Literally, Chennai autos rock you. The city never ceases to take you by storm...every time we visit (which is once in two years) we see more and more shops encroaching the little road space that is available. Two, three and four wheelers move in a totally random Brownian motion and an aerial shot would be fascinating, I think. The auto drivers have completely stopped using the auto meters and the customers have stopped asking them about the meters. They drive the vehicles with a nonchalance as if they were born with a Bajaj...cellphones held between their left shoulder and the ear, conversing happily between the screeches and toots of fellow-drivers.
Despite all this crowd, dust, stench and chaos there is this inexplicable undercurrent of spirituality which makes the city what it is - spicy as a Masala Dosa.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Money and Happiness
Why do we want to have more money?
To make ourselves more comfortable and thereby be Happy. Some smart guys in the investment industry have started to describe themselves as being in the happiness industry.
Latest research by Dresdner Kleinwort indicates that three major components determine the levels of happiness.
They are 1) Genetically inheritied (around 50%) (2) Circumstances, money etc. and (3) Intentional acivity (such as exercising regularly, being kind to others, socialising, trying to see the best, pausing to count how lucky one actually is.
While the first cannot be changed and with the second - people quickly adapt to present conditions/income changes and then take it as 'normal', any hope for being happy on a long term seems to be only with the third factor: i.e., Intentional Activity.
So, folks, get rich, nothing wrong with that. But that won't make your much happier.
To make ourselves more comfortable and thereby be Happy. Some smart guys in the investment industry have started to describe themselves as being in the happiness industry.
Latest research by Dresdner Kleinwort indicates that three major components determine the levels of happiness.
They are 1) Genetically inheritied (around 50%) (2) Circumstances, money etc. and (3) Intentional acivity (such as exercising regularly, being kind to others, socialising, trying to see the best, pausing to count how lucky one actually is.
While the first cannot be changed and with the second - people quickly adapt to present conditions/income changes and then take it as 'normal', any hope for being happy on a long term seems to be only with the third factor: i.e., Intentional Activity.
So, folks, get rich, nothing wrong with that. But that won't make your much happier.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Manual on Child Rearing
A comprehensive manual on Child-rearing if we may call it so, by Khalil Gibran.
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Heartbeat Captivates
29/10/06
A small group of music lovers in Wellington was treated to the scintillating music of Ghatam Karthic's ensemble - The Heartbeat. It took the hundred odd people through various Ragas as Gambhira NAtai,Vanaspathi,SallApam, MAyA MAlava Gowlam,ChArukesi and culminated in a Western-Indian Medley encompassing pieces as diverse as Fur Elise, Raminchuva and VandE Matharam.
Karthick stole the show with his humour and efforts to connect with the audience. He made some witty remarks such as SriRam (on stage) uses the flute while Kannan (the violinist) uses a Bow (in contrast to their AvatAric counterparts).
One more of his witticism: Difference between himself and SriRam was he (Karthick) uses a Lap POT while SriRam uses a LapTOP (for looping and mixing the music).
A very different and enjoyable concert.
A small group of music lovers in Wellington was treated to the scintillating music of Ghatam Karthic's ensemble - The Heartbeat. It took the hundred odd people through various Ragas as Gambhira NAtai,Vanaspathi,SallApam, MAyA MAlava Gowlam,ChArukesi and culminated in a Western-Indian Medley encompassing pieces as diverse as Fur Elise, Raminchuva and VandE Matharam.
Karthick stole the show with his humour and efforts to connect with the audience. He made some witty remarks such as SriRam (on stage) uses the flute while Kannan (the violinist) uses a Bow (in contrast to their AvatAric counterparts).
One more of his witticism: Difference between himself and SriRam was he (Karthick) uses a Lap POT while SriRam uses a LapTOP (for looping and mixing the music).
A very different and enjoyable concert.
Diwali 2006
Around 40,000 people braved the wet and cold weather to enjoy the warmth of the Indian culture - food, art, Bollywood dancing and all at the Civic Square in Wellington. The highlights were: the song and dance by the Uttar Pradesh group in the beautiful Braj Bhasha - singing the glory of Krishna and Radha. Made us wonder if Krishna (of Mathura) would have really looked like the dancer - with his great smile and twinkling eyes; A show on different types of Saris from around India - their historical roots and specialities; Diyas (lamps) on show and of course the yummy food.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Do you love your job?
A couple of nice quotes:
1) "No matter what the problem is, it's always a people problem" - Jerry Weinberg
2) "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." - Drew Carey
1) "No matter what the problem is, it's always a people problem" - Jerry Weinberg
2) "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." - Drew Carey
Saturday, September 23, 2006
On Call Centre Boom
Saw a story about the Boom (and impending bust) of call centres in India, on the National Geographic Channel. Though the confidence and the command over English of people coming from small towns (having moved over to Mumbai) was heartening, the crass materialism and the Westernisation of these kids were a little disconcerting. For all the brave talk they gave, I could sense a feeling of hollowness in the way they came through.
Friday, July 14, 2006
When the Worst is the Best
A contest named after Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, who became infamous for his 1830 novel 'Paul Clifford', honours bad writing.
The recent winner, Jim Guigli of California demonstrates why he won.
Read this:
"Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean".
The recent winner, Jim Guigli of California demonstrates why he won.
Read this:
"Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean".
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
On quotes and Cafe's
Some cafe's in Wellington have this nice habit of writing some quotes on their ad boards to attract customers. One such that caught my eye was:
"A dry crust of bread served in peace is better than a steak served with an argument".
