An appeal to fellow Indians

I am appalled at the negativity that is doing the rounds - in the social media, the mainstream media, the polity, and yes, even in the judiciary.

A few educated souls are complaining about the long queues outside the banks and ATMs. About how they really care of human life, and how people have died because of this " draconian demonetization" move. A few "more" educated people have promptly pronounced this as a stupid move, while giving no solutions on better ways to handle the menace of countefeiting, terrorism and conversion funding,  and of course, black money.

This polemic of "long queues" , is empty space. Nothing more. These are painful times, for the common man. Make no mistake about it. Unfortunate, unavoidable. But collateral damage caused by years of condoning and, I dare say, abetting black money and corruption.

Almost all of us, including yours truly,  are guilty. Guilty of either looking the other way, when dishonest things were happening to us or around us. Or, sometimes even hide behind the excuse " but I am helpless, as an individual, to stop it, so I am going with it". Put your hand on your heart, and say openly that not once in your life have you come across a situation where bribery and black money have impacted your transactions, directly or indirectly, or whenever they did, you DID something about, other than meekly voicing your protest.

Let us admit it. People were, willy nilly, party to black money, corruption, and in some rare cases, involving directly or indirectly, in activities that may have harmed the nation in some way. You, me, and everyone who stands in those long queues today, and bemoans the " ordeals" of today's long queues.

Our conscience did not prick us then. But our legs hurt now, do they?

If we managed to duck our inner calling then, it is only fair that we put up with this pain now, however hard it may feel.

Time for us to make amends, folks. This government has decisively moved against the malaises affecting the economy. Until we get any indication to the contrary, we need to stand by the government's efforts to weed out these ills, however hard they may be. Think of today's pains as the Karma of condoning improper activities, now coming back to haunt us. Bear with it. Until the pain subsides.

And subside, it will. In the meantime, rather than resorting to empty rhetorics like " I knew this would fail", " look at the misery of the common man", " I declare this as a stupid move", " I declare this as a solemn failure", or throw empty statistics that carry no real meaning, you can do the following, if you have the wherewithal.

1. Volunteer work in the bank queues, to help people. To fill in forms. I inform people who are groping for information. To help bank staff in mundane work, wherever the management allows. I know some of my friends are already doing that.

2. Avoid hoarding of cash, more than what ie really necessary. The govt has clarified that there is no cash crunch or any run on the banks.

3. Stop spreading negative messages and jokes that are supposedly inteneded to lighten things up, but end up spreading negativity, and sow seeds of doubt, in the mind of the unsuspecting common man.

4. Progressively go plastic. And help others do that too, by sharing your views, and suggestions , on the benefits. To your vegetable vendor, your watchman, your driver... or whoever you think may need it.

If you think you cannot do any of that and maybe more, then the best you can do, is to stop whining. You did not dare to do anything about the wrongdoings going around you, then. You preferred to keep shut. Please continue with it now, as well. Let the government do it's job of cleansing.

My brand of Patriotism

Full throat, at the cricket stadium
Cheering my team India for a win
I wave the Tricolour in full fervour
Want India to triumph, through or thin.

Full throat, I shout at the Bank employee
Demanding that I get serviced instantly
I curse the government, in full fury
Can't status quo be restored, I ask insolently.

All pumped up, I stand in scorching sun
Waiting patiently for my turn at the box office
For Kabali, anything goes, anything can wait
Trudge in the serpentine queue, too, is sheer gait.

All charged up, I stand in the scorching sun
Waiting impatiently for my turn at the ATM
In TV, my show is starting now, nothing can wait
To hell with demonetization, get this straight.

Atop the Al Burj and Empire State Building
The tricolour beams in all glory, on Independence Day
My forty inches chest expands in no time, to fifty six
My patriotism hunger just got an instant fix.

The hapless bank employee toils away tirelessly
For him, the working day meanders endlessly
The man behind all this ordeal, has a chest of fifty six
Patriotism be damned, can no one make him a nix?



nix= a quantity of no importance

RaGa at an ATM

I join the serpentine queue
In Parliament House, for true
The lone ATM beckoned me there
Photo-opp was on offer, fair and square.

Two hours of artificial smile, and"clean Delhi Air"
Flashing cameras, waving hands, here and there
The day seemed way too long, to end
I need a Thai massage full, to make amend

As I guffawed in frustration, the end was nigh
I neared the ATM, with a deep relieving sigh
Inserted my card, keyed in my PIN
Hoping to end the day, with a win

But, pronto! Out came my ATM card
Suddenly something seemed seriously flawed
On the ATM , flashed a message, impromptu
"That PIN was your Swiss Bank Account, Buddhu!"

Delhi and Pollution

The Delhi Government, for once, has taken action on war-footing, to tackle the pollution threat, which now appears bigger than the dangers to Kejri's position from the Lt Governor.

In their press release, the Govt has listed 8 amazingly effective tools to tackle pollution. In their hurry to run and execute these actions on the ground, they may have forgotten to give the complete picture. I thought I should help them by adding these (imaginary) supplements to each action.


1. All Delhi schools will remain shut for the next 3 days.

       - It may be noted that children not going to the schools, but playing in the open for these three, will put them at lesser risk of pollution-related illnesses, as advised by the eminent research scholars of the JNU. It will also improve the children's body resistance automatically, so that they don't have to go through the Modi-imposed World Yoga Day next year.



2. For the next 5 days, no construction and demolition work will take place in Delhi.
      - The Government hereby decides that their policy of " no constructive work" , over the last one and half years, shall be extended to " no construction work". However, as for demolition work, it may be noted that terrorist groups shall be exempt, and can their regular demolition jobs with the same vigour as always, aided by the local media and liberals.


3. All diesel generator sets have been banned for the next 10 days, except at hospitals and in emergencies.

      - No gensets. And the Delhi Government is unable to provide uninterrupted power either, as always, because " Evil Modi" is the root cause. So, people should stop working ( in all forms), and instead consider breathing itself as work. This is the Delhi Government's way of "breathing life" into the Delhi economy, as advised by the eminent economist Dr. Amartya Sen. Dust up your dadi's wick lamps.


4. The Delhi government will supply power to unauthorized colonies which use diesel generators.

       - In that process, the Government shall ensure that authorized colonies will not get their quota of power. Tough luck, Lutyens' Delhi! The slums of Pahargunj and Sangam Vihar need it more.


5. The Badarpur power plant will be shut down for 10 days. There will be no fly ash transportation from the power plant.

       - All the fly ash will, instead be used to build a huge wall around the power plant and no one can see it anymore, so that later on, if someone says " the power plant is the culprit", the government can conveniently ask " where is the power plant? We don't see it. We get our power from our friendly neighbour Pakistan, since evil Modi has declined to provide power " .  " But we can see smoke billowing" ..  " well, have you not heard of there being no smoke without fire? This smoke is caused by fire, but not a power plant".


6. The Environment department will launch an app to monitor the burning of leaves.

       - The App will not cover the Jessica-Lal type burning of human bodies in restaurant chulas. 
   


7. Vacuum cleaning of roads will start from November 10.

       - Latest update is that the Government has decided to retain status quo, when ti comes to cleaning of roads. In other words, there will not be any cleaning, anyway.


8. Water sprinkling will start on all roads from tomorrow.
      - We will import the water from China, since evil neighbours Haryana and UP have declined to allow water to us. If that is not feasible, we will use the filthy water from the biggest gutter that is running across the city, called the Yamuna, to do the job. It does not matter if people die of asphyxiation from stench of the Yamuna. The pollution is more important than the stench and the epidemics.

P.S.:  

Once this emergency passes, the Delhi Government will resort to Business as usual. Which is :

1. Do nothing about anything.
2. Flood Twitter with messages of how the Lt. Governor. 
3. Step 1 above

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Air-pollution-Delhi-shuts-schools-bans-construction-work/articleshow/55273297.cms

Jokes on AG's quitting Times Now

1. Let us sit down, and make two minutes of noise of the highest decibel levels, as a mark of respect for AG. That is the best respect we can show him.
   
2. Now that AG has quit Time Now, A K Hangal can openly say it again, as he had done in "Sholay",  " Inta sannataa kyun hai bhai? "
   
3. Why did AG quit?  "The nation demands to know".
   
4. Don't keep jamming the TV remote, not knowing whether the TV is on mute or not. It is just that AG has moved on.
   
5. Clearly, the management of Times Now told him " Go, Swami!"

The legacy of Barrack Obama

The Amercians have chosen to zero in on two of the most consummate disasters, as presidential nominees. The arc-lights are firmly on these two. One day, it is Trump playing his xenophobic xylophone. The other day, it is the FBI on the trail of Hillary. In all this melee, one man stands in relative obscurity.

Barrack Obama is quietly leaving some indelible imprints of his legacy on American history. The jury is still out there, on whether the first ever "black" President has done more good , or more harm, to the USA, and, by deduction, to the rest of the world. Of course, when Barrack formally lays dow office, the customary bouquets and brick-bats will follow. But, I am convinced that what Obama has contributed ( or failed to), deserves a slightly deeper look, in the context of the state of the Nation, when he had taken over.

