Destination Infinity's Blog, page 21

My Autobiography: How did an Engineering Degree help me?

In NO WAY. In fact, it has only harmed me and I took a long time to unlearn the propaganda of the Education mafia, and learn the necessary skills required for adding professional value.

Me, like millions of other Indians, have suffered a lot, wasted a lot of money, time, skills, etc. by deciding to do that SILLIEST of courses here – Engineering. That very word gives me nightmares.

Four years is by no means a little time. And all I did during those four years was to memorize many words and equations just before the exams, all of which were promptly forgotten the next day.

The irony is I passed in all the exams without a single arrear!

Had I studied something like Literature, Journalism or Visual Communication, I could have determined my career path earlier and by now I would be competing with the best in the industry, instead of still grappling with the basics.

Frankly speaking, a 30-hour After Effects course I am doing in Udemy for Rs. 700 or so is a thousand times more valuable than my expensive degree.

I guess the situation is slightly better for my friends who chose to become software engineers, which BTW was the only option available for most engineers back then. At the least, the degree helped them get into a job.

But of course, what they did (and doing) in the job is totally unrelated to what they studied. Then why study a specialized ‘professional’ course in the first place?

If academia has no clue about what skills are required in the professional landscape, why start and run engineering colleges? Back then, I guess, starting engineering colleges was one of the ways to become a billionaire from a millionaire. Get rich quick. Nowadays there are so many colleges that you’ll only become bankrupt from being a millionaire if you try opening another

Bank Loans in Chennai: Fund your Business through (Un)/Secured Loans

This is a guest post by Mr. Ramesh Babu of Krishika Financial & Investment Services (click to visit website).

Why should an Entrepreneur borrow Money?

If your product/service is established and your business is generating profits, a proven way to increase your revenue and reduce your costs is to scale up. Loans offer a quick way to expand your working capital.

Loans are not only for small businesses, even large companies like Reliance, TVS, etc. take loans. It helps them achieve economies in scale and capture new markets effectively.

What are the other opportunities for Bank Loans in the current interest rate scenario?



Informal loans availed at a high-interest rate from non-banking sources can be repaid through a bank loan at a low-interest rate. Home loans availed at higher interest rates can be repaid through new loans at lower interest rates from other banks.



How to Check your Loan Repayment Capacity?

If your Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) is more than twice the amount of interest that has to be paid on the loan, you will have sufficient margin of safety even if there are fluctuations or ups & downs in sales. In this case, you can opt for the loan.

There are other factors to evaluate like your Overall Debt Servicing ability being More than Two, etc. which a good financial consultant would be able to assess and tell you.

What are the types of Loans one can avail from a Bank?

Broadly there are two types of Loans – Secured Loan & Unsecured Loan.

Secured Loan is obtained by giving your property as collateral for the loan. This is called loan against property or mortgage loan. Advantage of secured loan is a lower rate of interest (Around 9.5% to 10.25%). This reduces your average cost of funds and improves your cost competitiveness. So your capacity to compete in the market will be better.

Unsecured Loan is suitable for people who cannot give collateral. Bank assess your creditworthiness based on specific pre-defined criteria and gives loan. For Unsecured loan, the rate of interest is higher and starts from around 15%. Although the interest may be high, Unsecured Loan might still be beneficial in case of certain businesses that have the potential for high growth.

Why do you need a good Financial Consultant to obtain Loans?



A good financial consultant should have contacts at all levels in banks. That way it’s easier to establish credibility which is important for loans.Should be knowledgeable and experienced enough to help you choose the right bank & the right type of loan. Should be able to structure the loan proposal suitably and submit all the required papers in a convincing and timely manner. Should be able to fetch a lower rate of interest for the loan. Should be able to pitch-in strongly on behalf of the applicant and save as much time as possible for them as it would involve multiple meetings with bank officials to get the loan sanctioned.

This is a guest post by Mr. Ramesh Babu, Financial Consultant and Owner of Krishika Financial & Investment Services (click here to visit website) based in Chennai. He has a total experience of more than 30 years in the banking and financial sector. His email: vrb@krishikafinserv.com

Key Services offered by Krishika Finance For business requirements:
Arranging business loans such as term loans/working capital loans, loans for windmills, solar power projects, bills discounting, Letter of Credit, Bank Guarantee limit, Loan against property & property rentals. Guide businesses to bring out an IPO for their company.

Scope of services:

Studying the loan requirement.Assessing how/what type of loan can be raised.Discuss with banks about the feasibility of getting a loan for a specific proposal/business/purpose.Preparing the documents for submitting the loan application.Submitting the documents to the bank.Follow up with banks, answer queries raised.Obtain loan sanction.Check whether the terms of sanction are suitable /matches with our position/request.Arrange to execute the Agreements /security creation for the loan.Facilitate drawal of sanctioned loan.

VGP Marine Kingdom – Underwater Aquarium in Chennai!

VGP Marine Kingdom is the latest addition to the VGP Amusement park, Snow Kingdom, Click Art Museum, Live Art Museum entertainment complex.

