Govt looking to list BSNL at 300-400 rupees/shr

India is hoping to list state-run telecoms firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) at 300-400 rupees ($7.2-9.5) a share, but will take a final decision only after discussions with trade unions who oppose the move, Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja said on Thursday.

BSNL is India’s top ranked telecoms firm by subscriber numbers but in mobile services lags Bharti Airtel Ltd, Reliance Communications Ltd and Vodafone-controlled Vodafone Essar.

As of end-June, BSNL had nearly 73 million wireless and fixed-line subscribers, slightly ahead of mobile services leader Bharti Airtel which had nearly 72 million users.

Do parents make the best buddies for kids?

Be it a chat about their daughter’s new date or sharing a glass of beer with their teenage son, parents of generation X have come a long way from being just parents to being friends with their kids. But is that the ideal style of parenting?

While the ‘generation gap’ between parents and children seems to be diminishing over the last few years, the extent to which the bond of friendship between children and their parents should exist is a question that often comes to mind. Friendship can be a wonderful source of strength and an excellent way to satisfy the emotional needs of children, but where should one draw the line?

According to Manuj Arora, a student, "Friendship between parents and children helps to minimize the communication gap. Whenever the child has a problem, parents should be there to guide them and solve the problem. A child is more honest with his/her parents if they are more like friends than just parents", he adds.

In fact, experts are seeing increasing instances of parents, especially mothers, who want to be friends with their children. According to clinical psychologist Stephan Poulter, author of The Mother Factor ‘this style of mothering had been on the rise for about 15 years’.

The question is: Is it necessarily the right style of parenting?

Abhimanyu Kukreja, a college student believes that it is good for parents to be friends with their children but only to an extent. He says, "There are some things that one cannot share with parents."

Experts too feel that ‘kids need their parents, not another friend’ as it is important to keep the boundaries. A serious consequence of the parent-child ’friendship’ is the diminishing respect that children have for their parents.

Rose Rock, the mother of US comedian Chris Rock, who has laid down the 10 commandments of parenting in a new book, Mama Rock’s Rules: Ten Lessons for Raising a Houseful of Successful Children , states that you should not let your children think they can disrespect you or treat you like a buddy. She also talks about the need for parents to play the role of a protector and a guide rather than letting children lay down their own rules. She lays stress on the need for parents to take back to traditional roles.

Anudita Prasad, who is a mother of two sons says, "Friendship between parents and children should be such that the child does not hide anything from his parents and feels free to share his beliefs and opinions. But this doesn’t mean that the child does not respect his parents". "Parents should also spend enough time with their children, interact with them and know more about their peers and whereabouts", she adds.

Bharat Mishra who has a son and a daughter says, "Parents should know where to draw the line. There are certain things like discipline, studies and mannerisms that one cannot compromise with. If it is not so, children will cross their limits and will not respect their parents. Parents can be friends but should also let the child know his limits."

Most of the time parents justify their approach towards their kids saying that they are afraid that their children may hesitate to discuss their problems and challenges if they don’t share an intimate relationship with them. However, it is also important for children to have their own circle of friends, have their own confidants and learn to be social by interacting with their peers.

Poulter believes that because of unresolved issues with their parents, some parents today don’t want to be harsh and just want their children to like them.

V N Pandey, a father of two children says, "When a child is young, parents need to be strict. But during a child’s teenage years, parents should be more like a friend in order to build trust and understanding with the child. At the same time, parents should also retain their authority and superior position to draw the line where it is necessary."

Dr Samir Parikh, a psychiatrist says, "I think we have a misnomer attached to friendship between parents and children. We think friendship will result in parents becoming more lenient. If it is just about being together and having fun just like friends, it is absolutely okay. Anything that will have a positive impact on the child and the relationship should be encouraged. Parents should be like a friendly guide for their children."

When children begin to shoulder responsibilities, what they need most is guidance and support. Parents can be good friends and guide their children but the bond shouldn’t weaken the parents’ authority as this might lead the child to take wrong decisions at times. Perhaps an important way to strike the right bond with children is through communication.

