What stars speak
in 2008
ARIES
It is a time for action for you. Although you are
full of action, you need to show that patience is
also your quality. Is it a hard nut to crack?
Just go ahead and prove that Arians can overcome
any obstacles on the way. You might have to work
day and night to earn more money so as to meet
your expenditure. Funds, Investments and joint
finances will be on top of your mind whole year.
This will be in addition to all the socializing
and partying that you have been attending since
last few months. Unexpected gifts and gains will
pour in from different sectors for you this year.
Journeys are also on the cards for you. This is a
year full of celebrations and festivals for you
wherein you will pass your time joyfully.
However, you will have to take care of health.
Aries' Sixth House of work and health is to host
Saturn, and this will confer on you new
professional responsibilities and health hiccups
till the autumn of 2009. Shopping, buying and
selling are indicated in the months of February,
May, September and November, feels Ganesha. Your
career cart may take a different but the right
direction this year as Jupiter and Pluto are to
meet in Aries' tenth house of career. This will
speed up your professional progress if you do not
poke your nose into office politics. Uranus, the
planet famous for its permanent attribute of
sudden change, will continue its transit of
Aries' Twelfth House. You would like to say no to
people or places you dislike the most.
TAURUS
Lady Luck is smiling on you this year. The
beginning of the year will be exceptional in the
sense that you will get good gains from the very
beginning. Education and career will occupy most
of your time and you will be able to complete
everything successfully, says Ganesha. The
creative creature in you might spread its
tentacles to achieve the long-cherished dream. If
your dream does not come true at your current
job, there are chances to find much better one,
which will give free rein to your creativity.
There are indications of your entering the
institution of marriage soon. Those who are on
the look out for their partner might find .. .. .. . .....more
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Book Review
O P Sharma
 An
authentic book, on various aspects of
Value Added Tax (VAT) in Jammu and
Kashmir, authored by Arun Kumar Gupta and
Hardeep Aggarwal, both eminent practising
Chartered Accountants, has hit the market
recently. The VAT regime is applicable,
fostering a single taxation system, all
across the country now with UP State too
adopting it.
Under the taxation reform scheme, the
Jammu and Kashmir state too adopted VAT
system in line with other parts of the
country. The VAT is applicable in the
State since April 1, 2005 after the
J&K State legislated its own Vat Act,
2005 which is broadly in consonant with
rules elsewhere in the country.
To create awareness about various
features and its essential rules,
certainly there was urgent need for
literature on the subject. This
publication has fulfilled the long-felt
demand for a hand book on VAT regime.
Basic Knowledge
For the success of the VAT system, it is
imperative that not only professionals,
concerned dealers or businessmen but
general public understand these tax laws
and implement . ... .. ....more
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I can do more than
action
Akshay Kumar is at the top and no
questions asked. He has reportedly signed a
three-film contract with a company for the
heart-stopping figure of Rs.41 crores. His looks
are smashing, he is versatile to slip into
action, suspense, comedy, drama, thrills, the
works like no actor among his peers can. And that
is a fact. But what clinches his stakes in this
competitive market is the economic viability of
his films. He has been delivering thumping hits
without a break with producers and financiers
laughing all the way to the bank. In this
rat-race where no one spares even Shahrukh Khan
for a flop, Akshay Kumar has performed a
hat-trick of hits in a continuous series -
Namastey London, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyan.
His film Welcome has just released and is still
counting the gate money. Shoma A. Chatterji pins
him down for a conversation
Are you happy with the string of successes over
the past two years?
Absolutely. It is always great to know that the
audience has put both its money and its faith on
a film I have chosen to work in. As I have never
wearied of repeating - hits and misses always
matter and a good Friday keeps the home fires
going.
Tell us something about your new film Made in
China, directed by Nikhil Advani
It marks the Hindi film debut of Warner Bros and
that is exciting enough for me. In the film, my
role is that of a lowly Mumbai cook who is
mistaken for a martial arts hero - . . . ......more
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Guru Gyagi
R L Kaith
 One hundred and six years
ago an elementary combination appeared in the
birth of a human child at Smailpur (in Jammu).
This divine being was named as ‘GYAGI’
who prayed for the welfare, spiritual, social and
moral of all beings in all parts of the world.
His great message is universal and for all times
it points the way to self-realization by love,
devotion and service to man and God. Guru Gyagi
was one of the greatest humanists born. He
regarded all human beings as belonging to a
single family and there was no question with him
as to who was better or worse. He believed in the
doctrine of the fatherhood of God and brotherhood
of Man.
