Destination Infinity's Blog, page 42

Try FundsIndia to Invest in Mutual Funds Online in India

FundsIndia is an Online Mutual Funds investment platform in India for individuals. There is no joining/account opening charges, and the company claims they don’t charge a commission for transactions/mutual fund investments through their platform. People can join and monitor the performance of their portfolios anytime through the website/mobile app.

The company had organized a bloggers meet yesterday in their office premises at Royapettah, Chennai. In this post, I present an overview of the information presented to us there.

Why Invest – Why not just keep our money at homes?

Inflation.

The money we have today is worth lesser after a period of time. Assuming inflation in India is 8% a year, your money will also be worth 8% less after one year. So you are losing money with each passing year if you just keep it in your home lockers.

Why not just invest in “secure” post office, bank deposits or Govt. bonds?

Not a bad idea, but the average interest of 8% you would get with these sources may not be sufficient to beat inflation. Besides, interest on bank deposits are taxed by the Govt.

What other options do I have to invest and grow my savings?

Capital market (or stock market) is one way to get more interest because individuals can directly lend to large companies at a higher interest rate without going through an intermediary like a bank (technically speaking).

But investing all money in one company or one sector is for bravehearts and risk-takers. Besides, it takes time to monitor, analyze and decide on which stocks one could invest for best results.

For others, there are mutual funds where experts collect money from the public, do the research and analysis, and invest in multiple company stocks that they determine to be the best. They take a percentage from the profits gained upon investments before passing them on to the investor.

Are Mutual Funds safe to invest?

Mutual Funds are directly linked to capital/stock markets, hence they are not assured. While mutual funds may give higher interest rates over a period of time on an average, there is a chance that you may lose money. But the risk is reduced considerably when compared to direct investments in the stock market.

How can FundsIndia help?

FundsIndia has a robo financial advisory service called Money Mitr. The company co-founder Mr. Sreekanth Meenakshi told us that this software application is a result of three-and-a-half years of research and analysis, and it recommends the best mutual funds to invest in, depending on the investor and their goals.

The Money Mitr app asks simple questions like your age, how much money you want to invest (per month), for what purpose, etc. and then it will suggest the most appropriate funds for you. It seems FundsIndia has a research team that keeps updating this tool with the latest performance metrics which help in choosing best mutual fund options.

If you are just starting out, Money Mitr – available on FundsIndia website, maybe a good option to enter and test waters in the mutual fund markets. The team suggests SIPs, where customers invest a small amount every month in select mutual funds, instead of investing lump-sum in one. They claim that the joining process/KYC application, etc. is very simple. Am yet to try it out – will update you all if I do

The Liebster (blog) Award goes to…

Of course, ME

The Message of Shiva Trilogy books by Amish Tripathi

I just finished reading *The Shiva Trilogy* series by Amish Tripathi. Excellent books – I highly recommend all the three.

The core message conveyed by the books (as I understand) is: What we think is our greatest good will eventually become our greatest bad, and vice versa.

Personally, I am surprised by my own inner transformation. After reading the three books, I have stopped judging people as ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Not that I was doing much of that earlier, but still.. I now accept that everyone (me included) are both good and bad, and we are designed like that for a reason. This helps me approach inter-personal relations in a totally different light.

Who says reading fiction doesn’t help?

Chidambaram Thillai Natarajar Temple – Travelogue

I went to the Thillai Natarajar Temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, in December last year, but am writing the travelogue only now due to sheer laziness. Anyway, this huge Temple whose main shrine is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva is spread over 40 acres. The main water tank that you see above is called Sivagangai.

Actually I was visiting Thirukkadaiyur, the Temple for sixtieth marriages nearby, and came to Chidambaram by train. Since I had some time, I thought why not visit this famous Ancient Temple also, which has been mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature even two millennia ago. I don’t think anyone knows how ancient this Temple is, but the current structure was mostly constructed during the 12th/13th Centuries. The Towers and other areas were added later on.

Since the Temple only opens after 4 P.M. or so in the afternoon, and I was early, I ate lemon rice with masal vada and sambar in a small mess opposite the road that leads to the Temple. It was awesome

Book Review: ‘A Minute to Death’ by Ganga Bharani

A very good mystery but an unconvincing climax.

A Minute to Death by Ganga Bharani is a crime fiction/mystery novel set in Chennai, the hometown of the author. I have to write a disclaimer here that the author is my friend, but you should know that I don’t let friendships influence my reviews.

Coming to the book, I seriously enjoyed around 80% of the book as it kept me guessing who the killer might be. Or if there was killing at all. Maybe the romantic scenes and the dialogues were a bit overdone and not that critical to the story, but since these scenes didn’t interrupt the flow and even added a bit of distraction for the reader, they were still fine.

It was the climax that was unconvincing. Don’t mistake me, I liked the concept of the climax, but the execution could have been better. The motive of the killer is not convincing and I am not clear what the killer achieved. That said, the climax is still innovative and different.

I was able to drop my phone just once while reading (actually listening to) the book. The author weaved such a good mystery that kept me hooked and made me want to know whodunit. The way she introduces a prospective suspect so convincingly and then creates situations to eliminate that suspect was very good. There were some loose ends but the author connects them all. Good work, that.

I definitely recommend this book to others – I am sure you will enjoy all the suspense. If you didn’t guess the killer by around 80% I think you’d enjoy the climax even. But I guessed!