While there are many contradicting opinions on this issue, what matters most is striking a balance between parenting and friendship when raising kids.

Did you thank God today?

Ego manifests itself in different forms. We usually refer to ego as pride. We can have pride of knowledge, power and wealth. We attribute all that we are and all that we have done to our own individual efforts. We think we are superior to others in many ways.

Most religions say that God is the Creator. It is from Him that the entire universe came into being. We are but small specks in the entire scheme of Creation. If we examine our thoughts, how many times do we thank Him for our life? Few people go through their day-to-day lives remembering Him and His gifts.

True, we say mechanical prayers either at places of worship. We remember him when we want Him to save us from a calamity or from serious illness. But most of the time we hardly give Him a thought. Some even deny His existence. Scientists removed God from their view of the universe because He could not be verified by scientific instrumentation.

There are some enlightened scientists who have begun to question how such a perfectly designed universe and such a complex, well-planned organism as a human being could come about through chance. Those who delve into the intricacies of nature and are in awe of it have the humility to recognise there is some higher power responsible for this universe.

Pride of knowledge comes because of traps laid by the mind. When our soul enters the body, it works in this world through the mind. The brain is a complex organ that receives sense impressions from the world. Our culture makes us interpret these impressions in a certain way.

Besides receiving and interpreting impressions, the brain is a vehicle by which we can communicate with the world through language, to make our thoughts known to others. There are many involuntary actions controlled by the brain breathing, heartbeat and the release of hormones that regulate body functions.

Many think that the brain is the seat of thought. But there is a difference between the mind and the brain. The brain is like a computer which performs many functions. But it is the mind that controls the brain. The mind is a product of the causal plane of creation, a mixture of spirit and matter.

With the mind in control, many of our decisions and actions are based on meeting the mind’s desire and wishes. Because the object of the mind is to keep us enslaved to the world, it controls us. The soul, having forgotten itself, goes along with the mind.

We go to school and gain knowledge of this physical universe. We are bombarded by sense impressions at every moment. Our brain has the capacity to take in billions of bits of information, store and retrieve them, much like a computer.

Words can be combined in billions of ways to create new stories, books, ideas, new inventions. The notes of the musical scale can be combined in billions of ways to create a wide variety of music. The mind can keep us occupied and involved in this world for aeons and aeons.

The mind has forgotten that the colours of the palette it uses to paint have been created by God Himself. That the notes of the scale that it uses to compose songs are of God’s own making. The brain it uses to communicate with the world is also a creation of God.

Divorced middle-aged men 'get worst sleep'

Are you a divorced middle-aged man? Well, this can affect your sleep, suggests a new study. Researchers in Britain have found that separated men in their middle-age are becoming more and more short-tempered, emotional and are underperforming at work due to a lack of sleep. The study has revealed that divorced male lawyers in their 50s, who live in London, are Britain’s worst sleepers - in fact, they only get an average of four hours sleep each night which seriously affects their day-to-day lives.

An average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep everyday, according to experts. Interestingly, the researchers have found that single females in their 20s are United Kingdom’s best sleepers with around ten hours sleep a night, The Daily Telegraph reported.

For their study, the researchers surveyed 2,000 adults across the country to reveal what disturbs their sleep at night. "The survey results show just how big a problem lack of sleep can be for some people and the havoc it can wreak on our personal lives," Steve Simpson from Silentnight was quoted as saying.

The majority of those polled nationwide said a lack of sleep had an adverse effect on their everyday life. A massive 93 per cent of people said that they are bad-tempered without a good night’s sleep and 31 per cent of people suffer from a lack of sex drive after having lost some sleep.

Just under half of people in East Anglia (43 per cent), 40 per cent of those in the south-west of England and 40 per cent of those in Scotland said that not being able to get comfortable affected their sleeping patterns.

What's cooking?

Relationships, especially marriages, are supposed to last a lifetime. And while most people are shocked to find out that their partner is very much in love... with someone else, there are tell-tale signs in most cases of infedility. It’s just that you don’t see them or rather, ignore them. Well, sweeping it under the carpet isn’t going to help anyone. In fact it will only make things worse. Here are signs that could mean that there’s a meal for two cooking, behind your back!

