Back in May we spoke about the poor handling of the Gujjars issue by Rajasthan's Chief Minsiter Vasundra Raje Scindia. The poor handling of the issue meant Vasundra Raje lost the trust of both the castes and this coupled with neglect for the masses in general has cost this election for the BJP and Vasundra Raje
Bagavad Gita one of the finest philosophical works of all time. In my opinion it is quite unfortunate that the "label" of religion has been cast on this.
I have always looked upon this as a text written by a great philosopher to explain the turmoil that an Individual goes through when he/she has got to make tough decisions and how should the Individual go about it to come out successfully from that situation.
Arjuna and Krishna are 2 characters, with Arjuna symbolizing the troubled Human Mind and Krishna representing the pure knowledge that exists within all of us and to which every human reaches out to during desperate times or times of confusion knowingly or unknowingly. The entire Bagavad Gita is about the Inner Turmoil that happens within an Individual and how he manages to find that pure knowledge or God or Hunch or Intuition or "X" factor within himself.
Sounds pretty confusing isn't it? That's precisely the reason why these characters were created to make it simpler and to avoid lot of misinterpretations. OK all that in detail for another occasion. Coming to its impact or my own experience now.
There is a place in Bagavad Gita where Krishna asks Arjuna not to worry about the result and to remain detached from it. Very recently i had an experience which made me realize the importance of doing that.
The beauty if I can call it that way was that it was a very trivial issue, where in stead of doing what i could do best, I became so anxious about the result which pretty much was not in my hands. It got to me so much that I ended up making a mess out of the whole thing.
Down I was when this saying from the Gita struck me like a Bolt out of the Blue Sky. Wow!! I said to myself and the next day I happened to hit upon a Zen Story which advocated on the same lines. Finally I must say that i have realized (note the word, it is not "Knowing" but "Realizing") what it means to have a target and work towards it but not get too obsessed with so much so that you end up messing things up or failing to look at the larger picture and finally end up way short of it.
P.S: Had the Financial Geniuses too remained a bit detached they would not have got too obsessed and made the mistake of missing the larger picture which was that the main product was wealth for Shareholders and their own profit was a by product of that. They got too obsessed with their welfare that they ended up missing the larger picture. Hopefully things get right from now on at least.
For the last 4 years the genius Fund managers, Investment Bankers and Rating agencies forgot their role and befriended Mr. Greed and went on devising method after method, product after product and scheme after scheme to make themselves rich. However apart from the top honchos most of the middle level managers have ended up jobless and are now pondering over their future. The sad part however is that they have taken down along with them millions of general public who believed in the wisdom of the Investment Bankers and the credibility of the Rating Agencies
Thanks to Greed,we have learnt a few terms like Stimulus, Recession and Bailout.These words have become an integral part of our life in the last few months. Turn on the Television or pick up any newspaper you will for sure hit upon at least one of these words. It all started off with USA and its 700 billion dollar bailout, EU followed with its own 130 Billion Euro Stimulus package, Britan is planning for a 100 billion dollar package and China is planning for a massive 586 Billion Dollar Stimulus package, India too on its part is considering a 10 Billion Dollar Stimulus package.While the devloped countries are doling out these packages to prevent recession, the Developing world is providing the stimulus to make sure that the growth is maintained.
All of a sudden a Billion looks like a very small amount :).I have got one doubt about these stimulus packages and their long term effects. I might sound very stupid, for my knowledge on economics is nothing great, but i still would want to put forward this doubt and get it cleared.
While I cant agree more on the fact that we do need stimulus as tightening Interest rates and sucking out money from the system is going to dent the confidence ( assuming some of it is still left) more and create further panic, I am still not sure as to how the economists and the central bankers are planning to tackle the situation of excess money which will be the case when the economy turns around.
Raising interest rates and sucking out surplus from the system, seems to be the obvious way out, but i have got one question, When things start to go well, will the Financial Organisations allow the Fed or for that matter the other Central Banks to raise Interest rates and dampen the good mood? Agreed they might not be as powerful as they once were, but still do the Governments have it in them to go against powerful Corporates and raise interest rates and make sure that excess money is sucked out of the system thereby preventing the creation of an Inflationary environment and an asset bubble?
The fact that too much of cheap money was available was the biggest reason behind the rampant Inflation which the world experienced and the Sub Prime Crisis, now will we see Central Banks learning from their mistakes or will "History Repeat Itself"?
P.S: The whole of India must thank Mr Y.V.Reddy the former RBI Governer of India.His conviction and his boldness to increase the Interest Rates notwithstanding the directions from Finance Ministry and the other Intellectuals has protected Indian Banks and Finacial Institutions from entering the Sub Prime Game. Hats off to You Sir!!!
Six months have just got over in a jiffy. Yes, Jiffy is the right word. So how has the experience been ?
Let me start off with what i had in my mind, based on what i had heard from people before i came hereto Canada. "Awesome place","20 years ahead in all aspects of life","One of the best places to live in"and "Culture less place" were the most common things i heard.
So now having spent some time here, what would be my view of the place?
Let me begin with the bright spots
Quality of Life:No point in comparing i feel since the quality of life here is definitely better than what is prevalent in India
Inclusive Growth: A truck driver here earns enough to lead a quality life with all basic amenities. Wonder how many of the truck drivers can do the same in India?
