Mumbai Indians: Les Miserables

What a team!

Disgusting, old, uncompetitive and above all pridelss! There is nothing to write about the character of this team. Its' is so very unrepresentative of Mumbai, a city of great talent, vision, dreams and hopes. The Mukesh Ambani XI unfortunately was allowed to use the name of a city, that never was meant for wealth-inheritors.

This city represents the go-getters, and for people who've got it easy, it will always be an alien. The Mukesh Ambani XI has done it again, a shameful defeat from the jaws of victory, that the Mumbai crowd poured its' heart into supporting this retirement plan for all current and future discards speaks greatly about the city, rathen than the team that used its name.

Hard Luck to you Mukesh Ambani XI, good luck next year!

Innocence Bleeding

Aarushi Talwar, a 14-year school student is butchered in the middle of the night in her own bedroom. Six days later, her father is arrested as the main accused. The TV channels are again at it, with 24/7 reporting (?) of the same clips over an over again. What led her father to take life away from his own daughter can possibly be never known, its' really difficult to imagine what a person like him really is made of.

That said, its' really the gruesome manner in which a father takes away life, shameful day of modern India.

My condolences to the innocent life lost to a moment of anger. My your soul rest in peace.

Inflation + IIP + Credit Cruch = Black Tuesday

What a week it's gonna be, expect the "leaders" to be down by 5%-7%, this on the back of some grave dangers that Indian Economy seems to be entering. Already there are news about "Food Riots" happening in various countries being reported by CNN (not a frivolous channel like Times Now or IBN-Vernacs etc.)

The earlier post about IIP hits home the underlying dangers lurking disclosure around 12-May. The Inflation has not only taken the steam out of the market, the FM+PM dream team appears exhausted by the unrelenting challenges thrown at the. By all accounts it appears to be in vain, rather like the last ditch efforts by a ship-crew trying to plug far more holes in it's walls than they possibly could imagine.

The farmers' subsidy, that golden liquidity, India has at its' disposal is about to be dispersed, and will be sucked away within days by hoarders, black-marketeers and politicians alike. Furthermore, credit-crunch all over the world means a 5% fall in Shanghai Composite, and a 3.5% one for HangSeng.

Wait and watch as the gloom of tuesday catches one and all on possibly the turning point of Indias' Bull Run.

Remembering Timothy Treadwell

Timothy Treadwell, a person who made a huge impression on wildlife enthusiasts all over the world, is remembered with fondness today, not for the controversy, or the tragic end, but for a way of life he discovered that billions never would. Stepping over that line that separates us - ordinary mortals - from that *something* that takes us ever so close to nature.

Leading the way with example, his unconventional approach to humanity and wildlife is as refreshing as most great people I've read about, alas he lived in times, where humans are hell bent on breaking the rules of nature and very little recognition goes by way of people who take the path less travelled.

I know you found peace, and pray that I find mine. Rest well.

Euphoria over IIP: Welcome to Fool's Paradise

7.4%

That's the latest inflation figure!

However as always, the business news channels are going ga-ga over the superlative performance of Indian Industrial Production in February. Hence its' worthwhile ruminating on the reality behind this numbers.

A. Overall growth, as shown in the sheet, is actually above the September 2007 mark in only 5 out of the 20 odd sectors, that means compared with September 2007 almost 15 sectors have either gone flat or bust. However, capital goods have indeed bucked the trend, and emerged as a sector with some real positive outflow. That's partially because government spending and most likely due to capacity planning initiatives for the next financial year. Overall, the gloom has only got darker. We did witness a slowdown in feb last year as well, which was cyclical, but this time its more genuine and almost out of the blue.

B. Sectoral: Manufacturing, is the darling of all industries, its' witnessing a major correction. Isnt a growing sector supposed to be going up? Comparing the feb numbers to last year same time, is correct, but factually speaking, we have declined over the feb figures as well.

The story of growth is highly debatable in the Indian context, especially given the fact that 70% Indians still earn Rs. 35 or less per day, and almost the same percentage spend less than Rs. 20 per day or less. That means the merely ensuring that they are sustained is gonna become a huge challenge

What it means for the common man is that, life just got tougher still. The government doesnt care a damn about the majority of its' populace, and is hell-bent on making India a capitalist country. Forget the government, the statistical organisation has presented charcoal in form that it almost might pass off as a diamond. A look around will clearly tell you what the real situation is. Real estate is booming, sucking away capital meant to fuel this growth. The serious growth inhibitor that it has become needs to be understood by the modern day government.

Today Kapil Sibal can go on air and talk about China having 8+ inflation and also cite that other third world counties are also going through the same inflation worries. However, one shudders to think what might happen if Oil crosses $120 and Indian government in its' bid to perform well at the next elections forgets its' fundamental duty - of sowing the seeds of a free market - and instead indulges in exceses to farmers and alike.

It's really a shame we are in such a situation inspite of 3 notable economist minds being at the helm. Let's hope and pray they get their policies right, and in connivance with the ever smart RBI help us ride this tide.

Positive Atheism

A MUST READ

Beautiful article, that goes into an in-depth analysis of what Atheism (Acceptance of Reality), is all about. It's not about disrespecting God, NO! Its' all about realising and recognising the bare and hard facts, and then living a life with that knowledge in a positive way.

Review: Dum Laga Ke - Malad, Link Road

I discovered this restaurant by chance, when we ordered biryanis at my friends place. To my sweet surprise, the biryani's were not the messy ghevda based ones, but authentic mughlai biryanis. Then, one friday, we all decided to eat out for lunch, and that was my second visit. That day, I had Egg Biryani (Tawa-Style), and have had the same 3 more times in the last two weeks.

Besides the above, there is a good variety of biryanis', tandoor based items, and a lot of the non-vegetarian stuff, which my dad loved. Me, being a lacto-ovo veggie, had to satisfy myself with just Egg biryani, paneer biryani and veg biryani.

Bottomline, if you love your biryanis', this place is a must visit.

A word of caution, this place is supposedly a franchisee of Borivali Biryani Center (BBC), but BBC is far worse than Dum Laga Ke, in terms of quality, and service.

Please not Lehman Brothers!

The US Markets are in a bad mood, Sunday was Bear Stearns, today there are loud rumors about Lehman Brothers, no less. Apparently, DBS Bank has circulated an internal email barring its' employees from taking fresh positions with LEH as the the counter party.

This and the fresh memory of Bear Stearns, and the remarkably resemblance of LEH to BSC's last two weeks has triggered a major sellof in LEH stock. However one particular news that may calm the markets is that the Feds latest move will enable even Investment Banks to avail of emergency funding from FED similiar to what commercial banks enjoy today. That will certainly help LEH get that crucial short-term backing. Tomorrow, would be a crucial day for LEH, when they announce their Q1 earnings. My sincere hopes are pinned on some solid positive news from LEH about their performance in Q1'08.

Bear no more!

Bear Stearns went down far more quickly than anyone anticipated. Rather, we in the emerging markets are not quite able to digest such kind of swiftness in action. A company with an 85-year long history and having weathered the great depression, falls from grace within two weeks!!!

That's a developed market, no speculation - only action. J.P.Morgan got probably a sweet deal, rather ensured that the deal was sweetened for them to be interested.

Spare a thought for the 14K employees of BSC, I've experienced exactly what they must be going through right now, actually worse, when my company Cyberspace wound up without blinking an eye (all thanks to rogues siphoning off funds meant for an IT company into funding their main brokerage business).

I guess the writing was on the wall, and as my previous post on 15-March outlined, Monday did indeed proved to be a Black Monday globally.

Sarabjit Singh: Life under threat due to Stupid Media

There is an unprecedented explosion of "News Channels" in the country...these are faceless mouthpieces of vested interests, and have little role in Nation-building or anything as such.