Lack of communication: Leaving post-its on the fridge or sending e-mails to inquire if the laundry has arrived is not the ideal way to communicate. You don’t need to be a relationship expert to see that not only have the sweet nothings stopped coming your way, but even the fights don’t happen anymore. Indifference is worse than irritating behaviour.

Changing phone habits: We’re living in times, where the cell phone can reveal a person’s deepest, darkest secrets. Does your spouse feel the need to move away when a certain someone calls? Does he have a special ringtone for this particular caller? Are there two many beeps indicating incoming messages at an hour when you can’t really be discussing office work? A quick run through your spouse’s inbox or sent messages could clear many things.

Sudden changes in likes and dislikes: If your well-rounded spouse is suddenly hitting the gym or seems overtly obsessed with his/her looks, it may indicate something’s amiss. This isn’t limited to external changes, but also changes in some likes and dislikes. Why else would your ghazal-loving husband suddenly become a Britney Spears fan? Or why would your wife who loves English poetry start sprouting shayari?

Picking up fights: Having fights is a sign of a healthy relationship. But fighting over trivial things like spending an extra minute in the loo is uncalled for. If everything, from the way you dress to the way you sit, walk, talk and even breathe seems to be a reason for a fight, then there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

Accuses you of cheating: A person’s ego often comes in the way of accepting his/her mistake and the best way out is to accuse the other person of some wrong doing. So if your spouse suddenly starts objecting to you chatting with a colleague of the opposite sex too often, don’t think he/she is trying to be cute and possessive. This may be later used as a reason to justify his/her infidelity.

Works overtime: Today an important meeting, tomorrow a business party and then some visiting clients, the excuses just don’t seem to end. It would be a good idea to check what exactly the overtime work is all about and what’s it going to cost you... very dearly if you aren’t careful.

Breaks dates too often: Do you remember that time when you were left standing outside the restaurant hungry, but never got to go in because your husband didn’t turn up? Or the time when you were stranded in a downpour because your wife couldn’t find a cab from her office which was two blocks away and unfortunately her cell battery had died just then? We don’t mean to say that every time your spouse breaks a date you suspect his/her actions, but anything that happens too often indicates something. Breaking a date is an indication that there are things, other than you, far more important to your partner.

Prefers to go out without you: There’s always some reason why you can’t go to a party. ‘It’s just office people’ or ‘It’s a boy’s night out’ or ‘We’ll be discussing work, honey’ are lines guaranteed to keep you safely tucked away at home while your better half may be boogeying the night away with a PYT. There’s got to be some reason why your homely hubby has turned into an ‘I-party-every-night’ types.

Bedroom behaviour changes: When there are two many sudden headaches just when things start getting romantic, or the need to tuck in a pillow between the two of you can’t be healthy for any relationship. If your partner prefers to watch saas-bahu sagas to canoodling with you, then it’s time to make your feelings clear. Don’t let your partner blame you for the sex life going sour. Try spicing up things, but know when your advances are not being returned. When candlelight dinners, sweet nothings and even sexy lingerie doesn’t work, there’s got to be a major problem there somewhere.

Used another name in bed

It can’t get more obvious than this! A cardinal sin! We don’t even need to explain this to you. Let him/her give you a plausible explanation for this goof-up.
And if it isn’t convincing enough, it’s time you seriously seek o

Fond of 'punjabi' food? God bless your heart!

If your tongue craves for rich ’butter-chicken’ and mouth starts to water at the mere sight of those oil-rich ‘punjabi’ delicacies...you are at risk of getting heart problems. Cardiovascular disease has become a major health concern in India.

Presently, its increasing prevalence among the youth is becoming a serious concern even for the experts dealing with heart-related problems for decades.

In Punjab, the mortality rate due to heart diseases is comparatively high than recorded in other parts of the country. It has made cardiologists worried and they are searching for a solution to this problem.

