Hello Address is a real estate service owned by the Malayala Manorama Group. This is an attempt to help to buy and sell properties in Kerala. You can register at this site for free and post your requirements. You will also find details of the properties to be sold categorized district wise. You can also search for properties for sale using the search feature, where you can mention your interested location.

You will find lots of information on this portal like Featured Builders, New Properties, Rental Properties, etc.

Check out this service if you are looking for any property or want to sell your property.

Things are now changing in India, Pay per seconds for voice calls and now pay per character for SMS and its from TATA DOCOMO. TATA DOCOMO has launched services in eight telecom Circles in just two months, and the countrywide rollout of its GSM services is expected to be completed by this year.

Diet-sms service is for message upto 15 characters. Competition is always better for consumers. I am sure, other operators will come up with similar packages soon, so don’t worry, continue with your existing operator.
Find out more on Diet SMS

Ask any Indian about best pearl shops and she/he invariably points to Hyderabad, inspite of the fact that Hyderabad is neither a coastal area or for that matter near a coastal area.

This aspect of world class pearls’ availability dates back to 400 years of rich culture of Hyderabad history with an amalgamation of arts and crafts. The royal kings of Nizam lead a rich life inviting craftsman from all over the world especially from the middle east, where we get to see rare pearls in abundance. That’s why quite rightly most people associate Hyderabad with pearls.

Source of the pearls

China and Japan supply the entire city market with all the pearl it needs. Raw pearls are drilled, boiled for about four days and bleached to rid them of their dark colour. Later, they are placed in glass bottles containing hydrogen peroxide, water and ether and sunned for four to five days in glass sun boxes with mirror base.
Finally, they are washed and assorted according to their shape and size.

Where to shop

Patar Gatti and Lad bazaar in Charminar are the oldest commercial areas in the twin cities where pearls can be transacted for. Some pearls stores present here are more than a century old. Those shops market mainly stones like garnets, topaz, jade and corals.Areas such as Abids and Basheerbagh are flooded with pearl shops. Some of the shops such as Suraj Bhan Jewellers, Basheerbagh, Jagadamba Pearls (Basheerbagh and Secunderabad), Mangatrai Pearls have exclusive sections for pearls. Secunderabad too has its share of pearl shops.

The Simple natural pearl test:

To find out whether pearls are natural, simple dip them in hot water. Natural pearls retains their colour while cultured pearls tend to fade.Many pearls look quite similar. But there are certain intricate factors that determine a pearl’s worth. Lustre and size are generally considered to be the two major factors. Lustre for instance, depends on the fineness and evenness of the layers.

The deeper the glow, the more perfect the shape and surface, the more valuable they get. The lustre of a pearl too determines its price. The thumb-rule to go by is to look for one’s reflection by gazing into the pearl. The foggier the reflection, the cheaper the pearl. Size, on the other hand, has to do with the age of the oyster that created the pearl (the maturer oysters produce larger pearls) and the location in which the pearl was cultured. White pearls have traditionally been popular in Hyderabad.

A good quality white pearl reflects a lovely sky blue colour under ultraviolet light, whereas a poor quality one emanates a greenish or mustardish sheen. Black pearls that have a green sheen and baroque (irregular shaped) pearls that reflect a rainbow of colours are also amongst the more valuable varieties. Natural pearls (Those made without man’s assistance) have become so rare and expensive, that for the vast majority of people cultured is the only option. However, top quality natural and cultured pearls are identical to the naked eye in terms of appearance and quality. Only under an X-ray machine can a trained eye discern any difference. Cultured pearls tend to have a larger core or nucleus. In all other respects, they are identical. The best-cultured pearls are those that come from an oyster that dies after the pearl is removed. Oysters, which do not die after the pearl is extracted, produce what are referred to as "Biwa" pearls.
Pearls also come in many colours. The most popular colours are whites and creams. Silver, black, gold and pinks are also gaining interest.
A deep lustrous black pearl is one of the more rare finds in the pearl industry. Thus, they are expensive.
Imitation pearls are a different story altogether. In most cases, a glass bead is dipped into a solution made from fish scales. This coating is thin and may eventually wear off. One can usually tell an imitation by biting on it. Fake pearls glide across your teeth, while the layers of nacre on real pearls feel gritty.

Recently I had a chance to visit K G Hospital in Coimbatore. I was really impressed by the facility and services rendered by this esteemed institution. They have a good team of doctors and paramedical staff who takes care of the patients.

Dr. G. Bakthavathsalam is the man behind this institution who was awarded with Prestigious National Award, Padmashree. I had a chance to meet him and spend some time with him during my visit. I also saw the facilities available at K G Hospital.

They also have the first 128 slice CT Machine which is the first one in Asia.

K.G. Hospital offers 24-hour round-the-clock Ambulance services geared to meet any emergency – surgical or medical. K.G. Hospital runs a fleet of well-equipped ambulances including a Mobile Heart Brigade, Responder 2000. K.G. Hospital ambulances take care of the patient, right from the site of the accident, or illness, and make available to him/her, at his doorstep all the medical expertise and advances in healthcare technology

K G Hospital has wide range of services which includes Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, Eye Care. They are equipped with latest equipments to provide  better and advanced treatment.

K  G Eye Hospital does large number of free eye surgeries to poor people. They organize camps in villages and screen the people needing surgeries. They are brought to the Hospital and the surgery is done free of cost, providing them with food and accommodation and dropping them back to their village.

During Presidents Nasheed’s recent visit to India, India and Maldives had agreed in co-operation in Airlines service. Today I read a news stating that Kingfisher Airlines will be starting its service to Maldives.

Its really tough to get a ticket during peek seasons from Indian Airlines. This could give a relief to the travelers, especially the expatriates working in Maldives. Kingfisher is the leading Private Airlines in India.

Airtel has launched its service in Sri Lanka on the 12th of January 2009. Bharti Telecoms successful in India is now trying to establish their service in neighboring country. In Sri Lanka, Dialog was dominating the mobile services even though there are other small operators. To enter the market, Airtel has launched different packages. They need to target customers who already are using other services and even people who do not use mobile services. Airtel is one of the DTH service providers in India and may also launch this service in Sri Lanka in future. Airtel also has services like broadband which is very popular in India.

Cafegadgets is an online Gadgets shopping mall, from where you can buy almost all Gadgets like mobile phone, pen drives, MP3 players, digital cameras, almost all electronic products. The prices are better, and you get the product delivered at your home for free.

Top brands like Nokia, Sony Erricson, Casio, Apple, etc are listed here. This portal is initiated by Crazypricing eTail Private Limited. This portal has been growing since it has launched, reasons could be, better price, can be paid in 3 equal instalments, easy payment option by credit card, good customer service, etc. They offer best price because the products are sourced directly from the manufacturers. If companies like amazon, ebay can make it, why can’t this portal grow? I have not purchased anything from this portal yet, but I came to know about this portal from a television program which gave a very positive opinion of this portal.

I could find some testimonials on their website

Thanks for all your support and help… the response from your side was immediate and prolific. I am really impressed with the Customer Care of your organization and I wish the same be implemented throughout the Services industryof the country.

It was really nice talking to you. Will come back to you in case I face any other issues.

Bus service between Hulhumale’  and Hulhule, the Airport Island has started from 27th October 2008. Initially there will be hourly trips. This service is handled by the Maldives Airport Company . At present this service will be provided only provided to airport staff residing in Hulhumale and passengers from Hulhumale’ travelling to airport.

Right now two buses are operating and its a free service, but later from December, they will be charging MRF 15 for a trip and it takes about 15 minutes for the trip.

If you find your broadband connection speed not to your expectation, you can find the exact speed of your broadband connection and other information like the service provider details, compare your ISP with others around the world. You can find this broadband speed testing service at Speedtest

You can find your previous test results, Global stats and other useful information from this free service. You can also download the results in CSV format which is something very useful.

Indian Matrimonial industry is something growing good and we can find lots of new players coming up. Recently I saw a television ad of Simply marry website and other one was M4Marry.

Just thought of finding out the 10 most popular Indian Matrimonial Websites as per Google SERPs listing for Indian Matrimonial

1. Indian Matrimonials
2. Shaadi
3. JeevanSathi
4. Pyar
5. Matrimonials India
6. Bharath Matrimony
7. Life Partner India
8. India Matrimony
9. Mera Sathi
10.  Indian Matrimonial Network

Most of the sites charge for their services. I have never used any of these, but I find this method being used very widely in India. If you have used any of these services, your comments are welcome