The worst form of reporting these days is coming from the Times Group, especially their tabloids and the disastrous news channel Times Now. It was this channel that went haywire over the "Kashmir Singh" news-story and in their over-enthusiasm, stepped on national security. Their acts ended in shame, when they got a live confession from Kashmir Singh and aired it nationally. I can remember watching that bit of "news" on Times Now, and the first thing that came to my mind, is these idiots have all but signed Sarabjits' Death Warrant.

It was a relatively no-news, that a teenaged Kashmir Singh was kept in prison and released by Pakistan under International Human Rights Acts, after a good 30-odd years. Yes the family was thrilled, but the country? Questionable! I for one, never got the big euphoria around this whole Kashmir Singh saga. For one, that its' a drop in the ocean. The mutilation faced by Indian-POW as early as the Kargil War, is fresh in my mind, besides this, countless fishermen are not spared when they land up in Pakistani waters. The same country butchered its' own Prime Minister, and then blasted his daughter on a election campaign trail. Further, proof of this non-event was given by Kashmir Singh himself, when he opened his mouth on National media. A spy going to town confessing about his profession? And Indian Media airing it? What brains are running these channels?

Indian government should have stepped in immediately upon his release, and given him a thorough understanding of his role with the media of this country, albeit, its all too late, the pakistani establishment must be feeling thoroughly violated over these statements, and as a balm and also a lesson, is plotting to murder a priosoner of 18 years.

The Indian Government owes it to its' military, para-military & intelligence personnel to ensure Sarabjit Singh is spared, and released. Whether it takes big-bucks, or an exchange of a pakistani-militant. Please Do what it takes to bring Sarabjit Singh back, a few million should be enough, after all, the country is in dire-straits, and we are merely paying the price of release of an Indian, who's a father, a brother, and a son to a middle-class Indian Family.

All said, I just wish we had finished the agenda in 1971.

Bear Stearns Bailout

What a story! The blue-eyed boy is in trouble!

There's a high-possibility of 17-March-2007 being the blackest Monday on the bourses worldwide. Bear Stearns is facing a basic issue, it doesn't have money to pay back investors. The long-term outlook for BS is not so bleak, however 17-March & 27-March would be two significant days in the history of this bank.

Back home, India does seem fairly decoupled, except being pulled into the acute liquidity crunch that the world is facing. It may not be a bad time, to relook at some of our own practices. Indian Realty prices have moved more than 3X over 2003 base, which if they havent already, make Indian banks seriously revalue the impact of their housing portfolio. ICICI bank, already reported upto $250m losses in sub-prime related issues. Indian story is good, solid but the termite attack has started, more than anything the FM's "decoupling" theory is gonna be seriously tested soon.

Whatever happens, I sincerely do hope that Bear Stearns rides this uncomfortable times unscathed. Else, lets' be prepared for a worldwide-market blood bath.

Nifty: Meter Down!

Nifty is Falling and no, its' not me, or my wishful thinking. Rather its' a sad realization that we are not there yet. A 25% fall doesnt quite happen in a matter to 10 business days, not in the developed markets , atleast not unless there is something fundamentally wrong in the economy.

Ironically the market is going down without any domestic reason. There is no doubt that with oil hitting $ 107+/barrel, inflation is gonna have a field day in India. A country, where oil prices are controlled, will be in for some really interesting political games in the offing. Its' hardly 10 months for the official elections, and anyones' guess on the number of actual days.

With this background and a weak Congress, I see NO support for the markets from here on, the Rs.1 bn cash kitty with Reliance Mutual Fund, or the collective Rs.10 bn (guess) with the Indian MFs. They are gonna let FIIs make some handsome returns.

The redemption pressure on MFs is likely to begin post-march, once the tax seasons' over, people are gonna take one hard look at the disappointing sensex, and likely to cash in / book their profits. Another looming crisis is the real-estate bubble. Where is the support for real-estate prices in a falling market. I see a crisis, if the real-estate even cracks by 15%, thats gonna make banks shiver in their pants. Its' likely that overall Home-loan portfolio in India, given its' overall rating, is no better than the sub-prime borrowers in the US. It's just that in US, atleast they are known to be sub-prime, in India, they are all within wraps.

Overall a very interesting situation is panning out, day traders are gonna have one helluva party. Enjoy your earnings season, Mr. Bear.

The new face of India

Indians awoke to a rude shock on Monday Morning. Black Monday it was indeed, the Indian Hockey Team losing to Great Britain, and thus losing a berth to play at the Olympics. That, the Indian Hockey Federation doesnt give a damn if Indian Hockey is relegated or derecognised was made amply clear by the President, K.P.S.Gill's retort, to not expect "Quick Results".

Hell, this is a 70+ old man, who can never relate to what the real India currently is. Its' the youth that are driving the country and they are far superior a breed to manage, run and achieve results in a manner its' completely unknown to this wise old man.

To me, he represents the scum of India that really makes up for the bottom most part of Indian Society. An adminstrator so in love with his post, that he's willing to sacrifice the pride of a nation, to achieve petty goals. One only wonders, how do the grey heads of India become so morally corrupt and shameless. I cannot think of any other word than Shame to describe the manner in which the IHF has gone about their business.

I think this is the time to think afresh and make a serious attempt at reviving the old hockey days. To start with, India should simply re-introduce field hockey the way it used to be played. On a grass surface. Make no mistakes, the techniques of grass hockey cannot be different from that of turf hockey. Its' far better to have a confident team, than to have a set of proven non-performers. Players within the national league, should be good players in both forms of the game. Theres' no point in adapting to turf hockey, it will only lead to more K.P.S.Gills and we should sincerely avoid that.

The Premier Hockey League, once its' played on grass, will not only attract poor and wealthy alike the turf will no longer be a barrier to young players from all corners of the country.

Lets' atleast make an attempt to achieve results inspite of K.P.S.Gill, just like Indian Economy is booming inspite of the Government.

India Calling: Toyota Corolla Tenth Generation

Toyota has long launched the 10th generation Corolla in various markets, including Japan, US, Australia, South Africa, Jamaica and quite a long list. Looking at Bombay Times these days one wonders if this beauty is gonna make it to India before FY09 hits us.

From the reviews and raves about this tenth generation babe, it looks like a apt answer to the undue dominance of the Honda Civic in the entry-level B segment.

This babe really rocks in looks, and that only echoes what the experts say about this package of energy. I mean, digital speedometers, climate control, and chic looks are some of the highlights of this beauty, who knows the next thing you see me, I might just have been lucky.

Definition of a Finance Minister: P.Chidambaram

What a Man!

Sir P.Chidambaram, he represents soneone that probably every business studen dream of...right at the top of the pyramid. The sole King of the most vibrant economy on this planet, making him the true governor of the fate of this earth.

No exaggerations, I am truly awed by the phenomenal magic show brought to life by Sir PC. And NO, I'm not talking about the 2008-09 budget, it was a damp squid, probably constrained by the petty political partners of Congress and its' own ranks. But, for all observers, there was one truly savouring experience of watching a Man blessed with wisdom, passion and a true sense of bold-spirit go about his job in the most professional manner known in this country since ages.

If Laloo is hailed by some firang university, it probably just proves that the west is already brain drained, they have no clue where the blast force of India lies, they are instead left praising her exhaust pipes.

Here is a man, who being a lawyer and a politician slashed the daylights out of self-propagated business news channels. Anyone who wanted proof why business channels should be watched in mute mode (perhaps only as a cheap replacement to BloomBerg or the likes) the post-budget interviews by Raghav Behl, NDTV Lead Anchor (who atleast got a finance brain with him) and the Zee Business News anchor (she's most likely to resign) only made it ever so clear.

One is left wonderiing, if only India had 520 more Sir P.Chidambarams, then India would not only hit that coveted double digit growth, but would so quickly become the best place to live on this planet.

Thank you very much, for being India's Finance Minister.