Cut back to 2008. The world was on the verge of Economic implosion. Wall Street had become Wail Street. The USA gave unsolicited lessons to the whole world , on hitherto unheard-of lexicon-  Sub-prime, Mortgage-Backed-Securities, Credit Default Swap, Collateralized Debt Obligation, Countrywide Finance, AIG, Citibank, Lehman Bros, Bear Stearns, Credit Rating Agencies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,  Shadow Banking System, Bail-outs et al. The spill-over of Wall Street into Main Street and on to the World Street, was vicious. Economic armageddon sounded it's evil laughter, from not far away. Obama had inherited a monster, created by a misguided US economic model and policies. And, had promised to fix them all.

He may not have quite fixed them all. After all, decades of decadence could not have been hoped to be reversed in one, or even, two terms. There have been quite a few gaps. On the Economic and social fronts. Things could have been much better. On creation of jobs,  inflation, credit control, investment climate etc. Better care for the black welfare than was promised, better trade relations with China and he rest of the world, better diplomatic effectiveness on world stage etc.

But then, things could have been much worse off, as well. For, the mess that Obama found himself in, an Economic whirlpool was threatening to suck the USA, and the world. It was not easy, by any stretch of imagination. The malignancy in the economy had regressed to stage IV.

In that backdrop,  it would not be an over-statement to say that Obama has pulled off "Mission Impossible".  The means that he and the US Fed have adopted to fix the deep rooted issues and the resultant melt-down, may be the topic of discussion in the hallowed classrooms of Harvard, the media and amongst Economists for the foreseeable future. But, the fact remains that Obama has clearly succeeded in stemming the rot. Not just that. He has managed to restore a semblance of order in the financial markets of the world. Something, that is absolutely critical for continued peace, from Fiji to Finland.

And he has not stopped there. He has managed to rein in inflation, reversed the trend of job losses to one of job creation in the US, and has ensured that the US Economy has grown at an average of 1.5% to 2% during his tenure.

This news below, is his "crowing glory". The last quarterly GDP report before he hangs up his boots. He surely goes out, on a high, in this regard.

Things may yet unravel later. For, what Obama has done may be nothing more than bravery of the valiant Dutch boy, who plugged a dike with his frail fingers, to prevent flooding of a whole town, one stormy night. Just as the Dutch government took steps to build stronger dikes and fortify the town further, subsequently, the successive US governments and Presidents have their work cut out on the Economic front, as much as on other areas like Diplomacy, Trade, and the World Order etc.

But, I am sure that Barrack will be back in Illinois with an outward sense of satisfaction of making sure that the world did not unravel at one of the most trying times in modern history.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/28/us-advance-q3-gdp.html

My own Samsung Galaxy Note 7 jokes

Ajit ( The Hindi movie villain of yore): " Mere paas bandookh hai, bamb hai, rocket-launcher hai... tumhaare paas kay hai?"

Amitabh Bacchan : "Mere paas Note 7 hai".

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Worker, to the supervisor, in the granite quarry: " Sir, sorry. We cannot break any more rocks. We have run out of gelatine sticks".

Supervisor : " Dont worry, I have a spare Note 7".

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two cave-men conversing:

1: " Oh man! Cant light up fire. We have run out of flint-stones."

2 : " Dont worry! I have a Note 7".

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Note 7 is the only device that is capable of authentic son-et-lumière (sound-and-light) shows

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ajit : "Raabart, iska pocket mein Note 7 daalkar udha do".

Robert : "Kyun boss?"

Ajit: " Usko 7 janam mere haaton hi marna hoga. Note kar lega, taaki bhool na jaaye"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan has succeeded in dividing the world vertically. The jury still appears to be out there, assessing on whether this honour to be bestowed on him is appropriate enough. Interesting, I do not know of any big news on when his name figured in the list of nominations for the Nobel prize in literature.

I do realize that Bob has zillions of fans across the world. I do not wish to offend their sensibilities. I am not here to pass a judgement on whether he is the right choice for this this year's award , or not. However, I wonder if the standards set by the Nobel prize committee have been altered over time, for whatever reasons. I hope I am wrong.

As a general observation, Nobel prize awards have turned increasingly farcical over the years. I find that people who should have been in the list, do not figure- as yet. And I find people whose candidature is debatable, to put it mildly, walk away with the purse.

While it is well known that the selection criteria are defined, I wonder whether the committee sometimes hides behind technicalities of selection, in order to announce or denounce an individual or a group. For example, I know that a thousand explanations have been given on why a certain Mohandas Karamchand was not awarded the peace prize, but it is hard to digest any of them. For, when one applies the simple yardstick of the impact the man had had on 300 million people ( then) and the destiny of a nation, one finds it hard to ignore suspicions of ulterior motives, camouflaging as technicalities. In the same breath, Barrack Obama himself had subtly wondered why he was awarded one, in the first place, in his acceptance speech.

Coming to Bob Dylan, while his lyrics and music may be very popular with the masses, the question arises - can his lyrics stand on their own as time-tested poetry? I suspect not. My grouse is not Bob getting one per se, but others like Somerset Maugham, Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell, Robert Frost, Arthur Miller etc were decided not worthy of the prize. The big question then is - is Bob Dylan worthy of the prize, ahead of these literary greats?  Note that I have included only one non-English writer in that list. The Nobel is biased heavily in favour of English literature. Hardly a few non-English writers are awarded. I accept that as a matter of fact, instead of whining. If I were to include the plethora of non-English writers, then the list would be mind-boggling.

Also, questions have been raised on whether poetry, however brilliantly crafted, amounts to pure literature. My response to that, is that whether we like it or not, precedence has already been set, in the form of T S Eliot and our own Tagore, for Nobel prize in literature.

So, what is next? Chetan Bhagat being awarded the Grammy Awards?  ;) ;)

2008 CRISIS

Sub-prime, Mortgage-Backed-Securities, Credit Default Swap, Collateralized Debt Obligation, Countrywide Finance, AIG, Citibank, Lehman Bros, Bear Stearns, Credit Rating Agencies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,  Shadow Banking System, Bail-outs....


OMG!!!!!   PLEASE PINCH ME!!!

Where is Oil headed?

I look at the prognosis for oil from two very different sources, for the long term:

1. Baltic Dry Index. When I look at the long term chart for this, http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/BDIY:IND , it is in a secular decline. In fact it is topping at the next level of resistance, meaning this will go down further ( purely technical view)

2. Stock Prices of OIL SERVICE PROVIDERS like Transocean (RIG) and Sclumberger (SLB). RIG' charts are languishing, long term, and the company continues to flouder in delivering OPERATIONAL profits. SLB is better positioned, chartwise, but again , has not gone anywhere.                      

Why are these important to me?

Baltic Dry is the key indicator of economic activity ( aka , a parallel for chinese production/ consumption engine) . When this starts stirring, expect an uptick in chinese oil consumption, leading to speculation in oil prices.

Oil Service companies do well operationally when rigging activity goes full steam. And that happens ahead of time. For example when oil companies feel that oil prices are headed north in 3 to 5 years' time, they start the prospecting now. The dumber amongst them do a catch up much later only to miss the bus and burn their fingers.

So, when RIG or SLB start delivering operationally , it means that demand for oil is being expected to increase.

I know these are highly counter-intuitive yardsticks, but this is what I follow.

Having said that, two factors at play, will decide oil prices, going forward.

1. There is an OPEC meeting in Nov, where it is widely expectd that they would announce production cuts. the reason for that is, with oil at close to 50 bucks now to the barrel, the OPEC members now have crossed the critical threshold, I believe, where they can afford to cut oil production and yet manage their fiscal balance with reduced receipts from oil sales. That cut in turn , will raise the oil price further, leading to better even better bargaining chips for OPEC. This is a vortex effect.

2. Any Geopolitical indicent of 9/11 magnitude.

Currently the biggest factor working AGAINST any real demand uptick for oil is the continuing slump of the Chinese economy, where it is widely expected that it would take years before the excess capacities created are absorbed and fresh capacities are added.                         Hanjin bankruptcy: Are South Korea's 'chaebols' in crisis? - BBC NewsThree of South Korea's biggest conglomerates, or chaebols, are having difficulties at the moment: Samsung, Lotte and Hanjin Shipping. Is there a connection?

 http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37295185

The bankruptcy of Koean shipmaker Hanjin is noteworthy... blamed purely on slowdown in global trade ( read: much lesser shipments of mines and ores from Australia and other places into China).

Need more proof? Here it is. One of the largest shipbuilders in China has slumped, by the own admission of Xinhua, China's mouthpiece

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/30/c_135645633.htm                      

Bottomline, I have reason to believe that it is possible to rig up the price of oil to 55 to 60 a barrel. Anything can happen. But the fundamentals in terms of demand and supply do not support any sustained oil price rise - at least not yet.

Again, the price of oil is rigged by hedge funds, and the public seldom gets know how much open positions they hold- especially on the SELL side  ;)

Insensitive pseudo-intellectuals

You are my neighbour. We are in bonhomie, because both of us love music and other fine arts. But there is no love lost between your brothers, and mine. To the point of going into each other's house, and indulging in brutal assault. To the point of losing lives.