My New Venture: Listing of Weekend Events in Chennai

Hi people,

I want to introduce my newest venture: Chennai.buzz, a site that lists interesting weekend events and buzz in Chennai. If you have ever wondered what to do on weekends in Chennai, subscribing to that blog by email is a good idea! You’ll get one mail on Friday nights with a list/summary of events on Saturday & Sunday.

Actually, I wanted such a site for myself, but didn’t find one that was comprehensive and good enough. So I thought why not create one. I was already trying to do a bit of event-listing in Destination Infinity itself, but realized I need a separate domain. So all Chennai event related posts will go there from now.

I love that domain name – Chennai.buzz. I was initially hesitant to buy this as .buzz is not popular yet. Wait, I might be the first person to buy a .buzz domain from India! But, since the speciality of .buzz domain is events, I went ahead, took a risk and bought it anyway. Besides, I didn’t get ‘Chennai.TLD’ with any other top level domain!

So if you are in Chennai, subscribe to my new blog to find out what’s buzzing in town

My Ideal Yatra: Treehouses & Houseboats of Kerala!

Kerala is blessed with abundant greenery, nice climate, and water everywhere. My ideal yatra would be to go and stay in the famous treehouses and boathouses of Kerala. If you don’t know what a treehouse is, look at the above embedded Youtube video. Of course, they also show a cave house in the end, but that maybe too much

Adventure Selfies are Dangerous. Don’t try it!

10 Selfie Related Deaths in India:

It’s easy to be under the illusion that adventure selfies are fun, and one can get many likes on facebook, and selfie-related injuries/deaths happen only to other people. But adventure selfies — the act of taking selfies from a dangerous place or even a normal place but in a dangerous position — are more risky than an average teen or 20-something young adult would anticipate.

It’s common to see people getting inspired by movies and other friends, and wanting to take adventure selfies themselves. But for what? A few likes on facebook – that’s all! Are a few likes worth the risk to your life? Also, when you start taking facebook likes too seriously, you get addicted to it, and you start doing crazy things like taking riskier selfies to get even more likes.

It’s important to become aware that this is going to become an addiction and refrain from dangerous selfies. If you are still not convinced, watch the above video.

Destination Infinity

Chetpet Eco Park: Boating & Fishing within Chennai city!

 

Chetpet Eco Park (செட்பெட் பசுமை பூங்கா) is a nice venue for boating & fishing right inside/within the city of Chennai. The main gate is almost opposite to Ega theater, but a few meters further, towards Central. There is parking space, and I paid Rs. 20 for parking my bike for two hours. Entrance ticket cost is Rs. 25 per head, and boating ticket costs Rs. 50 per head. The Park is open from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., except on Tuesdays.

There is a huge walkway around the lake and the area is decorated well. I think the walking distance (one round) should cover almost 0.75 K.M. There is an area on the lake dedicated to fishing/angling. I guess the charges are Rs. 300/- for a catch of three fishes and they’ll give angling rods, etc. I didn’t try this.

There is a small food court with bakery, sandwiches, soups, chaats, tea, etc. And behind it is a small play area for kids. There is also a restroom.

 

Of course, the main attraction of this venue is the boating around the lake. We went on a Thursday afternoon and had to wait for 20 minutes to get on a boat. I heard it’s crowded on weekends – so plan accordingly. There are two types of boats – rowing boat and pedaling boat. We went on a rowing boat which can accommodate a maximum of 2 people + 1 staff. The pedaling boat can accommodate 3 people + one staff. Kids below 3 years are not allowed.

The boat takes one round across the lake and comes back to the jetty. I think our ride in a rowing boat took around 20 minutes. TN Fisheries Dept. seems to have provided the boats and their staff manages this venue. They were polite and helpful, but don’t expect star hotel courtesy here. It was a nice experience in spite of the April summer in Chennai. Since there is no covering over the boat, you’ll have to consider the heat. But the jetty is covered on the top. Here are some pics –

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a short video of our row-boat experience at this venue,

 

Destination Infinity

Photos by Destination8infinity (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Book Review: The Secret of The Nagas (Shiva Trilogy #2)

The Secret of the Nagas is the second book in the Shiva Trilogy series authored by Amish Tripathi. It’s a Historical/Mythological Thriller set in ancient India. After I finished reading the first book, I just had to pick up this second book and start reading it immediately to find out what happens next. And the book didn’t disappoint me!

Story-wise, The Secret of the Nagas, is even better than the first book, The Immortals of Meluha. It didn’t feel slow or slacking, unlike the first book where some initial chapters seemed to move slow. I have already bought and am reading the third book – such is the intensity of the story and suspense in this series. The ending of this book, especially, was unexpected and a total surprise.

There were a few loopholes though. How someone would decide to take a one-year long arduous journey through the forest without even knowing what they are expecting to gain, is beyond me. The book is titled ‘the secret of the nagas’ but it doesn’t reveal the secret. OK, the secret is revealed, but not the story behind the secret!

The quest of the lord to find what is evil is very interesting. Because along with the Neelkanth, we too are perplexed. Only if we know what evil is, we can fight it – right? Even after two books, the author doesn’t reveal what evil is, and I think it’s a very clever strategy.

I am not sure how much of the historical information/setting given in this book is correct, but the author has succeeded in narrating a gripping story and in making me believe in the historical setting and characters – that’s sufficient for me to keep reading. Let’s see what surprises the third book brings. Am reading it now, so will review that one also shortly