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SCHIPHOL AIRPORT TO AMSTERDAM CITY

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SCHIPHOL AIRPORT TO AMSTERDAM How to reach to the city center from Airport is always a big question while travelling. By far car/taxi is the easiest and most convenient form. But it’s costly, if you are travelling solo or as a couple. There is no harm to save few bugs but yes, comfort is always a priority. Public transport in Amsterdam is very convenient, fast and comfortable.   Shciphol is world’s 14 th largest airport situated 22 Km south of Amsterdam city center. It’s well connected to the city center and nearby places by bus train and taxi. By taxi : The maximum start price of taxi car is near about 2.83 euro, with travel rate of 2.08 euro per km and travel time cost 0.34 euro per minute. So expect a cost between 45 Euros to 60 Euros from shciphol airport to the city center, depending on your location. You can need taxi especially at late night, when the trams stop functioning. The taxi stand is located just outside of airport arrival...

Book Review: The Great Indian Tamasha by Rasika Bhatia

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 I just finished reading a really interesting book...a topic on which hardly anyone had threw any light before. I have always preferred memoirs over fiction and this book is a perfect example how a collection of real life events can be more entertaining than some imaginary tale. Book title: The Great Indian Tamasha Author: Rasika Bhatia Publisher: Om Books International Paperback 170 pages Rasika Bhatia is a bespoke wedding planner based in Delhi, who has been in this business for the past 20 years. She not only executes weddings all over India, but abroad as well. So when she decides to compile many of her wedding planning stories together, you know that you are in for a crazy ride. Because face it, no one is crazier than a would be bride, more anxious than the father of the bride, more apprehensive as the mother of the bride and the list goes on. In a nutshell, the families getting married belong to a different dimension altogether. These stories are absolutely hilarious; most of...

Empowering the Next Generation: The Importance of Financial Literacy for Kids

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LXME, India's first financial platform for women, is dedicated to transforming the Indian financial landscape by extending support to parents in instilling the right financial knowledge among their children. They believe that financial literacy serves as the foundation for children's financial well-being and helps them inculcate responsible money behaviour. It encourages them to understand the value of money, recognize the difference between wants and needs, and imbibe the habit of saving and investing early on in life so that they can build a better future for themselves. As a part of this endeavour, LXME has launched a ‘Summer Money Camp for Kids’- a unique program that teaches children various money lessons like budgeting, responsible spending, goal setting, how to save & grow money, diversification, and the power of compounding - all crucial money lessons in a fun, interactive, and engaging way. The children will get also 3 resources and a Participation Certificate post...

Book Review: Timeless Tales from Panchtantra and Hitopdesh

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  Our children need to learn and imbibe the rich culture of our Indian heritage and roots and books are the best and easiest way to do so. Hitopdesha and Panchatantra bring up wordly wisdom, political affairs and maxims in the most entertaining and simple way for children. 'Hitopdesha' meaning beneficial advice is a compilation of fables having human and animal characters, originally in Sanskrit. These fables have been written by Narayan Pandit. 'Panchatantra' meaning Five treatises is also originally a Sanskrit text, widely translated in a variety of languages. Authored by Vishnu Sharma, these fables have mainly animal characters. I recently got these two books by Diamond Publications for my kids. These two books are an absolute delight! They are hardbound with colourful pictures in every page. The pages are of high quality and so is the printing. Each book contains 16 stories in English. My kids love the attractive illustration and its simple language. The Hitopdesh c...

Book Review: Little me in everyone by Eddyee Siingh

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Title: Little Me in Everyone Author: Eddyee Siingh Pages: 265 Genre: Non fiction, Motivational We all need motivation in life. What we feel and learn after reading a book by the learned and wise clears our head. But that's not enough for a happy living. What I want to say is that we humans need a constant push to do well, stay motivated and have a clearer headspace. If you have read the Bhagwadgita and its various adaptations, then it's great but that should not be the end of reading. One has to read motivational and inspirational books regularly and this book fulfils that role very nicely.  The last 14 months have been challenging for the entire mankind. As days are getting tougher day by day, we need positivity and gratitude on a daily basis. One thing that I have started believing in recently is 'manifestation'. That's why this book rang a bell with me. If you are the one with self doubt, you really need to stop doubting and start believing in yourself and most i...

Book Review: Jasmine Builds on Shifting Sands

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 Title: Jasmine Builds on Shifting Sands Author: Sanjay Desai Genre: Motivation, Self Help Number of pages: 134 Do you believe in Law of Attraction or Manifestation as some say? I got drawn to this book as I have developed interest in designing my own life; which can be called manifestation. I never believed in it until I actually saw people around me deriving great benefits. I am a very practical and scientific and methodical person by nature (a surgeon after all which means no place for imagination). However there are some things which are beyond explanation. I really liked the fact that the author Sanjay Desai hails from a practical background as well; hence I decided to give this book a read and found it enlightening. About the author: Sanjay Desai is a Chartered Accountant, an ex banker and an IIM alumnus. He combined spirituality with his material pursuits to achieve immense success in his career; something which we all yearn for. The book has three parts. The prologue a...

Book Review: Finding your way by Drake Taylor

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 Title: Finding your Way Author: Drake Taylor Genre: Self help, Motivation Rating: 5/5 2020 has been hard on everyone. It has taken real courage and patience to deal with the adversities. For some, the negatives have been way too much; resulting in depression or even worse; self harm. Although I am not a person to fall victim to such things, but the past 10 months have really been trying; to say the least. This is when I found to this book to start 2021 on a fresh note. The author has done an incredible jo in helping us all. It's a quick read and we all should go through it because it's such a great motivational book. Following are the main takeaways that I noted and would help you too. Life is not all magic as television and books. It's more like a horror movie that we feel is not real Sometimes the hardest thing isn't to begin the journey, but to accept why you must begin the journey. You have to accept the responsibility. You will not change your life or rid yourself...

Effect of COVID 19 on edible oil industry and Palm oil

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  The Corona pandemic has caused a havoc on the global economy. Some countries have been more affected than others. I however would like to focus on the effect of the pandemic on the edible oil industry and Malaysian Palm oil especially. Last week I attended a webinar hosted by the  Malaysian Palm Oil Council with Dr Bhavna Shah, country representative of India/Sri Lanka as the speaker and what she said about the palm oil industry right now is really food for thought. How has COVID 19 affected the edible oil industry?  The pandemic caused shutting down of restaurants and catering businesses and hence a drastic reduction in the  import of edible oils. People have reduced eating outside to a very large extent and also takeaway orders have declined. This situation was particularly grave during the lockdown period. The production of cooking oil comes under Essential goods services but the production of containers isn't. Labours migrated back to their villages from the ci...