In that situation, what are we expected to do? Stop interacting with each other until the violence and instigations stop? Or continue to play Mahjong, and pretend as if nothing happened?

Cut the chase. The latter is exactly what the communists of the country want. And a few in Lutyens' Delhi, and the media sharks want.

They want that we go and " talk to Pak". They insist that we should continue to extend our 56" shoulders in warm embraces, to the artists from ISISthan.

These armchair intellectuals want to continue to sip red wine, and extend red carpets to the men in green. While our jawan bretheren shed red blood over the Parvat.

Makes me wonder - do they even have any feeling for their own jawans being killed by these marauders? Do they even realise that the brothers of these artists are the ones who target our defense establishments and civilian gatherings, and kill our brothers at will? Do they even realize that here are some people, who sign up to brave the sweltering heat of the Thar , and cryogenic Siachen, just to protect them, so that they can sit in Airconditioned rooms of Delhi and Mumbai peacefully, and wax eloquent about tolerance? Or are they actually saying " I , the high tax-payer, have bought you, Mr. jawan, using my tax money. So, you better go out there and die, while I enjoy the film and music by the brothers of these terrorists. You are a mere coolie, my servant who is destined to die in the hands of Paki terrorists, not a fellow national who does the supreme sacrifice for my welfare".

How lower can Lutyens' Delhi get? How much more can Sitaram Yechuri stoop?
Disgusting.

खुदा भी खुदा नहीं रहा

हमारे अफसाने  में  कुछ सादा नहीं रहा - मगर 
वक़्त के साथ बिछड़ गये, और वह वादा नहीं रहा।
बेकार में अश्कों का दामन मत बनाओ, सनम
इस दिल-ए -मायूस में अब वह इरादा नहीं रहा ।

बुज़ुरगों  की दुआएँ अब नाकाम रह गए हैं
अब मुझमें जीने का उन्स ज़्यादा नहीं रहा।

होटों पे जाम लगने से पहले नशा चढ़ गया है
यूँ लगता है, मैखाने का रास्ता सीधा नहीं रहा।

नींद खोकर रात की तलाश रात में भी करता हूँ
यूँ लगता है, दिन में अब आधा नहीं रहा।

तक़दीर का तमाशा कहूँ, या खुदा की बेबसी
बस, मेरे लिये  अब खुदा भी खुदा नहीं रहा।

Thumb Impressions

I don't accept that we have improved our lives at all.

My great grand father used his thumb impression in all documentation.

I use mine on my mobile.... where is the development? ;)

The shocker in Uri

It took more than 12 hours for CNN to make a passing mention in their international edition ( so did BBC), about the terrorist attck in Uri, where more than 17 Indian soldiers were killed.

For those of us, who are anxious to flash " we stand by Paris" or " we are with Sydney" memes and change of FB profile pics to reflect those sentiments, this is yet another reminder, that while you and I think that human lives, at least outside our borders, are the same, the western world clearly does not think so. Clearly, for them, some are more equal than the others.

Let us continue on our path of generosity. Generosity manifested in those profile picture changes, to express solidarity with the West. Generosity that goes to show our "secular" credentials, before anyone else can ( hey, how else can one show off his erudite upbringing, or his intellectual moorings?) . Generosity, that extends well beyond extending token solidarities with the West, and right into the hands of those terrorists that repeatedly alternate between our left and right cheeks, delivery surgical slaps, the latest being Uri.

We have no one else, but ourselves, to blame. The vertebral column of the nation has been systematically dismantled, the day Nehru signed the Panchsheel accord. Indira Gandhi fortified that notion when she raided right into the enemy territory, captured it, only to pussy-foot later. And not mention the successive congress governments , whose economic messiah PM kept releasing statements that we will take strict action against perpetrators, every time an act of terrorism happened in this very soil, but did precious little else. And this NDA government, I am afraid, is treading down the same garden path, decorated by encomia on it's lawns, but with no real action. Almost six months into the Pathankot fiasco, and no action has been taken.

It is hardly surprising the the western media could not care less for terrorist attacks on India. No one takes notice of nations that insist on projecting themselves as weak-kneed. Neither the Western governments, nor their media. And for that matter, not even our own people. For, come tomorrow, wreaths will be placed on the martyrs, a few rabble-rousing speeches will be made from the ramparts of the Red Fort. And the nation will invariably slip back to indifference.
We seem to take no real pride in our jawans. Those lives lost, defending the border, clearly, appear to mean nothing special.

Until we learn to put a premium on the the lives lost, defending the nation, blood will continue to flow in the border. And callousness will continue.

God bless this brainwashed billion.

Mandolin Srinivas - two years on

On 19th Sep, two years ago, Mandolin Srinivas stopped providing divine music to earthly mortals. Perhaps God wanted him to do the same in the the heavens. 

Back in the 80s, I was representing SPIC-MACAY in my college, and had met him a few times over, at his house, in connection with programs in my college and elsewhere. I found him an extremely humble human being, soft spoken, with a lot of respect for elders, and an infectious, child-like enthusiasm for music, which lasted till his very last breath. When he played, the music simply flowed out of his hands. He took the listener to hitherto unknown depths of music, something that only geniuses can do.

I miss your divine music, Srinivas. Waiting for your successor in the music field, here on earth, while you entertain the Gods up there.

Page Industries

Probably around 6 years ago or so ( don't remember exactly when), I had entered this stock at a "lofty" price of about 2550 or so. What I was skeptical about, was not the price ( I don't get intimidated by the price of one stock) but the rather high P/E that the stock was asking for. I was skeptical, that for an underwear company, a P/E of about 40 was " not comfortable" ( pun intended). Bought just 10 shares, thinking " I will buy more when the prices crash to 200( stupid me!)"
That 200 never came. 2550 has become 15000 now, over this period. I have stayed on, kicking myself that I should have bought more then. Hindsight wisdom is always dis-heartening, you see! But that is not the point.

What made me pick the stock? The brand name Jockey, though not very big then, seemed to strike a chord. I had observed that the company was positioning it nicely, to tap into the youth market. Immediately, I guessed that this could mean premium pricing, and increased profits, as long as the product quality was good. I told myself " P/E 40 looks scary, but I am prepared to lose 20000 rupess on this horse if required, if this turns out be a fad".

Turns out to be anything but a fad. The brand is ubiquitous, in all urban centres, and tier 2 cities. It is amply evident that "mind share" of the customer is big, for Jockey. There are other brands like Rupa, Lovable etc, that are listed, and are doing OK- but not as dominant as Page, at least going by the numbers and the consistent growth, quarter on quarter.

They started off with underwear. Then comfortably expanded into lingerie. And then extended the brand into simple tees. And have gone on, into socks. What next?

I did not know much about the management then. I do not know much about it even now. Not that I care, in this case, for, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Jockey is a dominant brand. From the looks of it, it will remain so for some more time. The company, to me, clearly have got their marketing act together very well. Their product positioning is spot-on, and pricing continues to be premium.
In hindsight, Page Ind has been a great buy for me. I am staying on.


PS: I have not given any numbers to back my above statements, since I am sharing my experience, and not recommending it per se.
If one wants to enter, it is not too late even now. Nibble during dips - after doing your homework.

Sinus trouble

A cool, steady stream of air
Brushes my nostrils, cool and nice
As I slowly wake up, from dream state
To reality - hospital to hospice.

My febrile body wouldn't breathe on it's own
So, they had apparently augmented it
With the life gas - on demand
To save life, to save a wit.

A life, that once roamed callously
Caring not, for life and it's thrills
Not appreciating the good things
While they lasted, still full of frills.

A life, that soon witnessed
Morphing of  life's facets.
Gains became irritants and challenges,
Pleasure soon gave way to pain.

Much like the one near my nostrils now.
The cool air from the tube
Was good for starters, and
Gave the much needed lube.

But soon, the coolness of the air
Turned to torment, all of my sinus,
My fragile nostril lining
Burned of oxygen, of dryness.

I now realize, how lucky I was
To have breathed freely, like a bull
Without this contraption on my nostril
To have had freedom, and enjoy it in full.

I now realize that, after all,
Sustained and enriched goodness
Is not always welcome- too much
Of anything can lead to duress.

I now long to breathe normally
To catch the fragrance of jasmine
In the cool evening fields,
May goodness again be forever mine.

Dress maketh a man

I am used to wearing my Veshti (dhoti) for Vedic chantings that we do regularly at the temple, and elsewhere.  Not the usual casual way, but as Panchakacham ( 5 yards), that traditional form of wearing , that is disappearing faster than the MLAs of AAP. You can safely consider me as one of those "shameless morons" , who does not bat an eyelid, walking out in Panchakacham on the roads of Singapore, and in buses. (How dare I!)

Today being a Sunday, we had Suryanamaskara Mantram chantings at a friend's place. I got up late, as usual, and rushed in my hastily clad panchakacham. I  must admit I do a decent job of it, in less than 2 minutes, no mean achievement, if you know what I mean. Most of us men, who venture into Panchakacham, will appreciate the nuances involved in wearing one. The proportions to the right and left of the fabric have to be right. And on top of it, even if you know how to wear one, the pleats will have to be laid out as meticulously as in wearing a saree, otherwise, the zari tends to get hidden away, and you could easily end up looking like an elephant who has entered a circus tent by mistake!

