Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe

I am studying in Chandigarh and my hometown is Delhi. On my last trip to Delhi, train stopped near one of the slums in Delhi and as I gazed outside, I felt ironical at my situation. I was sitting in comforts of Shatabdi and outside women were squatting outside 100 sq ft rooms. Wooden ladders were kept to reach above floor and narrow lanes could be seen. Kids were playing outside frequenting trips on wooden ladders.
This is not the first time that I feel that there was an equal probability that I could have been one of those women. I felt privileged at what I have and guilty of the irony that we are never satisfied by what we have..

First Mid-term mania

My first mid-term just got over and grades for few assignments are also out. Phew! Midterm converted the party quads into hallowed portals of silence with everyone roaming around with an A4 size paper in hand and trying to make 'the' cheat-sheet. To non-ISB readers, yeah we are allowed to carry an A4 size 'furra' with us during exam and we can write anything on it, but believe me it doesn't help. I hardly referred to my cheat sheet during my exams and I can say this on behalf of most of us.

I have this mixed bag of emotions after the mid-term where I feel glad to be done away with them and also feel traumatized at the outcome and more so probably with the thought that end-terms are just 15 days away.

As far as grades are concerned, I deciphered that there are two types of students in the class - Type I and Type II (pardon my statistical jargon but I cannot help but mention it.. ). Type - I stand true to the definition of false positive. These are the helpless geeks who study but cant score. When they participate in class it appears that they will rock the exam but when the exam/ assignment results come they are at the rock bottom. Type - II also sticks to the definition : false negative. These are the ones who you never think are the scoring types but they score full every time.
There might be others who do not fall in either category but unfortunate for them there are only two classifications I am aware of .

Post mid-term was collection of phenomenal parties all over the student village, needless to mention that every second quad was hosting one, people were out with their guitars on the lawns and all over the place singing merrily.

Greedy me .. I am hoping for another such day soon .. (read the end of term :))

Ramblings @ISB

Though everyone you meet who has done an MBA says the same thing – it’s a roller coaster ride, you will not realize how the one year has passed. When I heard this, I thought I understood it but now I know what it actually means. Those who have done an MBA or going through the grind at present would be able to relate what I actually want to say. I have been four weeks into this course and it already seems like ages. Sometime I wonder oh my god, one month has passed. I never noticed but at the same time I feel as if I belonged here always and then there is a sudden panic as to what would happen eleven months later.

Life has no longer been the same since I joined. I am in different world and not just poetically but literally too. I have not had time to miss or think about anything from my life prior to ISB. I don’t even remember what my daily routine was, before coming here. To surprise you all I would mention that I have classes only for four hours a day and that too four days a week  J , Surprised and yes you will think this female is bluffing, she has all the time in world and she tells us that she doesn’t have any, but that is the truth.

This year at ISB is one of those years when I despise the weekend and wait desperately for the week to begin. My only concern usually is my 830 class for which I have to get up at 715-730, otherwise I love weekdays. Weekends are equal to hell where you hopelessly hope for 48 hours in a day. I hardly remember the Friday feeling J.

Those who think that it is difficult to get back to the routine after so much work experience trust me that is not the problem. All of us here have been exceptional in their work-field before and getting back to studies definitely does not seem to be their primary concern. Life is running here, or rather I should say time is no longer in my control. I so want to pause and take a good long look at what is happening in my life, retrospect and move on with grace and panache But,,, there is always a but J.  My ethereal desire is going to remain so.

I love this place and as much I love it I almost hate it. It’s a very different feeling hard to explain but only those who have been a part of it would be able to relate to.

