THE TRUTH OF LIFE....................

WHAT IS A CAMERA ?

WHAT IS A CAMERA ?

A camera is a device used to capture images, either as still photographs or as sequences of moving images (movies or videos). The term comes from the Latin camera obscura for "dark chamber" for an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura.

FEW TERMS RELATED TO CAM's.....

APERTURE
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light is admitted. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.

f-stop
In optics, the f-number (sometimes called focal ratio, f-ratio, or relative aperture[1]) of an optical system expresses the diameter of the entrance pupil in terms of the effective focal length of the lens; in simpler terms, the f-number is the focal length divided by the aperture diameter. It is a dimensionless number that is a quantitative measure of lens speed.
Depth of field increases with f-number.This means that photos taken with a low f-number will tend to have one subject in focus, with the rest of the image out of focus.

A FEW CHECK POINTS WHILE BUYING A CAM :-

1> Resolution.
2> Zoom (more the optical zoom better is the camera , optical preferred over digital zoom).
3> Image quality i.e High pixel size.
4> Red-Eye-Reduction-Flash.
5> High ISO support (50,100,.......3200).
6> Aperture speed setting (for low light fast lens is required).
7> USB 2 support.
8> Built in microphone.
9> Weather protection.
10> D-lighting.
11> large LCD screen.
12> Lens shift vibration reduction.
13> Size.

THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD...........

Wonder	Location	Image
Chichen Itza	Yucatán, Mexico
Christ the Redeemer	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Colosseum	Rome, Italy
Great Wall of China	China
Machu Picchu	Cuzco, Perú
Petra	Jordan
Taj Mahal	Agra, India
And one listing has honorary status:Great Pyramid of Giza (The last remaining ancient wonder of the world)	Cairo, Egypt

The other 13 finalists,listed alphabetically, were:

WONDER LOCATION

Acropolis of Athens	Athens, Greece
Alhambra	Granada, Spain
Angkor Wat	Angkor, Cambodia
Easter Island Moais	Easter Island, Chile
Eiffel Tower	Paris, France
Hagia Sophia	Istanbul, Turkey
Kiyomizu Temple	Kyoto, Japan
Kremlin, Red Square, and Saint Basil's Cathedral	Moscow, Russia
Neuschwanstein Castle	Füssen, Germany
Statue of Liberty	New York, United States
Stonehenge	Amesbury, United Kingdom
Sydney Opera House	Sydney, Australia
Timbuktu	Mali

FRIENDSHIP.........

Friends


A friend is someone we turn to
when our spirits need a lift.
A friend is someone we treasure
for our friendship is a gift.
A friend is someone who fills our lives
with beauty, joy, and grace.
And makes the whole world we live in
a better and happier place.

- Jean Kyler McManus -

You are friendly, kind and caring
Sensitive, loyal and understanding
Humorous, fun, secure and true
Always there... yes that's you.

Special, accepting, exciting and wise
Truthful and helpful, with honest blue eyes
Confiding, forgiving, cheerful and bright
Yes that's you... not one bit of spite.

You're one of a kind, different from others
Generous, charming, but not one that smothers
Optimistic, thoughtful, happy and game
But not just another... in the long chain.

Appreciative, warm and precious like gold
Our friendship won't tarnish or ever grow old
You'll always be there, I know that is true
I'll always be here... always for you.

- Written and owned by Angela Lee Hillsley

I believe in angels,
The kind that heaven sends,
I am surrounded by angels,
But I call them friends.

- Aizabel Parinas -

Standing by,
All the way.
Here to help you through your day.

Holding you up,
When you are weak,
Helping you find what it is you seek.

Catching your tears,
When you cry.
Pulling you through when the tide is high.

Just being there,
Through thick and thin,
All just to say, you are my friend.

- Brittani Kokko -


A Friend's Greeting


I'd like to be the sort of friend that
you have been to me;
I'd like to be the help that
you've been always glad to be;

I'd like to mean as much to you
each minute of the day
As you have meant, old friend of mine,
to me along the way.