Back to today morning. I hopped on to a taxi, and rushed to complete what I had set out - which is, some exhilarating moments of divine Vedic chanting. As soon as I was done, I decided something that I have never done - to ride the Metro ( MRT), for my return trip back home. Just for the heck of it. I wanted to see people's reactions, on spotting " the odd one out" on the rails. Call it my own curiosity, or my answer to Arvind Kejriwal's attention grabbing antics, or what have you.

I was not disappointed. The local people scanned me from head to toe. Though none uttered a word, I could see the reactions in their eyes. Ranging from curiosity to amusement. For the fellow Indian riders, as expected, reactions ranged from happiness for some oldies ( their eyes seem to say " wow! Here comes a guy who dares to flaunt our tradition in public!"), to amusement, to sheer indignation (" desi ka izzat uthaarne aaya hai saala!"- which essentially means " he is out to discredit Indians, by wearing such outdated dresses in public. What a Shame!"). Some even looked at me as if I was a creature from another planet! An ET in a Panchakacham, as it were. ;)

I had wanted it just this way. A quiet but perverse enjoyment of the situation was running inside me. I wanted to be the cynosure, right or wrong, and I had clearly succeeded.

I stepped out of the train, and started walking in the hot sun. The kind of feeling that a Panchakacham gives, has to be felt. The only portion where you realize that there is a piece of clothing on you, is the waist. Below that, you would end up feeling as if there is no cloth on you at all. I mean, it gets as cool as that - quite literally. The more I wear, the more I realize how right our ancestors were, with the Panchakacham, at a time there were no ACs or fans to cool the body. Panchakacham, to me, is the perfect answer to keeping the body airy and ventilated, in the hot Indian summers. At this point, I am tempted to add " I guess it feels the same when the ladies wear the madisaar", but I am mindful of the " how do you know? Have you ever worn a madisaar? Do you have any idea of the difficulties we ladies face when wearing one?" type of torrential rantings, so I am staying away from that.

As I ambled towards home, an elderly couple walked passed me. The man must have been at least a couple of decades elder to me. But as he neared me, he folded his hands in a Namaste posture, and greeted me " Namaskaram, Panthulugaaru!"   In Telugu, that means " salutations, Panditji!". I smiled back at him with a return "Namaste!", and got back home, before the sun could get the better of me.

Wow! In an instant, I had been "elevated" to a Pandtiji! I know very clearly in my mind, that I am not one. Nor do I deserve that respect, matter-of-factly. However, today's escapade reminded me of some time-tested tenets:

1. As the proverb goes,  " ஆள் பாதி , ஆடை பாதி".  Dress maketh a man. Whether one likes it or not, the first impression of the individual gets formed from the form factor, and that includes the dress.
2. It is very easy to misjudge people by prejudices arising from the dress that they wear. It is easy to misplace respect and adulation on people, merely because of their dress. In the same manner, it is easy to ignore, condemn or deride "ill-dressed" people. The worst scoundrel can be dressed nicely in a suit. (Or even in a Panchakacham!). Conversely, a gem of a person can be hidden in a simple kurta or cotton saree from Khadi. In either cases, the wrong opinion and prejudice can be formed in no time, merely based on external appearance. And the dress one wears, contributes. In a big way. And that includes the Panchakacham.  

Photo: courtesy, the Internet

Olympics and India

For the last couple of decades, for the nation, the Olympics have been an exercise in despair. A quadrennial quagmire for a billion souls. TV and media regularly drum up the mood into a crescendo,  only to end in a whimper, come closing ceremony.  Life then quietly gets back to normal - to cricket, that is. Deja vu.

Sindhu and Sakshi have, however, brought new brio to Rio. These girls have managed to avoid the white-wash blushes of the billion. They have salvaged some of the pride that the people like Shobha De had stomped upon.

Talking of Shobe De, shame on her! For her to have come down heavily upon the athletes, smacks of arrogance and frivolity. These athletes have put in more than their best foot forward, under extremely trying circumstances. A case in point - without any help or assistance from the government, Sindhu, now the badminton heroine of India,  travelled 56 km one way, every day, to practice, and her coach Gopichand has vouched that she has not been late even on a single day, for practice. This shows the fire in the belly, and the commitment, and above all, that burning urge to do excel, for the sake of herself and for a nation of eternal hopefuls. Many of the athletes have done much more than was expected, given that total lack of any infrastructure in any corner of the country that could have possibily fostered an atmosphere of competitive athletics. If there is anything to be condemned, it is the apathy of the successive governments, the callousness of the sport ministry and sports body officials, and rampant corruption that has been derailing any attempts to improve our lot in the tracks ( and fields).  Instead of targeting these maladies, Shobha had chosen to train her guns on the hapless athletes. Totally unbecoming of a senior socialite.

For a nation that goes overboard to produce engineers and doctors, and generally scorns at any attempt to encourage any sports zeal in our sons and daughters, the games will go on. The show will go on. We Indians drown ourselves in movies and cricket, to forget our harsh everyday realities. In such a situation, the five rings will continue to be elusive.


 

Devdutt, sorry, you are totally wrong

Uma, I did not want to waste time responding to what I feel is balderdash. I somehow I gathered myself to put a response. I am surprised how people rush in to misinterpret things so very easily, in the name of "thinking differently". Here are only a few pointers. I can talk about this for hours.Sorry, a rather long response.

I agree with Devdutt when he says " feminists assume that monastic faiths espouse non violence and are generally pacifist, and therefore are more feminist in approach". He is right in pointing to facts that are contrary to that assumption. The best live examples that I can think of are the Asian Countries of Japan, Korea and China, where Buddhism is the overwhelming faith, and perhaps no other country can be more male dominated that these societies.

I disagree with him when he says hermits gave rise to three ideas - celibacy, non-violence and purity. Hermits of yore, those who wrote the Upanishads, like Yagnyavalka, Kashyapa, Gautama etc... were all married, had progenies and yet were detached from wordly pleasures for most part of their lives. Hinduism does not lay down anything in strict. One can go directly from Brahmacharya to Sanyasa. Or one can go through the 4 varnashramas to reach sanayasa. Our history is full of both examples. I this his narrow view emnates from comparing with theological religions. Hinduism, in reality, is way to flexible, to be straight-jacketed into one line fo thinking. However, it is a different matter that some practitioners, over the times, have hijacked people's notions on these, and made them believe that there are only certain ways to do them. Again, many of these hermits fought with evil forces which had interrupted their duties as hermits. Examples are Vishwamitra, Parasurama, etc...

I also think his analysis of women alone being seen as temptations, is faulty. In Kamba Ramayanam, Kambar says " for a man, his demeanour, character etc... needs control.... for a woman, her eyes need control". The reason? Traditionally, Hinduism has always placed the well-being of the family, and by extension, the society, in the hands of the lady. For a man to go astray, a woman's mere gaze is ( normally) sufficient. Men have very little self-control in this matter, and this is pure animal behaviour. It is the woman who normally has much better self control in this matter, and the moment she loses it, the family loses out, and by extension, the society. Hence the puranic emphasis on male celibacy. Devdutt, in my opinion, is misinterpreting this whole thing. Talk of male celibacy does not denigrate the woman in any way. Quite the contrary. In my eyes, it places women on a pedastal reserved solely for them. For, women, by nature, tended to have a lot more self-restraint, and thereby controlled the societal values. Perverted MacCaulay system of education interpreted it as subjugation of women, which is totally wrong. It is not that women dont get "those" feelings of breaking the shackles, or go lawless, like most men do. It is just that nature has gifted them with much better self control. Some western societies of today, where women try to "compete" with men in recklessness, have paid for, with their overall family and societal environments destroyed. People have started living purely for themselves, instead of for a family or for the larger society. One may argue that in the race to keep self-control, women lost out many things, including their own happiness. My argument on that is that happiness is a conditioned state of mind. It can come from anywhere. If you are conditioned to think that happiness comes only from doing "reckless" things, or " being free", then anything else will be unacceptable. If you conditioned to think that happiness comes from living for the others, most notably your family, and if in that process you lose things like personal space and freedom, then that is where you feel the happiness. Devdutt's arguments unfortunately reflect the former thought process, and to me, that is trying to judge the Indian system through a Western prism.

By the way, it is not only women who are portrayed as objects of desire. Men have also been equally portrayed as objects of desire. Vishwamitra was an object of desire for Menaka ( even if for a brief while only). Amba, Ambika and Ambalika were after one man, a hermit, by the name of Dwaipayana. Sukhracharya's daughter lusted for a man, so madly, that she insisted on marrying him and her dad had to relent. Shiva was an object of desire for Meenakshi, who penanced to get married to him. When I say " object of desire" it does not necessarily have to be sexual in nature. I am willing to argue it out with anyone who says that the Gopikas' attraction to Krishna was purely platonic. There is a bit of Kama in that too... not in a deragatory sense, but purely by looking at Krishna as the only man - Purusha ( the rest of men and women mortals are considered women only, in that context, according to the scriptures).