With 100 million people affected by heart-related diseases, India is set to be the heart disease capital of the world by 2010. And this fact has made country’s leading cardiologists worried, as was indicated at the Diagnostic Cardiology Summit at the Hero Dayanand Medical College here.

At Diagnostic Cardiology Summit, organized by the Hero DMC Heart Institute here recently, the cardiologists and experts from the country’s leading hospitals deliberated and discussed various diagnostic advancements and future trends.

Dr.Gurpreet Singh, Hero DMC heart institute, said: “Punjabi diet is very rich compared to (the diet) the population living in southern part of the country. It is for this reason that we are witnessing people at young age getting heart attacks.”

“We have seen people from Punjab who had migrated to the west had higher prevalence of heart diseases 10-15 years back. Now that same culture has come to our country and today we find the prevalence of this disease has increased manifolds in our country,” Singh added.

Presently, latest healthcare facilities are being used to deal with cardiovascular diseases in Punjab.

Nuclear Cardiology Test is the latest procedure introduced at Hero DMC Heart Institute.

It helps to diagnose or treat diseases and other abnormalities within the body. Nuclear medicine imaging procedures are non-invasive and relatively painless medical tests.

During the Summit, the head of nuclear medicine, deliberated on "Nuclear medicine imaging – current clinical utility" and highlighted the use of nuclear medicine in the management of various diseases.

Dr. Gurpreet Singh, Hero DMC heart institute, said: “The nuclear medicine is a new form of medicine. With this particular investigation we will be able to diagnose patients non-invasively without giving them any pricks.”

The deaths due to cardiovascular disease in India are expected to rise from 1.17 million recorded in 1990 to 2.03 million by circa 2010.

Mortality rate is high in Punjab accounting for about 49 percent of all deaths.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, President, Punjab Medical Council, said: “Earlier, the heart related illness were noticed less among rural population. But as urbanization of rural areas is taking place, the urban-rural difference is decreasing and more and more rural people are getting this disease.”

India’s leading heart specialist, Dr. Naresh Trehan, on this occasion said: “One can do three things, for preventing heart diseases. Eat less fried food, less butter and ghee. Second, exercise daily for around 45 minutes. And third, reduce stress in life. Because of the nature of the work, we have become over stressed. So things like yoga, meditation and entertainment help a person to relax.”

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh is currently conducting a study on the reasons leading to heart problems in patients up to 35 years of age.

Want to lose weight? Eat eggs for breakfast

Eating at least two eggs for breakfast helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic, revealed a new study by an Indian-origin researcher. Nikhil V Dhurandhar, PhD, lead researcher and associate professor in the laboratory of infection and obesity at Pennington Biomedical Research Center said that eating two eggs in the morning, as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps in losing 65 per cent weight in overweight people, than those who eat bagel breakfast of equal calories.

This study supports a previous research that showed that people who ate eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied and ate fewer calories in the following meal. "People have a hard time adhering to diets and our research shows that choosing eggs for breakfast can dramatically improve the success of a weight loss plan. Apparently, the increased satiety and energy due to eggs helps people better comply with a reduced-calorie diet,” said Dhurandhar.
When the subjects who ate a bagel breakfast were compared with those who consumed two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet, it was also found that men and women who had eggs exhibited a 61 per cent greater reduction in BMI. They also reported higher energy levels than their dieting counterparts who consumed a bagel breakfast

However, it was found that blood lipids were not impacted during the two month study. Also, blood levels of cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, did not vary compared to baseline cholesterol blood levels in subjects who ate either the bagel or egg breakfasts. This supports more than 30 years of research that conclude that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease.

This study adds to the growing body of research which supports the importance of high-quality protein in the diet. It was found recently that not getting enough high-quality protein may contribute to obesity, muscle wasting (loss) and increased risk of chronic disease.

Jackie Newgent, registered dietitian and chef, stresses the importance of obtaining adequate high-quality protein when advising consumers about weight loss. "Eggs are a good source of all-natural, high-quality protein, so they can help keep you satisfied longer, making it easier to resist tempting snacks. Nearly half of an egg’s protein, and many of the other nutrients are found in the yolk, so make sure to eat the whole egg for maximum benefits," said Newgent.