I'd like to do the big things and
the splendid things for you,
To brush the gray from out your skies
and leave them only blue;

I'd like to say the kindly things that
I so oft have heard,
And feel that I could rouse your soul
the way that mine you've stirred.

I'd like to give you back the joy
that you have given me,
Yet that were wishing you a need
I hope will never be;

I'd like to make you feel as rich as I,
who travel on
Undaunted in the darkest hours with you to
lean upon.

I'm wishing at this time that I
could but repay
A portion of the gladness that
you've strewn along my way;

And could I have one wish this year,
this only would it be:
I'd like to be the sort of friend
that you have been to me.

- Edgar A Guest -

Friends


There's nothing as nice as someone who shares,
your laughter, your secrets, your wishes and cares,
someone who's there through your good times and tears,
who stays by your side as your friend through the years.

- Autymn Skillings -

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES..............

Your talent is God's gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God.
- Leo Buscaglia -


All men who have achieved great things
have been great dreamers.
- Orison Swett Marden -


The past cannot be changed,
the future is still in your power.
- Hugh White -

A champion is someone who gets up,
even when he can't.
- Jack Dempsey -

You are never given a wish
without being given the power to make it come true.
- From the book "Bridge Across Forever" -
(by Richard Bach)

Don't let today's disappointments
cast a shadow on tomorrow's dreams.
- Author Unknown -

Somewhere there's someone who dreams of your smile,
and finds in your presence that life is worth while.
So when you are lonely, remember it's true
Somebody somewhere is thinking of you.
- K. Blackburn -

The only place where dreams are impossible
is in your own mind.
- Emalie -

The rising sun
age old
yet new and inspiring
lighting up the world
with its soft pink rays;
just watching the familiar hues
dance on the still water
I return to emotions
that never truly left.
Just as the sun sets
it rises again
wide arms embracing a new day.
- Li Steins -

As you travel through life,
your dreams will guide you,
determination will get you there,
and love will provide the greatest scenery of all.
- Michelle C. Ustaszeski -

POLITICS INDIA....

PRESIDENT: Pratibha Patil

LIST OF COUNCIL OF MINISTERS(as on 18.05.2007)

CABINET MINISTERS
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister and also in-charge of the Ministries/ Departments not specifically allocated to the charge of any Minister viz.:
(i) Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions;
(ii) Ministry of Planning;
(iii) Department of Atomic Energy; and
(iv) Department of Space;
(v) Ministry of Coal. and
(vi) Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Shri Pranab Mukherjee
Minister of External Affairs.

Shri Arjun Singh
Minister of Human Resource Development.

Shri Sharad Pawar
Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

Shri Lalu Prasad
Minister of Railways.

Shri A.K. Antony
Minister of Defence

Shri Shivraj V. Patil
Minister of Home Affairs.

Shri A.R. Antulay
Minister of Minority Affairs.

Shri Sushilkumar Shinde
Minister of Power

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan
Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Minister of Steel.

Shri S. Jaipal Reddy
Minister of Urban Development.

Shri Sis Ram Ola
Minister of Mines.

Shri P. Chidambaram
Minister of Finance.

Shri Mahavir Prasad
Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Shri P.R. Kyndiah
Minister of Tribal Affairs.

Shri T.R. Baalu
Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways.

Shri Shankersinh Vaghela
Minister of Textiles.

Shri Vayalar Ravi
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs.

Shri Kamal Nath
Minister of Commerce & Industry.

Shri H.R. Bhardwaj
Minister of Law & Justice.

Shri Sontosh Mohan Dev
Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises.

Prof. Saif-ud-din Soz
Minister of Water Resources.

Shri Raghuvansh Prasad Singh
Minister of Rural Development.

Shri Priyaranjan Dasmunsi
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Information & Broadcasting.

Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar
Minister of Panchayati Raj, Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region. .

Smt. Meira Kumar
Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment.

Shri Murli Deora
Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Smt. Ambika Soni
Minister of Tourism and Minister of Culture.

Shri A. Raja
Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

Dr. Anbumani Ramdoss
Minister of Health & Family Welfare.

