Learn. Share. Advance

Open Access Week, a global event now entering its fourth year, is an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.

“Open Access” to information – the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need – has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole.

Open Access (OA) has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. Research funding agencies, academic institutions, researchers and scientists, teachers, students, and members of the general public are supporting a move towards Open Access in increasing numbers every year. Open Access Week is a key opportunity for all members of the community to take action to keep this momentum moving forward.

17 comman things when u fall in love

SEVENTEEN:
U LOOK AT THEIR PROFILE/PICTURE CONSTANTLY



SIXTEEN:
WHEN YOUR ON THE PHONE WITH THEM LATE AT NIGHT AND THEY HANG UP, YOU
STILL MISS THEM EVEN WHEN IT WAS JUST TWO MINUTES AGO.



FIFTEEN:
YOU READ THEIR TEXTS or IMS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.



FOURTEEN:
YOU WALK REALLY SLOW WHEN YOU'RE WITH THEM



THIRTEEN:
YOU FEEL SHY WHENEVER YOU'RE/THEY'RE AROUND.



ELEVEN:
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THEM, YOUR HEART BEATS FASTER AND SLOWER AT THE
SAME TIME



TEN:
YOU SMILE WHEN YOU HEAR THEIR VOICE.



NINE:
WHEN YOU lOOK AT THEM, YOU CAN'T SEE THE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND YOU, All
YOU SEE IS HIM//HER.



EIGHT:
YOU START LISTENING TO SLOW SONGS, WHILE THINKING OF THEM



SEVEN:
THEY'RE ALL YOU THINK ABOUT.



SIX:
YOU GET HIGH JUST FROM THEIR SCENT.



FIVE:
YOU REALlIZE THAT YOU'RE AlWAYS SMILING TO YOURSELF WHEN YOU THINK
ABOUT THEM.



FOUR:
YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR THEM, OR ANYTHING TO SEE THEM.



THREE:
WHILE READING THIS, THERE WAS ONE PERSON ON YOUR MIND THE WHOLE TIME...



TWO:
YOU WERE SO BUSY THINKING ABOUT THAT PERSON, YOU DIDN'T NOTICE NUMBER
TWELVE.



ONE:
YOU JUST SCROLLED UP TO CHECK & ARE NOW SILENTLY LAUGHING AT YOURSELF.

"Cloud Computing," it simply means "Internet Computing."

Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are used by computers and other devices on-demand, like a traditional utility.

Cloud computing is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet.

Wonder why venture invest money into software outsourcing these days? The answer is Cloud Computing. To explain in a simple way, Cloud Computing is like the conception of purchasing a land, building infrastructure and then leasing the flats. While the investor bags in big profits, customers access the benefits in small expenditure. In cloud computing, provider hosts the software on internet which is then accessed by customers who use resources as a service, paying only for what they make use of. Google and Yahoo are the examples of cloud computing service providers.

When we review the benefits of the cloud computing it is a win-win situation for both provider and customers:

A low cost alternative to access technology:

With cloud computing coming into play, technology admission is no more a principal outlay. It more like how you utilize traditional utilities like electricity; pay for what you use and pay till you use it. This in order to enable companies to save their money on important business activities. Moreover it gives small and medium businesses an opportunity to access technology as a resource.

Optimum utilization and dispersion of cost:

While incorporating infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) cloud computing brings economies of costs and resources. Pooling of resources additionally guides to superior performance, load balancing (as the load capacity is centrally managed) and complete use of server capacity. In this way cloud computing results in enhanced resource consumption, which is exceptional from sustainability viewpoint.

Greater independence and remote access:

In cloud computing the infrastructure is maintained by a intermediary provider and accessed by customers by way of internet using web browser. In this way users can access the utility independent of place and infrastructure from a PC, laptop or a handheld device. This has also simplified the idea of offshore software development through the places offering relatively low cost IT outsourcing.

Enhanced monitoring and simplified usage:

On one hand where the model improve security and monitoring within a centralized data access, it simplifies usability by providing self service system interfaces on the other. The user need not be worried about back end engineering and parameters. Besides this, user does not need to install the application on his system, saving him from the trouble of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support.

The idea is booming step by step and there is a lot to come in the upcoming time. With Offshore outsourcing becoming popular ever more entrepreneurs are investing in the countries with low infrastructure and development cost and then dispatching their cloud computing utility models globally.

