

But isn’t that a long time? The analysts are predicting the worst, and it could happen immediately, they say. What should you do?

Investors should forget about analysts’ commentary, projections and targets. Their accuracy leaves much to be desired. Don’t forget, these were the same people foretelling index targets of 20,000 to 25,000 just six months ago. There are worries galore, of course. But they only explain why the Sensex is at 13,000, and not at 23,000. They tell us very little about where the markets will be next year.

So what advice should investors follow?

Don’t try to outguess the market. It has always been futile to try and guess market movements. And it’s impossible to pick the bottom or the top. Then, how does one invest? Or, (a common question nowadays), should one invest at all? Equity remains the best asset for long-term capital growth. Despite current worries , returns from the stock market will be linked to longterm growth in corporate profits, which will in turn depend on the growth and prospects of the economy.

If you believe that it will do well over the long term, then the corporate sector will follow suit and so will the stock prices. Though indices have fallen by 40 percent from the peak, the long-term prospects of the economy and the corporate sector are unlikely to have deteriorated to that extent. The demographic profile and infrastructure investment that analysts were raving about just six months ago are still in place. This decline thus gives long-term investors an excellent entry point.

Perhaps, like many investors, you are asking: should I buy now? If so, how much?

Do not decide on the quantum of investments based on current market sentiments. Draw up an asset allocation that is appropriate for your age and risk profile. Decide your equity investments based on your asset allocation model, not on levels of the Sensex or targets bandied about by your friends or analysts. That’s the smart way to invest. It will help you filter out the ’noise’ on TV, and focus your investments on your longterm goals.

Bookies offer Rs 50 cr to MPs, Sena worried

Despite brave talk by the Shiv Sena leadership that all its 12 MPs will vote against the UPA government on July 22, there’s considerable nervousness within the party.It’s learnt that at least three of its MPs have been approached not only by the Congress and NCP, but also by bookies.

It appears that the bookies led by Hitesh Samrat and Ajay Maheshwari — they consider UPA government as the odds-on favourite to survive the trust vote — have developed huge stakes in the continuance of the UPA government and are going all out to try and fix the outcome of the trust vote.

"The going rate for an MP has shot up to a mind-boggling Rs 50 crore with 50% being the down payment," said a senior Maharashtra intelligence official on Sunday. More attention is being paid to those MPs who have lost their constituencies in the delimitation exercise. "The reasoning is that since these MPs have no constituency to fight from, they’ll be more vulnerable to allurements," a Sena leader admitted.

After last night’s meeting at Shiv Sena boss Balasaheb Thackeray’s residence, Matoshri, leader of Sena’s parliamentary group Anant Gite insisted that the party was intact and that all the 12 MPs would vote against the UPA. But now the party is taking extra precautions on "vulnerable" MPs. Even if one MP cross votes or abstains, it will be a huge loss of face for Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray. That’s why his detractors outside the party are working overtime to woo Sena MPs.

It’s learnt that two leading bookies are camping in an upscale New Delhi hotel and contacting their potential targets. The Congress and NCP recognize that they stand to lose heavily if the UPA government falls and early elections are held.

"Anti-incumbency is so strong in Maharashtra that it will be cakewalk for the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance if elections are held now," a senior Congress minister admitted.

"The consequences of a defeat on July 22 go beyond Lok Sabha elections. They will impact the assembly polls next," he added.

Meanwhile, political parties are hiring private detectives to keep a tab on their MPs. K Krishnan, chairman of Venus Detectives, told TOI: "We’ve been hired by some parties to keep a watch on their MPs and major players. We are not interested in politics and are only executing a professional job of shadowing those whose names have been given to us by politicians."