Letter to editor@ibnlive.com

Sir,

Thank you for an insightful, liberal and by far the most complete debate on the “Events targeting North-Indians in Mumbai” today (Sun, 10-Feb-2008).

I have been seeing some rather disturbing reporting by north-regional channels (SP Influenced– Sahara, Sensationalist – Aaj Tak, India 24x7, India TV and surprisingly IBN7) and also the times group in Mumbai (Mumbai Mirror).

Is there no accountability left in journalism, and why isn’t anyone questioning the strong northern (one person / group only) influence on the above mentioned channels? Why isn’t anyone questioning the rights of such regionally-focused & biased reporting under the guise of “National TV”?

Please carry on with the quality of reporting and the debates, because your channel is the only hope for liberal minds of our country.

Lastly, I just wish to register my thoughts on the agitation started by MNS, its’ aptly described as “Gutter Politics”, especially after hearing the spokesperson go on every channel in a futile attempt to spread the hatred. I am convinced that, even if Mumbai was comprised of 80%-90% Maharashtrians, these same parties would have made caste / creed as the agenda, and we would have had equal violence under the guise of agitation.

I also wish to appeal to you, to cut-down on MNS, SP, Amar Singh & Raj Thackeray (What's their contribution to India?) related news, Hate Politics needs to be nipped in the bud, and instead, we are providing a breeding ground for the same.

Let’s vow that only Gujarat remains an exception.

Regards,

Milind Kolekar
(A Marathi-speaking Indian)

Raj Thackeray's Campaign against North Indians

Yesterday, most national channels were beaming speeches by Raj Thackeray. Amongst other ideas aired by Raj, the most notable were as follows:

• Lack of representation of Maharashtrians in Indian Railways.
• Introduction of Tax-free status to Bhojpuri Films in Mumbai and other parts of Maharastra!!!
• Steady flux of migrants from UP & Bihar.
• Factual description of misplaced loyalties of Amitabh Bachhan, who represents Samajwadi Party.
  
• Request to celebrate Chhat Puja as a state-event in Maharashtra by SP Politicians..
  

I must say I can relate to the frustration that Maharashtrians face at the violation of cultural sanctity in the face of the influx. Migration to Maharashtra is rampant from not just North, but all parts of India. However the target of the speech is clearly North Indians, especially UPites & Biharis.

Lets' not forget that the only gift these poor migrants from the north have given Mumbai, is the public squatting and shameless shitting in the open. This more than anything, clearly reflects their culture and the state of affairs in their state. The face of politics in UP and Bihar is even worse than these migrants, gun-totting gangs, force ballots and total disregard for life. No surprise the sanctuary of Maharashtra is looked upon as heaven.

Being a good 1500 KMs away, Maharashtra has evolved based on a completely different set of values, ones that respect life, one-another, and believes in living life to the fullest. Now, contrast that with the lawless, sub-human, crime-infested regions that the migrants come from.

I've toured some part of Harayana, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa. Nowhere have I seen such rampant infestation of UPites & Biharis, and the crown goes to Tamil Nadu, where I couldnt find even one shop named Shah Bros or the likes. Bottom line is that the whole of India is made of states that purports a unique socio-cultural aspect. There are numerous examples of cultural santuaries being prevalent across India, be it housing societies barring muslims or non-vegetarians, or villages not allowing entry to certain castes, or be it the aryan-dravidian debate. We all love to be surrounded by people of our kind, who speak our language, who behave like us, who share our mindset and most importantly who share similiar values.

Cities as an expection is highly desirable, hence the great melting pot that Mumbai is, is the best sign of Modern India, but the ugliness within it, shouldnt be covered under the guise of fairness.

My one question to Mr. Potato & Mr. Puppy is why are your states unable to stop this out-flow of the poor? Isnt this the biggest blot on your politics? How shameful does one need to act to be called as one from your state?

The need of the day is to bring in a comprehensive plan to bring Bihar & UP out of their rut, what Mr. Anil Ambani and Mr. Amitabh Bachhan are doing for the state is truly commendable. The plan to rescue UP & Bihar should be taken along the lines of curbing Bird-Flu within West Bengal, containment should be the mantra, and surely states which boast of a superb irrigation and great human capital can do much here. The more I think of this problem, the more I see logic in the preferential railway job allotments (they do need these benefits), and at the end of the day, a poor man regardless of where he lives needs to be given a helping hand and a lot of care.

Having said this, I wouldnt like to see Maharashtra as being the place as host to these refugee camps.

Indian sub-prime crisis in the making?

Stock markets have fallen, (for good) by about 25-30% in the last fortnight. Thats' still early days, we are yet to catch-up with the complete sell-off targets, that FIIs and the real movers of Indian markets have on their minds. It's quite obvious that the very liquidity that is hitting the markets is very much locked in the highly over-valued real estate market.

Unless this liquidity is unlocked, there is very to no hope in getting the liquidity back into the system.

However, it should be noted that unless people realize that fundamentally, when a miniscule apartment sells for 1/2 a million, its' time to leave either the city, or the markets.

Whenver the liquidity in real-estate is triggered, rest assured that Indian banks are gonna start announcing losses just like their US counterparts. Remember, even Indian banks have been dispensing 90% loans, even a 10-15% fall in real-estate might trigger an amazing real-estate crisis, rather a banking crisis, watch out, we are very close, and the ice is wafer thin ahead.

Dear FM, PM, et. al: Leave the Capital Market Alone

Why is Indian Government trying to bail out an super highly sold, unviable and unprofitable Capital Market?

Indian Government and the Finance Ministry need to answer this question, in the most candid manner possible. They owe it to the millions of people who do not have demat a/cs but still pay VAT, the millions of salaried class government employees earning a pittance while still paying income tax.

Why does the government want to lose the precious capital, and help FIIs earn far better returns instead of waiting for the deluge to be over. By constantly baby-sitting the stock markets, the government is encouraging callous investors. Why is LIC investing in bear markets, by using investor money, when they never pay more to policy holder on the back of a bull market.

Farmers kill themselves for the want of pity amounts, and the government turns a blind eye. Come FIIs in trouble, and greedy "investors" wanting support to book profits, the DIIs come in an bail them out.

Indian market is just that a creche for rich and HNIs, it is far far away from being a free and fair open market.

Black Monday - 21Jan2008

Indian Markets can excite you more than any reality show or sports t.v. ever can. Today was one such days, the numbers themselves probably spell disaster, however once you start imagining the carnage in the lives of those unfortunate ones who were highly leveraged in this bull market, it dawns on you as one of the biggest reality shows in the nation.

There were punters, horse-traders, and pure betters who were begining to take hold of Indian Markets, and would go home tonight to lick their wounds and perhaps with the knowledge that Indian Markets are just that, another set of emerging markets where mayhem and chaos rules roost.

Watching the action live as it unfolded was extremely exciting, but seeing 21-Jan being permanently etched in Indian Stock Market history was extremely satisfying too. For the record I lost about Rs. 5K held in ULIP, but I can afford to smile. Not many can.

The usual set of monkeys were freely making predictions about the future, and how the markets will bounce back. These shameless experts are only good at reading numbers that are past-tense, to even take their word about the future is foolhardy. Its' not surprise that Indian Markets crashed, after all, India isnt on Planet Jupiter, its' on terra-firma and every other nation can dictate the course in Indian Financials.

Valuations are now suddenly the flavour of discussion, however the "fundamentals" many take for granted are about to be questioned. No one in their sane mind would be able to predict the extent of US recession (if any) and its' impact on Indian markets, yet the euphoria doesnt abate.

Let's hope and pray that just like the stock markets, the real-estate markets would firmly head towards where it belongs. It's high time....

Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup.

Vikram Pandit Rocks!!!

This is not about nationalism , just pure admiration for a man who has achieved what mere mortals dream about. Maybe, CEO, something else would have been fitting, but the beast that Citigroup is, makes it awe-inspiring.