FDI or no FDI - Nation is falling apart

Government has got mixed response from various fields on its decision to implement FDI in retail. After carefully reading the clauses and dwelling on why government took this decision, I fail to understand opposition against FDI. To those of you reading this blog and un-aware of what FDI actually stands for, here is a brief description:

FDI means foreign direct investment where foreign companies look for cheaper avenues in other countries and invest money in production and services. They gain because their production cost is cheaper spelling out more profits for them than their native countries. The host country where they invest is benefited for the population gets lucrative employment opportunities and foreign currency inflow. China is one of the most sought after location for FDI in manufacturing. FDI commonly exists in form of joint ventures. FDI is already allowed in India in various sectors such as services, telecommunication, construction activities and computer software and hardware. According to Ernst and Young, foreign direct investment in India in 2010 was $44.8 billion, and in 2011 experienced an increase of 13% to $50.8 billion. India has seen an eight-fold increase in its FDI in March 2012. So what has now been introduced is allowing FDI in few more sectors such as in aviation up to 49%, in Broadcast sector up to 74%, in multi-brand retail up to 51% and in single-brand retail up to 100%.

What government has announced is nothing catastrophic, nothing new. Government wanted to introduce it in Nov 2011, but could not. The current global sentiment on India is that of pessimism. We are burdened with fiscal deficit. Rupee is losing against dollar. For every rupee lost against dollar, we are debted with 8000 Crore rupees more. Why this is happening is a matter of grave concern and of debate rather than the solution proposed to counter this problem. With dipping investment grades, allowing FDI in other sectors is a desperate attempt to improve our global position and maintain investors faith and allow markets to heal, hoping for steady recovery of rupee.

For those who have apprehensions that FDI in retail will kill local grocers’ business, why do they think that FDI would do it? We already have Indian chain of super-stores and marts such as Big Bazaar and Reliance, and although they have been doing well, they still form only 4% of this business. What magic wand would foreign investors use for snatching away business from un-organised retail or organised retail? If organised retail had to kill local business then it would already have happened in capable hands in Indian business giants. We do not need a foreign entity to do that. To those who argue that locally manufactured products would be outdone by cheaper substitutes from other nations, have they been blind to 'Chinese' replicas of every product - be it games or mobile.

What Foreign investors can help improve upon is the much helpless state of farmers. In the whole chain of transferring produce from farms to actual outlets, Farmers are exploited most and needless to add they suffer most.

FDI can be a godmother to such farmers, eliminating the middle-men and improving upon much needed infrastructure. Pre-conditions to FDI in India seem fair enough to achieve what India actually wants.
Conditions state that FDI can only proceed with a minimum investment of $100 million and that too 50% of the investment is to be in back-end infrastructure development. 30% of all raw material has to be procured from India's small and medium industries. There is permission to set up malls only in cities with a minimum population of 10 lakhs. Products should be sold under the same brand internationally. Foreign investor should be the owner of the brand.
If FDI were to be allowed 'honestly' with given set of pre-conditions then we surely can expect some benefit.

The question on FDI should not be whether it should be allowed or not but rather it should be if FDI can achieve, what is expected to. FDI is expected to improve India's global position and help rupee climb the ladder. Surely FDI can bail us out temporarily, but we need to strengthen ourselves from core to make a permanent impact. 

The reasons for our continuously going down with our debts and poor performance of rupee need tough investigation and analysis. Why our imports increasing and exports falling. Despite being an agricultural nation primarily, why are we short of our produce and need to import. Climate and monsoon no doubt are big spoilers but not the only reasons. Bad roads or rather no Roads, lack of adequate storage facilities, under-performing railways add cost everywhere. What are state governments doing? Where is the taxpayer’s money going? Why political scamsters and frauds still free? Why there is no strict punishment against those who break the law? Why no justice has been provided in corruption cases? This is just the tip of iceberg. I and surely you can go on and on, on why India is under performing despite our best attempts. And this is what we expect government to do. This is what we expect our opposition to find answers to. Why Arvind Kejriwal is the one whistle-blowing on government officials. Why the opposition could not do this task so far? This is UPA's second term. What has been opposition been doing since long?

It’s a pity that of all the political scandals which the government has done, Opposition finds FDI worthy enough to pull out their supports. Why did not they pull out support when Coalgate was exposed, when CWG sham was highlighted, when 2G scam came into picture?
Opposition using FDI as their elections manifesto is a sad representation of sorry state of affairs our country is into. It is also symbolic of how politicians still want to take advantage of ignorant and un-aware masses.
It saddens me to core of my heart at this situation. We are failing as a nation not just because of our government but also because of absence of a good opposition. 

