Top 20 Countries - Ranking based on GDP (per capita)

Rank	Country	Intl. $	Year
1	Qatar	88,919	2011
2	Luxembourg	88,787	2011
—	Macau	77,607	2011
3	Singapore	61,103	2011
4	Norway	57,092	2011
5	Kuwait	54,654	2011
6	Brunei	50,506	2010
—	Hong Kong	49,990	2011
7	United States	48,442	2011
8	United Arab Emirates	48,222	2011
9	Switzerland	47,817	2011
10	Netherlands	43,339	2011
11	Austria	42,122	2011
12	Ireland	41,642	2011
13	Sweden	41,447	2011
14	Denmark	41,015	2011
15	Canada	40,541	2011
16	Australia	39,466	2011
17	Germany	39,414	2011
18	Belgium	38,633	2011
19	Finland	37,581	2011
20	Iceland	37,115	2011

Post after a long hiatus

The last one year had been very very busy for me. I had completed MBA from Oxford University. Met hundreds of interesting people, made tons of new friends. Been to wonderful places. Done strategy consulting. Worked 80 hours a week. Lived the DDLJ dream in Switzerland. Started a new blog on movies - sachinmovielist.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Wonderful facts about India

Although many of you would have read this article (it is not written by me), I am just posting it on my blog as this makes me proud of being an Indian. My intention is just to spread awareness on India. (Can't write the source as I myself is unaware of it).

1. India is the world’s largest, oldest, continuous civilization.

2. India never invaded any country in last 10000 years of history.

3. India is the world’s largest democracy.

4. Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called “The Ancient City” when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.

5. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

6. The World’s first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

7. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software – a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.

8. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.

9. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India’s wealth.

10. The art of Navigation was bornin the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit ‘Nou’.

11. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.

12. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.

13. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.

14. Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

15. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.

16. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).

17 The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world’s population.

18. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.

19. India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.

20. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.

21. India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.

22. India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.

Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)

* Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

* Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.

* French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.

* Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.

Done it again

I know I have broken my promise once again. But what the heck. This is my blog. I will write whenever I feel like. :P

Not posting here had given me ample amount of time to do other wonderful things in life. (at least that's what i think :D ).

Over a period I will tell ya more about what I did in the last 8 months.

Another broken promise

I promised myself to keep posting here. But here I am. Trying to break bad old habits but just can't do so. I am irritatingly fucking stubborn.

More than three months have passed by and the year is ending now. I have been busy with lots of things mostly professional.

• Worked hard in these months to get customer satisfaction index of 5/6 (which for your reference is stupendous).
  
• Had chicken pox for three weeks.
  
• Had been visited by Jiju and parents lately.
• Met some of the most influencing personalities (Angus, Acky, Anuraj, etc. - all professional)
• Celebrated first anniversary in a modest way.
• Celebrated first Diwali after marriage at home.
• Started playing AOE again. :)
  

Have lots to write. But have to start AOE. Will post soon. Promise. :)

Good links

1. Alternate web browsers

Fcuking long weekends

After 2 and a half months of rubbing my ass on the new project, finally comes the long weekend. And guess what - I am in no mood to rejoice or rest. I have changed. I am no longer looking forward to the long weekends. And thanks to Murphy I have 2 more coming on my way. Fcuk Murphy. Fcuk, I am seriously pissed off. Hope the mood changes quickly and I am again the same old guy.

FRM Deferred

Not even 24 hours have gone by after coming from London and I have taken the decision - a very hard one - to defer the FRM exam to May 2010. I have missed the chance to write FRM in one shot. From next year, it is going to be held in two stages. So, I would have to clear Level 1 first before sitting for the second level. That was another $250 bullet in my credit card.

Amrita Arora and Lamborghini

What a day !! Went to Oxford Street directly from office. Oxford street in London is like Connaught Place in Delhi with all the big brands occupying thousands of square feet place. We were walking the street and Amrita just passed me by. In the first glance, I was not sure she was Amrita. So, I called out her name - "Hey Amrita". She turned back and said "Hi". I said "Hi". And thats it. I was delighted but didn't ask her for a photograph.

The second surprise in that evening was a black Lamboghini with pink interiors. It was like a gay batman's car. :D Even with the pink interiors the sheer beauty and the power of Lamborghini cannot be undermined. See for yourself:



My first Lamborghini experience was in Las Vegas, US when i was roaming with my then girlfriend and now wife Madhura Karandikar. :D Here is a pic:




The third surprise was the GBP 2900 Armani Jacket I saw (and touched :D) and GBP 27000 Ferrari watch. Man, they were awesome. I turned materialistic for sometime.

Constant battles within my mind

Everyday I come from office thinking that I would study for FRM. But after having dinner while watching Simpsons, that feeling goes away. I am also confused about postponing my exam to May next year. It is going to cost me $400 and a chance to be an FRM in one shot as the exam is going to be held in two levels. I have to have a strong state of mind to go through this. "It is just a matter of few months." - thats what I tell myself every day. A few months.. this is more than I can give. I am kind of feeling exhausted. But, somehow I have to gain the momentum(or rather start it) or else I have to forfeit the game.