Devdutt talks rubbish when he insinuates the Gita as a book incites violence , when he says " ....that some academicians argue this is Brahminical gobbledygook to justify violence.". Nothing is more absurd. If you need any more proof, look no further than a Russian Court ruling, responding to a plea 2 years ago, to ban the Gita on the grounds of inciting violence, clearly ruled that it is a totally wrong interpretation of the holy book, and dismissed that petition. Pls do a Google search if interested to read more about that case.

"Vegetarianism was meant to liberate the hermit from nature and culture. " This statement again shows his ignorance. It has got nothing to do with liberation from nature. Vegetarinsiam as a way of life , it is scientifically proven, enhances the DNA, and over generations, produces far superior progency. I challenge Devdutt to dispute this. That is why vengtarianism was prefered to being non-veg. Also, Hinduism, as a way of life, was against killing any. Even plants and trees were revered. There was a prescribed way ot eating vegetables and fruits. For example, the concept of Unchavrithi. Today, Unchavrithi is celebrated as a "function" of singing in the streets and earning alms. But that was not how things originated. Unchavriti was a custom where people ate only THOSE rice grains which were incapable of growing. ("broken rice"). Similarly with fruits. People never plucked fruits first off, but waited for them to fall off the trees, the natural way. In Tamil Nadu, we call maa, palaa and vaazhai as " mukkani" ( THE three fruits). Why? What is so special about these fruits? The speciality is that The mango and jackfruits, even after eating , left those seeds intact, and even if you dicard them in the open, will germinate. Banana does not need the fruit, to procreate. So, we really respected nature and the right to life, those good old days when the scriptures were written. Ahimsa was part of this, and Devdutt cannot deny that. It is a different matter that over time, things got perverted by people who interpreted them.

His funniest nonsense, in my opinion, is reserved for "purity". What the hell does he say? Is he saying that drinking, smoking, having unfettered sex etc is civil right, and that everyone HAS to accept them??? Nonsense. He argues that purification demands lead to untouchabiility. This is nothing but perverted thinking. Let me aska simple question. If the body does NOT need purification, then firstly why take bath, or have medicine when one falls sick? Furthermore, let me challenge Devdutt, or anyone who claims that demand for purity leads to untouchability. If that is really true, why did the western societies spend billions of dollars on eradicating leprosy? Let me pose a simple question. Let there be a Justin Bieber music show today, in a stadium packed with 10000 people. All dancing away happily. Let a leper walk in, and join the crowds in dancing just as happily. Let me see how many of them embrace him physically, happiliy!!!!!!! Utter crap.... Devdutt.... I expected had better concepts from you.... maybe you wrote this article in your sleep.

http://scroll.in/article/813618/how-celibacy-non-violence-and-purity-work-to-establish-patriarchy-in-india

கம்ப காதை கேட்பீர்!

சின்ன  வயதில் வானொலியில், காரைக்குடி கம்பன் விழாவின் ஒரு நேரடி ஒலிபரப்பில் கேட்டு ரசித்த ஒரு குறுங்கதையை இங்கு பகிர்கின்றேன்.

கம்பனுக்குக் தான் கவிப்பேரரசன்  என்கிற செருக்கு எப்போதுமே உண்டு. அவன் ஆண்டவன் தவிர யாருக்கும்  வணங்காதவன் . ஒரு முறை சோழ மன்னன் எவ்வளவு விண்ணப்பித்தும் மன்னனைப் புகழ்ந்து பாட மறுத்து விட்டான். தவிரவும், அவையில் மன்னன் பிரவேசிக்கும்போது எல்லோரும் மரியாதை நிமித்தம் எழுவது வழக்கம்- கம்பனைத் தவிர. இது மன்னனுக்கு பெரும் மன உளைச்சலைத் தந்தது. மன்னனால் மெல்லவும் முடியவில்லை, விழுங்கவும் முடியவில்லை. ஊண் உறக்கம் இன்றித் தவித்தான். இராணியால் இதை நிவர்த்தி செய்ய முடியவில்லை, ஆதலால் பொன்னி என்கின்ற மன்னனுக்குப் பிரியமான ஒரு தாசியை அழைத்து விஷயத்தைச் சொன்னாள். பொன்னியோ, " என்னிடம் விட்டு விடுங்கள், நான் பார்த்துக்கொள்கிறேன்" என்று சொல்லிவிட்டு, மன்னனிடம் சென்று " நாதா, கம்பனை எப்படி வழிக்கு கொண்டு வர வேண்டும் என்று எனக்குத் தெரியும். நீங்கள் நிம்மதியாக உண்டு ஓய்வெடுங்கள்", என்று சொல்லி விட்டு கம்பனை வீழ்த்த ஆயத்தமானாள்.

ஒரு நாள் கம்பன் கண்ணில் படும்படி அவள் வீதியில் வேண்டுமென்றே கீழே விழா, கம்பன் ஓடி வந்து அவளுக்கு உதவ, பொன்னி கம்பனைக் கடைக்கண் பார்வையால் கவர்ந்திட்டாள். கம்பனும் பொன்னியுடன் பொழுதை இனிது கழித்தான். பின்னர் அகம் மகிழ்ந்து " பொன்னி, நான் உன்னை மிகவும் மெச்சினேன் , உனக்கு ஏதாவது தர வேண்டும்போல் தோன்றுகிறது . என்ன வேண்டும், கேள்!" என்றான்.

பொன்னியோ ஒரு விஷமப் புன்வுருவலுடன் " எனக்கு வேறொன்றும் வேண்டாம். ஒரு ஓலையில் "தாசி பொன்னிக்கு கம்பன் அடிமை" என எழுதித்தாருங்கள்!" என்றாள். கம்பனும் அவ்வாறே செய்தான்.

மன்னனுக்கோ பெரு மகிழ்ச்சி. கம்பன் இனி தன் பாட்டுக்கு ஆடித்தான் ஆகவேண்டும் என்று கணக்கிட்டான். மறுநாள் அவை கூடியது. வழக்கம்போல் மன்னன் பிரவேசிக்க, எல்லோரும் எழ - கம்பன் மட்டும் ஒன்றுமே நடக்காததுபோல அமர்ந்திருந்தான். மன்னனுக்கோ சினம் சிரத்துக்கு ஏறியது. தாசியை கூப்பிட்டு அந்த ஓலையை படிக்குமாறு கட்டளையிட்டான்.

" தாசி பொன்னிக்கு கம்பன் அடிமை" என்கிற வாசகம் அவையில் ஆரவாரம் எழுப்பியது. எல்லோரும் திடுக்கிட்டனர். மன்னனோ கோபம் கொண்டு " கம்பனே , இது என்ன அசிங்கம்! இவ்வளவு பெரிய கவிஞர், ஆண்டவன் தவிர வேறு எவரையுமே பாக்களில் புனையாதவர், ஒரு தாசிக்கு அடிமையா?" எனக் கொக்கரித்தான்.

கம்பனோ, ஒன்றுமே நடக்காதது போல வெற்றிலையை மடித்து வாயிலிட்டுக்கொண்டான். ஒரு மந்திரி, ராஜாவிடம் காக்கை பிடிக்க எண்ணி, அந்த ஓலையை கம்பனிடம் காட்டி " இந்த கையெழுத்து உங்களுடையதுதானே?" என வினவ, கம்பம் " ஆம்! அதற்க்கென்ன?" என்றான், வெற்றிலையை மென்றுகொண்டே. மந்திரியோ " இப்படி பகிரங்கமாகப் பிரகடனப் படுத்த, உங்களுக்கு வெட்கமாய் இல்லையா?" எனக் கேட்டான்.

கம்பனோ சிரித்துக்கொண்டே , " இதில் வெட்கப்பட என்ன இருக்கிறது? உள்ளதைத்தானே உரைத்துள்ளேன்?" எனச் செப்பினான்.

" தாசி பொன்னிக்கு நீங்கள் அடிமையா?" என மறுபடியும் கேட்க , கம்பனும் ஆம் என உறுதி செய்ய , எல்லோருக்கும் கம்பனை கோபமுடன் பார்க்க, கம்பனோ, அவசரப்படாமல் வெற்றிலையை மென்று விழுங்கிவிட்டுத் தொண்டையைக் கனைத்துக்கொண்டு மெதுவாக  சொன்னான்: " மன்னா, தமிழ் மிகவும் நுணுக்கமான மொழி. நன்கு கவனியுங்கள். நான் உள்ளதைத்தான் எழுதிக் கொடுத்துள்ளேன். தமிழில் "தாசி" என்பதற்கு  " எல்லோரும் விரும்பத்தக்க" என்கிற பொருளும் உண்டு. "பொன்னி" என்பது கலைமகளுக்கு இன்னுமொறு பெயர். ஆக ,  " எல்லோரும் விரும்பத்தக்க சரஸ்வதிக்கு கம்பன் அடிமை" என்றுதான் எழுதித்தந்துள்ளேன் . இதில் என்ன தவறு கண்டார்கள்?" என எதிர்க் கேள்வி கேட்க, அவை முழுவதும் நிசப்தம் நிலவியது!!