Further Reading:

• Cloud Computing white paper sun
• Cloud Computing White Paper IBM

Other Use full link for Cloud Computing

• http://keenpath.com/articles/infrastructure/brief-introduction-to-cloud-computing/
• http://horizonwatching.typepad.com/horizonwatching/2009/04/four-new-ibm-cloud-computing-white-papers.html

STANDARD RESPONSE

Most cricketers, who are not comfortable in conversing in English, go prepare for some standard questions that are asked to them when commentators chat with them during the awards ceremony. Inzamam was once asked a different question after Pakistan won the match, for which he was not prepared. He always used his standard response to the first question after winning 

 

But this time.....
After Winning the Match

Tony Greg : So Inzi, that's fantastic, your wife is pregnant for the second time and u must be happy!

Inzamam : Thanks Tony…! All credit goes to the boys. Everyone work hard for it, especially Afridi. It was tight situation when he went in. Also Bob Woolmer was keeping close watch on progress and giving instructions. It's all team effort. Insha Allah, we all will work together as a team, put in big effort and deliver good result all the time and will be able to REPEAT the same result.


Tony fainted!!!!!!

Comments on Sachin by other players

"He is 99.5 percent perfect. I'd pay to see him" - Viv Richards.


"Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours" - Michael Kasprowicz.


"It's scary, where the hell do we bowl to him" -Allan Border.


"There is no shame being beaten by such a great player. We didn't lose to Team India. We Lost to Sachin Tendulkar" -Steve Waugh.


"If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard" - Dennis Lillee.


"I'd like to see him go out and bat one day with a stump. I tell you he'd do okay" -Greg Chappell.


"Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime and I am privileged he played in my time" - Wasim Akram.


"The pressure on me is nothing as compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, like God, must never fail. The crowd always expects him to succeed and it is too much pressure on him" -Mark Waugh.


"Everybody gets 15 minutes of fame. But if there's one person I've admired over a 15-year of period, it's definitely Sachin." - Brain Lara


"I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player" -Shane Warne.


"I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two... his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel" -Sir Donald Bradman.


"In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say 'Can you bowl me another one?'" - Adam Hollioke


"You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and he walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it around like it's a toothpick? "-Brett Lee


"You have to decide for yourself whether you're bowling well or not. He's going to hit you for fours and sixes anyway?" -Micheal Kasprowicz


"Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow ? Nothing is a problem?" -Geoffrey Boycott.


"His life seems to be stillness in a frantic world... [When he goes out to bat], it is beyond chaos - it is a frantic appeal by a nation to one man. The people see him as a God... ?" Mathew Hayden, on Sachin Tendulkar.


"The fact of the matter is that India still needs Sachin in a big way. All this talk of the youngsters taking over is very foolish. The reason why Tendulkar is so important for the team is because of his ability to inspire others and make them perform under pressure" - Some day on "Times of India".


And, this is the best!!! (A True fan of Sachin carried this Banner in a match)

"Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is busy watching him batting!!!."

India Toll Free Phone Numbers

Airways

Indian Airlines – 1800 180 1407

Jet Airways – 1800 22 5522

SpiceJet – 1800 180 3333

Automobiles
Mahindra Scorpio – 1800 22 6006
Maruti – 1800 111 515
Tata Motors – 1800 22 5552
Windshield Experts – 1800 11 3636

Banks
ABN AMRO – 1800 11 2224
Canara Bank – 1800 44 6000
Citibank – 1800 44 2265
Corporatin Bank – 1800 443 555
Development Credit Bank – 1800 22 5769
HDFC Bank – 1800 227 227
ICICI Bank – 1800 333 499
ICICI Bank NRI – 1800 22 4848
IDBI Bank – 1800 11 6999
Indian Bank – 1800 425 1400
ING Vysya – 1800 44 9900
Kotak Mahindra Bank – 1800 22 6022
Lord Krishna Bank – 1800 11 2300
Punjab National Bank – 1800 122 222
State Bank of India – 1800 44 1955
Syndicate Bank – 1800 44 6655

Cell Phones
BenQ – 1800 22 08 08
Bird CellPhones – 1800 11 7700
Motorola MotoAssist – 1800 11 1211
Nokia – 3030 3838
Sony Ericsson – 3901 1111