Shri Kapil Sibal
Minister of Science & Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences.

Shri Prem Chand Gupta
Minister of Corporate Affairs.


MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
Shri Oscar Fernandes
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Labour & Employment.

Smt. Renuka Chowdhury
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Women & Child Development.

Shri Subodh Kant Sahay
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Shri Vilas Muttemwar
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy .

Kumari Selja
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

Shri Praful Patel
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Shri G.K.Vasan
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.


MINISTERS OF STATE
Shri E. Ahammed
Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Shri Suresh Pachouri
Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Shri B.K. Handique
Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Smt. Panabaka Lakshmi
Minister of State in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Dr. Dasari Narayan Rao
Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal.

Dr. Shakeel Ahmad
Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology.

Shri Rao Inderjit Singh
Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence.

Shri Naranbhai Rathwa
Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.

Shri K.H. Muniappa
Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways.

Shri M.V. Rajasekharan
Minister of State in the Ministry of Planning.

Shri Kantilal Bhuria
Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

Shri Manikrao Gavit
Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Shri Shriprakash Jaiswal
Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Shri Prithviraj Chavan
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Shri Taslimuddin
Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

Smt. Suryakanta Patil
Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Shri Md. Ali Ashraf Fatmi
Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Shri R. Velu
Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.

Shri S.S. Palanimanickam
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.

Shri S. Regupathy
Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Shri K. Venkatapathy
Minister of State in the Ministry of Law & Justice.

Smt. Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan
Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan
Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles.

Smt Kanti Singh
Minister of State in the Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises.

Shri Namo Narain Meena
Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment & Forests.

Shri Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav
Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources.

Dr. Akhilesh Prasad Singh
Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.

Shri Anand Sharma
Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Shri Ajay Maken
Minister of State in the Ministry of Urban Development.

Shri Dinsha J. Patel
Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Shri M.M. Pallam Raju
Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence.

Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy
Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines.

Dr. Akhilesh Das
Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel.

Shri Ashwani Kumar
Minister of State in the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Shri Jairam Ramesh
Minister of State in the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahu
Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development.

Smt. D. Purandeswari
Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Shri M.H. Ambareesh
Minister of State in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

Smt. V. Radhika Selvi
Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

FREE GREETING CARDS............

VARIOUS SITES FOR FREE GREETING CARDS

www.123greetings.com
www.bluemountain.com
www.greeting-cards.com
www.hallmark.com
www.all-yours.net
www.yahoo.americangreetings.com

WEB .......

WEB SEARCH ENGINES

A Web search engine is a search engine designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. Information may consist of web pages, images and other types of files.

Some search engines also mine data available in newsgroups, databases, or open directories. Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input.

		Timeline
		Note: "Launch" refers only to web availability of original crawl-based web search engine results.
		Year	Engine	Event
		1993	Aliweb	Launch
		1994	WebCrawler	Launch
			Infoseek	Launch
			Lycos	Launch
		1995	AltaVista	Launch (part of DEC)
			Excite	Launch
			SAPO	Launch
		1996	Dogpile	Launch
			Inktomi	Founded
			HotBot	Founded
			Ask Jeeves	Founded
		1997	Northern Light	Launch
		1998	Google	Launch
		1999	AlltheWeb	Launch
			Naver	Launch
			Teoma	Founded
			Vivisimo	Founded
		2000	Baidu	Founded
		2003	Info.com	Launch
		2004	Yahoo! Search	Final launch
			A9.com	Launch
		2005	MSN Search	Final launch
			Ask.com	Launch
			GoodSearch	Launch
		2006	wikiseek	Founded
			Quaero	Founded
			Ask.com	Launch
			Live Search	Launch
			ChaCha	Beta Launch
			Guruji.com	Beta Launch
		2007	itah.com	Launched
			wikiseek	Launched
			AskWiki	Launched

As of late 2007, Google was by far the most popular Web search engine worldwide.A number of country-specific search engine companies have become prominent; for example Baidu is the most popular search engine in the People's Republic of China.