Aankhon hi aankhon mein kare baatein..

Bollywood restored my faith in itself by churning out the sweet dish- Barfi. After a long array of movies either advocating mindless violence or portraying non-sense dirty jokes, Barfi comes as a wonderful respite. For the director who made films such as Life in a metro, Gangster it os only deserving to make an entry for Oscar nomination.
I agree that scenes have been copied from "The notebook" or should I say inspired, but nonetheless it has been a successful attempt at portraying the same scenes within Indian cinema. Very few directors in the history have been successful at adapting a different cinema and showing it to Indian audiences.
Each scene in the movie has been inter-woven wonderfully with the characters doing perfect justice to each scene. The movie has very few dialogs, the hero can barely speak his own name and the actress just calls out his name on few occasions which the hero cannot even listen (he is born deaf and dumb), but the journey on which director takes you across and into their lives leaves you speechless and wanting for more.Unless someone points, you will not realize that you have been listening to the background score for so long. Music is the soul of this movie. The story stretched to a good 2.5 hours and the audience is left mesmerized and touched by their lives.
At so many instances in the movie, I felt overwhelmed by the fact that the actor cannot listen, and wished secretly that may be at some point he could have. The story takes the audience through the characters lives and audience cries, laughs along with them. There is sympathy, anger, love and compassion ebbing out from the audience as the characters go through varous phases in their lives. It will be worthy to mention that Ranbir and Priyanka have done a fabulous job at acting out their characters.

 There is a good feeling after the movie. It is as if you have known the characters personally. It feels that they are a part of your life and you want to know more. Anurag has strategically given the movie the mystery edge ,  the romantic bent and the comic element at the perfect timing. The movie never feels long. It just feels right. After the movie you would never say "this scene was not required" or what was the purpose of this scene.

After a long time , a MUST Watch.

Itti si hansi
Itti si khushi
Itta sa tukda chand ka
Khwabon ke tinkon se
Chal banayeinn aashiyaan ....

Mirror Mirror, tell the truth!

So often, I see posts/messages/pictures where a group of hooligans are indulging in vandalisation and arson of  public/communal property. Two thoughts instantly cross my mind : If this is true and if it is then why are they doing it? Did the person who posted the pic actually verified it or is it just a trick of photoshop.

My heart is filled with sadness to see mob participating in such hooliganism and I wonder about their intent and purpose.
What benefit of ideology does one derive in destruction, loot and killing of fellow men. How do they justify rape and killing of women in light of the "so-called" bigger purpose for which they are fighting?
Of course the leader of the group is reveling in the success of his power game and planning strategy to further loot the nation but why doesn't the "mob" realize it. Why don't they realize that they are just pawns in the hands of the others who are purely motivated by selfish prospects.

There is growing dilemma and disbelief and the heart tosses between faith and so-called facts. My humanist heart does not believe the pictures I see and try to convince that they may be morphed and some power hungry groups are indulging in dirty politics trying to play the age-old divide and rule the innocent gullible population. In the recent north-east fiasco, my doubts have been proved true when fake SMSs started doing the rounds to ignite anger and penetrate fear in the heart of north east Indians residing in other states of country. I felt further convinced when Govt blocked some 89 pages on social networking site Facebook and found that some 20% were posted by Hindu groups in name of Muslim community.

Not that I am a big of the current government but seriously, is this the only tactic left to win over votes and elections? Don't the propagators realize communal riots once initiation will start a fire which will engulf the entire population of India. Don't they realize that Secularism and diversity is the basic fabric of our nation. Whether India should have been a secular state or not, whether the decision to make India Secular at time of independence was right or wrong, irrespective of that , we are now a Secular nation with people of different religions , cast , cultures and languages. And the problems are to be dealt with this basic fact in our minds. We should stop fighting on what happened in past , but try to understand present and  try to make the best out of it. It is still not late. We are still not finished with our natural resources. We can still make the best use of it rather than wasting them in arson and vandalisation. We have limited resources left with so many mouths to feed. Government and politicians should  behave responsibly and try to find rational and logical solutions to our problems.