Mission Accomplished

It was 11:30 when I finished going thru all the group mail. Lazily picked up the phone and called the PPF agent. She says she has to leave the post office before 12. I put down the phone and rush to the bank. Pull out the money. Saw Anup in the lift lobby, got him to drop me off at the PO on his bike. 11:50. Thanks buddy :) couldn’t have made it without you. I walk into the PO happy to find the agent waiting at the counter.

Transactions done, I walk to Claypot hoping to get an Onasadhya. No luck, shutters down. Walk to Suswadh. Onasadhya Ready. Stuffed myself with food. Even got a chance to explain Paal Ada to a German saipu who asked, "What is this?" raising the small disposable plastic cup like a glass of champagne. Some mallu techie had brought him and some madamas along. Angane oru Onam koodie kazhinju...

PS: Some PPF tips.
1. Deposit money thru a PPF agent. They will do all the paperwork and give you half of the 1% commission they get. At least they do here in Bangalore.
2. From the 6th year onwards you can withdraw some of the money from the account. Withdraw 70k and deposit it back again. You can now claim tax benefits under Section 80C for the 70k.
3. Put all your 70k in the account before April 5th if you can to maximize interest earned.
4. Start a PPF account early in life. That way you can withdraw it early too.
Don't wait for the taxman. If you are a 3 year old, get your dad to start an account for you. That way you will have enough cash to pay your way thru college by the time you are 18. Add to that a free high interest yielding tax free account for life without having to worry about lock in periods.
5. The government is free to revise the interest rate. So there is always a small amount of risk involved.