Current market share

Most popular search engines worldwide, Dec. 2007
Company	Millions of searches	Relative market share
Google	28,454	46.47%
Yahoo!	10,505	17.16%
Baidu	8,428	13.76%
Microsoft	7,880	12.87%
NHN	2,882	4.71%
eBay	2,428	3.9%
Time Warner (includes AOL)	1,062	1.6%
Ask.com and related	728	1.1%
Yandex	566	0.9%
Alibaba.com	531	0.8%
Total	61,221	100.0%

HOW SEARCH ENGINE WORKS

A search engine operates, in the following order

1. Web crawling
2. Indexing
3. Searching

Web search engines work by storing information about many web pages, which they retrieve from the WWW itself. These pages are retrieved by a Web crawler (sometimes also known as a spider) — an automated Web browser which follows every link it sees. Exclusions can be made by the use of robots.txt. The contents of each page are then analyzed to determine how it should be indexed (for example, words are extracted from the titles, headings, or special fields called meta tags). Data about web pages are stored in an index database for use in later queries. Some search engines, such as Google, store all or part of the source page (referred to as a cache) as well as information about the web pages, whereas others, such as AltaVista, store every word of every page they find. This cached page always holds the actual search text since it is the one that was actually indexed, so it can be very useful when the content of the current page has been updated and the search terms are no longer in it. This problem might be considered to be a mild form of linkrot, and Google's handling of it increases usability by satisfying user expectations that the search terms will be on the returned webpage. This satisfies the principle of least astonishment since the user normally expects the search terms to be on the returned pages. Increased search relevance makes these cached pages very useful, even beyond the fact that they may contain data that may no longer be available elsewhere.

When a user enters a query into a search engine (typically by using key words), the engine examines its index and provides a listing of best-matching web pages according to its criteria, usually with a short summary containing the document's title and sometimes parts of the text. Most search engines support the use of the boolean operators AND, OR and NOT to further specify the search query. Some search engines provide an advanced feature called proximity search which allows users to define the distance between keywords.

The usefulness of a search engine depends on the relevance of the result set it gives back. While there may be millions of webpages that include a particular word or phrase, some pages may be more relevant, popular, or authoritative than others. Most search engines employ methods to rank the results to provide the "best" results first. How a search engine decides which pages are the best matches, and what order the results should be shown in, varies widely from one engine to another. The methods also change over time as Internet usage changes and new techniques evolve.

Most Web search engines are commercial ventures supported by advertising revenue and, as a result, some employ the controversial practice of allowing advertisers to pay money to have their listings ranked higher in search results. Those search engines which do not accept money for their search engine results make money by running search related ads alongside the regular search engine results. The search engines make money every time someone clicks on one of these ads.

The vast majority of search engines are run by private companies using proprietary algorithms and closed databases, though some are open source.

MUTUAL FUNDS.....

A mutual fund is a professionally-managed firm of collective investments that collects money from many investors and puts it in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities.After realizing capital gains or losses, the investment proceeds are then passed along to the individual investors, usually the fund manager, also known as the portfolio manager collects 'management' fees. Mutual funds have become increasingly popular in recent decades, the worldwide value is more than $26 trillion in assets.

Since 1940, a mutual fund is one of three basic types of investment companies available in the United States. Similar funds also operate in Canada. However, in the rest of the world, mutual fund is used as a generic term for various types of collective investment vehicles, such as unit trusts, open-ended investment companies (OEICs),and unitized insurance funds.


Usage

Since the Investment Company Act of 1940, a mutual fund is one of three basic types of investment companies available in the United States.

Mutual funds can invest in many different kinds of securities. The most common are cash instruments, stock, and bonds, but there are hundreds of sub-categories. Stock funds, for instance, can invest primarily in the shares of a particular industry, such as technology or utilities. These are known as sector funds. Bond funds can vary according to risk (e.g., high-yield junk bonds or investment-grade corporate bonds), type of issuers (e.g., government agencies, corporations, or municipalities), or maturity of the bonds (short- or long-term). Both stock and bond funds can invest in primarily U.S. securities (domestic funds), both U.S. and foreign securities (global funds), or primarily foreign securities (international funds).

