BEAUTIFUL
TALAKAVERI

Talacauvery, from where the Kaveri River originates in the Brahmagiri hills, is considered among the most sacred places in Karnataka. It is at a height of around 1276 m above sea level. This is a sacred pilgrim center. This place is marked by a tirtha kundike or Brahma kundike (small spring/pond) from where the river emerges as a small perennial spring, but flows underground again to emerge a short distance away. 








A small water tank has been constructed at the point of origin. There is also a temple build at the spot where regular puja rituals are done. The temple is dedicated to Lord Agastheeswara, who is considered to be the link between great Sage Agasthya and river Cauvery. 

An important day here at Talacauvery is the first day of Tula month according to Hindu calendar. The day is called Tulasankramana. Thousands of devotees come to Talacauvery on this day to witness the rise of fountainhead sprouting water at a specific time. It is considered auspicious by devotees to take a dip in the holy waters. 
The day is celebrated on various places along the banks of river Cauvery where devotees take a holy dip in River Cauvery. 

Delhi

Delhi: A Novel (published 1990) is a historical novel 

The book moves backwards and forwards in time through the history of Delhi. It has as its backdrop the story of a journalist fallen on bad times (possibly an autobiographical figure) and his relationship with a hijra (eunuch) named Bhagmati.

This vast, erotic, irreverent magnum opus on the city of Delhi starts with the narrator, suggestively Khushwant Singh himself, just returning from England after ‘having his fill of whoring in foreign lands’, a bawdy, aging reprobate who loves the city of Delhi, as much as he loves the ugly but energetic hermaphrodite whore Bhagmati, whom he literally picks up from a deserted road on a hot Delhi summer noon. Having no place to go after completing her jail sentence in the dreaded Tihar Jail (probably for selling sex), she begs to be taken under his wing. The kind sardar obliges, and thus begins a wonderful relationship of ups and downs in the narrator’s life. Bhagmati, neither male nor female but possessive of great exotic sex appeal, vitalizes his life amidst the majestic remains of Delhi in its heyday, and even saves the narrator's life from the mad mobs of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Displaying his trademark gift of literal humour and a professional historian’s control over narration, the writer takes turn, chapter by chapter, on the history of the great city and his own sexual exploits and misadventures with vilaity mems and lonely army wives whom he is supposed to ‘show Delhi’, other eccentric journalists, editors and bureaucrats, a half-mad Sikh ex-army driver, a fanatic gurudwara bhaiji, among many other colourful characters. All the while the narrator travels through times Delhi has seen, telling us in a most interesting manner, as the first person, all that Delhi has been to Nadir Shah,Taimur and Aurangzeb etc. who plundered and destroyed her, and to Meer Taqi Meer and Bahadur Shah Zafar whom Delhidestroyed; he looks through the eyes of semi-historical characters like Musaddi Lal Kayasth, a Hindu convert working under the hostile Ghiyas ud din Balban in the fourteenth century—the dawn of the Mughal Empire, right up to Nihal Singh, a Sikhmercenary who settles his historical score with the Mughals 

Khushwant Singh (February 2, 1915 – March 20, 2014) was an Indian novelist, lawyer, politician and journalist. An Indo-Anglian writer, Singh was best known for his trenchant secularism,^[1] his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit. He served as the editor of several literary and news magazines, as well as two newspapers, through the 1970s and 1980s. He was the recipient of Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India.

SBI launches six digital banking branches

The State Bank of India on Tuesday launched six digital branches across the country as part of its programme to offer next generation banking solutions to the growing mobile phone and internet savvy customer base.

These branches, named sbiINTOUCH, will facilitate services such as instant account opening with personalised debit cards, instant loan approval for car and home, remote expert advisors available via video links, along with interactive walls and table displays.

Besides Delhi, where sbiINTOUCH branch was inaugurated by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the other such branches are located in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

BUDGET EXPECTATIONS

A big win for Narendra Modi has raised the outlook for a faster economic recovery led by a revival in the investment cycle. India’s economic growth was below the 5 per cent mark at 4.7 per cent in 2013-14, against 4.5 per cent in 2013.

Although the road to revival is not without its set of challenges, the Gujarat experience inspires confidence. Acceleration in much awaited project approvals, potential tax and administrative reforms and a focus on infrastructure and manufacturing should accelerate a recovery. The current government will focus on reforms and ‘development’, unlike the ‘inclusion’ agenda pursued by the previous government.

Budget expectations

The Budget will strive to balance the pursuit of growth and inflation control.

We may see cuts in fuel and fertiliser subsidies in the Budget to curb both the fiscal and current account deficits.

The RBI has been pro-active, considering the funding requirements of the new government. It has cut the statutory liquidity ratio of the banks.

The Budget is expected to focus on converting farming into a profitable venture from a mundane activity conducted by a vast majority for subsistence, is anticipated. This will also be complimented by meeting the aspirations of a new ‘rurban’ (rural+urban) population

( Business Line  dt. 4 July 2014 )