Life : Race with a marble on a spoon

Speech by Chetan Bhagat (Founder of CRISIL) at Symbiosis

Don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced
means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable
if your mind is full of tensions.

"Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no
point coming first. Same is with life where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your
life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die. ……………….

One thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. Life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are
like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need
to get so worked up? …………….

It's ok, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, little fights with your
spouse. We are people, not programmed devices..... ...." :)

Start your day with a smile

42 crore crown for God, Mr Reddy !! Are you crazy !

Just about a day ago, I read a story about the Karnataka tourism Minister Mr Gali Janardhan Reddy is donating a crown worth 42 crores to Balaji. Something did not seem right to me. I tried reading a little more detail about Mr. Minister.

I am not a atheist. But I fail to understand Mr Reddy, 42 crore crown for God ? What is it worth for ? To me its a pile of precious metal sitting in some secure locker in a bank . For people who do not know, Mr Reddy is a mining baron in Bellary, one of the poorest place in India. The reality is people in Bellary do not have enough money to make both ends meet. Children work in mines. No school. Not enough drinking water for everyone. These are the very people who elected (though I am not convinced, he was actually elected) Mr Reddy to the assembly. And he in turn donanted the 42 crore crown to the God. And Mr Reddy believes God actually made him the MLA.

In detail, the crown is made up of 32 kg of pure gold, 70,000 diamonds weighing 4000 carats, and a 890 carat African imported emerald. In contrast I am wondering, how many crores Mr Reddy had donated to any hospital which treats the very people who get hurt in his mines and get treatment in a hospital ? Has he ever imported some life saving drugs for the very people who actually toil in his mines to make on an average of $2 per day for a 5 member family to feed. Let alone get treatment. Let alone sending their children to schools.

What a blatant scathing display of superficial devotion to God who actually have never understood the pain of people from his own constituency. Haven't we learnt anything from the greatest philanthropists like Mr John D Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Warren Buffet, William Robert Gates Jr ? People from foreign countries donate money to control AIDS, treat malaria, construct schools in India. And so called our very democratically elected rulers donate a pile of precious metals to temples. Are we are boasting of roughly 50% of our population being in their 30s or 40s and have at least a bachelors degree to their credit. NASSCOM boasts itself being the foremost organization of the India's flagship IT supremacy in the world. The world regards India as a fastest growing economy in south east Asia.

I believe it would be fair to say, we have not grown with this culture of giving. How many of our celebrities actually involve themselves in a humanitarian activity ? Shahrukh Khan and Mr Bachchan are super stars because the average rickshaw puller in a poor dirty potholed city sheels out atleast 10 rupees to buy a cinema ticket to boost the overall box office collection of the so called superstars. But I never heard Mr Bachchan or Mr Khan donating some money to any hospital or any NGO for that matter. I am not saying its only the Bachchans or the king khan.

The Ambanis, the Premjis, the Mittals are continuously in the Forbes list of most wealthy billionaires. Apart from occasional charities, I have not heard them doing anything for the country. Instead the Ambanis build "international schools" for the richie riches of Mumbai. How many schools they have built for people who can not afford to send their kinds to govt funded schools because they don't want let go the daily wage of the child worker who feed the big family.
Mr Mittal flys his guests to a french castle for his daughters wedding, treats them to imported wines, imports flowers from Thailand for the decoration, but how many malaria vaccines he has supplied to the poor in India. Doesn't it sound embarrassing to call himself an celebrated Indian in front of the world ?

Mr Reddy, Mr Carnegie or Mr Rockefeller were also religious. They would have had probably built a gold coated church for Jesus if they had wanted to. But instead, they donated there entire wealth to the human cause. And rightly so Bill Gates and Warren Buffets have committed all , yes all of their wealth to human cause. Sure, we Indians boast of a rich history, rich cultural heritage. Sure, we claim education started in Nalanda and we invented the Zero. Sure we did. But we still lack in the education of loving a human being. We can donate 42 crores to a temple, but we fail to pay the right wage to the workers who spend their entire life making us rich.

I understand, corruption is everywhere. Greed is human nature. Show off is the other side of man's pride. But are we forgetting we are humans after all? The most intelligent species on earth. Are we forgetting, 45% of Indians still make under $1 per day and can not pay for a decent meal every day ? Are we forgetting a large number of our children can not afford school even today when we are announcing to the world that our GDP grows at 9% per year?