தமிழின் இலக்கிய நயம் வட மொழியான சமஸ்க்ருதத்திற்குச் சமமானது. ஒவ்வொரு சொல்லுக்கும் பல அர்த்தங்கள் உண்டு. இந்த இலக்கிய நயத்தையும் ஆழத்தையும் அனுபவித்து மகிழ நிறைய கேட்க, படிக்க வேண்டும். கம்ப நயமே இவ்வளவு என்றால் , மற்ற நூல்களையும் காப்பியங்களையும் என் சொல்ல?

என் பார்வையில், இன்று தமிழ் மிகவும் நலிந்துவிட்டது. பள்ளியிலும் கல்லூரியிலும் தமிழ் பயின்ற தலைமுறையே தமிழைத் தவிர்க்கிறது. பின்னே, இந்த புதிய தலைமுறையை பழித்துப் புண்ணியமில்லைதான்.

வடமொழியும் வெள்ளையன் மொழியும் வாய் நுணியில் விளையாடுகின்றன. தப்பில்லைதான். பிழைப்புக்காகத் தேவைதான். ஆனால் உங்கள் முன்னே செந்தமிழ் என்னும் சொத்து சுவைக்க, சிறப்பிக்கக் காத்திருக்கிறது. முடியும்போதெல்லாம் தமிழில்த் திளையுங்கள். வார்த்தைகளின் வர்ணஜாலத்தை ரசியுங்கள்.

கம்ப காதை கேட்பீர்!

சின்ன  வயதில் வானொலியில், காரைக்குடி கம்பன் விழாவின் ஒரு நேரடி ஒலிபரப்பில் கேட்டு ரசித்த ஒரு குறுங்கதையை இங்கு பகிர்கின்றேன்.

கம்பனுக்குக் தான் கவிப்பேரரசன்  என்கிற செருக்கு எப்போதுமே உண்டு. அவன் ஆண்டவன் தவிர யாருக்கும்  வணங்காதவன் . ஒரு முறை சோழ மன்னன் எவ்வளவு விண்ணப்பித்தும் மன்னனைப் புகழ்ந்து பாட மறுத்து விட்டான். தவிரவும், அவையில் மன்னன் பிரவேசிக்கும்போது எல்லோரும் மரியாதை நிமித்தம் எழுவது வழக்கம்- கம்பனைத் தவிர. இது மன்னனுக்கு பெரும் மன உளைச்சலைத் தந்தது. மன்னனால் மெல்லவும் முடியவில்லை, விழுங்கவும் முடியவில்லை. ஊண் உறக்கம் இன்றித் தவித்தான். இராணியால் இதை நிவர்த்தி செய்ய முடியவில்லை, ஆதலால் பொன்னி என்கின்ற மன்னனுக்குப் பிரியமான ஒரு தாசியை அழைத்து விஷயத்தைச் சொன்னாள். பொன்னியோ, " என்னிடம் விட்டு விடுங்கள், நான் பார்த்துக்கொள்கிறேன்" என்று சொல்லிவிட்டு, மன்னனிடம் சென்று " நாதா, கம்பனை எப்படி வழிக்கு கொண்டு வர வேண்டும் என்று எனக்குத் தெரியும். நீங்கள் நிம்மதியாக உண்டு ஓய்வெடுங்கள்", என்று சொல்லி விட்டு கம்பனை வீழ்த்த ஆயத்தமானாள்.

ஒரு நாள் கம்பன் கண்ணில் படும்படி அவள் வீதியில் வேண்டுமென்றே கீழே விழா, கம்பன் ஓடி வந்து அவளுக்கு உதவ, பொன்னி கம்பனைக் கடைக்கண் பார்வையால் கவர்ந்திட்டாள். கம்பனும் பொன்னியுடன் பொழுதை இனிது கழித்தான். பின்னர் அகம் மகிழ்ந்து " பொன்னி, நான் உன்னை மிகவும் மெச்சினேன் , உனக்கு ஏதாவது தர வேண்டும்போல் தோன்றுகிறது . என்ன வேண்டும், கேள்!" என்றான்.

பொன்னியோ ஒரு விஷமப் புன்வுருவலுடன் " எனக்கு வேறொன்றும் வேண்டாம். ஒரு ஓலையில் "தாசி பொன்னிக்கு கம்பன் அடிமை" என எழுதித்தாருங்கள்!" என்றாள். கம்பனும் அவ்வாறே செய்தான்.

மன்னனுக்கோ பெரு மகிழ்ச்சி. கம்பன் இனி தன் பாட்டுக்கு ஆடித்தான் ஆகவேண்டும் என்று கணக்கிட்டான். மறுநாள் அவை கூடியது. வழக்கம்போல் மன்னன் பிரவேசிக்க, எல்லோரும் எழ - கம்பன் மட்டும் ஒன்றுமே நடக்காததுபோல அமர்ந்திருந்தான். மன்னனுக்கோ சினம் சிரத்துக்கு ஏறியது. தாசியை கூப்பிட்டு அந்த ஓலையை படிக்குமாறு கட்டளையிட்டான்.

" தாசி பொன்னிக்கு கம்பன் அடிமை" என்கிற வாசகம் அவையில் ஆரவாரம் எழுப்பியது. எல்லோரும் திடுக்கிட்டனர். மன்னனோ கோபம் கொண்டு " கம்பனே , இது என்ன அசிங்கம்! இவ்வளவு பெரிய கவிஞர், ஆண்டவன் தவிர வேறு எவரையுமே பாக்களில் புனையாதவர், ஒரு தாசிக்கு அடிமையா?" எனக் கொக்கரித்தான்.

கம்பனோ, ஒன்றுமே நடக்காதது போல வெற்றிலையை மடித்து வாயிலிட்டுக்கொண்டான். ஒரு மந்திரி, ராஜாவிடம் காக்கை பிடிக்க எண்ணி, அந்த ஓலையை கம்பனிடம் காட்டி " இந்த கையெழுத்து உங்களுடையதுதானே?" என வினவ, கம்பம் " ஆம்! அதற்க்கென்ன?" என்றான், வெற்றிலையை மென்றுகொண்டே. மந்திரியோ " இப்படி பகிரங்கமாகப் பிரகடனப் படுத்த, உங்களுக்கு வெட்கமாய் இல்லையா?" எனக் கேட்டான்.

கம்பனோ சிரித்துக்கொண்டே , " இதில் வெட்கப்பட என்ன இருக்கிறது? உள்ளதைத்தானே உரைத்துள்ளேன்?" எனச் செப்பினான்.

" தாசி பொன்னிக்கு நீங்கள் அடிமையா?" என மறுபடியும் கேட்க , கம்பனும் ஆம் என உறுதி செய்ய , எல்லோருக்கும் கம்பனை கோபமுடன் பார்க்க, கம்பனோ, அவசரப்படாமல் வெற்றிலையை மென்று விழுங்கிவிட்டுத் தொண்டையைக் கனைத்துக்கொண்டு மெதுவாக  சொன்னான்: " மன்னா, தமிழ் மிகவும் நுணுக்கமான மொழி. நன்கு கவனியுங்கள். நான் உள்ளதைத்தான் எழுதிக் கொடுத்துள்ளேன். தமிழில் "தாசி" என்பதற்கு  " எல்லோரும் விரும்பத்தக்க" என்கிற பொருளும் உண்டு. "பொன்னி" என்பது கலைமகளுக்கு இன்னுமொறு பெயர். ஆக ,  " எல்லோரும் விரும்பத்தக்க சரஸ்வதிக்கு கம்பன் அடிமை" என்றுதான் எழுதித்தந்துள்ளேன் . இதில் என்ன தவறு கண்டார்கள்?" என எதிர்க் கேள்வி கேட்க, அவை முழுவதும் நிசப்தம் நிலவியது!!

தமிழின் இலக்கிய நயம் வட மொழியான சமஸ்க்ருதத்திற்குச் சமமானது. ஒவ்வொரு சொல்லுக்கும் பல அர்த்தங்கள் உண்டு. இந்த இலக்கிய நயத்தையும் ஆழத்தையும் அனுபவித்து மகிழ நிறைய கேட்க, படிக்க வேண்டும். கம்ப நயமே இவ்வளவு என்றால் , மற்ற நூல்களையும் காப்பியங்களையும் என் சொல்ல?

என் பார்வையில், இன்று தமிழ் மிகவும் நலிந்துவிட்டது. பள்ளியிலும் கல்லூரியிலும் தமிழ் பயின்ற தலைமுறையே தமிழைத் தவிர்க்கிறது. பின்னே, இந்த புதிய தலைமுறையை பழித்துப் புண்ணியமில்லைதான்.

வடமொழியும் வெள்ளையன் மொழியும் வாய் நுணியில் விளையாடுகின்றன. தப்பில்லைதான். பிழைப்புக்காகத் தேவைதான். ஆனால் உங்கள் முன்னே செந்தமிழ் என்னும் சொத்து சுவைக்க, சிறப்பிக்கக் காத்திருக்கிறது. முடியும்போதெல்லாம் தமிழில்த் திளையுங்கள். வார்த்தைகளின் வர்ணஜாலத்தை ரசியுங்கள்.