Most mutual funds' investment portfolios are continually adjusted under the supervision of a professional manager, who forecasts the future performance of investments appropriate for the fund and chooses those which he or she believes will most closely match the fund's stated investment objective. A mutual fund is administered through a parent management company, which may hire or fire fund managers.

Mutual funds are liable to a special set of regulatory, accounting, and tax rules. Unlike most other types of business entities, they are not taxed on their income as long as they distribute substantially all of it to their shareholders. Also, the type of income they earn is often unchanged as it passes through to the shareholders. Mutual fund distributions of tax-free municipal bond income are also tax-free to the shareholder. Taxable distributions can be either ordinary income or capital gains, depending on how the fund earned those distributions.

Net asset value

The net asset value, or NAV, is the current market value of a fund's holdings, less the fund's liabilities, usually expressed as a per-share amount. For most funds, the NAV is determined daily, after the close of trading on some specified financial exchange, but some funds update their NAV multiple times during the trading day. The public offering price, or POP, is the NAV plus a sales charge. Open-end funds sell shares at the POP and redeem shares at the NAV, and so process orders only after the NAV is determined. Closed-end funds (the shares of which are traded by investors) may trade at a higher or lower price than their NAV; this is known as a premium or discount, respectively. If a fund is divided into multiple classes of shares, each class will typically have its own NAV, reflecting differences in fees and expenses paid by the different classes.

Some mutual funds own securities which are not regularly traded on any formal exchange. These may be shares in very small or bankrupt companies; they may be derivatives; or they may be private investments in unregistered financial instruments (such as stock in a non-public company). In the absence of a public market for these securities, it is the responsibility of the fund manager to form an estimate of their value when computing the NAV. How much of a fund's assets may be invested in such securities is stated in the fund's prospectus.

Turnover

Turnover is a measure of the fund's securities transactions, usually calculated over a year's time, and usually expressed as a percentage of net asset value.

This value is usually calculated as the value of all transactions (buying, selling) divided by 2 divided by the fund's total holdings; i.e., the fund counts one security sold and another one bought as one "turnover". Thus turnover measures the replacement of holdings.

In Canada, under NI 81-106 (required disclosure for investment funds) turnover ratio is calculated based on the lesser of purchases or sales divided by the average size of the portfolio (including cash).

Types of mutual funds

Open-end fund

The term mutual fund is the common name for an open-end investment company. Being open-ended means that, at the end of every day, the fund issues new shares to investors and buys back shares from investors wishing to leave the fund.

Mutual funds may be legally structured as corporations or business trusts but in either instance are classed as open-end investment companies by the SEC.

Other funds have a limited number of shares; these are either closed-end funds or unit investment trusts, neither of which is a mutual fund.

Exchange-traded funds

A relatively recent innovation, the exchange-traded fund or ETF, is often structured as an open-end investment company. ETFs combine characteristics of both mutual funds and closed-end funds. ETFs are traded throughout the day on a stock exchange, just like closed-end funds, but at prices generally approximating the ETF's net asset value. Most ETFs are index funds and track stock market indexes. Shares are issued or redeemed by institutional investors in large blocks (typically of 50,000). Most investors purchase and sell shares through brokers in market transactions. Because the institutional investors normally purchase and redeem in in kind transactions, ETFs are more efficient than traditional mutual funds (which are continuously issuing and redeeming securities and, to effect such transactions, continually buying and selling securities and maintaining liquidity positions) and therefore tend to have lower expenses.

Exchange-traded funds are also valuable for foreign investors who are often able to buy and sell securities traded on a stock market, but who, for regulatory reasons, are limited in their ability to participate in traditional U.S. mutual funds.

Equity funds

Equity funds, which consist mainly of stock investments, are the most common type of mutual fund. Equity funds hold 50 percent of all amounts invested in mutual funds in the United States. Often equity funds focus investments on particular strategies and certain types of issuers.