Mr Reddy, I believe you have the common sense to understand that you have just donated the 32kg Gold to the God who already holds tonnes of Gold in HIS locker which to my opinion does not even save one life and saves one children childhood. However, the donation surely gave you a place in history as the highest donor to the temple. But you should know, 42 crore would have actually opened a couple of schools, feed thousand hungry stomachs, saved some lives from AIDS and malaria. That would have been the right donation. That would have made you the real devotee in front of God.

I still have hope that we will learn from lives of Baba Amte and the like and someday understand the true worth of being a human being after all.

The CEC who is going out !

I dont know Mr G Gopalaswami. There is nothing you can find about him in the Internet. There is nothing good you could find in the Indian national news papers. The Times of India never ran any story on his work in the CEC or before. Not a single national newspaper in fact ran any story on his achievements in CEC or before. However, I see him as another TN Seshan who has been taken out before he could do any damage to any vested interest of our old vile politicians and particularly the Congress party. Before we go into this discussion, let me tell you, I am affiliated to any political party or any political establishment. That noway means I am not interested in politics. I am as interested as any young educated and old uneducated Indian would be. I am very much interested in politics. I was really enthusiastic in the last general election when a lot of Harvard, Oxford, IIT/IIM educated people jumped into the fray. I agree they did have good intentions. Everyone was looking towards a fast developing India and was a part of it. What happened to the Jindal, the Pilot, the Deora ?? Well, they became one of the run-of-the-mill politician listening to their parents or political mentors and see and only see how they benefit. Part of the blame goes to them and part of the all of the blame goes to the so called political mentors. But I have not lost hope. If Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav can think about the country and do something which has been appreciated all over the world, then I am sure, India will see the day. For sure.. 

Coming back to the Mr Gopalaswamy story we were discussing. We all sensible people know how the national establishments like the CBI, the CEC, the other improtant cabinet positions has been politicized. Its not new that these positions are politicized. They always were. But this time, the so generous Mrs Sonia Gandhi ( I really do not like she calls herself as Gandhi !!) has even politicized the post of the President of India. She connived to replace Mr Kalam who was much more eligible for the ultimate position than the Mrs Patil . (No offence, but I am not able to control my anger). So now, when Mr Gopalaswamy spoke against the establishment and tried to reveal the wrong doings of the Govt, he was thrown out like the Mr Seshan, Mr Kalam and so many others who have met the same fate. Now the puppet CEC who is a slave of the congress party will serve as the CEC and he will be rewarded for his allegiance for his loyalty for Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Shame Mr Chawla. You are much more efficient than the loyal Gandhians. Do something which you promised to do when you joined the elite group of administrators. 

Although, I never objected to Mrs Sonia Gandhi being in active politics in India and never questioned her so called foreign-ness, I am in two-minds now. What does she want ; Really !!. Where is she leading the country ? Is she even eligible to lead ? No doubt she is the president of the Congress party. Make no mistake , the very people who brought her in and the people like the Mr Mukherjee and Mr Singh and so on. The very people who never won an election and have been in the helm of affairs in the country just because they undoubtedly worshipped the Gandhis. And they were aptly rewarded. Otherwise we would never have had a home minister like Shivraj Patil. I dont know if he has ever completed his bachelors degree. No kidding.. 

Anyway, people like Mr Gopalaswamy who are the real people who can change something are shown the doors ! All I can do is wish him best of luck for his future and thank him for his selfless service to the country.

Indian Govt and 26/11

Sounds like a terrorist agenda I am forming here , isnt it ?

No, I love my country as much as any patriotic India does.

However, this is not same for our ministers and judges and other

so called government functionaries who are there to suck the tax payer money

and give interviews.. Oh yes, make statements like "I wont celebrate my birthday".

After the 26/11 attack on Indian financial capital, all we have seen is rhetoric and more

rhetoric. India threatening to do this and do that. They understand the Indian goverement more than anybody. In fact, there has been instances where ministers are linked to taking money to assist in terrorist attackes. Hmm. Sounds like a bollywood movie plot. but that the truth my friends !!. This time, the only shift I have seen is the PMO and the foreign ministry giving a little more audacious comments compared to usual ones. I know they wont do anything, but for the sake of it, atleast saying it.

So why I say we need one more attack ! Thats because it will take just one more attack for common people to take matter to their hands and do something about it because I think we should present bangles to our ministers for their valor in front of camera.

So one more attack to get the dead spirit awakened and bring out a revolution !! Enough is enough.