Guru Gyagi did not place before people any
different thing and religious dogmas. His
teaching were simple and could be understood by
the ordinary men in the street, it did not
require any Pandit to explain the intercacies of
the Guru. The Guru lived among the people and
preached in their own language. The main
principle of Guru Gyagi’s teachings were the
following.
Belief in one True God - According to Gyagi,
there is one and only one God and there is none
that can claim equality with Him. He is all
powerful and omnipresent. He used to say,
‘‘God is merciful and kind to all the
living being, one should have true faith in
Him.’’‘ .. ........more
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4 out of 5
Diabetics are obese
Dr. Jitendra Singh
An epidemic of
obesity is currently sweeping the
globe. Incidentally, India too is
a witness to this worldwide
upsurge. Protagonists of rapid
economic growth may cite this
phenomenon as an evidence of
India’s giant leap ahead on
the course to prosperity because
obesity is also known to be an
outcome of economic development,
urbanization and globalization.
For the scholars of medicine and
diabetology, however, this could
be a matter of serious concern
because obesity is now recognised
as a disease in itself closely
linked to a host of other
disorders including Diabetes.
Nearly 4 out of 5 newly diagnosed
Diabetics are obese. Statistics
reveal that the risk of
developing Type 2 Diabetes
Mellitus is 2-folds in presence
of mild obesity, 5-folds with
moderate obesity and 10-folds ... ......more
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Alternate Therapies
Ankur Gupta
 A sizable group in the
world : approximately 30 percent of adults today
value health, the environment, social justice,
personal development and sustainable living. They
believe the interconnectedness of mind, body and
spirit within individuals is important to achieve
full human potential.
Alternative Healthcare that refers to health
practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs
incorporating plant, animal and mineral based
medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques
and exercises, applied singularly or in
combination to treat, diagnose and prevent
illnesses or maintain well-being healthcare have
spread beyond health care institutions. It
emphasizes a holistic approach, equilibrium
between the mind, body and environment and an
emphasis on promoting health rather than disease;
The healing methods of the Far East (particularly
China, India and Korea) are now finding
increasing acceptance all over the world as an
alternative line of treatment. For instance, the
market for ayurvedic drugs is growing in the US
with more and more Americans trying to
‘‘return to nature’’.
According to recent research, about 18 million
Americans practice yoga, making yoga- and its
affiliated products and services an industry in
itself in the USA. The market features the
obvious, like. . ..........more
Sri Ramakrishna
Prophet of multi faith
Lt Col R K Langar
India has produced great spiritual
leaders in its entire history. Among them the
nineteenth century saint Sri Ramakrishna is
referred as the first ever prophet of multifaith.
Though other spiritual leaders also talked about
interfaith harmony but Ramakrishna was the first
saint to proclaim that all religions lead to the
one God, without a second based on the deep sense
of his personal experience. Rama Krishna himself
practised main tenets of other religions before
claiming with an unshakable belief that all
religions are equal. He was a great votary of
equalty of equal validity of all religion, of
religious harmony which he said already exist
among religions and has only to be realized. He
said that each religion is comparable to climbing
the stairs to reach the top of the house. Once
you reach the roof of the house, you see the same
sky, stars, sun and the moon. Similarly when one
understand’s religions in true sense, one
finds there is no difference between one religion
and the other as far as their basic teachings are
concerned. Ramakrishna said that religions are
different at the surface but at the core all
religions are same. Differences in religions is
also necessary to satisfy, physical, mental and
spiritual needs of aspirants which are different
as per their capacities. Just as people following
different paths of a mountain to reach the top
get closer as they go higher and higher from the
base of the mountain, so also differences among
people following different religions get smaller
and smaller as people evolve themselves to a
higher state of consciousness. ......more
Single
womenhood
Shweta Patwardhan
A survey conducted
by the Indian Council for Social
Research, New Delhi, reveals that more
and more urban upper class women are
opting to stay single. Career women who
do so are a growing global phenomenon,
says sociologist Patricia Uberoi,
“It is connected with the rise of
female-specific job in the information
Technology (IT) and Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) Industries,’’
she adds.
Harish Shetty, psychiatrist at Dr. L.H.
Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai, says he has
seen a 500 per cent increase in the
number of single women coming for
counselling in the last 10-years but not
because they see their unmarried status a
problem. “Most complain of
relationship problem with their parents
and employers.
In the last five years, Bangalore based
counselling cell Banjara Academy has
recorded a 100 per cent increase every
year in the number of single women
seeking counselling for work stress; many
are over 30-years and work in the
city’s IT and BPO industries.
“Most say they are happy being
single,” says Ali Khwaja, head,
Banjara. “Only a fraction is
frustrated with their single status. The
rest find it convenient to be single. .. .. .
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