Bond funds

Bond funds account for 18% of mutual fund assets. Types of bond funds include term funds, which have a fixed set of time (short-, medium-, or long-term) before they mature. Municipal bond funds generally have lower returns, but have tax advantages and lower risk. High-yield bond funds invest in corporate bonds, including high-yield or junk bonds. With the potential for high yield, these bonds also come with greater risk.

Money market funds

Money market funds hold 26% of mutual fund assets in the United States. Money market funds entail the least risk, as well as lower rates of return. Unlike certificates of deposit (CDs), money market shares are liquid and redeemable at any time. The interest rate quoted by money market funds is known as the 7 Day SEC Yield.

Hedge funds

Hedge funds in the United States are pooled investment funds with loose SEC regulation and should not be confused with mutual funds. Some hedge fund managers are required to register with SEC as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act. The Act does not require an adviser to follow or avoid any particular investment strategies, nor does it require or prohibit specific investments. Hedge funds typically charge a management fee of 1% or more, plus a "performance fee" of 20% of the hedge fund's profits. There may be a "lock-up" period, during which an investor cannot cash in shares. A variation of the hedge strategy is the 130-30 fund for individual investors.

Mutual funds vs. other investments

Mutual funds offer several advantages over investing in individual stocks. For example, the transaction costs are divided among all the mutual fund shareholders, who also benefit by having a third party (professional fund managers) apply expertise and dedicate time to manage and research investment options. However, despite the professional management, mutual funds are not immune to risks. They share the same risks associated with the investments made. If the fund invests primarily in stocks, it is usually subject to the same ups and downs and risks as the stock market.

Share classes

Many mutual funds offer more than one class of shares. For example, you may have seen a fund that offers "Class A" and "Class B" shares. Each class will invest in the same pool (or investment portfolio) of securities and will have the same investment objectives and policies. But each class will have different shareholder services and/or distribution arrangements with different fees and expenses.

A multi-class structure offers investors the ability to select a fee and expense structure that is most appropriate for their investment goals (including the length of time that they expect to remain invested in the fund).

Load and expenses

A front-end load or sales charge is a commission paid to a broker by a mutual fund when shares are purchased, taken as a percentage of funds invested. The value of the investment is reduced by the amount of the load. Some funds have a deferred sales charge or back-end load. In this type of fund an investor pays no sales charge when purchasing shares, but will pay a commission out of the proceeds when shares are redeemed depending on how long they are held. Another derivative structure is a level-load fund, in which no sales charge is paid when buying the fund, but a back-end load may be charged if the shares purchased are sold within a year.

Load funds are sold through financial intermediaries such as brokers, financial planners, and other types of registered representatives who charge a commission for their services. Shares of front-end load funds are frequently eligible for breakpoints (i.e., a reduction in the commission paid) based on a number of variables. These include other accounts in the same fund family held by the investor or various family members, or committing to buy more of the fund within a set period of time in return for a lower commission "today".

It is possible to buy many mutual funds without paying a sales charge. These are called no-load funds. In addition to being available from the fund company itself, no-load funds may be sold by some discount brokers for a flat transaction fee or even no fee at all.No-load funds include both index funds and actively managed funds. The largest mutual fund families selling no-load index funds are Vanguard and Fidelity, though there are a number of smaller mutual fund families with no-load funds as well.

RECIPIES...............

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Crust:

3 C. graham cracker crumbs (about 25 graham crackers)

2 T. cocoa powder, sifted

2 T. light brown sugar

5 T. unsalted butter, melted

Filling and garnish:

8 oz. semisweet chocolate

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate

2 1/2 C. heavy whipping cream

2 T. milk

2 T. brandy or rum or 1 t. vanilla extract

Cocoa powder

White and semisweet chocolate curves, lattices or chocolate curls

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs, cocoa, brown sugar and melted butter. Press the mixture in an even layer on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the side of the pan and put the base, with the crust on it, on a wire rack to cool. When it is cool, reassemble the pan.

To prepare the filling: Melt the semisweet and bittersweet chocolates together in the top of a double boiler over simmering water or a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. When melted, set the chocolate aside to cool to lukewarm. It should still be liquid.