Wish you great luck in your role of doing what you do best!

The Dangerous Indian Urban Divide

The real dangers in Indian Economy are not poverty, hunger nor disease. They are the following in the order of their severity:

1. Black Money: This is one instrument, of ensuring that the salaried classes generate moolah for other sections of the society to ravage upon. The amount of direct taxes being poured in by this class of people is enormous enough for the country to grow at a 8%-9% rate, to imagine what the REAL growth numbers' would be if the worlds' largest black economy within a country was scrutinized, and taxed.

The black marketeers exist in various forms, but the biggest culprits till date have been builders and corrupt bureaucrats. This class of India, is by far the biggest threat to India, and demand a separate regulator aka SEBI to carefully watch each and every transaction happening in India.
A case in point are the numerous land scams being unearthed, and political interests in real-estate.

The movie, "Khosla ka Ghosla" deals with one such land-sharks, however the modes and methods of operations of such death-dealers differs vastly.

2. Corruption: Khairnar once said, "Its a dark new moon night, and you want me to point out the darkness?"

3. Greed & Lack of Social Responsibility: Indians just fail to understand, that when the rich-poor divide increases substantially, a force bent on social justice will take matters in their own hands. Today, we are witnessing this phenomenon, in the form of shameless display of corruption by policemen & traffic cops. The vandalism is spreading from railway ticket-collectors to government employees with any kind of public contact.

Finally I'd urge you to watch this video, to have a sense of reality, and to guage where India would really reach in the year 2050.

Bathroom Imaginations & Screenplay: Saatchya Aat Gharat

To the writer of this movie, Mr. Sanjay Surkar, I just have this to say, "Get well soon!".

My heartfelt best wishes for you to get back into a better mental state, so that Marathi Cinema is spared another horrible state than what was achieved by the late. Laxmikant Berde & the not-so late Mr. Ashok Saraf.

Another suggestion, please do not ponder so much, about culture and humanity...you are incapable to both, and most of all, judging modern humanity.

I saw this movie, and was appalled by the senseless writing and screenplay, all under the guise of "intellectual" cinema. Here is why:

1. The whole movie tries to represent an entire generation, when it actually portrays some management kids (incapable of simple logical thoughts) in a dire situation - the guise of which is so foolish, it makes you see through the callousness of the writer to disregard depth in his story.
2. The movie tries to draw parallels' between mythology and real-life, and the lead is shown lecturing a man over her deep thinking, which, based on the screenplay, is nothing more than comparision to mytical circumstances. Why? Well, again the writer is too bored to use a wifi-laptop while he's relieving his compost, and research humanity, and sociology. Two key elements that are so sorely missed in this movie.
3. The superficial handling of a key topic shows immaturity. Acceptance of an assault victim isnt quite new Mr. Writer, not only that, Indian culture has a seriously long history of infidelity, which I personally believe is far more shocking than being assaulted. But hell, assault is a kick-ass word and sure to tickle the small marathi cine-goers, especially the grey heads that are clinging on to the hope that glory days are around the corner.
4. Undue importance to godly matters, while bearing no relevance to the actual story line, keeps
rearing its' head every once in a while throughout the movie, and gives it a pro-believer stance (its' not quite difficult to guess which community was involved in making the movie), I think the best way to debunk the gods in India would be to kill all demons aka "Bhul Bhulaiyaa" which would certainly open eyes of Indians to the "real" facts of human life and death.
5. Now, lastly to my serious contention that marathi cinema is dying not because of bad characterisation or storylines, but rather because the marathi film-industry is so far away from the modern concepts of human stories and stays so far away from key elements that make classics like Forrest Gump, RDB, Shwaas or all the ones that get oscars and nominations, that no one hopes much more than z-grade from them.

Another interesting fact which I feel is a bit of a sideline to the story, is the fact that its' set in Pune, a city full of students and IT / ITES companies. Full stop. No trade, no finance, nothing. Essentially the story of culturally old parents and young millionaire children. The movie is fantastic, within the boundaries of such a Galapagos, but applying it to anything beyond that is like imagining Dinosaurs as primary dairy suppliers.

However all's not lost, there is always a gem that comes out once in a while, and lets hope someone out there actually decides to take some efforts, do real work and then write movies.

Hyundai i10

http://www.hyundaii10.co.in/

Diwali - World's Most Dangerous & Destructive Festival

Today was the first day after a night-full of crackers and fireworks explosions. I have always heard of the effect on the environment, but today I witnessed it first hand. Today was an ordinary day with absolutely NO CLOUDS, but it was made extra-ordinary by the fireworks of yesterday. As captured in the photo on my previous blog, the night sky showed a thick coat of smog, and the effect of it lasted the whole day today. The sun was shining, but the day was hardly bright, I'd rate it in-between a gloomy day and an overcast one.

It was surprising and at the same time disgusting to witness such an occurence in my own lifetime. When we ultimately face the consequences of such acts, we'd be left without any options.

I thought I'd seen and lived all my horrors, but instead in the evening, we thought of enjoying the sights and sounds of Diwali, so started off for a drive with a stopover to visit my granny. We parked our Car next to a pani-puri vendor, and before we could get out, there were crazy loud thuds on the opposite side of the road. Few minors had collected all their firecraker "malas" and placed a chain of notorious "sutli bombs" on top of it. Some burning blast fragments were being spread to a area of more than 8-10 meter diameter. One such burning fragments hit the driver side door pane, close to the rubber lining, and my heart sank. I wasted no time, and took my car to a area that appeared desolate (relative term).

But to my sheer anguish, there were a set of people from Anagram Finance, who were in a very "happy" mood at their shop (belonging to one Haresh Parekh, an investment advisor) and were hell bent on setting all their brokerage on fire. My car endured a volley of high-decibel blasts, from less than three meters away for more than 30-35 minutes.

Later on, we took a drive on the link road towards Don Bosco high-school, which I must say is one the best areas of Borivali. The lights' and overall decor was breath-taking. However, to spoil the look, there was a lot of sound being generated by none other than the infamous "sutli bomb", and the hissing rockets. I saw so many of the rockets hit sides of one building or another. It was quite disturbing to see such shameful exhibition of fire-power in a densely populated city like Mumbai.

Lastly, if it's worth, I strongly urge the Indian Government, and the powers that be, to issue a BLANKET BAN on fire-crackers in Mumbai!

Please act now, and save off some quality of life before its' too late.

Goodwill Hunting - Deepika Padukone

India on the global scene is harshly misrepresented as a country of IT professionals, Call-center "Executives" and generally low cost professionals. So it comes as a surprise when India & Indians are presented with an aggressive and overtly glamourous defiance.

What am I talking about?

Om Shanti Om has released today to packed audience. Amongst the several theatrics on TV today, was a news-channel showcasing the publicity visits by the cast of OSO to theatres in London.

And out came Deepika wearing a red Indian traditional dress, that brought the scintillating beauty and charm hidden beneath her calm exterior to fore.

Maybe I'm exaggerating, however it was quite pleasing to see Indian actors being celebrated the same manner overseas as they so boringly are back home. There was much more in store, a bit of googling around for OSO reviews, and the surprise was even much more pleasant. A canadian film critic not only rates OSO 3/5, but goes on to say that "OSO is far better than any Hollywood movie released right now, and one thing you realize is, this movie puts a smile on your face", and concludes with "Must watch".

Great work SRK & Deepika et. al.

Sub-prime jitters in India?

While surfing today, I came across this:
http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20071106075455130&dir=2007/11/06&secID=livenews

Does it indicate the begining of the end of Real-Estate woes in India? ICICI is a shark, and for a blood-thirsty shark to give away its' meal like this sounds alarming. I personally feel ICICI may have lot more percent of NPAs, and I would definately like to track ICICI's 50% loan portfolio involving housing sector financing.

Its' not surprise that Arcil has a CEO from ICICI, who was involved with recovering "stressed loans" to the tune of thousands of crores.