I know it leads to some more common people dying but are not they dying now itself in vain. Preciosu lives of people are taken for nothing. And our president is doing world tour with tax payers money !! So why not some more blood for a good cause. We need to listen to our imortal leaders like Netaji Subhash Chanda Bose. You need to shed some blood for peace. That is the truth. And it will take one more attack for Indians to realize that they need to save their own ass. No govt, atleast not the congress govt will do anything for them.

So sorry guys, if I have been so brazen, but thats what I mean !! I am just waiting for the day when people will understand violence will only lead to more violence. And at the same time, you should not tolerate injustice towards the helpless.

"I wont celebrate my birthday."

This is laughable, I swear. 

All indians and some of the international communities know what happened in 

11/26. This was the most audacious and "blow on your face" type attack on Indian financial capital

and major metro city.  And hotels like the Taj and Oberoi are the most luxurious and expensive hotels in India. I would never imagine that they can be attacked and held hostage for 72 hours. 

I would rathe rbelieve if someone attackes our airports and other government establishments because we know our police and law enforement officers. If they would they do their job, there is no single element in this world who would dare to do this.  Anyway. I was supposed to write on 

the "I wont celebrate my birthday".

In the wak eof this attack, our honorable PM said "we wont tolerate any form of terrorism on our soil." This I have been hearing since my childhood. Believe me. All the politicians and ministers say this when we have an attack. 

Then comes the kicker. Our so called "influencial" lady of Infdia says I wont celebrate my birth day. Well " Who cares ". So many people died. So many common people laid their lives protecting others. Bare handed constable saved so many lives. You Miss Gandhi roam around in Delhi with Z- security. Noone can touch you. When you go out, roads are blocked. People face lot of trouble and pray that when a common person starts for his office, no VIP like you are on roads , else he would be bound to be late. Pakistan every time blows us on our face and laugh at home. International community said its "horrible". Ita bad and blah blah. But Mrs Gandhi, the last word is, we should save our own ass. We should not wait someone to come and save us. And without doing that, what you say is " I wont celebrate my birth day." Who care please. stop this laughabl ecomments in press. This does not impress the widnow of the constable who dies in CST railway station attack. She has no income now and her child will be another uneducated no job young man in few years. Does she get anything if you dont celebrate your birth day. People get a good laugh and feel sorry for you Mam. Please stop this. 

Then our honorable president. First thing is, she replaced Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Dr Kalam was the most loved and most active president ever in Indian history. He gave an identity to the Presidential post and was not merely roaming around the world in taxpayers money like our new Pres. I havbe seen since my childhood, when someone becomes Indian President, he/she goes on world tour with their families and absolutely do NOTHING. I would say, if you cant do any good, atleast stop spending taxpayers money and save the planet too. Dont just go glod trotting. When Mumbai attack happened, our president was gold trotting. 

The bad thing is, even some of International leaders said something and condemned Pakistan for its act. But our President does not have the guts to say anything. Instead she announced " I wont celebrate my birthday ". Well Mrs President, "who cares ". And also I would plead you to stop taking your so called unusable husband on your world tours. I dont see any reason why he would spend tax payers money just because he is our Presidents husband. Again Mrs President, please try to learn from Dr Kalams legacy and honor the identity of the post you are holding. 

We know how you got there. And we know, you do not possess any caliber to hold that post. So understand the sentiments of common people like me and do something. Atleast try. 

And my last request to Mrs Gandhi. Please stop devisive politics and puppet governements in India. We know you have the power. But dont force inactive Presidents and weak PMs on us. 

If you want to be remembered as a great politician and do any honor to the Gandhi name, please clear the way for clean and honest politics and same Indian people.

And you think we will be ok !

So far this is the calculation. Please excuse some here and there billion ! if I have missed.

And add to that, $20 billion in Citi and to guarantee as much as $306 billion.

 

Term Auction Facility = 900 billion
Commercial Banks = 99.2 billion
Investment Banks = 56.7 billion
Loans to buy ABCp = 76.5 billion
AIG = 112.5 billion
Bear Sterns = 29.5 billion
Term Securities Lending Facility = 225 billion
Swap Lines = 613 billion
Money Market Investor Funding Facility = 540 billion
Commercial Paper Funding Facility = 257
Treasury Asset Relief Program = 700 billion
Automakers = 25 billion
Federal Housing Administration = 300 billion
Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac = 350 billion

Total $4,284,400,000,000

So, as per the popular notion, we are trying to fix the economy and improve confidence of people, pat the banking system at their back saying, well, dont worry we are there ( Uncle Sam does this on behalf of tax payers ! ) , unfreeze the credit market so on...