Computers/IT
Adrenalin – 1800 444 445
AMD – 1800 425 6664
Apple Computers – 1800 444 683
Canon – 1800 333 366
Cisco Systems – 1800 221 777
Compaq – HP – 1800 444 999
Data One Broadband – 1800 424 1800
Dell – 1800 444 026
Epson – 1800 44 0011
eSys – 3970 0011
Genesis Tally Academy – 1800 444 888
HCL – 1800 180 8080
IBM – 1800 443 333
Lexmark – 1800 22 4477
Marshal’s Point – 1800 33 4488
Microsoft – 1800 111 100
Microsoft Virus Update – 1901 333 334
Seagate – 1800 180 1104
Symantec – 1800 44 5533
TVS Electronics – 1800 444 566
WeP Peripherals – 1800 44 6446
Wipro – 1800 333 312
xerox – 1800 180 1225
Zenith – 1800 222 004

Couriers/Packers & Movers
ABT Courier – 1800 44 8585
AFL Wizz – 1800 22 9696
Agarwal Packers & Movers – 1800 11 4321
Associated Packers P Ltd – 1800 21 4560
DHL – 1800 111 345
FedEx – 1800 22 6161
Goel Packers & Movers – 1800 11 3456
UPS – 1800 22 7171

UPS
APC – 1800 44 4272
Numeric – 1800 44 3266

Paints
Asian Paints Home Solutions – 1800 22 5678
Berger Paints Home Decor – 1800 33 8800

Education
Edu Plus – 1800 444 000
Hindustan College – 1800 33 4438
NCERT – 1800 11 1265
Vellore Institute of Technology – 1800 441 555

Healthcare
Best on Health – 1800 11 8899
Dr Batras – 1800 11 6767
GlaxoSmithKline – 1800 22 8797
Johnson & Johnson – 1800 22 8111
Kaya Skin Clinic – 1800 22 5292
LifeCell – 1800 44 5323
Manmar Technologies – 1800 33 4420
Pfizer – 1800 442 442
Roche Accu-Chek – 1800 11 45 46
Rudraksha – 1800 21 4708
Varilux Lenses – 1800 44 8383
VLCC – 1800 33 1262

Home Appliances
Aiwa/Sony – 1800 11 1188
Anchor Switches – 1800 22 7979
Blue Star – 1800 22 2200
Bose Audio – 1800 11 2673
Bru Coffee Vending Machines – 1800 44 7171
Daikin Air Conditioners – 1800 444 222
DishTV – 1800 12 3474
Faber Chimneys – 1800 21 4595
Godrej – 1800 22 5511
Grundfos Pumps – 1800 33 4555
LG – 1901 180 9999
Philips – 1800 22 4422
Samsung – 1800 113 444
Sanyo – 1800 11 0101
Voltas – 1800 33 4546
WorldSpace Satellite Radio – 1800 44 5432

Hotel Reservations
GRT Grand – 1800 44 5500
InterContinental Hotels Group – 1800 111 000
Marriott – 1800 22 0044
Sarovar Park Plaza – 1800 111 222
Taj Holidays – 1800 111 825

Insurance
AMP Sanmar – 1800 44 2200
Aviva – 1800 33 2244
Bajaj Allianz – 1800 22 5858
Chola MS General Insurance – 1800 44 5544
HDFC Standard Life – 1800 227 227
LIC – 1800 33 4433
Max New York Life – 1800 33 5577
Royal Sundaram – 1800 33 8899
SBI Life Insurance – 1800 22 9090

Mattresses
Kurl-on – 1800 44 0404
Sleepwell – 1800 11 2266

Investments/Finance
CAMS – 1800 44 2267
Chola Mutual Fund – 1800 22 2300
Easy IPO’s – 3030 5757
Fidelity Investments – 1800 180 8000
Franklin Templeton Fund – 1800 425 4255
J M Morgan Stanley – 1800 22 0004
Kotak Mutual Fund – 1800 222 626
LIC Housing Finance – 1800 44 0005
SBI Mutual Fund – 1800 22 3040
Sharekhan – 1800 22 7500
Tata Mutual Fund – 1800 22 0101

Teleshopping
Asian Sky Shop – 1800 22 1800
Jaipan Teleshoppe – 1800 11 5225
Tele Brands – 1800 11 8000
VMI Teleshopping – 1800 447 777
WWS Teleshopping – 1800 220 777