With the loan recovery mechanics of ICICI making prime-time news, its' probably the begining of something big from ICICI.

Diwali 2007

Wish you a very Happy Diwali!

Let's atleast hope the colors and light festival can be enjoyed in the same light a century from now. The fog and the pollution may not permit our next generations to live and enjoy Diwali. Act now, time is passing us all by, and there's only one right thing to do...

Say no to Firecrackers!

Concorde - A380

21-January-1976, two historical events happened on this day, a. The Concorde took its' maiden flight over the Atlantic bringing the new world within 2 hours of the old world. The second can be easily guessed.

I have always had an emotional attachment to the Concorde, the sheer beauty and technical wizardry it exhibited is still unmatched. However the very values that the Concorde represented have been eclipsed, that Man no longer values speed and grace is the sad but true state of Modern Aviation.

Today the world has seen the rise of a Goliath, a beast, with ugly looks, but nevertheless, state-of-the-art technology under its' belly. The A380 shines through all the needs of travellers all over the world, especially long-distance travellers.

But, after 9/11, does it make sense to build planes that can carry 800 pax, and triple the amount of fuel carried by the B757s & B767s used to create havoc?

Well, if anything, one might argue, that the world should never bow down to the evil ambitions of handful men. Agreed, but doesnt risk-assessment mean anything anymore?

The A380 will rule the skies, no doubt, and I certainly do hope, that Modern Aviation, does not falter, not the very least to terrorism, but I also feel, while we celebrate the birth of the A380, we are quietly letting the very thing that symbolizes magnificence become nothing more than a memory.

BPO Employee Murdered

Why doesnt Indian Government, follow Saudi Principles of Justice, where each criminal not only pays for his/her crimes, but does so in a manner that sets an example for society.

My sincere condolences to Late Miss. Chaudhari, and I pray that she gets justice quickly.

Emergency in Pakistan

Dont quite know what to expect now, or if it matters to us Indians, but to know that folks across the borders are being deprived of constitutional rights is not very nice.

I just hope for the sake of World-peace, that Mia Musharraf has good intentions at heart, and would create a path-breaking mechanism of fixing the twisted social fabric of Pakistan.

Some insights into real-estate pricing

I have discovered some insights into how Real-Estate companies price their properties. Although the macro factors are quite standard and well-documented, I recently witnessed an unprecedented example of how this bubble takes shape.

I'd visited the R.N.A. (A.A) builders stall at the MCHI property expo, and one of their "complexes" in Mira Road - E - RNA Courtyard - was quoting Rs. 2741 psf, the date & time for this quote was 28-Oct-2007 20:00 Hrs.

This week, I decided to give a few followup calls' to all the builders just to get a sense of where the market was headed. And lo-behold, RNA Courtyard was hiked to Rs. 3441 psf, an appreciation of Rs. 800 (or 29.18 % ) within a matter of 5 days, whereas ALL other projects were quoting the exact same price as at the Expo. This startling appreciation of project quote points at two facts:
1. There was a huge demand for that property at the Expo.
2. Most likely there are a few products remaining to be sold.

However, there is one more aspect of Real-Estate pricing which has come to fore, which is "Benchmark Pricing" & "Incremental Valuations". The concepts are fairly rudimentary and quite obvious but, to know that such methods are still being followed in what some experts call a "mature" industry is quite disturbing. Its' akin to you being priced in increments when you buy anything, so imagine someone charging Rs. 10, 12, 14, 17, 20 for 5 Pepsi Bottles that you buy. Its' a classical definition of a "Sellers Market", the market valuations are almost being twisted on its' head based on purchasing power of consumers. There is one downside though, with speculators so rampant in such market, there is a huge amount of value that's being lost because ultimately gains made by an individual have opportunity costs, and by spending out of your nose to buy a flat will ensure, other commodities face a decline.

I can clearly see the begining of the end, although my confidence in this prediction is shaky, because I've grossly under-estimated the holding capacity of Indian speculators before.

MCHI Property Fair 2007

The games start now!

I saw a very humble picture of Mumbai's Real Estate market, the rates have gone down, a good 10%-15%.

The projects still stuck with the same rates as earlier were desolate devoid of any visitors, the ones' that were rocking were projects which have taken into account the fact that the average Indian doesnt earn 75 lacs a year!

Some of the properties which have been around forever, are obviously not willing to learn from economics, that ballons can be blown to their capacity, but not any further.

May god help the countless people who are gonna be stuck with debts higher than the value of their flats, either that, or may lord have mercy on me coz I do not wish to buy no flat in these boiling water.

SEBI Proposes Tighter Rules on P-Notes: Catch the bull by its' Horns

Securities & Exchange Board of India has issues a draft document proposing tightening of noose around the "FII" inflow into the country off the back of P-Notes.

As discussed earlier, this route is no doubt used by the mafia, underworld, corrupt politicians and likely hawala operators under the guise of "FII" investment. The total anonymity in such transactions opens a Pandora's Box, as Occams' Razor suggests, the simplest explanation is often the truth.

If my vote counts, please re-consider banning P-Notes in totality. If not, then please make this draft into a directive asap.

Thank You SEBI, RBI & FM...please save India from this menace.

Ban Outdated Rickshaws & Taxis in Mumbai

Mumbai roads have been ruled by Taxis and Rickshaws for over three decades now. Today we are living in a city trying to establish an image on a global stage. Some of the worlds richest people live in this city, moreover the city houses establishments that have become a rage on the global investment front. We are seeing broad developments in the city, be it the roads, the trains, eateries, fashion circuit, airports, hotels et al. But sadly there is one "cancer" that is choking Mumbai to its' death.

According to this report on Mumbai's Pollution, the levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) & Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) are way beyond acceptable limits in inhabited placed. Other contaminants such as Lead (Pb) and Oxides of Nitrogen are also found in increasingly larger quantities.

There is no doubt that Mumbai's pollution is due to the rapid growth of Automobiles, and the continued usage of dilapidated trucks and vehicles especially Rickshaws and Taxis. What we need is a blanket ban on these, or at the very least trim them to about 10% of their current numbers. Here's why

Taxi
1. Taxi operators are using vehicles manufactured a minimum 20 years ago. Moreover, the vehicles are no longer receiving genuine parts, and one wonders how the engine behaves when its' been subjected to unbranded/customizations.
2. Taxis offer "Zero" ride-quality. These vehicles are having very tough rubber tyres, and the rides in pot-holed areas, or even slight level mismatches on a concrete road are pretty rough. We pay a great amount of money for this?
3. Arrogant Taxi drivers of Mumbai are folklore.
4. Most taxis are sluggish due to conversion to CNG, but their arrogant, uneducated and unmannered drivers always believe in driving on the fast lane (Right Lanes). Some taxi drivers are also known to mix Kerosene with petrol, causing horrible SPM pollution.
5. There are so many taxis' which either do not have a functional headlight or a tail-light or the turn-indicator lights. Some do not have either in working condition. I sincerely wonder why is fact tolerated by the RTO?
6. A quick chat-survey of Taxi-Utilization, reveals that a Taxi may get two or maximum three "bhaadas" every day, requiring one or two hours of driving. However, the driver needs to hunt his fish the whole of 10-12 hours (mostly waiting in queues) to be able to meet this figure. It means on an average a Taxi has only 8%-10% utilization.
7. The union holds the entire city at ransom through their strikes.
8. Whenever citizens really need the Taxi's services, the taxi operators invariably try to rob the person blind. Best examples were 26/7, or whenever sub-train services are disrupted.