The Nifty - where is it headed? Aug 2016

About 6 months back, I had called out that the markets could be on the way down, and my target was 6800. If it were to have broken down then 5500 could have been hit effortlessly.

Sure enough, the mkt went down to 6850 or so, but then has bounced back very strongly, from those critical support levels, and has been hitting 52-wk high , of late.

I am sure those of you who had stayed in the mkt or had trade for the short term, would have made great money in this period.

Where is the mkt headed from now on? Let us look at a few big factors:

1. Monsoon has done well so far. Reasonable good. As long as it does not flood the whole country, we should be in for record kharif harvest. Pulses remain a problem and will take long term mesaures to fix. So, with a decent monsoon season, the first worry is out of the way. Rural consumption should be decent enough.

2. Inflation continues to be well under control, and so, expect interest rates not to rise, for the next 3 to 6 months. This means, there will be enough interest from DIIs in the stock mkt.

3. Rupee is stable. Also, growth in other mkts has practically shut off. While Brazil mkt has risen spectularly ( much more than the Indian rally) , riding on the Olympics, their fundamentals continue to be shaky. China will take some time to digest their excess investments and clean up the balance sheets of their banks. So, there is hardly any interest there. The other mkts are practically going nowhere. Plus, money at near-zero interest rates is available in many developed markets, and if the exchange rate can eb held stable, then expect decent inflows from the, These factors, put together, will keep the FII interest in the Indian markets.

4. One potential risk is that historically, the election year in the USA has been a disaster for their stock mkts, and by deduction, the global stock mkts. If that happens , India wont be spared, either. But for that to happen, there is need for a trigger - economic , political or geopolitical. Until then chances are that the markets will rather go up than down.

5.Valuation-wise, based on 2016-17 earnings, the Indian markets are already into bubble territory in terms of valuation, with forward PE of more than 24 ( historical at 18-20) . But with liquidity governing the mkts now, I wont be surprised if the mkt goes up to a PE of even 30- until some geopolitical event pricks the balloon.

For long term investors, none of this should matter, as long as they are invested in long term stocks. Would I add to my positions now? No, I will wait for the mkt to correct.

For traders, I think in the absence of any " event", mkts are headed higher for the short term, until the balloon bursts. Stock specific traders could turn out to be sexy for the punters.

Kabali Mania(c)

The social media is full of people with different reactions to this crescendo called Kabali. Let us look at a few types of people in the social media, in the context of release of this game-changer movie, and their instant reactions online:

1. The " me first" types - anxious to post a selfie from the cinema, with a cone ice-cream in hand, real-time. The ultimate display of oneupmanship. That smirk in the face would say - "Hey, I climbed Mt. Kabali without oxygen! Before you. I am always great!" For them, first-day-first-show is a status symbol.
2.  The "my review first" types - equally anxious to post the news of their "Kabalidom" . Masquerading as film critic, writing a few incoherent lines that are supposed to be a full review, but ending up with only one nett message - that same " I SAW KABALI BEFORE YOU".
3. The " I-wish-I-were-first" types - the ones who scoff at the mad rush for the ticket to heaven- er, to Kalabi- and tweet " I ain't in a hurry. There is no need for this hype. Will do the honours later". In reality, they may well be cursing either their luck for not badge that badge of honour in time, or their plain incapacitation to do that.
4. The "I-went-too-but-wasn't-worth" types - usually pontificate the futility of such mad rush, and try and portray as if they were rather unemotional in watching the movie this soon, but in reality, were equally anxious to be seen with the early birds.
5. The " I-was-there-but-the-movie-was-a-total-waste" types . These are people who, in reality, easily fall prey to hypes around movies, and are suckers for first day first shows, but try to deliberately play down the quality of the movie, for sheer fear of being seen as protoganist of a low-grade movie. Their "I-am-THE-intellectual" badge will never permit any open admission of being a Rajini fan. In other words, they secretly drool at the prospect of a Rajini potboiler, but the mask on their face would read " I am really level-headed, you see?"
6. The " I-will-never-be-there" types. The ones, whose "intellectual" tag will not ever permit admitting their craving for this same deluge, will stay away for some time, but then, at some point will quietly give in, queue up, pay up and surreptitiously watch the movie nevertheless.
7. The " I-dont-care" types . They will never yield to temptation,  unlike Adam to the apple. Will wait patiently for 6 months at the minimum, and watch on TV or Deepavali or Pongal day. And then vociferously perform a critical review of the movie - at a time when the rest of the Janta would have had moved on to at least two more new release hypes.
8. The "I-will-be-there-but-at-no-cost" types. Some of them will not wait , and would happily buy either a screenshot video from a theatre, at Rs.50 on the roadside, or watch the same trash copy on "tamillotus.com", and with red eyes, type away fast and furiously, their view of the movie. The other "tech savvy" will wait for a good DVD rip on torrent, and often wont betray their stealth mode of watching.
9. And then there are those few Tamilians, who clearly feel embarrassed calling themselves Tamil, and would anxiously proclaim " chee! I seldom watch Tamil movies! Only Hollywood or Bollywood movies, you see!"
   
   So, which of these categories do you belong to?

YOU DECIDE

YOU DECIDE
==========

Raghuram Rajan's exit as RBI Guv is creating more soundwaves than even Dadri or Kanhaiya!!  All along, he has been hailed as a rockstar Governor.  And his "resignation letter" to RBI employees has apparently signalled Armageddon. The media and a few learned men are calling the end of the Indian Economy, already! The Indian media is now breaking into a dirge, something not seen even when Sachin Tendulkar retired! And even (!) Western media houses like CNBC are carrying this as their weekend headline news. The market pundits are already seeing daggers being pulled out from the sheaths, in anticipation of a bloodbath in Dalal Street.

So, how much of this is truth? How much is hype? Is it as black-and-white as it appears to be? Let us look at a few aspects. And then YOU DECIDE.

First things first. RR took over the helm of RBI at a time when the Indian Economy was in doldrums. Everything that had to go wrong, had indeed gone wrong. Every economic parameter was out of range. Inflation, credit, current account deficit, moribund Public Sector Banks(PSB)- you name them all. Let us look at RR's performance in these three years on some of these key parameters.

Inflation: Undoubtedly, a feather in the cap of RR for taming the official inflation figures.  Some pundits argue that during a good part of his tenure, global oil prices had crashed, and that made it very easy for them. Partly true. Global oil prices indeed helped. But then, dont forget the fact that India has gone through two consecutive years of drought. Inflation management, against a backdrop of parched lands, farmer suicides and hoarding by middlemen was never going to be easy. But RR stuck to his task like a missionary, and delivered on inflation.

There are enough naysayers who scoff at this and say " oh, BS!! Look at the prices of tomatoes and pulses in my street-corner kirana store. What low inflation?". This missive is usually directed at Modi, not on RR!! So, you give the credits to RR, and make Modi the punchbag!! Great, keep it, naysayers! For, you were the ones who complained the same, when previous governments occasionally reported low inflation figures occasionally.

But what these naysayers do not realize is the importance of official inflation figures. If you are a student of macro-economics, you will realize that inflation is one of the key parameters that go into deciding the credit rating of a country. A stable rating is only possible with low inflation figures. And a good credit rating means that the government and companies can borrow at much better interest rates in the international financial markets, than otherwise. So, what RR has achieved is the maintaining of the platform of lower borrowing rates, inspite of the adverse economic situation. This will definitely help over the longer term, as long as his successor does not end up with a U-turn.

The other area that RR has achieved big is forcing the banks to declare their doubtful debts, and getting them to provide for non-performing assets (NPAs). For those of us novices, a Vijay Mallya borrowing from a consortium of banks without proper collateral ( during the previous regimes), and not returning the money borrowed, would lead to NPA in the balance sheets of these banks.  Jaitley and RR have worked together to provide for a corpus for recapitalization of the PSBs ( more money may be needed for this in the next budget), and, along with provisions for NPAs that would ultimately clean up the balance sheets of these PSBs ( and some private bank like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank etc) have paved the way for better health of the banks, and the economy in future. Contrast this will the trillions of dollars of unrecoverable debts in the balance sheets of Chinese Banks, and the time bomb they are sitting on due to this, and you will appreciate the profound effect of this aspect of banking reform.

In addition, current account deficit is down to less than 1% and if it continues, perhaps for the first ever time in India's history, we may end up having a current account surplus.

So, is RR all goodness and with no misses? Let us see.

RR reformed banks' balance sheets alright. He ultimately reduced interest rates ( after much haggling between the govt and the RBI) , but RR has failed to pressurize the banks to pass on the benefits of lower Repo rates ( the rate at which banks can borrow form RBI), to the consumer - retail as well as institutional. Top marginal borrowing rates of Corporate has hardly moved. And if you, as individual have an EMI obligation for a home loan, you would have observed that inspite of the repo rates going down by as much as 1.5% over the last year, your home EMI rates have dropped only by 0.5% on an average. The banks have been pocketing the delta, and you are left wondering " where is the Acche Din?" ;)

Secondly, lending by banks has hardly gone up. Credit growth is one of the key drivers of economic growth in Keynesian Economics that all capitalist countries follow, and sadly, credit off-take has failed to take off.  Yes, part of the reason is the excess capacity that was created in the previous cycle of economic boom, and needs time to get absorbed before more investments can follow, coupled with rapidly slowing global economy. But then RR's hawkish stance on inflation control has made sure that banks are now loathe to lend more. This has ensured that the economy is not growing as fast as it is really capable of.