Indian Railways :
Indian Railway General Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Central Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Reservation 131
Indian Railway Railway Reservation Enquiry 1345,1335,1330
Indian Railway Centralised Railway Enquiry 1330/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

Travel
Club Mahindra Holidays – 1800 33 4539
Cox & Kings – 1800 22 1235
God TV Tours – 1800 442 777
Kerala Tourism – 1800 444 747
Kumarakom Lake Resort – 1800 44 5030
Raj Travels & Tours – 1800 22 9900
Sita Tours – 1800 111 911
SOTC Tours – 1800 22 3344

Others
Consumer Helpline – 1800 11 4000
L’Or?al, GARNIeR – 1800 223 000
KONE Elevator – 1800 444 666
Indane – 1800 44 51 15
Aavin – 1800 44 3300
Pedigree – 1800 11 2121
Kodak India – 1800 22 8877
Domino’s Pizza – 1800 111 123
World Vision India – 1800 444 550
Telecom Monitoring Cell – 1800 110 420

Boys Like Girls — Love Drunk lyrics

Songwriters: Hollander, Sam; Johnson, Martin; Katz, David;

Top down in the summer sun
The day we met was like a hit and run
And I still taste it on my tongue
(Taste it on my tongue)

The sky was burning up like fireworks
You made me want you, oh, so bad it hurt
But girl, in case you haven't heard

I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover
I love you forever, forever is over
We used to kiss all night, now it's just a bar fight
So don't call me crying, say hello then goodbye
(Oh yeah!)

There's just one thing would make me say
(Oh yeah!)
I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover
I love you forever, but now it's over
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey)

Hot sweat and blurry eyes
We're spinning on a roller coaster ride
The world stuck in black and white
(Stuck in black and white)

You drove me crazy every time we touched
Now I'm so broken that I can't get up
Oh girl, you make me such a lush

I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover
I love you forever, forever is over
We used to kiss all night, now it's just a bar fight
So don't call me crying, say hello then goodbye
(Oh yeah!)

There's just one thing would make me say
(Oh yeah!)
I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover
I love you forever, but now it's over

All the time I wasted on you
All the bullshit you put me through
I'm checking into rehab 'cause everything that we had
Didn't mean a thing to you

I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover
I love you forever, but now I'm sober

I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover
I love you forever, forever is over
We used to kiss all night, now it's just a bar fight
So don't call me crying, say hello then goodbye
(Oh yeah!)

There's just one thing would make me say
(Oh yeah!)
I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover
I love you forever, but now it's over

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Now it's over, I still taste it on my tongue
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na
Now it's over

A Love Poem

A Love Poem

I wanted you to know I love you

Through ups and downs

Good times and frowns

You are a love true

Making me safe and warm

You are always there

My calm before the storm

In love that is rare

You get my sarcasm and wit

So we are quite the match

But, I am the catch

Though you’ll never admit

Though Most of the time I jest—

I would be quite sad without you

Alone and blue

For you are the best!

I am not much of a poet,

But this I know

You make me aglow

Even though you don’t know it!

Love and Kisses,

Rishabh Goel

Valentine's Day Quotes

Use one of these famous Valentine's Day love quotes to express your love with a bunch of red roses. These romantic quotations will never fail to impress your Valentine and will make him/ her realize how much you love Him/ her. Some of these love quotes are funny, others are romantic and yet others are thought provoking and will surely make your beloved feel special and cared for. So read to know more about what famous people had to say about the beautiful feeling called love!

"Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds."
-Shakespeare


"If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand."

-Unknown

"You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without."
-Unknown


"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."
-Saint-Exupery


"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."
-Ingrid Bergman


"I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love."
-Henry Ward Beecher


"True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen."
-La Rochefoucauld


"Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all."
-St. Augustine


"To love another person is to see the face of God."
-Les Miserables


"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition."
-Alexander Smith


"Sympathy constitutes friendship; but in love there is a sort of antipathy, or opposing passion. Each strives to be the other, and both together make up one whole."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge


"The richest love is that which submits to the arbitration of time."
-Lawrence Durrell


“Very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love."
-Stendhal


"There is no remedy for love but to love more."
-Thoreau


"Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."
-Dr. Karl Menninger


"To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose, the next best."
-William M. Thackeray


"If you love someone, let them go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don't, their love was never yours to begin with..."
-Unknown


