After the mobile boom in India, iPod seems to be next must have gadget. With Apple slashing the price of iPod (although Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak don’t seem to be happy with this development “Early buyer will feel cheated”, which includes him, is what he says) it has also come up with new versions of its iPod.

But what price you pay for these iPod depends on where you buy them. In the recent study carried out by one of Australia’s biggest banks, the Commonwealth Bank, has used the latest version of Apple’s music player — the slimline 4GB Nano — to compare global currencies and purchasing power in 55 countries. And what this study says is: if you wanna buy iPod head towards Hongkong or Japan but best avoid Brazil.

Hong Kong was the cheapest place to buy a Nano at $148.12, while the United States was second cheapest at $149, followed by Japan ($154.21), Taiwan ($165.82) and Singapore ($167.31). Brazilians on the other hand pay the most for an iPod ($369.61) and is well above the second placed Bulgaria ($318.60).

India ranked 42nd turned out to be expensive ($183.47) than its neighbours China ($179.63) and Pakistan ($179.48). Australia came at 48th place ($175.42) and turned out to be cheaper than China where the machine is developed.

Here is the list:

The CommSec iPod Index, based on October 2007 prices in U.S. dollars.

1. Brazil $369.61

2. Bulgaria $318.60

3. Argentina $317.45

4. Israel $300.80

5. Peru $294.08

6. Chile $294.06

7. Malta $293.83

8. Egypt $269.10

9. Romania $266.60

10. Uruguay $260.00

11. Turkey $256.12

12. Hungary $254.50

13. Azerbaijan $252.11

14. Serbia $249.14

15. Croatia $245.41

16. Czech $242.54

17. Slovakia $234.13

18. Estonia $226.67

19. Sth Africa $226.60

20. Finland $225.82

21. France $225.82

22. Russia $220.32

23. Norway $220.20

24. Sweden $215.35

25. Belgium $211.62

26. Austria $211.62

27. Italy $211.62

28. Portugal $211.62

29. Ireland $211.62

30. Germany $211.62

31. Netherlands $211.62

32. Denmark $209.26

33. UK $201.92

34. Mexico $201.87

35. Cyprus $201.85

36. Luxembourg $201.12

37. Poland $200.52

38. Philippines $198.39

39. Spain $197.42

40. Greece $196.51

41. Switzerland $195.43

42. India $183.47

43. Malaysia $181.82

44. Korea $180.60

45. New Zealand $180.58

46. China $179.63

47. Pakistan $179.48

48. Australia $175.42

49. Thailand $174.89

50. Canada $169.68

51. Singapore $167.31

52. Taiwan $165.82

53. Japan $154.21

54. U.S. $149.00

55. Hong Kong $148.12

Source: CommSec, Apple & Reuters

Note that pricing for some countries hasn’t adjusted yet to the new model

All pricing in U.S. dollars.

Science say: ‘thoughts originate from a particular area of the brain’. Then how can a thought be positive or negative if their source of origin is same. The answer is, thoughts are neither positive nor negative by birth, but by context in which they are put.Just as thinking all negatively is disastrous even positive thinking has negative sides to it. As an IIM professor state, “A positive thinker is like someone who decides that it is more honorable to fall down from the Eiffel Tower rather than from a ten-storied building. It doesn’t matter where you fall from the consequence is disastrous. Positive and negative thoughts are the two poles of magnet, they co-exist. For instance, if I ask you not to think of Mallika Sherawat for next one minute -you will invariably think or her, just try it!”

What does this mean is mind dwell on ideas and doesn’t differentiate between good or bad idea, because if you are asked to think only of Ms Sherawat for next one minute, you will exactly do that. Lateral thinking master Edward de Bono insisted on the generation of different ideas and not dwelling on one. It means the ideas generated could be positive as well as negative, realistic or unrealistic. But it’s you who decide the application and feasibility of these ideas.

Both negative and positive thinking are important for human existence. As a confident sportsperson would say “I’m here to win but I’m not afraid of defeat”. What this line says is that the person has conquered both positive and negative thinking and is using to his best benefit. That is, a positive thought help you to be focused at the task in hand and a negative thought help you to be prepared for the worst.

No one is a born positive or negative thinker, we think both ways. It’s not what all do you think but what you put into action that matters. So instead of a stressed “think positive” slogan, it’s better to have a clear conscience and let our consciousness take the call.

As a famous quote says “Both positive and negative thinker are necessary for the society. The positive thinker made the aeroplane whereas the negative thinker made the parachute.”

(p,s. This is not an endorsement of negative thinking, it simply say that a thought could be positive or negative, it all depends on you.)

By the way, what with Pakistani band, they are formed, they get hit songs, and then the splitting happen. Same is the case with the new entry: Aaroh- the winner of pepsi battle of the band.

But at least the scene for bands at Pakistan is favourable. India, which is obsessed with creating singers with the help of many reality shows, never looked at competition between bands as a talent hunt.

Band competition is surely a good idea, and will receive active participation and not to mention the increased SMSes (as a band has many members) and of course high TRPs.

Thank God! we at least have our iRock (Independence Rock) festival which recently concluded (last month) and had a good response.

But ever wondered why India won the cup in spite that they did not have enough experience with this ultra-short version of the game? The reason: we are the pioneers of T20, as its we who invented “Gully cricket” which involves big hitting and ultra-limited overs and the good bowler is one who can have a change of pace. So about T20 it can be said that its “gully cricket played at an international arena”.

• After the idol is disrobed and taken to water and splashed with water, it still has the charm with which it entered 11 days ago i.e., when its your time to say bye, say it with the charm and enthusiasm with which you came to this world.

• Even when the idol is taken to water you can see people coming to have a last glance or touch its feet i.e., live your life in such a manner that even in your last leg people just wanna see you and remmember you with a good thought.

• No matter whats the size of the idol 1 foot or 6 feet the volunteer immersed th idol with same respect and caring i.e., no matter whats your status or ability, you can still make a difference and no matter whats the position of other people we should always treat everyone with respect.

So I had a few lessons wiht the elephant god, hope you enjoyed the Anant Chaturdashi as well.

… and i thought all the jokes about blondes are after all just jokes.