What to do when germs attack

There’s never a good time to catch a cold or come down with the flu, but you don’t have to take it lying down. So what should you do? Take high doses of vitamin C? Suck on some zinc lozenges? Or do you stick to Mom’s old-fashioned remedies: bowls of chicken soup, hot tea, and menthol rubs to fight off those bugs the best you can?
Some dietary supplements may help shorten the duration and/or reduce the severity of symptoms if taken at the onset of a cold or the flu. Many of these need to be taken within 24 hours of onset in order to be effective.
Zinc. Zinc has been shown to shorten the length of a cold and lessen the symptoms, as long as it’s taken within 24 hours of the cold’s onset. Too much zinc can be toxic.
Vitamin C. This popular vitamin may help to reduce the length of a cold, but not as much as you think.
Probiotics. Dietary supplements containing the beneficial bacteria lactobacilli and bifidobacteria have been shown to reduce the duration of the common cold by almost 2 days.

Finally, the Old Standby: There’s nothing wrong with going back to basics and doing what your mom probably advised when you were getting sick: Get plenty of rest and have a bowl of chicken soup.

She may have been right: According to new research, chicken soup may have some medicinal qualities after all. Some ingredients in traditional chicken soup seem to have an anti-inflammatory effect, helping to alleviate the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections. So if you’ve come down with a cold and there’s nothing more to be done, go ahead and slurp up a bowl. And tell your mom thanks for the advice.

The world's most expensive holiday package

Got a million dollars to splurge on a holiday? You stand to figure in the Guinness Book of World Records. A hotel in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is hoping to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by offering what is being dubbed as the world’s most expensive holiday package.

Priced at $1 million, the package by the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi offers pure opulence for two guests to stay seven nights in a 680 sq m palace suite on an all-inclusive basis, the state-run news agency reported.

"As well as luxurious living with The Palace, the package covers first class return trip from any international destination serviced by Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi, chauffeur-driven Maybach at your disposal daily during your stay in Abu Dhabi, and daily spa treatment in the Anantara Spa," the report quoted Janet Abrahams, director of sales and marketing at Emirates Palace Hotel, as saying.

"The package seeks to give celebrities, luminaries and well-known businessmen the lifetime chance to stay in the unique iconic Emirates Palace, experience seven days of wonder and at the same time the opportunity to effectively promote their business message," she said.

Built at a cost of over $3 billion, the hotel is reputed to be the most expensive hotel ever built and has 302 rooms and 92 suites. The hotel is owned by the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi and is currently managed by the Kempinski group. According to Abrahams, the package also offers to take guests on journeys to explore neighbouring countries.

"The offer is tailor-made to the guest requirements, but as an example we can include day trips by private jet to Iran to create your own Persian carpet from the most exclusive and well-renowned hand-maker, to Dead Sea in Jordan to experience the famous sea and afternoon Anantara spa treatment in the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar, to Bahrain for a deep sea pearl diving experience," she said.

"Your pearl will then be hand designed with unique jewellery settings and at every step of your excursions, your Emirates Palace butler will be there to guide and assist you." Guests can also enjoy a ’Royal Golf Experience’ at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club and make their own individual perfume with experts from YAS Perfumes.

Other features of the package include a deep-sea fishing trip, ’Emirates Palace Sunset and Desert Island Tour’, gifts including Emirates Palace Gold Champagne, the rarest pearls in the world from Robert Wang and a selection from Holland and Holland Sporting Guns.

Abrahams said that guests who book for the package would be able to say that they were part of an industry first and collaborate with the Emirates Palace Hotel in registering with the Guinness Book of World Records. The hotel’s general manager Hans Olbertz said the premier property is seeking to establish Abu Dhabi as a world-class tourism destination for vacationing and promoting the Emirates Palace as a signature landmark of Abu Dhabi to the world.

He disclosed that part of the costs of the package would be donated to social and charitable organizations in the UAE.

