Dearest 10 Year Old Avani...

1^st June 2019 – Happy 10th Birthday Dearest Ava !!  

It’s a Hap-Hap-Happy Birthday ! A Hap-Happy Birthday to You ! 😊

Take a bow, take a bow, on your birthday, your birthday, show them how, show them how, on your birthday, a Hap-Happy Birthday to You !!  😊

Dearest 10 year old Avani !!  😊

As I start to pen this, Daddy is driving us through the ‘orange trees laden streets’ of Valencia – a beautifully laid out Spanish City of Arts & Sciences, famous for its futuristic complex of museums & theatres. What better way to bring in your birthday with a Summer Vacation break in Spain – one of the many cultural centres of Europe, the land of Flamenco music and dance, bullfights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine.

As you’re seated in the front seat with Abhijeet kaka, your chirping doesn’t stop – so really, that’s the one thing that hasn’t changed since the time you started to mumble as a baby!  😊  When inquisitive & chirpy kids like you go silent, it’s usually a cause of concern. A signal that your child is showing signs of withdrawal – and I would never ever want that! So, continue to be, the sparkling self that you are!  😊

I’m sure, your “what’s, why’s n how’s” will only get amplified and applied, in seeking answers to anything and everything – from “why can’t we have a pet dog?”, to the very existence of this universe. !  😊

As you turn 10 today, I can’t help but take myself back in time to being your age. I had just finished my primary schooling until 4^th grade, in Narmada Education Socierty’s Dr. JW Iryan English Medium School in Satara. We had shifted to Pune in our 1^st self-owned house, resulting from the innate desire of Abba and Lata Aajji to educate their children in the famously known “OXFORD of the east” !

Abba had made innumerable attempts at ensuring I got an admission to a convent school. Coming from an English medium in Satara, to a convent in Pune, I battled my own sense of insecurities as a 10 year old. My command over English was extremely poor, I had no idea what Grace, Poise or Diction meant – a criteria used to set the benchmark for “ladies-in-becoming” at the convent of Jesus n Mary’s St. Joseph High School Pashan ! It took me about a year, to get over my inferiority complex and soon, I too walked around with a sense of dignity and pride, a sense of belonging to my school and to our new house, that I still fondly call my “Real Maher” – cause that’s where I grew up with Anant Mama, Lata Aajji and Aabba - from a child to a teen to an adult!   😊

In those terms, I see a lot of the “Younger-Sayli” in Avani !   😊 Your sense of nationalism that comes from watching / playing a sport [while you chose badminton and I chose hockey], your divine sense of belonging towards the school, your overflowing love for family and friends, a great set of friends to call your besties, the way you unapologetically express yourself – nice, loud and clear, how well you are able to reason out arguments and express your disappointments, how cheerful you are with the smallest of wins and equally graceful with handling failures!

Over the last year, you have been more than a daughter to me - You’re like my guardian angel,  😊 and I dearly love you so !  😊 As much as I love to give you varied perspectives on things - that you like to call solutions,  😊 you’ve made my life a lot easier with yours!  😊 And If there’s anything Daddy and Me wish for you, it is hoping that you are able to take more care of your eyes, apart from starting to write your book of “Values! “

And before I sign off, I wish to reinforce the dreams you’ve had as a child – at a tender age of 7, you already knew, exactly what, you wanted in life! Following in the footsteps of Mayura Attu, You wish to become a doctor for small children (child specialist / paediatrician). Inspired by Abba and Lata Aaji’s house, You wish to own a bungalow with not one, but two dogs  😊 – you even knew the breed of the dogs you want – a Mastif and a Boxer !!! (and Daddy always says German Shepherd) You want  2 children post marriage to a loving husband, a Girl and a Boy apart from the 2 dogs!!  😊

You also felt that Mayura Attu doesn’t charge any money for treating her patients and hence you would treat your patients for free!!  😊 I still laugh on recalling Daddy’s reaction to that !!  😊 However, at the same age of 7 you’ve been novel enough to say, that you don’t want a lot of money, but just enough money for our family and the house. And that’s why, after having that much, you would treat children free of cost, which I think you very well must!!

Remember, we are all here for bringing about a positive change in this world, through our Values, Knowledge, Wisdom and Work, and hence, it is always a responsibility of the privileged to uplift the less-privileged!

Lata Aajji also has a dream, that her grandchildren should be Nobel-laureates – I hope you achieve this for all of us through your great work!!

