Commonness in an average Indian reducing

They were the early 90s'. As far as I can clearly remember. Only one channel on the television - Doordarshan. Every Indian above 20 will have very fond memories watching this: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=gstRrEmTcBc We all share a certain time and generation among us. We will immediately smile and start talking about Surabhi, Hum log, etc. and discuss in detail how fond certain characters, actors and times were and how these were the characteristics of a typical Indian family. Now, if I ask my cousin who is in the next generation, (a generational gap is created every 5 years) about this, I am not sure he will relate to this. The television in India in its early days celebrated diversity, propagated social causes among entertaining and informing the citizens. The songs, the advertisements and the messages were nice, soothing and creative to say the least. Some advertisements like the "Hamara Bajaj" ad became very popular. Today, with all the cable and satellite channels, we have lost the one major thing that used to bind us together in a very unique way. All I see on television is politicians promoting the killing of other Indians so openly. Regionalism has taken over nationalism. States were created only for better administration and for the locals to help maintain their unique cultural and physical ecosystems, not at the cost of nationalism. How come today there are so few songs celebrating India's rich diversity. The only ones of recent past are the "Maa tujhe salaam" from A.R.Rehman and the Jaago India campaign. The others are made to promote a vulgar cause like cricket matches. I somehow dont see the patriotic feeling, a sense of belonging to India in people watching a cricket match in unlike a national song like "mile sur mera tumhara" or "Maa tujhe salaam". I think it is high time for the government to make all the television channels including private ones to mandatorily broadcast 20 minutes a day, programs relating to national awareness campaigns and national songs which will have a wider and long term impact on the people of India than any of the other possible campaigns that the government can possibly think of. Let the awareness campaigns concentrate on family planning, AIDS awareness, patriotism, a cleaner country, dont waste water and energy and finally punctuality. Maybe this is a long pending solution to remove a lot of grassroot problems that India is unable to address by reaching the masses effectively as of now. Is it just me thinking like this or do the others also share a similar thought? What is your opinion?

The economist's awards for 2008

This list is not for the best, but for the worst of those in the business of business and were caught swimming naked when the tide went out. Hence, the "The swimming naked awards".
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12796770

So confused

When things go so fast that time blurs, when you can't differentiate yesterday from the day before, when talks that people deny having had with me feel as if there was indeed such a talk, when there is nothing as odd hours in a 24hr cycle, it is very scary.

Getting back to one of my previous posts, why cant we all live without having something known as conciousness.

Investment tips

"Due diligence is the art of asking good questions. It's also the art of not taking answers on faith."

Perking it up

Games mutual fund managers keep playing year after year:

Window dressing, Painting the tape and Comparison shopping.

More info about these games at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122973369481523187.html

It is very interesting to note the following statistics:

Historically, 80% of all U.S. stock funds and 91% of small-company funds have beaten the market on the last trading day of the year -- and roughly two-thirds have given most of that gain right back on the first day of the following year.

A study by finance scholar Berk Sensoy shows that 31% of U.S. stock funds pick a benchmark that doesn't closely reflect what they own -- but does make it easier to beat "the market."

Evolution in MBA

Before I joined my MBA I was constantly worried about one main thing - How will I ever manage with less sleep? I need my 8 hours of beauty ;) sleep. After joining the course, I said maybe I will have to adjust and make do with 6hrs per day. A couple of months down the line, I said "Sleep is a luxury". Those who get it are blessed.Now, at the end of four months, I say "Sleep is only an option". If you want, sleep, else you don't really have to and life will still run quite normally for 1 or 2 days without it.

This transformation is one of the key essences of an MBA. :)

Just screw it!

Now you can screw things up with just one hand :D

Personal finance ratios

At MBA here, in finance, we learn a lot of company ratios, starting from debt ratio to P/E ratio to asset turnover ratio and ROE and a hell lot more. Today I was going through some new blog and found the below:

Q3 Results

Investment Income to Salary Target > 0.8 Investment Income Ratio = -2.36

Savings to Salary Target > 20 Current Savings Ratio = 20.1

Debt To Salary Target = 0 Current Debt Ratio = 1.47

Started me thinking, this is indeed a very good basic information to classify people for whom investment advice is to be given. I had never before thought of using such ratios when I was the personal financial advisor to my friends and colleagues.

I think she may have some trust issues

Ice bottoms

Ice coats electric lines after a storm

Which board game is this?

A man walks through high water in St. Mark's Square as strong winds pushed the Adriatic Sea into the Venice lagoon, submerging part of the city, Friday, Dec.12, 2008. Violent storms flooded parts of Rome on Thursday, killing at least one person, and the sea again threatened Venice as a wave of bad weather continued to plague Italy.

Whats the solution

I read a message from a middle aged corporate manager who lost his job in 1988 and still without permanent work in 1992 say "I have lost the fight to stay ahead in today's economy... I was determined to find work, but as the months and years wore on, depression set in. You can only be rejected so many times; then you start questioning your self-worth" in the economics textbook regarding unemployment. I am wondering what kind of motivation or event will be required to get this man out of his psychological scar.

People are so so chicken out here

I just asked many people whether they want to accompany me in doing something that they actually loved. Guess what, almost all of them said "No". They all told me that they would have loved to but they just can't. They are all too scared to do it now. But they were willing to do it on the coming friday onwards after all the exams. Don't know whether to call them chicken or to respect their acceptance of the truth they they are all scared of addiction. The question on your mind must be "What is it that I asked them to accompany me for ?" Well, I asked them to join me for a multiplayer game of "Age of Empires2: The conquerors". I think this small poll tells a lot about the game. It is very very "addictive".