Forex futures trading to begin soon

It is expected that Indian banks and residents will be allowed to trade in foreign currency futures by the month-end, going by the new guidelines announced by the Indian central bank here on Wednesday.

The guidelines finalized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said that only dollar-rupee contracts can be traded and the size of each contract would be $1,000.

The contracts shall be quoted and settled in Indian rupees and the maturity of the contracts shall not exceed 12 months, the guidelines said. Banks can participate in the futures market with the permission of RBI and none "other than an Indian resident" shall participate in the currency futures market.
The gross open position of a trading member should not exceed 15 per cent of open interest or $25 million and gross open position of any bank should not exceed 15 per cent of open interest or $100 million.

UK's new rules promote genuine applicants

The UK government has announced its plans for a new student visa system under the Points Based System (PBS). Known as Tier 4, the new system aims to be more transparent and to simplify existing immigration rules for genuine students and education providers.

Under the new rules, universities and colleges will be required to take greater responsibility for their international students, which includes obtaining a special license for recruiting international students and reporting those who fail to attend classes.

"The new system is not meant to discourage students going to study in the UK but to weed out bogus colleges and students," said Dan Chugg, director, press and communications, British High Commission. All colleges and universities will have to maintain attendance sheets and ensure that all students’ paperwork is in order, including keeping copies of their passports and alerting the UK Border Agency (UKBA) if students fail to enrol.

Education providers who fail to follow the new rules will face a ban on recruiting international students in the future and bogus colleges will be shut down.

Representatives of British universities in India have welcomed the new rules. Richa Jain, India manager, Nottingham Trent University, said: "The new system is probably going to help increase the number of students going to the UK. And if it doesn’t, it would mean that bogus students have stopped applying. Besides, some students used to drag their degrees in order to extend their stay in the UK but, now, they would have to complete it on time."

Similarly, Kalpana Das, country co-ordinator (India), Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), added: "Often students accept offers from several universities, use one for their visa application but on arriving in the UK, end up going to a different university. As a result, the university is left with vacant seats and the government is left unaware of the student’s location. However, under the new rules, the student’s passport will specifically mention which university the student is going to and they cannot change universities."

Chugg stated that the new rules would apply to all students above the age of four outside the European economic region. "Students would also need to provide their fingerprints for biometric visas and IDs," he added. According to Liam Byrne, UK’s border and immigration minister, all those who come to Britain must abide by the rules. "By locking people to one identity with ID cards we will know exactly who is coming here to study."

Further, visas will only be granted to students who show a proven track record in education and are applying for a course that meets a minimum level of qualification. Students on courses for longer than 12 months will have to show they have sufficient funds to pay their first year of fees, plus 9,600 pounds to cover their first year in the UK. Students wishing to bring their dependants with them will need to show they have a further 535 pounds per-month for each person they bring.

Teach him money matters

Children should be taught the value of money. Here’s how you can motivate your child to save money Money is important. It gives people the power to make decisions and grab opportunities. Educating children on its importance should start early in life. Children should be motivated to become regular savers and investors.

Child psychologist Dr Nandgopal says that as soon as a child starts counting numbers, he should be introduced to money. “Parents should play an active role in providing them with information. For instance, teach what he can buy with a one rupee coin and to recognise the money, the symbols in the coin, etc. There are two ways that children learn — by observation and repetition.” Talking to children about your values on money — on how to save it, how to make it grow, and how to spend it — will have a lifelong impact on them.

“Children should be made to understand the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. This will enable them to make good spending decisions right from childhood,” says psychologist Dr Raghurami Reddy.

Setting goals is primary for learning the value of money. “If a parent has the habit of buying everything that his kid asks for, this will only spoil the kid. What I do at home is I set a goal for my daughter — give her a task and award her pocket money in denominations that she can count. And, she in turn puts it into her piggy bank.

Once the money grows, she is entitled to buy toys, chocolates, etc. I think this has made her responsible. These days, banks are providing savings accounts for kids and so parents could try that option,” says a parent, Suchitra Kumar.

Keeping good records of money is another skill that ought to be taught. “I have encouraged my children to maintain a book on their savings and spending. Kids should also be taught the concept of borrowings and interest to be paid on that amount,” says a parent, Deepthi Nair.