Rickshaw
1. The rickshaws are a symbol of Indian Entrepreneurship gone horribly wrong. We have given rise to this ugly animal in our own backyard, courtesy the greed and vision (illusion) of one man. The very purpose of a rickshaw is to provide a low-cost carrier to the common man. Rickshaw fare is almost 82% of a Taxi fare. Are rickshaws' really serving their purpose?
2. Rickshaw drivers are the most notorious drivers in Mumbai. There are a few strict "NO"s that are taught in driving schools, but probably as means of getting back at the society, a rickshaw driver not only practices them, but has ingenious ways to invent more.
3. Ride quality in Taxis' is bad, but in a Rickshaw, its' even worse. The small wheelbase results in serious jolts, add to that the whims and fancies of its' seat designers which range from wooden planks to the cheapest train seat.
4. The three wheel approach lends to a very unstable platform. I've myself been involved in a rickshaw toppling incident, and witnessed atleast 2 of them (No injuries, just bruises). Add to that the fact that a rickshaw is driven along three parallel lines, thus making avoidance of potholes a nightmare. A driver usually takes care not to involve the front wheel in a pothole, the other wheels lead to heads bangs (to begin with) or even miscarriages at the extreme.
5. Rickshaw drivers are known to pick-up fights in a haste, and are a menace to society.

The sooner the powers in question realize these, the earlier we can take Mumbai to a far cleaner, and brighter city.

Visit to Bombay Stock Exchange

There are two phases in every mumbaikar's life. First, when he's not yet come across the charisma, grandeur and the sheer power to challenge and alter your destiny. And the next one, is when you have visited the Bombay Stock Exchange, and interacted with the very men that made it one of the oldest financial benchmarks of Indian Economy.

Okay, I'm still in a kind of daze, about how I could stay away from the stock markets for so long, especially when all indicators were screaming out loud at even putting in pension funds into the stock market.

The reason I happened to visit the stock market was to attend a course on "Fundamental Analysis" at the BSE Training Institute (19th Floor). The course provides a completely fresh perspective into how stock markets need to be approached. An over-whelming feeling that almost took me over towards the end of this session, I literally felt like an ostrich with his head buried into the ground. The few important pointers I gathered from the course were, always study the true worth (Valuation) of a company, before deciding to invest in one. The markets always come around to respect that figure. Keep a keen eye on what the promoters are upto, Indians are criminals when it comes to integrity, and the course covered a lot of examples of such family businesses. Essar group, Naresh Goyal, Great Eastern being a few of them. Another key perspective, which I guess I was not prepared for, was the depth of insight that one needs to have on the economy to make sound / logical calls.

As regards the venue, what I must recommend to anyone who reads this + lives in Mumbai, is to take this or any other course. The view one gets of south bombay, the financial HQ of India and above all, the opportunity to meet the ex-president / leading brokers of BSE is once in a lifetime.
Left: View atop the BSE, overlooking the Gateway of India, Museum and other such landmarks. (Click for a full-size image)

A few things that have indeed unchanged even after LPG has hit us hard, plus since the FIIs and other institutions come together to challenge the dominance of BSE in the form of NSE are the love of money. The whiff of opportunity strikes you as soon as you enter the building.

My sincere Thanks, to every broker, dealer and member of Bombay Stock Exchange. Thanks for making the place I was born in, so respectable, and so desirable!

Below: Video of the brand new ticker and screen courtesy BSE and NDTV Profit

Indian Railways: A bed of roses for Corruption

Its' incredible, how our Finance Minister talks about bringing in all unaccounted wealth under tax-purview, how the proliferation of black economy is hurting us bad at the world-stage. But does he ever question / ask for income details of the thousands of Ticket Collectors operating in Indian Railways?

They are Corrupt, beyond imagination!

I have no words to describe the very means a (dis)respectful Ticket Collector employs and literally make you pay for your desperation or dire needs.

I think this species of humans ought to be classified separately, as their corruption is so blatant and public, its shameful that no one ever does anything about it. Its' about time each Ticket Collector & his spendings are monitored carefully, and the guilty ones (Most likely all of them) are made porters in the same town that they live in.

The modus operandi is very simple, Indian Railways, under the leadership of the worlds worst human being-cum-politician, issues far more wait-listed tickets than are ever possible to be filled. Inspite of having paid the entire amount, the TC then charges his own fees (in cash) to allocate a vacant berth to a wait-listed passenger.

It is a usual sight to see old men with balding / grey heads asking for Rs. 100 almost as easily as a beggar does at signals. But like I said, this is a different species altogether, shameless, humans ready to make a easy buck for virtually a brain-less job. They do absolutely no service whatsoever, the computerised ticketing system does an excellent job of grouping and allocating passengers well, but the illusions of progress are shattered the day one sees the Railway Ticket Collector going around asking society to pay him coz, he aint capable of earning it himself.

Dollar at 30 - by 2008

My earliest memory goes back upto Rs. 13/$, but those were golden days' when India was almost self-reliant, and license raj was still allowed, that was 1988.

Not for long, the worlds' most idiotic political party got elected (barely) and decided to do something that silly minds always do. Disturb a calm lake, and ever since all hell broke loose, Rupee hit an all-time low of Rs. 49/$, that was 1998.

But even bad things dont stay forever, the Reserve Bank of India (Mom's bank), and apparently even the Finance Ministry decided to stop "pegging" the rupee to a basket and let it free...and free it has been. After a few hiccups, the rupee is sailing, we've witnessed an unprecedented rise in the rupee against the dollar over the last few days, a lot of it due to the largesse of funds being poured into India by "FIIs" (Read black-marketeers & underworld and yeah of-course genuine FIIs as well).

So how far would it go? Some experts have suggested a long-term stability around Rs. 38/$ and some around Rs. 35/$. But that's an experts' suggestion...its' bound to be a bit conservative, that's one limitation one doesnt have while blogging, so assuming a 10%-15% leeway, we can safely expect the dream Rs. 30/$ somewhere around mid next year or at the very worst towards 2008-Q4.

For such a possibility, we need to pump in money into the stock market, however there is one bother, the real-estate sector is a black-hole that's threatening to take away the free-capital available in the market currently.

For some reason, I keep remembering the quote Uday Kotak made towards end of 2006 - "Americans sustained a 10-Year bull run, there is no reason why we cannot better it". Amen to that sir!

OK if it does happen where does it lead us?
A. To a far, more important role in world-politics!
B. Will boost the Indian travellers' budget plans...expect New York to be lined with bhel-puri stalls soon...that would be a sight ;)
C. Oil-pool deficit reduction, but dont see it lasting for long though.
D. Depressed exporters - to hell with you, the country doesnt need to support you forever...
E. A shaken IT industry, forget the cheap-labour bargain guys, sell its' intelligence. I can say with experience we are at-par, if not better with the best on the planet.
F. Kotak Mahindra taking over Goldman Sachs (!!!)
G. Reliance buying all Fortune-500 oil companies outside India.
H. Subhiksha takes over Walmart!

Ok, last three are just wishful thoughts, though its' not impossible...Tata Steel did acquire Corus, so the rumblings have begun. But this is possible (if ever) only if Indian rupee continues its' surge against the dollar, and the US successfully plans its incursions into Iran or Venezuela, or at the very least gets' its Petrodollars alive and kicking again.

Buddha Mar Gaya : No. 1 Hindi Parody Movie

This is my favourite genre, and watching movies like Hot-Shots, Airplane!, Scary Movie series have always made me wonder what a Hindi movie parody would be like. Well I got my answer, an extremely bold, and I must say offensive at-times, movie that fits the Indianized version of parodies - Buddha Mil Gaya.

It's not an average run-of-the mill movie rolled out by senseless directors, year after year...its' a movie with a lot of thought, that's what thrilled me. Never before has a Hindi movie had me bursting out in laughter as this one did.

But, make no mistake, this is not for everyone, if you are the ones who get offended easily, then please, dont watch this movie. However, if you ever wanted to be entertained, and are expecting just that and nothing more, then watch that movie on a big screen, you will come back a different person!