VGP Marine Kingdom is a fully Air-Conditioned complex that houses many species of fish – some quite rare for this part of the world. There are small fishes and large fishes like sharks, stingrays, starfishes, etc.

The initial part of this aquarium houses transparent fish tanks in various sizes, while the second part that contains the larger fishes like sharks is designed similar to a walk-through tunnel where the fishes are all around you.

At Rs. 500 per ticket (June 2019) I feel the cost is quite reasonable. The design and maintenance of this place is fine, but don’t expect colourful coral-type of setup – although they try to mimic that environment in a minimal way at a few places.

At a few places, there is a viewing/photo point right inside the fish tank. One could bend over and crawl into it. This is a good idea.

Although the number and variety of fishes are impressive, the lighting (esp. for photography/ videography) is poor. But photography is allowed without additional cost, which is a plus.

Altogether this offers a different experience for people in Chennai/India especially, you may not find anything new if you’ve been to some of the larger underwater aquariums around the world.

There is a bus stop for VGP Entertainment complex (Google Maps Link) in ECR and buses ply from across Chennai. If you don’t get a direct bus, come to Tiruvanmayur bus stand from where you’ll find many buses.

You can take a OLA or Uber Cab but am not sure if you’ll find another while returning. You should, or you can catch a bus to Tiruvanmayur from where you’ll get a cab.

Destination Infinity

Why Renting a House is Better than Buying thru Home Loan

One of the SILLIEST things I see people doing nowadays once they get a decent job is to buy a house. That too by taking a housing loan for more than 50% of the property value. Many times even higher.

Buying a home when we have the money to pay upfront is better – except for the astronomical land values and the hassles of shared ownership in apartments. (An own house still creates inflexible lifestyles and cripples our freedom, but that’s beyond this topic.)

But why take a huge loan for a very long term (10-25 years?) that too at a floating rate of interest is BEYOND ME.

If you analyze the total value you’d be paying for the house, it would be a minimum of 2-3 times the loan value. Minimum. The housing loan provider keeps increasing the rate of interest and your loan tenure keeps getting longer!

So, in effect, you’d be paying rent to the banks instead of paying the house owner.

Instead, if you just rent a house, you can keep changing houses and even cities/countries as you please. You never know where your job might take you next, or where you might want to settle down after a few years.

You can increase/decrease rental value as per your affordability and life preferences. Majority of your savings are not locked down by EMIs, so you can even invest in riskier but high growth avenues like stocks or a new business.

But when you buy a 3-bedroom house when your family comprises of just 2 or 3 people, it is not only a waste of space + maintenance hassle but also results in a huge financial strain at a time when that money can be better invested elsewhere – like education, travel, gadgets, etc.

I believe in having a lot of flexibility in life. Freedom to do what we want should not be crippled by loan sharks. That’s why I feel buying a house when you can’t afford it and when your intention is to just replace the rent with a much higher EMI is SILLY.

If you think that it’s OK to work hard and surrender your freedom in order to create a better life for your children, think again. In most cases, your children would continue to pay your EMIs and fight for who gets how much share in the property.

Destination Infinity

Fun at Our School’s Alumni Event Today

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A post shared by Rajesh K (@wowsuper_net) on Jun 16, 2019 at 7:32am PDT

Today I went to our inaugural alumni event – D.A.V. Sangam not only as alumni, but also as a volunteer. I was given the task of overseeing the registration process – both for the existing batch that was passing out (for whom this event was mainly organized) and for alumni from previous batches from all our group schools in Chennai.

I had a lot of fun going back to my school where I have a lot of fond memories. I feel childhood/school days are the best days of our life.

Actor Siddharth (Hero of Boys, Bomma Railu, etc.) was invited as the Chief Guest as he is an alumnus too. Then there were some short speeches and cultural programs by the students of different schools of the group.

While the students from the existing batch came in good numbers, we find it difficult to get alumni from previous batches in. I understand many of them may not be in Chennai or maybe too busy, but for a school that’s been there from the ’70s, I expected more alumni to attend.

Here is the video invite I made for this event,

Have you ever gone back to your school or wished to go back?

Destination Infinity

Book Launch: Tattva – Eat and Live

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A post shared by Rajesh K (@wowsuper_net) on Jun 9, 2019 at 8:38am PDT

Photo with the author of ‘Tattva – Eat and Live’, Dr. Shaily Agarwal @ Writers Cafe, Egmore.

Yesterday I went to Dr. Shaily Agarwal ‘s book launch event. The book ‘Tattva – Eat and Live’ is about food as medicine, based on Ayurveda.

It’s good to see doctors promoting preventive medicine and healthy lifestyles.

The book has information on best foods to eat per season, timing, etc. so that you can maintain the harmony and balance of ur body.

There are ample no. of recepies and a few are even millet based.