Social dad: As good as mom or even dad!

Social dad is the cool new name for the cool new stepfather.And he’s probably just as good a dad as the biological one – even better, perhaps. A study by Lawrence M Berger of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US says that a man who is ‘married to or cohabiting with the child’s mother, but is not the biological father’ – a social father – is trusted more and may be better with the child in terms of parenting.

And examples abound. The new kid on the block, Imran Khan, has one, for instance – actor Raj Zutshi. In a recent interview, Imran said that his real father, Anil Pal, lives and works in the US.

“Dad is a software engineer who has been living in the US for 25 years now. My parents got divorced when I was one-and-a-half years old. Practically speaking, I have no memories of when my parents were married to each other,” he said. So who was his father figure, then? “It was my stepfather, Raj Zutshi,” he said. Zutshi and Nuzhat got divorced a couple of years ago. DT asks other social dads and their spouses if they make good fathers...

My man, my kid’s dad
Actress Maninee De Mishra, who married actor Mihir Mishra, says that the strong bond between Mihir and her daughter is the result of the effort that they both made in the initial stages of the relationship. She says, “I wanted to facilitate an understanding between Mihir and Dianoor. Mihir’s decision to be with Dia and me was voluntary, but for Dia, it wasn’t. In such a relationship, it’s important to ensure that the child doesn’t suffer. Fortunately, I can take no credit for the crackling chemistry the two share. I had never seen Mihir cry, but the first time Dia called him papa, his eyes welled up and he told me how overwhelmed he was. Right from the beginning, the mother should clarify her stance and say that she and her kids are a package deal. Once, I got home to find Dia and Mihir in fits of laughter at a cartoon film they were watching. That moment proved how close they are as a father-daughter duo.”

Actress Pooja Bedi also says that ex-boyfriend Hanif Hilal was a great dad to her kids. “I don’t let my relationships come home unless I’m ultra-serious about them,” she says. “If I get to know that the man isn’t comfortable with my kids, he is rejected from my life too. Though Hanif and I aren’t together anymore, it’s been a wonderful experience with him. He helped my kids with homework and took them to their classes. He was always there. In fact, if my daughter Alia was sick, he was the one who rushed her to the doctor. Though he was involved with an older woman, he undertook a father’s responsibilities and executed them well. He loved my kids unconditionally.”

And the dads say, of course we’re good
The social dads say that there are a host of factors that make them good parents. Says Mihir, “Social fathers try harder to seek the child’s approval, and often end up forging a great bond. Moreover, the father is mentally prepared to adapt to the situation and the child’s needs and expectations. One can’t force a relationship, but one can always work to make it a success. You can either strike a chord with the child, or fail – there’s no third option. For me, the adapting was simpler since Dia also took the initiative. Now, we are best friends and the worst enemies!”

Image guru Dilip Cherian is also a social father to his wife Devi’s children. “Indian society is going through a change in areas of marriage,” he explains. “Social fathers are probably more ready and competent to bring up their wife’s kids, and they also try harder to meet their expectations. For some biological fathers, fatherhood may be a social compulsion, but for social fathers, it’s a mature choice. Marrying a lady with kids means knowing exactly what you’re getting into. Biological fathers may also be too young to handle the responsibility and may lack the time and experience of life that a man entering a later stage of fatherhood may have. In such relationships, credit also goes to the children who may have gone through the phase of missing a father figure in their lives and are more than ready to adjust to the new person coming into the family.”

Devi seconds her husband’s views. “Social fathers are much, much better because both the father and the kids make an effort to accept each other. There is this sense of comradeship – children feel that their mother may be hurt if they don’t accept the man as their father figure and the man would never want his wife to feel that since the kids are not his, he isn’t interested. And so both, the father and the children, go out of their way to try and get along. In due course, the child will start doing things that his/her father does. It may be as simple as starting to eat sushi because their father likes it, but these things make the father say, ‘They are looking up to me and I must not fail them’.”