So with this, where are we going ? With all this enormous amount of money being lended to the banks, auto companies, insurance companies etc, what is the long term impact ? Even though, situations improve, how is the future look like ? How will we recover the money ? How much will we owe the anonymous creditors to the treasury ? What are the terms for getting this money ? and million other questions ! 

It may sound amateurish, but when and how the fed is going to recover the money and how the Fed is going to pay off the debt ? 

It may sound simple to a economist, but for me ; a main street middle class person, it sounds a black hole with no path back !!!

Please share your views !!

Thanks

BIswajit

Our Digital Footprint

I have always wandered, what kind of foot print we are leaving in this digital world.

All of us are aware of blogs, social networking sites, public forums etc etc and the list goes in a web2.0 world. I believe all of the mediums do maintain some form of private data about the user to maintain the session or in simple cases, provide the service you intend to receive from them. So when we no longer want to use any service, or simply stop using the service, we often do not go ahead and close/remove our data from the service providers. Also, even though, we do close our account or remove ourselves, we still do not know what happens to our private data. One classis example is, gmail (www.gamil.com) the popular free email service from Google, does nto delete any email even though you delete them from yoru view. 

Though we do not know, who and why someone would be interested in my personal data in near or far away future, we know our service providers keep it. Even when we are long gone from this world, we still leave some kind of footprint in this world. 

I came across a nice article about this in here:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=328752

Until my next musing,

Biswajit

The World Leaders and Their Off Moments

On a lighter note:

I always wondered, how the world leaders will be making a conversation during the so called high profile meeting or conferences they attend. Then I realized they are also human beings and they also have their off times. Times they would probably be tired to be awake in course of long meetings like I do in classes etc.

To clear my confusion, todays media came to a big help.  

Few examples I can quote here is, 

President Bush said "Ask Syria stop the 'shit' "to Prime Minister Blair in one of the conferences.

Prime Minister Putin told President Sarkozy "I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls" when President Sarkozy was in Russia to broker a peace deal during Georgia-Russia conflict. - This is taken from the news published in www.timesofindia.com.

Indian Prime Minister Devegowda taking a nap in a public meeting 

So I think , these high profile leaders are also like us. They also bath, eat, drink, go on vacation, use the loo etc ...

The Bailout and Me

I have been trying to say something about what I have been thinking of the whole financial mess we all are in and the subsequent bail-out drama. The views expressed here is purely personal. Well thats the blog concept is all about, isnt it ? Hmm.. Well my point was I am not trying to say "Mr Bush" created it, or Mr Banker created it and so on.. All I am trying to say is, "we are in mess". And Personally I think everything goes up has to come down (Well not coincidentally , originally not mine; I would say its learned from the Famous guy who failed in Maths in his school days. Never mind)!!

So applying the same concept of gravity in a general sense, the Asian stock market boom, the Oil price surge, the technology innovation etc will one day would have seen a shrink. And thats what it is not. You would probably argue that, "if we would not have done A, we would not have landed up being in B". Thats true. Probably the A-B thing helped in being in this mess, but I would not see its totally teh reason. 

We are digressing from the topic too much.. Lets come back to the blog.. What I feel about the whole thing. This is sure that, we are in mess. What I want to tell you is, where do I stand for the whole bail-out thing. In simple terms, I say, I dont support it. I dont think it will help. You would ask why ? Not that I claim to be a super intelligent economist or something. But I have some fairly simple reasons.  

Reason 1: Mr John Doe is a home owner. He had a job. He had calculated his mortgage, car loan, education assistance to his kids and the phone bill, and the cable / internet bill. Now he has lost his job. He is no more able to pay his mortgage. Well not only mortgage, his gas bill, grocery and so on.  

Now, the fed is funding the banks to unfreeze credit. So far so good. So our Mr Doe, is defaulting his mortgage, car loans now. He goes to the bank and bank turns him down looking at the credit history. He comes back and files for foreclosure and returns the car to the dealer as he cant pay. 

So my understanding is, the bailout may be a great thing in the long terms and in bigger context of things. But if we dont save Mr Doe, then the problem in the grassroot level still remains. And to me, it looks like, its much more important to look at Mr Doe than Mr Banker at this moment. 

Reason 2: We started the whole bailout thing since last 1 month roughly. We said, this will increase investor confidence, the market will come up, the OPEC guys will nto be scared etc etc. Has not seen any progress so far. My 401K is down 49.6 percent to be exact. 

I have so many other reasons. But I think you got the point.. We need to address this issue from the root level.