Thirdly, in spite of RR's rockstar status, the FDI inflows, though growing, have not been as big as expected - at least not as yet. Maybe they will pick up as the global economy picks up. And this will be the joint responsibility of RBI's policies and the government's ability to provide an investor-friendly environment. Maybe those vested interests from abroad, who were rooting for his second innings, had been waiting for even more sops.

So, should RR have continued, or is this the right decision to let somebody else take over? I am basing my arguments purely on his performance s RBI governor, and am choosing to ignore all his unwarranted rantings of " intolerance", " India is a one-eyed wonder" etc...   nor his alleged soft corner to P Chidambaram leading to a lot of bad blood on the Kathik Chidambaram saga. I will not venture into them, but will evaluate RR purely based the government's priorities and his performance thus far.

Let us take the big picture. Remember, Modi had come to power on the promise of Governance, creation of jobs, and laying the platform for a strong and sustainable economy that will ultimately make India a Global economic leader. It is amply evident that, notwithstanding his track record on Inflation and other achievements, RR's strategy of low inflation at the cost of muted economic growth, is clearly at loggerheads with the very mandate of the people on which Modi had rode to power - namely, a clear mandate for better economic growth and job creation. To me, it is clear that RR is not going to help this cause, even in his second term. Hence, the government is now forced move on, and try out someone else who can turn things around on the growth front. The message thus to RR clearly is - you did a great job, now time for India to move on.

Now, I am assuming that RR's "resignation" is with the explicit approval of the government. So far, I have not seen any response from Jaitley or any other government official, and things may yet pan out in favour of a return of RR. But I see very slim chances of that.

So then, will his successor make it any better for the Government's economic priorities? Only time will tell, but, to me, the time has come to make a move-on. To shift gears to a faster growth, even if inflation climbs back a bit. For, Modi surely would not want to be in a situation in 2 years' time before the next election, where he has to sheepishly defend a low growth rate, just because the RBI guv had ordained so. Modi's stakes, and the nation's stakes are higher than the rockstar cult that RR has managed to create.

So, what does this "REXIT" mean to you? If you are a stock trader or investor, then this week, will see dips due to the emotional factor. Use that to BUY BUY BUY - at least for short term gains. I am dead sure that beyond a few empty noises, nothing is going to change on the ground, and next week it may well back back to business. After all, the Indian Economy is not as fickle as it is being made out to be, as if it depends solely on the charisma of this rockstar Governmor of the RBI.


In the meanwhile, that million dollar question - should he, or should he not?

YOU DECIDE.  :)

News Reporting techniques of today

News reporting techniques of today =========================== I chanced upon this very objective " news report" from Reuters today. I felt it was exceedingly fair. So fair, that it would have made Manuneedhi Chozan proud. (see this story of him in http://shortstories.co.in/manuneedhi-cholan/) The article is so objective, that it has dragged even Modi's personal religious faith into this Court judgement news. And has mentioned dime a dozen times the fact that Modi was CM of Gujarat when 2002 happened, how he practically managed to become PM even with hands " stained in blood" (notwithstanding a 2013 SC judgement that had completely absolved him of any complicity), and how he had dodged the US establishment, that watchdog of world peace and justice, into giving him a US visa etc etc... Very objective reporting, indeed. I then imagined how Reuters may well have reported the Orlando incident, with a president with allegedly Islamic connections, in charge, just along the lines of this "Modi" coverage. After all, unfounded rumours and conspiracy theories have been circulating in the media for years now, on this. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_religion_conspiracy_theories) So, I let my imagination run riot. What if this gory incident were to be given a coloured twist, and drag Obama needlessly into it? It may well look like this" " A Muslim gunman, today, mercilessly gunned down 50 innocent people in a gay bar in Orlando. The shootout has shaken the nation, and got over before it started. The Muslim gunman was shot down in an ambush, by the patriotic police. The gay people, whose interests lie only in enlarging the circling of friends ( pun not intended ;) ) , had quietly gathered on a weekend evening, to make further inroads into their objective ( again, pun not intended ;) ) when they were attacked by the lone Muslim gunman. Though not proven, it is widely believed that his hatred for gays may have been the cause of this gory shooting of innocent christian gays. There is a section of the American people who believe that President Barack Obama may be surreptitiously practising Islam, though an online survey done in 2012 showed that only 17% of the people believed so. However, it may be recollected that Obama has openly declared that he is a practicing Christian, to scotch the rumours. It may also be recollected that Obama was a member of the Illinois senate from the 13th District when 9/11 had happened. Many people still accuse him of failing to stop the senate from functioning, in protest, in spite of 9/11. Some even suspect his rumoured religious affiliation to be the cause of this failure, notwithstanding his public pronouncements to the contrary. Obama has subsequently gone on the become the President of the USA, but the shadow of 9/11 still looms on his political career. It may also be recollected that Obama had won the Nobel Peace prize in 2009, though he himself had mentioned in his acceptance speech that he was not so sure on why he got it". https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-acceptance-nobel-peace-prize PS: This is purely imaginary and in jest. It is intended to portray the unlikely picture of Obama being needlessly dragged into controversies along the lines of what is happening to Modi, and not intended to hurt anyone's feelings.

Paris's gain is Orlando's loss

The gunshots have died. The shooter has died too. And with him, more than 50 innocent citizens of the USA. But in this gory process, the boredom of choosing between the Devil and the Deep Sea, in the US elections, has been relegated to the back-seat now. The media has got a new life, as it were, with this sensational news. And I am sure primetime TRP ratings are bound to go up. In the USA, and elsewhere. Orlando, that SunShine State , home to more than a dozen theme parks, has herself become the theme of the month.

The media is doing their job. Of drum-beating a disaster into sensational news. Of course, Western media is, like ( well, almost) all other  media elsewhere, is biased. They spare no efforts to turn the arclights, when blood of whites is shed on the roads. Rightly so. But then, when more than 200 innocent school kids in Rawalpindi, Pakistan are killed by similar terrorists, they " get on with it", after a brief mention. Or when thousands are killed by the LTTE, it fails to find even a passing mention in their headlines. Mumbai 26/11 was in the news for sometime, because a handful of Jews unfortunately caught in the crossfire- quite literally. But for those Jews, and the White guests staying the Taj Hotel, Mumbai 26/11 too would have been buried deep in the middle pages of Western media news. Much like the grave of Mumtaz lying in the underground of the Taj.  And as far as terrorism in Burkina Faso is concerned... hang on! Where is it in the map?

I can understand the vested interests of the media and the Western Governments. But what I can't fathom is the one upmanship of our so-called "intellectuals". FB has already been flooded with "I condemn Orlando killings" messages.

I find it concerning that their one upmanship borders on anxiety disorder. An anxiety to show the world that they care for lost innocent lives. " I will be looked down upon by the intellegentia, so let me hurry, before anyone else does", seems to be the driver.  What I still don't see yet, is the flag of Florida donning the FB profile pics of these intellectual beings. Mark Zuckerberg had made a brilliant business move of getting that feature of the French flag to "watermark" on one's FB profile pic. That was his business, and he perhaps had made a few more billions, riding on the anxiety disorder of this intelligentia. But it does appear that Paris's gain, this time, has been Orlando's loss. 

These intellectuals clearly don't care about any news of terrorist attacks that are " not popular" in the circuit. The London Bombings, or Madrid train attack evoke the strongest and most spontaneous outbursts. But there is hardly a whimper, when Naga rebels kill innocent villagers. Ask these intelligentia what the acronym LTTE stands for. And don't be surprised at the blank stare. Or, for that matter, the lives of those innocent Somalis and Ethiopians killed by carpet bombing by American Air Force, in the name of decimating Chemical weapons, that ended up unleashing unseen levels of misery on an already impoverished nations. Those thousands of innocent civilians, surely, are children of lesser Gods, as far as Western media is concerned.  I can understand that. But what about these so called learned intellectuals? Where is their conscience when such attacks happen elsewhere?

Make no mistake. I condemn any killing of human life. Whether it is Orlando, or Oslo. Whether it is Spain or Maine. The terrorist who attacked Orlando clearly had religious motive, since he attacked a Gay Bar. He may or may not agree with LGBTs, but they have a right to live, as much as he does, and he has no business to do what he did. 

But then to be selective in condemnation? Succinctly biased in Solidarity? I would not do it. 

Shame on you, my dear "intellectuals". If our response is " I can choose which incident to react to. I do not have to react to every human killing on planet earth. My focus is only on those that will give me the political mileage amongst my peers", then it exposes who you are. Or, if you say " I can only react to news that is sensationalized, and not to the other news that get buried in the last pages", then you clearly do not belong to the intellectual cadre. So, stop pretending to be one.

Either stand up and be counted for all atrocities that take human lives away by force. Or stop exposing your hypocrisy caused by anxiety disorder. Stop stepping over human misery in order to show-case your intellectual and liberal credentials.