Ice ice baby

Framily

I couldn't find the meaning for this word in my wordweb, but fortunately found it on the web. wiktionary: Etymology Blend of friend and family Noun Singular- framily Plural - framilies Meaning:A group of friends, who are close like a family. Found at another website: 1. framily when friends become like family, they're framily. closer than close, they may know you better than your own family. "we're framily, all 9 of us." 2. Framily A member of your circle who is more than a friend but not a blood relative. Combining the words friend and family. Someone very significant in your life not in your family. Joined by hearts and souls, not bloodlines. Linda Smith, John Jones, Sam and Jane Doe are all people I have met over the years. We spend holidays together, take care of each other's families when necessary. Our Framily reunion each year rotates between houses. 3. Framily When members of your sibling's boyfriend/girlfriend's family become close friends. They are not your siblings inlaws yet and may never be. You will always consider them FRAMILY. My new Framily are like sisters but not related to me at all. And here is an interesting article I found:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1059236/Friends-increasingly-framily-search-support-network.html
And thanks to my framily members for supporting me and helping me in times of need.

Quarter life crisis

To all those going through the quarter life crisis and whose feelings are as described below: What's up by 4 Non blondes: 

Twenty - five years and my life is still 

Trying to get up that great big hill of hope 

For a destination 

And I realized quickly when I knew I should 

That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man 

For whatever that means 

And so I cry sometimes 

When I'm lying in bed 

Just to get it all out 

What's in my head 

And I am feeling a little peculiar 

And so I wake in the morning 

And I step outside And I take a deep breath and I get real high

And I scream at the top of my lungs 

What's going on? 

And I say, hey hey hey hey I said hey, what's going on? 

Ooh, ooh ooh

And I try, 

oh my god do I try I try all the time, in this institution 

And I pray, oh my god do I pray I pray every single day 

For a revolution 

And so I cry sometimes 

When I'm lying in bed Just to get it all out 

What's in my head 

And I am feeling a little peculiar 

And so I wake in the morning 

And I step outside 

And I take a deep breath and I get real high 

And I scream at the top of my lungs 

What's going on? 

And I say, hey hey hey hey I said hey, what's going on? 

Twenty - five years and my life is still 

Trying to get up that great big hill of hope 

For a destination. 

Hope things become more clearer and brighter for you.

New logos

I had seen similar logos of technology companies after the dot-com bust. Now here are some more new modified logos after the financial crisis. 

http://www.businesspundit.com/after-the-crisis-a-parody-of-15-corporate-logos/

Blue

I just love the blues in this picture

Burning bright?

A Palestinian boy writes in Arabic “Gaza be saved” in candle wax on his palm, during a sit-in in Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus, Thursday Dec. 4, 2008. More than hundred Palestinian children staged a sit-in protesting against the Israeli siege on Gaza. The children called for the lifting of the siege, and let Gaza children live in peace.

Reflections

Splash

Just feel like riding/driving on a rough terrain like this now.... dont know why

New game in town

You must have heard of drag racing.... Well, there is a new game in town here.... It is called arse-dragging... It is where you feel you have been hooked onto some vehicle on the road and your arse is being dragged along.... Unfortunately, for me it feels like an airplane dragging me on a loooong 5 km tarmac....

New Year's

A Russian troop walks past a traditional New Year's in central Moscow on December 3, 2008. New Year's Eve is traditionally the most important holiday in Russia.

No words to describe this

Branches are covered with snow near Hagen, western Germany, on December 3, 2008. Onset of winter in wide parts of the country caused traffic jam and chaos on the roads.

Lessons from MBA

So what does MBA teach that is related to real life? Apart from the various accountings of financial and managerial and all the other MBA subjects, the one thing I think MBA teaches you is "giving up". Yes, giving up what you like, giving up what you love, giving up almost everything that means dearly to you. This will be forced upon on you in a way that you will be slow and very painful to accept. Slowly and steadily, one realises this as a way of life. People say it is about living your dreams, achieving your dreams and doing what you really want to do. Maybe in the long term, but in the short term, during the course one very vital lesson it teaches you is to accept failure and just walk on. First we are forced to sacrifice the time and distance with family, friends and the cosy, comfortable environment we were used to. Then goes the sleep. Then we give up some of those hobbies and things that used to enliven you during your normal before MBA days. Then once you are here, you are even forced to give on the very subjects you once loved to do so much. 
Song: Giving you up by Kylie Minogue 
"Deep in a perfect moment 
All it once it feels so right 
But when I wake I see reality turn back and bite. 
Your heartbeat's ticking 
And your cool starts dripping 
And you're tongue tied up on the phone 
Your backbone's breaking 
And your smooth starts shaking 
Like you can't stand being alone 
Your calm starts rocking 
Little doubts are knocking 
Like the whole world's slipping away 
Attention's killing 
But the ride is thrilling 
And you can't help going again 
What you want is what you don't know 
Turn me on and watch your ego 
What you want is what you don't need 
I can't start giving you up 
I'm lost without you 
Can't stop tickin the tock 
I can't start giving you up 
I'm mad about you 
Can't stop slipping it off"