The accompanying photo though was taken in Christchurch.
I will be posting more such quotes in future.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Good intentions - Bad use of time
From time to time we receive some emails as these. About some child suffering from terminal illness. The mails come from trusty, responsible friends. Action requested being merely to forward the mail. For every mail forwarded, some kind-hearted organisation offers 5 cents. This way, the cost of the operation or medical treatment is proposed to be covered. Basically, some organisation is so full of love that without knowing the money it will be committed to pay, it agrees to pay something for every mail - Similar to signing away a blank cheque.
Usually I delete these mails (albeit with a slight trace of guilt). Last time I decided to get more pro-active. I Googled with some key words of one such mail. It showed the organisation mentioned as the first result. The website of the organisation had a different story to tell. It cautioned against such mails and said that they waste a lot of time responding to queries generated by these kind of mails. They also stated that if one wished to help the children (not the ones metioned in the mails - for they were all false names in hoax mails) they could do so by donating directly.
Another such mail that has been doing the rounds for the last few years has been one regarding Microsoft and AOL merger and that Bill Gates has so much of greenback in his wallet that he has pledged so share a few thousands of dollars with spammers for merely forwarding emails.
So people, if you simple delete these mails, it could save a few thousands of people-hours spent in reading and forwarding the stuff.
Usually I delete these mails (albeit with a slight trace of guilt). Last time I decided to get more pro-active. I Googled with some key words of one such mail. It showed the organisation mentioned as the first result. The website of the organisation had a different story to tell. It cautioned against such mails and said that they waste a lot of time responding to queries generated by these kind of mails. They also stated that if one wished to help the children (not the ones metioned in the mails - for they were all false names in hoax mails) they could do so by donating directly.
Another such mail that has been doing the rounds for the last few years has been one regarding Microsoft and AOL merger and that Bill Gates has so much of greenback in his wallet that he has pledged so share a few thousands of dollars with spammers for merely forwarding emails.
So people, if you simple delete these mails, it could save a few thousands of people-hours spent in reading and forwarding the stuff.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
India - An economic giant?
We read from time to time that India is progressing at a rapid pace. It's economy is ticking at a nice rate (around 7%). We also witness the changes that have taken place in the attitude and lifestyle of the Urban Indians when we (NRIs) visit India. From time to time we receive emails and attachments about our achievement in various fields such as better infrastructure (modern roading), more satellite channels etc. and that the number of rich people in India has grown exponentially.
Bush visits India and is shown India's pretty face. We also think all is spectacular with India except a few problems such as corruption and bureaucracy.
Are we aware that around 70% of the population still lives with a wage of under $2 per day? (Courtesy - The Time Magazine). This growth rate of around 7% would translate into a couple of hundreds of rupees per month for the poor people of India. And it is these people who are the real face of India.
So...the real question is 'have we progressed economically?' Or are we cheating ourselves and the world?
It is said that when Nehru visited the Rural India (before he became the P.M?) he was moved to tears seing the plight of the Rural India. Have we moved forward from that position or have we merely created an illusion of progress?
Bush visits India and is shown India's pretty face. We also think all is spectacular with India except a few problems such as corruption and bureaucracy.
Are we aware that around 70% of the population still lives with a wage of under $2 per day? (Courtesy - The Time Magazine). This growth rate of around 7% would translate into a couple of hundreds of rupees per month for the poor people of India. And it is these people who are the real face of India.
So...the real question is 'have we progressed economically?' Or are we cheating ourselves and the world?
It is said that when Nehru visited the Rural India (before he became the P.M?) he was moved to tears seing the plight of the Rural India. Have we moved forward from that position or have we merely created an illusion of progress?
Monday, March 06, 2006
Who doesn't want to be a millionaire?
Everyone wants to be a millionaire. A million bucks in whatever major currency is big money. We envy the lotto winners pocketing megabucks. Though the smart ones among us know that these big money winners seldom live happily ever after, we still feel that a million bucks will somehow set us free.
How many of us know the eighth wonder of the world - "Compound Interest". Even if we know, how many of us have the character to apply the basic rules of investing and compunding a sum of money from an early age - so that we become millionaire a few decades thence?
Yes, there is a wait period but the certainty that we will eventually become a millionaire is a heartening feeling.
Warren Buffett follwed his path to riches by making the eighth wonder his fast friend.
$10,000 invested at 15% compound interest for 35 years will make the coveted million. A little more added to it every year will result in a million more.
So, the challenge is to keep the money invested for the whole period. A tougher challenge will be to earn 15% average compound interest over the period.
Have you found a formula for investing which yields 15% p.a, or have you come across a fund that pays the same return?
If your answer is yes - then you are certainly on your way to the millionaires club.
How many of us know the eighth wonder of the world - "Compound Interest". Even if we know, how many of us have the character to apply the basic rules of investing and compunding a sum of money from an early age - so that we become millionaire a few decades thence?
Yes, there is a wait period but the certainty that we will eventually become a millionaire is a heartening feeling.
Warren Buffett follwed his path to riches by making the eighth wonder his fast friend.
$10,000 invested at 15% compound interest for 35 years will make the coveted million. A little more added to it every year will result in a million more.
So, the challenge is to keep the money invested for the whole period. A tougher challenge will be to earn 15% average compound interest over the period.
Have you found a formula for investing which yields 15% p.a, or have you come across a fund that pays the same return?
If your answer is yes - then you are certainly on your way to the millionaires club.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)