Wishing you a very Happy & a Healthy New Birthday Year June 2019- June 2020 !!  😊

Here’s Mumma making a promise to write you a letter for each of your birthday’s hereon – so stay tuned for the next !  😊

Loads of Love, Hugs, Cuddles n Kisses !  😊

-Mumma  😊

Demistifying Financial Terms for Non-Finance People - Part 1

Operating Profit & OPM:


Operating Profit gives an indication of the current operational profitability of the business and allows a comparison of profitability between different companies after removing out expenses that can obscure how the company is really performing.

Interest cost depends on the management's choice of financing, tax can vary widely depending on acquisitions and losses in prior years, and depreciation and amortization policies may differ from company to company.


Depriciation refers to Tangible Fixed Assets grouped into categories, especially for Balance Sheet reporting. Most Fixed Assets gradually lose value because they have a limited useful life - they 'depreciate', which means that they lose their value. So they have to be depreciated in the Year End Accounts.


Amortization is an accounting term that refers to the process of allocating the cost of an intangible asset over a period of time. It also refers to the repayment of loan principal over time. Now don't ask what intangible is ! :) In this case, intangibles includes  licenses / permits / contracts / patents / copyrights / franchises / goodwill / trademarks / trade names.


EBITDA, PBT & PAT:
EBITDA is an acronym for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.




PBT stands for Profit Before Tax:

Profit before tax deducts all expenses from revenue including interest expenses and operating expenses, excluding tax. Since taxes change every year, PBT gives investors a good idea about the company profits every year.

PAT stands for Profit After Tax:

Profit after tax, also referred as the bottom-line, is a measure of the profitability of the company after deducting all its expenses.

Total Assets & Asset Turnover Ratio:
Total Assets is the sum of all assets, current and fixed. The asset turnover ratio measures the ability of a company to use its assets to efficiently generate sales. The higher the ratio indicates that the company is utilizing all its assets efficiently to generate sales. Companies with low profit margins tend to have high asset turnover.


Net Sales:
Sales is the total amount of products or services sold by the company.


Networth:
Networth is the difference between a company's total assets and its total liabilities. It is also known as shareholder`s equity.


Return On Capital Employed %:
Capital Employed is defined as total assets less current liabilities. Return On Capital Employed is a ratio that shows the efficiency and profitability of a company's capital investments. The ROCE should always be higher than the rate at which the company borrows money.


Gross Block:
Fixed assets are long-term tangible piece of property that the company owns and uses in the production of its income. Gross Block is the cost of fixed assets eg buildings, real estate, equipment, furniture etc not excluding the depreciation amount charged on it.


Dividend:
Dividend is a payment made by a company to its shareholders usually as a distribution of profits. When a company makes profit it can either re-invest it in the business or it distribute it to its shareholders by way of dividends. The dividend payout ratio is the amount of dividends paid to shareholders relative to the amount of total net profit of a company.

A reduction in dividends paid is not appreciated by investors and usually the stock price moves down as this could point towards difficult times ahead for the company. On the other hand a stable dividend payout ratio indicates a solid dividend policy by the company's management.


Book Value (Rs):
Book value is a company's assets minus its liabilities. In simple terms it would be the amount of money that a share holder would get if a company were to liquidate.

Wishes for a Wonderful 2016 !

I am snuggled up in the chair with my favorite plum cake, bakarwadis and a hot cuppa chai ! Since therez no company, I switch on the TV to watch an on going episode of MasterChef Asia...It's a very rare pleasure to enjoy uninterrupted 'me time'.. and to get it bang on the 1st day of the year is sinfully satisfying ! :) ;)
My mind races back to our new year's eve celebration.. the food, the wine, the bonfire, the music and most of all, the company of great friends.. ! Absolute pleasure !!! :)
We'v celebrated the passing of 2015 and welcomed 2016 with renewed enthusiasm and ofcourse some great resolutions !!
There is definitely a sense of satisfaction I feel personally, on some of the new beginings 2015 was all about.. for one, Avani n Me finally managed to begin learning Bharatnatyam together ! we even got a lot better with our Swimming before the pools closed down due to water shortage and the morning chill set on..
My biggest challenge this year probably is to keep going.. cut down on the will for compulsive perfection in all things big n small and strike the right balance in life!
It's more about ensuring I don't face burn out, cause if God chooses to keep me alive a couple of years more.. i'd like to live my life more fitter, healthier & devoid of dependence!
Most importantly...In 2016, I will create a greater sense of distinction between

"What I do for Money vs what I do with my Time"

Wishing You and Your Loved Ones a truly gratifying 2016 :). May all new dreams and hopes with which you begin this year, ring in an eternal sense of satisfaction in all spheres of your life ! :)
With all my love,
-Sayli ! :)