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Advisory Office
The title "Nasihaton ka Daftar" had me in a fix. The translation of the title into "Advisory Office" did not strike me as quite right,
but I have stuck with it nevertheless. The advisory office advises. It tells what to do and what not to do; how to behave and how not to behave;
what to ... and what not to ... The list is endless.
"Nasihaton ka Daftar" is a story by Munshi Premchand. Akshay Kumar is a successful lawyer whose childhood was fraught with struggles; he achieved success late in life. He is known for his miserliness. He does not like to spend money but his wife Hemvati does. Akshay Kumar is like an advisory office, always advising and using his oratory skills to dissuade his wife from spending money.
Dr. Kitchlew is hosting a party because his son has graduated. A play will be staged and Hemvati must portray the role of "Shakuntala". It is an honour for Hemvati to be given the lead role, but Akshay Kumar does not see it that way. The first thing that occurs to him is that he will have to buy costumes for Hemvati. Unnecessary expenditure! So, Akshay Kumar tells his wife that it is immoral to act in plays.
It is a long speech and the emphasis is on morality and ethics. Hemvati knows what the real objection is. She informs that she already has the costumes. In that case, she had better accept to act in the play; it is not wise to annoy doctors. But, she should please consult him when taking such decisions in the future. Akshay Kumar can pat himself on the back for his advisory skills, but subsequent events compel him to shut down the advisory office for good.
(This story is being republished)
Hitting the Jackpot
The coaxing aroma of the freshly-prepared samosas wafting from the sweet-meat shop forced me to check my pockets,
but all I could draw out was a fifty paise coin that was not enough to buy me even a lollipop.
I went home and turned on the PC to check the mail. I delete the spam mails without even glancing at them, but today I decided to have a look. It is then that I realized how rich I was. Stinking rich!
"We are Pleased to inform you that you have won a prize money of (800,000.00 GBP) by Yahoo Lottery," one mail said. "Dear Winner Your e-mail has won you 750,000.00 GBP," another mail said. There were several e-mails promising to make me super rich!
Everyone out there wants to make me rich without me as much as lifting a finger. No, I decided, I do not want to get rich and deleted the messages.
(This story is being republished)
Find Their Ages
I have never known my friend Pramod to give a straight answer to any of my questions. He always speaks in a roundabout manner.
One day, I wanted to know his age. Instead of telling me his age, he said, "My father is 30 years older than me, and the product of our ages is 1624.
So saying, Pramod walked away and left me to work out the ages. Can you help me figure out the ages of Pramod and his father?
(This puzzle is being republished)
Some useful links for
your career:
- Union Public Service Commission - www.upsc.gov.in
- IIT-Kharagpur - www.iitkgp.ac.in
- Indian Statistical Institute - www.isical.ac.in
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras - www.iitm.ac.in
- Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad - www.iimahd.ernet.in
- Indian Institute of Mass Commission - www.iimc.nic.in
- IIT Bombay - www.iitb.ac.in
- Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad - www.ismdhanbad.ac.in
- Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi - www.bitmesra.ac.in
- Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training - www.cifnet.nic.in
- Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (Deemed University) - www.iiita.ac.in
- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi - www.cmfri.com
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai - www.tiss.edu