Set the heavy whipping cream in its container in a bowl of hot water until it is cool but no longer refrigerator-cold.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the cream with the milk and brandy or vanilla until it is thick enough to leave a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted. Be careful not to overwhip the cream.

Blend a heaping spoonful of the cream into the lukewarm chocolate, then quickly fold the chocolate into the remaining cream using large metal spoon. Pour the mixture over the crust in the pan and smooth the top with a narrow spatula.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove the cake from the pan and leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Just before serving, sift a fine layer of cocoa powder over the top and garnish with chocolate curves or curls and, if desired, a fanned strawberry.

Makes 12 generous servings.

MAKHMALI PANEER TIKKA

True to its name, this tikka will melt in your mouth, delighting your taste buds!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes. Cooking Time: 10 minutes. Serves 6.
Baking temperature : 200°C (400°F). Baking time : 20 minutes.

3 cups paneer (cottage cheese), cut into 50 mm. (2”) cubes

To be mixed into a marinade
¾ cup thick fresh hung curds (dahi)
¼ cup cheese spread
1 tsp green chilli paste
2 tbsp cashewnut (kaju)powder
½ tsp garam masala
Salt to taste

1.Combine the paneer cubes with the prepared marinade and toss gently till the paste coats the paneer pieces evenly from all sides. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
2.Arrange the paneer pieces on the wire rack in a pre-heated oven at 200°C (400°F) and grill till the paneer is done (approx. 15 minutes).
3.Remove from the oven and serve hot.

BANANA WALNUT MUFFINS

Makes 15 muffins

½ cup refined flour (maida)
¼ cup butter
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ cup mashed banana
¼ tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
2 tbsp quick cooking rolled oats
1 tsp fruit salt

For the topping
1/4 cup Chocolate Chips

1. Sieve the flour. Keep aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar till smooth and creamy
3. Add the mashed banana, vanilla essence and milk and mix well.
4. Add chopped walnuts, oats and flour and mix well.
5. Add the fruit salt and sprinkle a little water on it. When bubbles form, mix gently.
6. Spoon the mixture into 15 paper cups. Top with chocolate chips
7. Microwave them for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Serve warm.

MUTTER AUR PHUDINE KI TIKKI

Green peas make great tikkis when combined with potatoes and a handful of mint leaves.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes. Cooking Time: 10 minutes. Makes 8-10 tikkis.

1 cup boiled green peas
½ cup boiled and mashed potatoes
2 tbsp mint leaves (phudina)
Salt to taste
1½ tsp garam masala
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Oil for deep-frying

1.Combine all the ingredients and blend in a mixer to a coarse mixture (Add a little water if required).
2.Divide the mixture into 8 to 10 equal portions and shape each portion into a round tikki.
3.Heat the oil in a kadhai on a medium flame and deep-fry the tikkis till they are golden brown in colour from all sides. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve hot.

RAWA IDLI

Soft and spongy rawa idlis can be made in a jiffy for a quick and satiating breakfast.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes. Cooking Time: 7 to 8 minutes. Makes 12 idlis.

For the batter
1 cup rawa(semolina)
¼ cup curds (dahi)
1 cup water
1 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)
salt to taste

For the tempering
½ tsp mustard seeds (rai)
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
a pinch asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp urad dal (split black lentils)
1 tbsp broken cashewnuts
4 to 6 curry leaves(kadi patta)
2 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp oil
½ tsp ghee

Other ingredients
¾ tsp fruit salt
oil for greasing

For the batter
1. Combine all ingredients together, other than the fruit salt and leave aside for 10 minutes.

For the tempering
1. Combine the oil, ghee, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and asafoetida in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes.
2. Add the cashewnuts, curry leaves, green chillies and microwave for 1 more minute.

How to proceed
1. Pour 1 cup of water in the base of a microwave safe idli steamer and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Grease the idli moulds using little oil.
2. Add the tempering and the fruit salt to the batter and mix well.
3. Pour 2 tablespoons of batter into each greased cavity of the idli moulds and microwave, covered, on HIGH for 2 minutes.
4. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 8 more idlis.
5. Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambhar.