The Quiet Power of Listening

In a world that often rewards speaking up, the quiet art of listening is easily overlooked. But there’s a quiet strength in those who pause, lean in, and truly hear what others have to say.

Listening goes beyond simply being silent while someone else talks. It’s about being present — not planning your next response or glancing at your phone, but genuinely absorbing another person’s words, tone, and emotion. It’s one of the most powerful ways to show respect, build trust, and deepen human connection.

We all want to feel heard. Think about a time when someone really listened to you — not to fix, not to judge, but just to understand. It likely left a lasting impression. That’s because being heard makes us feel seen. It validates our experience.

Listening doesn’t require grand gestures. It starts with simple choices: putting down your phone, asking one more question, resisting the urge to interrupt. These small moments can carry immense weight.

In conversations — at work, at home, or with friends — it’s often the best listeners who earn the most trust. They don’t steal the spotlight, but they help others shine. And in doing so, they quietly lead.

In a noisy world, being a good listener is a rare kind of superpower. And the beautiful thing? It’s one we all have the capacity to cultivate.

Sometimes, the most impactful thing you can say is nothing at all — just listen.

Embracing Change

 Embracing Change

We aren’t meant to stay the same,

like rivers that refuse to still.

Life keeps nudging us forward,

asking us to bend, to spill.

A seed doesn’t cling to the soil—

it breaks, it aches, it grows.

What feels like loss at first

becomes the strength it shows.

We stumble, we rise, we wonder,

we shed the skins we’ve outgrown.

Every step, even the shaky ones,

shape the person we’ve always known.

So here’s to trusting the journey,

to welcoming what’s new—

change is not leaving ourselves behind,

it’s learning we’re becoming more true.

                                                                       -Sangeeta

Peace

 Peace 

Peace is the quiet whisper of the morning,

When the sun rises, soft and warming.

It’s the breath between words, calm and clear,

A pause that says, "You’re safe, come near." 

Peace is the hand that reaches in the dark,

The gentle touch that leaves its mark.

It’s the voice that listens, patient, kind,

And the understanding that frees the mind. 

It’s found in the laughter of children’s play,

In the silence of the night, where stars lay.

Peace is the place we can finally rest,

A feeling that we’re not just our best,

But whole—flawed, yet still enough. 

It’s in the spaces we make for each other,

The grace to forgive, to love one another.

A promise that hearts can heal and mend,

That we’re never truly alone in the end. 

Peace isn’t just an absence of war,

But a quiet knowing, something more.

It’s the hope that stirs, and the courage to stand,

For kindness, for justice, for a loving hand. 

It lives in the choices we make every day,

In the small acts of love, the words we say.

Peace, in its purest, humblest form,

Is the heart's quiet song, keeping us warm. 

It’s not a destination, but a way to be,

A space where you and I are truly free.

Peace—simple, yet deeply profound,

In every heartbeat, in every sound.

                                                                        -Sangeeta

Stock Market Indices

People often ask the question – How is the market doing? This interest in the broad market movement stems from the general observation that prices of most of the stocks tend to move together, a fact that has fairly strong empirical underpinning. The general movement of the market is typically measured by indices representing the entire market or important segments thereof. Most of the stock market indices used in practice are of three types.

Price–weighted Index: An index reflecting the sum of the prices of the sample shares in a certain year (or month or week or day) with reference to a base year. The price - weighted index assumes that the investor buys one share of each stock included in the index.
Equal–weighted Index: An index reflecting the simple arithmetic average of the price relatives of the sample shares in a certain year (or month or week or day) with reference to a base year. An equal – weighted index assumes that the investor invests an equal amount of money in each stock included in the index.
Value–weighted Index: An index reflecting the aggregate market capitalization of the sample shares in a certain year (or month or week or day) in relation to a base year. A value – weighted index assumes that the investor allocates money across various stocks included in the index in such a way that the weights assigned to various stocks are proportional to their market capitalization.

A number of stock market indices are constructed in India: RBI Share Price Index, BSE National Index, CMIE Index, CRISIL Index, BSE 200 Index, SENSEX, S&P CNX Nifty Index, etc. The more popular ones are described below.

Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index – Perhaps the most widely followed stock market index in India, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, popularly called the Sensex, reflects the movement of 30 sensitive shares from specified and non-specified groups. The index for any trading day reflects the aggregate market value of the sample of 30 shares on that day in relation to the average aggregate market value of these shares in the base year 1978-79. This means that this is a value-weighted index.

S&P CNX Nifty – Arguably the most rigorously constructed stock market index in India, the Nifty index reflects the price movement of 50 stocks selected on the basis of market cap and liquidity (impact cost). The base period selected for Nifty is the close of price on November 3, 1995, which marked the completion of one year of operation of NSE’s Capital Market Segment. The base value of the segment has been set at 1000. It is a value–weighted index.

The Economic Times Index of Ordinary Share Prices – On trading days, the Economic Times publishes the all-India index of ordinary share prices. The base year for this index is the financial year 1984-85, the sample used for this index consists of 72 actively traded shares, and the average employed in the construction of this index is a simple arithmetic average of price relatives. This means that this is an equal-weighted index.

The Financial Express Equity Index – Published by the Financial Express, this index has the calendar year 1979 as the base year, is based on 100 actively traded shares and employs a weighted arithmetic average of the price relatives of the share in the sample. This means that this is a value-weighted index.

Bombay Stock Exchange National Index – A broad-based index in comparison to the Sensex, the Bombay Stock Exchange National Index reflects the price movement of 100 actively traded shares drawn from specified and non-specified groups of the five major stock exchanges, namely Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Ahemdabad and Madras. The base year for this index is 1983 and it is calculated in a way identical to that of the Sensex. This too is a value-weighted index.

Japanese Candlesticks