A few points I should mention from the author’s speech at the event –

Food is the best medicine.Ayurveda, which uses herbs extensively, is good at treating lifestyle and chronic disordersIn Ayurveda, food suggestions are based on Ritu Charya, which translates to “Season – How to eat”. Carbohydrates need insulin (generated within the body) to get digested. However, after an age, production of insulin decreases resulting in extra glucose. That is the reason for diabetes. If you get exposed to excessive stress, insulin production is hampered and the chances of getting diabetes increases. Millets, Keto Diet, Milk, etc. are good for health. You can buy the book on Amazon India (click below).

But remember – Food is just one part of the equation. The others are exercise/yoga and exposure to less stress.

Destination Infinity

#Selfie during Slightly Odd Weather!!

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A post shared by Rajesh K (@wowsuper_net) on Jun 1, 2019 at 6:03am PDT

Here is a selfie we took at Nellore (AP) during slightly odd weather & the resulting cloud formation. Hope you like the new video trick I learned

Our Latest Jewellery: Silk Thread Loreal Necklace

Here is a teaser/promo product video I made for RR Fashion Jewellery‘s latest release – Silk Thread Loreal Chain.

Initially, I tease just parts of the necklace. The product may not be properly visible during the first few seconds – it is not supposed to! Then a door opens to reveal how the full chain looks. This is a teaser-cum-promo video for our new product.

With time, Ramya’s jewellery making skills are getting better, and (I hope) my video creation skills are also getting better

SonyLiv Launches Tamil Web Streaming Content [& Our Selfies with Movie Stars]

Before we get into the news in the title of this post, here are a couple of selfies we took at today’s SonyLiv press meet event at Taj Coromandel, Chennai. SonyLiv organized this event to launch their original web series in Tamil and also to introduce their other language and English content (incl. sports) to viewers here.

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A post shared by Rajesh K (@wowsuper_net) on May 28, 2019 at 1:17am PDT

Here is our selfie with the Iconic Tamil movie director – Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. He has directed great movies like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Magalir Mattum, etc. starring Kamal Hassan in Tamil. He has directed many movies in Telugu, Hindi, etc. as well. It was our pure luck to have had the opportunity to meet him and talk to him.

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A post shared by Rajesh K (@wowsuper_net) on May 28, 2019 at 7:21am PDT

Here is another selfie we took today, this time with Sanjjanaa Galrani, a popular South Indian actress who has acted in many Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies. Her sister Nikki Galrani is a popular Tamil Heroine.

Sanjjanaa is the lead actress for Aivar, a Tamil web series being launched by SonyLiv in June along with a few other originals in Tamil. They are also planning to dub their popular programs in other languages so that Tamil audience can enjoy them.

SonyLiv also broadcasts sports content incl. cricket, football, etc. In fact, they broadcasted the FIFA 2018 Moscow Live on their app. Here is the link to download SonyLiv app on Google Play Store. There is an iOS version too.

Here are a few highlights from the press release –

SonyLIV’s Tamil slate also includes other titles like The Farm and My Marappu, the first show to be shot completely in USA.Sony Pictures Network’s top 20 shows, a host of movies and TVF originals like Pitchers, Tripling and Permanent Roommates will also be updated in Tamil for inducing a relevant and relatable viewing habit. SonyLIV will also be remaking the most popular IP of the network in Tamil – Crime Patrol.SonyLIV also has an extensive library of highly rated and award-winning English shows like The Good Doctor, Counterpart, Victoria, The Handmaid’s Tale and more.Football enthusiasts can now watch their favourite game on SonyLIV with Tamil commentary. Launched in January 2013, it enables users to discover over 23 years of rich content from the network channels of Sony Pictures Networks India. It also provides a rich array of movies, strong line-up of events across all sports, shows, music, food and fitness. SonyLIV also live streamed the India tour of South Africa, India tour of England and the India tour of Australia in 2018. It is the home for the biggest football leagues like UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, La Liga and more.

Pricing and Content Availability: The Tamil content library will be available under premium subscription of Rs 99/- per month and Rs 499/- per year along with a sachet pack of 29 for 7 days. Currently, SonyLIV has existing libraries in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati and just announced services in Telugu yesterday.

Parkour Circle’s Movement Exploration Edition – Chennai (Jun 1, ’19)

Venue: SLATE at Sir Mutha Venkatasubbarao Hall, Chetpet.

Timing: 7.30 A.M. to 9 P.M.

Fee: Pay as you please.

Registration Link: Here.

More Details: Facebook Event page.

Itinerary: 7:30 am – 10:30am – Tribute to Stan Lee MCU based movie appreciation using Parkour techniques 11am – 12.30pm: Tarot Reading and Parkour a participative mystical movement experience1:30am – 3:00pm: Carnatic music and Parkour a participative musical movement experience3:30pm – 5:00pm: Architecture and Parkour a participative sensorial movement experiencePost 5:00pm: Open Parkour session for all

If you are in Chennai, make this Saturday (June 1, 2019) useful for you and your family by learning healthy parkour techniques while having a great time! Follow Parkour Circle’s Facebook page for frequent updates.