WINTER DREAMS

1. The number of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, at more than 6,000, is second only to NYSE.


2. Four out of 10 Silicon Valley startups are run by Indians.


3. With 800 movies per year , India's film industry overshadows Hollywood.


4. The organized lottery market in India is US$7bn (2% of GDP)


5. India consumes a fifth of the world's gold output.


6. Indians account for 45% of H1-B visas issued by the US every year


7. Growing at 6%, in 25 years Indian GDP(on a PPP basis) will be at the same level the US is at today


8. Six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years.


9. Bank deposits in India roughly equal 50% of its GDP C again, among the highest in the world.


10. Indian Railways is the largest railway network in the world under single management


11. India has the third largest army in the world, nearly 1.5 million strong.


12. India is the largest producer and consumer of tea in the world, accounting for more than 30% of global production and 25% of consumption.


13. India is the world's premier center for diamond cutting and polishing. Nine out of every 10 stones sold in the world pass through India.


14. India has the highest number of annual bulk drugs filings (77) with USFDA.


15. India is home to the largest number of pharmaceutical plants (61) approved by USFDA outside the US.


16. India's Hero Honda is the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer, with 2002 production of 1.7m units.


17. Other than US and Japan, India is the only country to have built a super computer indigenously.


18. Indian Railways is the largest employer in the world, with a staff of 1.6 million people.


19. India is the second largest cement producing country in the world, producing more than 110 m tones.


20. Of the fortune 500 companies, 220 outsource their software-related work to India .


21. There are 8,500 Indian restaurants in the U.K.15% of the country's total dining-out establishments.


22. India is the largest democracy in the world, with nearly 400m voting in the last national elections.


23. India has the second-largest pool of scientists and engineers in the world.


24. India has the third largest investor base in the world


25. According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds.


26. The Kumbh Mela festival, held every 21 years in the city of Allahabad, attracts 25 million people CE more than the population of 185 of the 227 countries in the world.


27. The Indian city of Varanasi, also known as Banaras , is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world today.


28. There are 3.22 million Indians in the US.


29. Indians are the richest immigrant class in the US, with nearly 200,000 millionaires.


30. India is ranked the sixth country in the world in terms of satellite launches.


31. There are over 70,000 bank branches in India - among the highest in the world.

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." " For most of us, dreams come true only after they do not matter, Only in childhood do we ever have the chance of making dreams come true when they mean everything."

"We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans. And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate. It's just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there. Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn't have expected."

"There is no absurdity so obvious that it cannot be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to impose it before the age of five, by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity"

"The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remaining over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves"

"The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic."

"We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until... we have stopped saying "It got lost," and say "I lost it.""

"Creativity is not merely the innocent spontaneity of our youth and childhood; it must also be married to the passion of the adult human being, which is a passion to live beyond one's death."

"When childhood dies, its corpses are called adults and they enter society, one of the politer names of hell. That is why we dread children, even if we love them, they show us the state of our decay."

"All those writers who write about their childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine you wouldn't sit in the same room with me."

" Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath."

1. Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers.


2. When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.


3. If your wife wants to learn to drive, don't stand in her way.


4. Everybody wants to go to heaven; but nobody wants to die.


5. If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the Up button.


6. If there is a "WILL", there are 500 relatives.


7. Why is it called 'after dark' when it really is 'after light'?

One day while walking down the street a highly successful Human Resources Manager was tragically hit by a bus and she died. Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself.
"Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter.
"Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had a Human Resources Manager make it this far and we're not really sure what to do with you.
""No problem, just let me in," said the woman.
"Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders.
What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."
"Actually, I think I've made up my mind, I prefer to stay in Heaven", said the woman
"Sorry, we have rules..."And with that St. Peter put the executive in an elevator and it went down-down-down to hell.The doors opened and she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow executives that she had worked with and they were well dressed in evening owns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner.She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kind of cute) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave.
Everybody shook her hand and waved goodbye as she got on the elevator.The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates and found St. Peter waiting for her.
"Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said.
So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing.She had great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St.Peter came and got her."So, you've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven.
Now you must choose your eternity,"The woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell."
So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again she went down-down-down back to Hell.
When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks.
The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.
"I don't understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable."

Devil looked at her smiled and told...---Yesterday we were recruiting you, Today you are an employee.

courtesy: Pradeep, humourbox