"True love never dies for it is lust that fades away. Love bonds for a lifetime but lust just pushes away."
-Alicia Barnhart


"Who says love never lives? Maybe we've never lived."
-Unknown


"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."
-Unknown


"If love is great, and there are no greater things, then what I feel for you must be the greatest."
-Unknown


"The Eskimos have 52 words for snow because it is so special to them; there ought to be as many for love!"
-Margaret Atwood



"Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart."
-Unknown


"Within you, I lose myself. Without you, I find myself wanting to be lost again."
-Unknown

Valentines Day History

Saint Valentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day is a very popular holiday celebrated on 14th February by many people all around the world. The entire festival is about spreading and receiving the message of love and affection. There is mutual exchange of cards and love notes along with social gatherings and get-togethers. Different regions have their own customs and traditions of observing the festival. However, the basic concept remains the same and that is dwell in the saga of true and unending love. The history of Valentine's Day however, has been a mystery till date. No one till present knows the correct information about the history and origin of Valentine’s Day. There are a number of legends surrounding the same. Most of these stories have been passed on through the generations. Hence, there is bound to be some additions and deletions. We bring you various legends regarding the mysterious past of Valentine's Day.

History & Origin of Valentine’s Day
One of the most popular stories is that Valentine was one of the early Christians in those days when danger and death went hand in hand. He was detained for helping some Christians who were trying to escape from the prisons where they were tortured like animals. Valentine was hauled before the Emperor of Rome and was ordered to be put in jail. There, he alleviated the jail keeper's daughter of loss of sight. When the pitiless emperor came to know about this phenomenon, he gave orders of beheading Valentine. He is said to have sent the keeper's daughter a farewell message signed, "from your Valentine", morning of the execution.

Another legend and a paradox is that three Saint Valentines have been mentioned in the early list of martyrs under the date of 14th February. One is supposed to be a priest in Rome, another is said to be the Bishop of Interamna (now in Italy) and the third one lived and died in Africa. The Bishop of Interamna is the most popular modern Saint. He was a Christian martyr who lived in northern Italy and was martyred on 14th February around the third century following the orders of Emperor Claudius for breaching the outlaw on Christianity. Despite the fact that Valentine of Interamna and Valentine of Rome have different entries in martyrologies and biographies, most scholars deem they are the same person.

source: iloveindia.com

Republic Day of India 2010

This resource is about the republic day of India. It gives a brief summary of the independence of India and how we became a sovereign republic nation.

Republic Day is the name of a public holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they first became republics. Some of these are former Commonwealth realms, in which the British monarch was head of state until the change of status.

Although India obtained its independence on August 15, 1947, the Constitution of India came into effect only on January 26, 1950. During the transition period from 1947 to 1950, King George VI was the head of state. Lord Mountbatten and C. Rajagopalachari served as the Governors-General of India during this period. Following January 26, 1950, Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first president of India.

The Constitution of India was formally adopted by the Parliament, and India declared itself as a "Republic" on January 26, 1950, a date thereafter celebrated annually as Republic Day in India. The Constitution had been prepared by the Constituent Assembly which was set up upon India gaining its independence from the British in 1947. This, in fact, was a deliberate act: the 26th of January was initially India's "Independence Day", one of Mahatma Gandhi's many symbolic acts during India's Freedom Struggle against the British colonial rule, and the adoption of the Constitution on this date was felt able to strengthen its initial meaning, one calling for Indians of all ages to declare their freedom from the British Raj.

It is one of three annual national holidays in India, the other two being the nation's Independence Day on August 15 (since 1947) and the birthday of Mohandas K Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi on October 2. And so, after the disposal of the Empire of India; King George VI was the last and only "King" of the modern India.

To mark this occasion, a grand parade is held in New Delhi, the Capital of India, beginning from Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace), along the Raj

path, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort in the old quarter of the city. Different infantry, cavalry and mechanized regiments of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force march in formation, decked in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India, who is also the Commander in Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. The Chief Guest of the parade is a Head of State of another nation. The parade also includes many traditional dance troupes, to symbolize the cultural heritage of India. It traditionally ends with a colourful flypast by Air Force jetsin a tiranga formation. Similar parades are held in the capitals of all the states of India, where the Governor of the respective state takes the salute.

Before the parade starts, the Prime Minister of India lays a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate, commemorating all the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country. The President, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, then arrives in his motorcade, escorted by his bodyguards. The President is accompanied by a notable foreign Head of State - who is the Chief Guest at the celebration. The President presides over the function.

Soon afterward, a 21 gun salute is presented, the President unfurls the National Flag and the National Anthem is played. This marks the beginning of the parade. The Parade begins with winners of gallantry awards passing the President in open jeeps. Various divisions of the Armed Forces then salute the President of India. The parade also sees the Indian Military showcasing its latest acquisitions such as tanks, missiles, radars, etc.
The military contingent contains representatives of all three divisions of the Armed Forces (air, sea and land). There are also massive parades of Police contingents, Home guards , Civil Defense and the National Cadet Corps.

The military parade is followed by a colourful cultural parade. India's rich cultural heritage is paraded with tableaux from various states. Each state depicts its unique festivals, historical locations and art forms. The most cheered section of the parade is the children who have won National Bravery Awards. They ride past the dais on elephants. School-children from all over the country also participate in the parade. The parade also includes displays of skillful motor-cyle riding, usually by a division from one of the Armed Forces.
The most eagerly awaited part of the parade is the fly past, put on by the Indian Air Force. The parade concludes with a Fly Past, when fighter planes of the IAF roar past the dais, symbolically saluting the President.
However, the official conclusion of Republic Day festivities is much later - on the evening of January 29, i.e. three days after Republic Day. This ceremony is called Beating the Retreat.
HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY !

"सारे जहाँ से अच्छा हिन्दोस्तान हमारा ।
हम बुलबुले है इसकी ये गुलसिता हमारा"

I Already Miss You

Looking back on everything,
I still remember her smile.
I wish things didn't end so soon,
And turn back time for awhile.

No matter how much it hurts,
I still love her so.
A part of me needs her so much,
Can't seem to let her go.

Knowing I won't be able to see her,
Makes my heart cry out in pain.
I can't believe we won't talk anymore,
The thought makes me wanna go insane.

She was my reason for waking up,
For the smile you see on my face.
Going a single day without her,
Makes me feel so out of place.

I was afraid of opening up,
Now I'm afraid of the next day.
Whenever I see her one last time,
I'm terrified of what she may say.

I know tomorrow will hurt,
But the tears will fade away.
Life is too short for regrets,
There will be a brighter day.

But when I see him one last time,
I won't know what to do...
When he tells me that last goodbye,
I'll whisper,"I already miss you.."

~Kayla~

Rg's poster

Friendship for me

Have you ever wondered what the real essence of the saying "A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed" is? People talk about the true value of friendship actually without knowing what it stands for. True friendship is the one, in which the individuals do not have to maintain formalities with each other. Sharing true friendship is the situation, when the person you are talking about is counted as one among your family members, when the relation you share with him/her reaches a stage that even if you don't correspond for sometime, your friendship remains unscathed. Best friends need not meet up often to make sure that the friendship remains constant.

The trust between best friends is such that if one friend falls in trouble, the other will not think twice to help. If the bond between two friends is strong, true friends can endure even long distances. For them, geographical separation is just a part of life. It would not affect their friendship. They make it a point to stay in touch, even in the verge of being exhausted due to the drudgery of everyday life. True friendship never fades away. In fact, it grows better with time. True friendship thrives on trust, inspiration and comfort. Best friends come to know, when the other person is in trouble, merely by listening to their "Hello" over the phone. They can even understand each other's silence.

True friends don't desert each other when one is facing trouble. They would face it together and support each other, even if it is against the interests of the other person. Best friends don't analyze each other; they don't have to do so. They accept each other with their positive and negative qualities. Nothing is hidden between true friends. They know each other's strengths as well as weaknesses. One would not overpower the other. They would respect each other's individuality. In fact, they would understand the similarities and respect the differences. Best friends don't stand any outsider commenting or criticizing their friendship and they can put up a very firm resistance, if anyone does so.

True friends are not opportunists. They don't help, because they have something to gain out of it. True friendship is marked by selflessness. Best friends support even each other, even if the whole world opposes them. It is not easy getting true friends for the lifetime. If you have even one true friend, consider yourself blessed. Remember, all best friends are friends, but not all friends can be best friends. In this world of cynics and back stabbers, there are still some people who are worth being friends with. They have to be recognized and respected for being best friends, for the lifetime.