My personal fav scene is when a lady senior cop, giggles at the thought of having to see unknown body sans its' head, legs and hands...why...coz it still has its' "organs" intact. She shows sympthy at the missing head, then the missing hands, and rolls her eyes downwards, and immediately recognizes the body saying "Yeh to LK hai"...

Gruesome some might say, but hell its' celluloid...no ones' dead, its' just a joke and when you see it for the first time, it really drives you nutz...

Good movie, but I'm pretty sure it wont work, coz we Indians have been bought up on a dose of watching 40+ heros' romancing around trees celebrating their first love, and anything other than that just breaks our dreams...

Adhuri ek kahani...

To my Leo! Story of our short time together!

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Independence from Credit Cards

I've finally achieved a milestone of sorts while managing my finances. I've got rid of all my credit cards, all the cut pieces are on their way to the respective banks.

The reason for this desperate measure is a serious cost-benefit analysis. Some of the factors that influenced this:

1. First and foremost, no matter how bad the risk is for a CC company, it simply doesnt justify an interest rate of 3%-4% per month!
2. The banks have non-standard days of billing, hence its' sometimes difficult to keep track of which bill is due when, especially when the number of credit cards you hold reaches double digits.
3. There is no graded interest payment schemes, so if you default by a day or 30 it will still carry the same penalty! At 3%-4% its' quite a crime that such a system is allowed to be practiced in India.
4. The eagerness with which Credit Cards are issued, only goes to show that this product operates via a PUSH model, rather than a person actually needing to own one. I realised this late, but eventually, that ever since I joined a business school, credit cards have been pushed into my wallet under the guise of "lifetime-free" schemes.
5. Many shops and establishments in Mumbai charge an extra 2% for purchases made using credit cards, so do fuel-stations, but under the guise of service tax.
6. Now, for the most important reason, I'm really not comfortable with the idea that some goons are gonna come looking for me asking me to repay paltry sums like 10K odd. That is the ugliest side of Indian Banking Industry, many thumbs down to ICICI and likes which have employed these tactics (see citation below).

ICICI Bank Credit Card - Terms & Conditions (Retrived on Independence Day-2007)
(d) DEFAULT AND CIRCUMSTANCES
(i) If the Cardholders fails to pay at least the Minimum Amount Due as mentioned in the Statement on or before the Payment Due Date, ICICI Bank shall be entitled to disclose information relating to days past due (“dpd”) of the Cardholder to credit information bureaus / agencies (specifically authorized by RBI). A notice shall be deemed to have been given to the Cardholder by ICICI Bank by informing the Cardholder of the disclosures of information relating to dpd status of the Cardholder through Statements. The time period between statement date and the payment due date of the credit card shall be construed to be the notice period for such reporting of the Cardholder.
(ii) ICICI Bank reports the credit/repayment history of the Cardholders to bureaus/agencies in terms of the dpd. The dpd status will indicate the number of days the Cardholder has not cleared his dues to ICICI Bank beyond the due date. The updated status of the Cardholder will be sent to the bureaus/agencies on pre decided regular intervals and thus there will be no withdrawal of the default report except in the case of disputes having been resolved in favor of the Cardholder.
(iii) Recovery procedure in the case of default: ICICI Bank shall be entitled, at the sole risk and cost of the Cardholder, to engage one or, more person(s) to collect the Cardholder’s dues and/or to enforce any security provided by the Cardholder, and ICICI Bank may (for such purposes) furnish to such person(s) such information, facts and figures pertaining to the Cardholder and the security as ICICI Bank deems fit. ICICI Bank may also delegate to such person(s) the right and authority to perform and execute all acts, deeds, matters and things connected therewith, or incidental thereto, as ICICI Bank deems fit.
(iv) Recovery of dues in the case of death/permanent incapacitance of Cardholder: The whole of the outstanding balance on the Card Account, together with the amounts of any outstanding Card transactions, effected but not yet charged to the Card Account, shall become immediately due and payable in full to ICICI Bank, by the Cardholder, his/her successors, nominees, legal heirs in the event of his/her death (after adjustment of credit shield benefit if subscribed by the Cardholder) or insolvency or winding up of the business of the Cardholder.
(v) Insurance cover for Cardholder (optional) and date of activation of policy:
The Cardholder may be offered various Insurance Benefits from time to time by ICICI Bank through a tie up with the Insurance Company, only upon the Cardholder opting for such a benefit. The date of activation of such policy will be communicated through the website. The Cardholder specifically acknowledges that in all cases of claim, the Insurance Company will be solely liable for settlement of the claim, and he/she will not hold ICICI Bank responsible in any manner whether for compensation, recovery of compensation, processing of claims or for any reason whatsoever.

Fcuk You!

Quack Homeopaths!

I thought I knew! Then I discovered this video, it features James Randi, the famous "Psychic Demystifier", exposing Homeopathy with sound scientific logical and rational explanations.

I simply could not believe it at first, then a bit of googling around Avogadro constant, HomeoWatch, and many more rational articles later, it was quite astounding to learn the amount of serious criminal acts that were being carried out under the guise of Medical Practice. Shameful, disgraceful and henious, are few words that would best describe it...why blame terrorists, these organized criminals are even worse!

Why go further, even Dr. Batras', and institution close home is shamelessly advertising the "Healing Powers" of Homeopathy. Powers of what? Placebo?

I guess its' a very complicated world that we live in, to really accept the means of living such humans have accepted!

Why India's not as hot as China?

Blame it on religion or blame it on corruption, eitherway, India is a far cry than China when it comes to "exciting opportunities" in terms Investment. I simply see no reason why the zillions being poured into India would make any difference to the nation itself.

Cheeni Kum

"You absolute horror of a human being" - Simon Bishop in As Good as it Gets.

God knows why Indian directors try to adapt English movies into Hindi. They forget the 200 years of cultural differences cannot be bridged in a day just so that their movie works!

No offence, Mr. Director & Mr. Bachhan!

Cheeni Kum sucks as a poor (bottom feeder poor) adaptation of a movie that I love every celluloid inch of. The very first 5-10 minutes of Cheeni Kum were enough to give me the source of this supposed masterpiece.

Call me frustrated, but I really havent accepted Tabu as an actress, I feel she lies in that vast twilight zone that always gets ignored for glamour and the goodies associated with charming lady leads. She lacks all of it. Her guise of good acting is highly questionable with single frequency dialogues, little voice modulation and no screen presence. Even then, I felt bad for her, she's portrayed rather crudely, and rather weak. Sorely missing is the dilemma that Carol undergoes as the movie goes along, that I felt was the key ingredient of an outright mis-match. Here we have this character going ga-ga like a 15 year old as if she's in love with a 17-year old.

Amitabh Bachhan, get over it dude. There is so much this man can offer, however he cannot possibly make a difference when the only directors that wish to employ him are those that wanna get noticed.

If only AB had a Madhuri Dixit or Raveena Tandon, I'm sure he'd have poured his heart out, but with Tabu standing next to you, there would certainly be a limit to the amount of passion you can portray.

Also, this movie makes cunning use of such rickshaw (crowd) pullers phrases like condoms, sexy, etc etc.

I wish someone bashes the producer-director for portraying the child-character the way they did.

Lastly, the movie tries to add a fourth (or fifth if you count the little neighbour), Paresh Rawal, whos utterly wasted as Tabu's dad. Shows how bad a director can get...

My serious opinion, do not watch this movie, rent out a "As good as it gets" DVD, even if you've watched it a zillion times. It'd be worth much more than the money you'd spend on this illogical inspiration.

Other reviews: Cheeni Kum : outlookindia.com

United 93

I made a big mistake by deciding to "sneak preview" this movie at 3:00 am on a saturday night. I ended up not only watching it completely, but spending another 3 hours surfing the internet on follow-ups.

Assuming that the movie captures the "reality" of what happened, I came across a few things that are really don't quite fit!"