What about the stepmoms?
However, Pooja gives the issue a slightly different twist. “It’s great to give stepfathers the oh-so-cool tag of ‘social’ fathers! But what about the tag of ‘evil’ that stepmothers have? Poor stepmoms – they’ve been considered evil since the time the fairytales, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, came about. I guess the social fathers bit should’ve happened for women first. Moms put a lot of effort into child rearing and that should be respected. This kind of undoes what mothers have been doing all this while. Get the title for women first! Fairytales have done enough harm,” she says.

‘Satyam: No Place to Run; No Place to Hide’...says Upaid

The House of Lords has refused Satyam leave to appeal the case between it and Upaid. The only issue now left open in the UK is how much Satyam will have to pay Upaid in legal fees."The road now leads to substantive resolution. It must be obvious, even to Satyam’s management, that justice is at hand," said Upaid Chairman & CEO Simon Joyce. He praised the UK’s "swift and definitive" judicial ruling that assures Satyam will face a jury in Texas, as Upaid had intended from the outset.

"Satyam appears to have been in a state of denial. They lost in the UK high Court and again on appeal and have now lost in the House of Lords. Next they will lose in Texas", Joyce said.

"Satyam management is still trying to wriggle out of Federal Court jurisdiction in the Eastern District of Texas," Joyce added. "Even if they were to do so, which we’re confident they will not, they’ll face all but identical proceedings in the Texas State Court made up from the same essential jury pool."

Joyce, noting that Upaid has been waiting a year for Satyam’s answer to the charges contained in Upaid’s complaint, said that Satyam has so far "used denial, dodge and delay. Their shareholders will be hoping they now recover their sense of reason. It may be more likely that Satyam will become desperate as they see the avenues of escape closing one by one."

Upaid spokesperson Joanne Hunter pointed to Satyam’s "minuscule" (less than 1%) stake in Upaid. "Given their record to date they will now probably try to use this to undermine Upaid from within. But it won’t work. We have the commitment and wherewithal to see this through to the finish."

Trial is set for early June in the Federal court. "This time next year we expect that Satyam will have to post an extremely large bond if they hope to appeal," Hunter said. "That will immediately hit their bottom line."

Hunter pointed out that Satyam’s own filings in the UK admit that "extremely large sums of money are at stake". Though the exact amount of damages is not yet knowable, Upaid is required to file their damage calculation model with the Federal court within weeks.

"Satyam would help themselves if they started to repair our intellectual property rights that have been put in jeopardy by their wrongful acts," she said. "The damages grow with every day."

For copies of the letters from the claimant and the House of Lords, please contact Catriona Biggart or Becca Daniel at Skywrite Communications. Telephone: +44 (0) 207 608 4650 or email: upaid@skywritecomms.com.

About Upaid

Upaid is the mobile and online payments specialist. Applications range from the recharge of prepaid accounts via SMS, to electronic bill payment and presentment, to billing for mobile content. The Upaid platform supports a complete eco-system for mobile commerce, giving users the choice of an operator-driven or independent billing system.

Upaid holds a portfolio of over 1,000 granted patents in the arena of e- and m-commerce. We work with Brazil’s leading mobile operators and banks to enable recharge transactions, serving a user base of over 50 million consumers, processing 2 million transactions per month. Upaid holds the franchise for VISA Mobile Service in the CEMEA region. Upaid has offices in the US, UK, and Brazil. Upaid is a registered trademark of Upaid Systems, Ltd.

For more information, please visit www.upaid.net.

Marriage can boost your lifespan

Forget long walks and cutting on calories, the secret to a long, healthy life is marriage. According to new figures, men who lose their life partner often die soon afterwards. The figures reveal that widowers over 85 have the highest rate of death per 1000 (191.6), while married men in the same age group have a death rate of only 140.3 per 1000.

"It seems longevity and marriage are directly linked and marriage is good for your health," the Daily Telegraph quoted Australian Minister Justine Elliot, whose office analyzed the figures, as saying.

The figures suggested that married people have lower death rates and live longer because they are more likely to look after each other’s health and serve as role models to children.