Celebrations
The question still lingers: Why is Diwali celebrated? From textbooks we know that Diwali is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman to Ayodhya at the end of their 14-year exile. What we probably don't know are the other explanations. It is said that Diwali is a tribute to Laxmi Devi's birth (which is why Laxmi Puja takes place). Diwali is also said to be the day Vaishya farmers celebrate their harvest season. The fourth explanation blends into Hindu mythology: Diwali is the day on which Krishna knocked out Narakasura. The best part about this website is the glossary.
http://www.diwali.com

Education & careers
In an attempt to popularise the concept of peer learning, Learning Universe Ltd has launched a portal site dedicated to education and careers targeted at students. The site offers highly-personalised training for all competitive exams. The key objective is to pick up students when they are 14 or 15 and getting serious about their future and stay with them right till their first job. The site would not be a paid site for the time being. Services on the site include online modules for IIT and medical entrances, career and personal counseling, counseling for students going abroad, chats and discussions and personal development options.
http://www.egurucool.com

Connecting Gujaratis
Indiancultureonline.com, the Rajkot-based pioneer of B2C site operating from Gujarat, has launched its third site in Gujarati called gurjari.net. Incorporation of bulletin boards, discussion forums, more customisation-especially with respect to regional focus-community forums, and classified ads are planned. The site changes the way people surf Gujarati content on the Net. No font download or plug-in download is required to view the contents. The use of cutting edge compression technology in imaging provides efficient downloading of images. Besides daily news updates, multimedia content, entertainment, science and astrology, online shopping and gifting services to all over India, free e-mail to snail mail services form a part of the services. Bal-geet, lagna-geet, dayro are some of the topics covered under multimedia gallery. Audio, video coverage also forms a major part of the portal. The site proposes to feature coverage of one special event every month. Some of the utility services like telephone directoryof Gujarat Telecom circle, STD codes, listing of Gujarati samajs and other such institutions are also listed.
www.indiancultureonline.com/gurjari

E-shopping
A new generation e-commerce-based internet super store has launched its first-ever online and ground store for branded electronic appliances, computer products besides a cyber cafe. Products can be ordered online and also purchased from the retail store. The website provides customers a virtual tour of the 10,000 sq.ft store. The company is also planning to set up kiosks for easy access of customers for ordering their products. Any credit or debit card can be used for purchases. After an order is made, the product will be delivered at the customer's doorstep against payment or collection of the credit card slip.
http://www.eshoppee.com

Liquor on the Web
Now Mumbaites have the choice of ordering for the `fizz' they want on the Net and get it delivered at their doorsteps. City-based Webodrome Information Technologies Ltd (WIT) has launched a website to cater to Mumbaites with an offer of delivering liquor or any other wares without shipping charges. Apart from shirts, T-shirts, furniture, gift articles, leather, video cassettes and audio CDs, computer systems and peripherals and electrical goods, the portal showcases liquor brands. The company has taken legal opinion on distribution of liqour and found that it is not illegal in any sense to offer it online till cyber laws clarify on the issue. Unlike other sites, the goodies are priced at discounted rates, and offers free delivery anywhere within Mumbai. The company also takes care of payment problem, which cannot be made electronically.
http://www.webostore.com

IT-JEE exams
If parents aren't sure of the preparedness level of their kids taking the IIT-JEE (junior entrance examination) 2000, they can now check it out at this new educational site. The portal enables real-time testing of the student's preparedness by administering about six different levels of self-assessment tests. It has about half-a-dozen model IIT-JEE exam papers to help students brace themselves up before facing the real test. The instant score-card that pops up on the completion of the test papers gives a clear indication of the student's skills. That's not all. If the student feels that he/she has to finetune in any area of the exam paper, they can get some valuable inputs from senior IIT professors using the chat mode on the site. This apart, the students can also shop for the book of their choice in the subjects of mathematics, chemistry, physics and engineering through the site. All this at no cost. The new testing site, launched by Chennai-based Southern Manpower IT Consultants, is a free-for-all site andcan be accessed by anyone for gratis.
http://www.testmine.com

(Our Bureau)