1. Professional American ATC, NEADS and Defence officials are shown in a state of panic: This
is the one of the most difficult to digest aspect of the movie. See its' about culture, a way of life. Americans came up with an MBA degree (formalizing management education), they have schools/colleges imparting the highest standards of education, corporates practising the best form of strategies and citizens who are rightfully proud of their nation. So what would explain the serious delay in "Action" while UA93 was going haywire all over the radar screen.

2. Commercial flights fly with a difference of 1000 feet on air-corridors, and UA93 was all but following it. UA93 was airborne for atleast another 35 minutes, after the hijack started.

3. A F16 flying full speed could have reached the airplane, that it didnt, is another matter...

My sincere well-wishes to the victims' families. My love and regards to all affected directly and in-directly by this tragedy.

Let's build a world upon Forgiveness & Tolerance.

Maya Dolas Photo

While the movie Shootout at Lokhandwala is receiving great reception. I was fascinated by the character, that Vivek plays, Maya Dolas. A horrible human being, but nevertheless memorable! So after scouting the internet for a while, I was finally able to find his old photo on mid-day.com website. [1]

Notice the blue cross, it probably was placed after he was shot down at Lokhandwala.

One question keeps coming to my mind, did he represent the Imbalance that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh referred to in his speech to CII? [2]

Real Estate Investments Demystified

Lately, I've been contemplating the value-rewards proposition of investments aimed to fund my retirement. I looked at various options, however the real-estate boom has been so strong I began giving it a serious thought.

Very quickly, however I realised the sheer Opportunity Cost involved and has made me wonder Why anyone ever contemplates treating "Housing" Property as Investment Grade, leave aside Retirement Grade?

Lets analyse this "Opportunity Cost" element by considering a simple case. Imagine, a simple flat costing a paltry (4MM /or 40 Lacs) and is fully financed. You are looking at an "Net-EMI" of well over 45k p.m., but assuming the tax saver element (12.5k p.m), any rent you receive by letting out (~10k p.m.) and adjusting for society maintainence, repairs, pest-control, etc. we shall assume a NET monthly outgoing of 30k p.m towards this property. I do not know much about the direction Indian Salaries shall take, but sure do know that the purchasing power of Indians is headed North. So, you happily keep paying the "Net-EMI" till the maturity of the Loan, which would definitely be longer than the term you sign initially (interest rates are also headed north in the short term).

Now the question is what would you have after a period of 20-30 years?
The answers' quite simple you'd have a 20-30 yr old flat and ZERO - ZILCH - SHUNYA liquid assets. You can dispose off the property, however keep in mind, the price would likely be equal to current prices, if not less. Property prices are dependent on various factors current boom is due to Demand-Supply gap, doubling salaries, foreign investments are key drivers. However with rupee at its' all time low, it's envitable that it strengthens over a long term (20-30 years), and it means purchasing power of dollar weakens against the rupee. In such a scenario, investments in India would no longer be attractive, plus we'd have transformed into a semi-developed nation at the very least which means even lower interest rate. India would have a far better Credit Rating, and lesser Interest Rate. When that happens, you need to have Cold Cash, to be the king, not an old house, in an old building, with multiple tenant having multiple agenda.

Instead lets' look at an alternative scenario. Instead of using the 30k p.m. as "Net-EMI", you can use to periodically buy any / all of the following and creating a risk-averse basket, targetting roughly 12% p.a.
- Govt Bonds of those zillion "developing countries" (~10% p.a.)
- Corporate Bonds (12-15% p.a.)
- Mutual Funds (05%-50%)
- Stocks (-100% to 100%)
- Another gazillion investment options that our developing economy has made available.

With such a basket the portfolio is easily reaches a figure of 1.4 crores (15 yrs), 2.8 crores (20 yrs), 5.3 crores (25 yrs) and 10 crores (30 yrs). that's about the time retirement starts if you are about 30 now.

So clearly a piece of land + house in far off places, or a flat in one of our cities is not what an "Investment" is supposed to deliver, its' liquid assets, that you'd need when your second-innings begin.

Why waste in such a haste? Think Long Term!

Airlines Unlimited

My Collection of airplanes. I've collected about 4 Dragon-Air mammoths, the big-four:
- Boeing B747-400 in Air India livery
- Boeing B777-300 in Singapore Airlines livery
- Airbus A380 in Emirates livery
- Airbus A340-600 in Iberia livery.

My favourite amongst those is by far the Jumbo, nothing beats the grace of this fat lady.

The obsession with airliners doesnt seem to go away, the majestic 747 or the dashing SU-MKI are what dreams are made of!

Summer 07

Raigad! That's where we were, a week after our first anniversary. Although we were seriously constrained for time, we managed to pack our bags and drive on to a wonderful Trip. The drive was from Mumbai - Karnala Bird Sanctuary - Kolad - Mahad - Raigad - Kolad - Nagothane (got lost ;) didnt listen to my navigator) - Kolad - Phansad Bird Santuary - Murud - Alibaug - Panvel - Mumbai.

A total of 450 Kms, of smooth road, sometimes adjoining a dense forest, sometimes coconut and mango farm houses, and the very best part, a beach highway from Murud to Alibaug. The highlights were the two days fishing, boating and back to basics holiday at Doctors' Farm, Raigad Fort, Murud Janjira Fort, Murud Beach (first time Sony went completely submerged!) and a whole lot of people we met on our way!

Kudos RBI / Goodbye congress

The RBI has done it again! Repo rate & CRR get adjusted once again, even as the two economists , viz. Santa Singh and P. Idli Dosa Sambaram pave a way for a great Indian slowdown.

Welcome to earth guys! Uttar Pradesh will soon be lost, Goa and other states in-line to go for polls will follow. Unfortunately this means the horizon is painted saffron!

Worst news would be the two digit growth figures that China/Korea/Asean or even a pity Bangladesh are likely to return this year...the famed FIIs (minus the mafia ofcourse) will exit the Indian markets leaving a gaping hole to suck out all the hot gas from the Real Estate and the Economy overall.

Update: UP is indeed lost, it's BSP (former BJP ally) that's swept polls. Congress, SP even BJP have one honourable democratic function in UP, to form and be part of the opposition.

Price discovery tactics of Real Estate Sharks

Have a look at the below, you'd find a tactic being increasingly used by Real Estate Brokers, to discover the "fair" price of property in the absence of complete lack of economics.

The tactics are fairly simple, place multiple ads on such online sites and judge the right amount buyers are willing to part with by finding out which listing got more eyeballs.

Good luck guys, you are entering full speed into a disaster! The falls' gonna be harder with each speculative rupee being added to every property!

Ban Participatory Notes!

The Finance Ministry and $EBI are keeping a dark secret!

It's an open fact that "Participatory notes" are favourites of miscreants, terrorists and more importantly black-marketeers to "indulge" in speculative activity on Indian Stock Markets. Although Reserve Bank of India and CPI (M) are of the same view but for some unknown reasons, the FM & $EBI are unwilling to see reason enough to believe in it.

Mumbai Realty : Somethings' gotta give!

The bulls and bears are running at full pace! A clash is imminent!

Bulls: The super cool realty rate index. It took NASA 25 years to reach space, the Mumbai Real Estate developers & brokers took just 2 years to do so! Hell the prices keep going north, and appear to have no ceiling, or is it?

Bears: The interest rate index. Kudos to RBI, there is someone lending ears to the plight of Indians, albeit indirectly! There are three major developments, a. Interest rates have been hiked once more, b. NRI deposit rates have been cut and c. NRI's are eligible for a maximum of 20 Lac of Home Loans.

Ok, personal feelings aside, the interesting part is that since the two indexes are about to clash its' gonna the effects could either send Realty into a downward spiral, and cause atleast a blip in the growth story. Either way the interest rates CANNOT keep going high while sustaining the boom.

Update: Commercial real-estate is falling nationwide, except Mumbai ( for how long?)