Respect: Regardless of Ur profession, financial status or color u r looked upon as a normal human being and not as anything else. People warned me about Racial Discrimination, before i came here but i must admit that i have never seen anything of that during my stay here. People have been really hospitable. I am not issuing any generalized statements here nor am I going to do so for i have not seen most parts of this country. But all I am trying to say is that for people who associate Racial Discrimination with the Western world are just like the people who in west associate India with Snake Charmers, "IMMATURE".
Technology: I have said this time and again and I think this wont be the last time either. Their focus and Investments on technology is their biggest strength. Technology has helped them cut down on Red Tapism ( one of India's biggest drawbacks) apart from improving productivity and efficiency.
Self Discipline: Rules can be framed, technology employed and people be monitored, but rules are nothing if people are not going to adhere to it. Fear alone cannot be used as a weapon for long period of time.People here seem to realize that these rules are made to make life better for them and follow it willingly. Indian immigrant population also follows the rule to the dot. Hope my friends remember to do that when they come to India too.
Of course no place in the world is all white, there are some grey areas too, grey areas more from the economical point of view
Spending: I am pretty sure that when parents asked their Kids to live alone and fend for themselves they must have done so with the Intent of making their kids understand the value of Money and thereby hoping to make them wise spenders of money. However as with many other things in life, this has backfired, the effort to make them realize the value of money has in my opinion gone awry or rather backfired. People in stead of becoming wise spenders have become reckless spenders, People shop for things without thinking whether they really need it or not in the first place. Such kind of spending has only made them more reliant on their paychecks and failure to get one makes them go bust. I only hope that they realize it sooner and start spending judiciously.
Shrinking Population Base: presents a big problem since a shrinking population base means that the population is skewed in terms of the aged and since the govt takes care of all the pension and the health programs and it does so out of the tax money it generates, an ageing population means less Tax Money as the number of young people who can work is reduced and it also means greater strain on the Government.Population Control was instrumental in their development but now the time has come where they need to make sure to do the opposite. Time for the Government to start taking measures for that.
Shrinking Population base is also not good for the Corporates since what it means is that they have a smaller customer base to target and achieve growth. That will only lead to excessive discounts and attempts to lure the customers to spend more and more and more and in turn will lead to more reckless spending, which is not good news.
So whats my final take on the stay "Enjoyable" :)
Glossary:"Quality of Life" covers the overall standard of life and a better standard means less corruption, less bureaucratic negligence, less pollution
Disclaimer: I have written this out of my own personal experiences and my own observations. Also this is no attempt to degrade India. I have written these things with the most objective of mindset and in fact I would be the most happiest person if India can achieve this standard of Living, without becoming the reckless spenders.
Livid, Disgusted, Frustrated, Fed up am I with the current Ruling Government in India and I am sure that I am not alone. Insensitive and Irresponsible this has got to be the worst ever Government that ruled India. Dr Manmohan Singh the dumbest Prime Minister and Mr.Shivraj Patil, the worst ever Home Minister India has seen so far.
So why or rather for whom should you to Take ur Hat off ? Do it for the "Mumbaikaar" the common man/woman of Mumbai. "City of Dreams" it is called as and i will also add "City Of Resilience". They are not Insensitive like the Government which rules them. They care for their people and yet at the same time they are mighty resilient.Be it the 93 Serial Blasts or the more Recent train bombings the city has always responded in the most extra ordinary manner.
Wonder if there is any city in the world which has been targeted like this....Such is the extent to which Mumbai has been targeted. But every single time the city has risen like a Phoenix from the ashes. At the time of writing this, the rescue operations are still being carried out and i sincerely hope that it becomes a success.
Regardless of the result of the rescue operation, I am however sure that Mumbai will come back much stronger and much better. "Hats off to You" my dear Mumbaikaars. The World can learn a lesson or two from U.
I only hope that the Govt wakes up at least now and as a mark of respect for the resilience of the Mumbaikaars hangs Afzal and starts off the war against terror at least now.
In an attempt to cheer him up, i said " Yeah the markets are down, but why don't u Invest now in a very systematic and small way for the future?", to which pat came his reply "Who has got the funds?"
I was now really stunned. I had always advocated ( not my original idea though :) ) people not to be fully Invested and retain some cash. When i questioned him, he said he had bought heavily close to the peak and as soon as the market started to fall he has kept buying hoping to average it out.
Now please, for heaven's sake never Panic when u see the price of stocks coming down. Check out as to why they are falling. If the factors are very strong and the selling is very heavy WAIT. Wait till u find the selling dries up and all the bad news gets factored in. For example, you can now wait till u see how the US bail out scheme is implemented in case if u r now looking at US markets. Never Panic and buy for the sake of AVERAGING.
Buy because u feel that the business is great and a great opportunity exists. Never buy for the sake of Averaging. In case if u get to know that u have done a mistake, Be bold and try to trim ur losses rather than holding on to the losses.
Remember Investing as they say is like Gardening "Remove ur weeds and let the flowers grow". So don't panic and be patient. Analyse businesses and then hold on. You will definitely hit on a phase when there is not much happening in the market and the market meanders without any direction. That is the time in which u slowly enter and then accumulate during the consolidation phase.
To quote Buffet here "The man who cannot watch his stock beaten into half his price without losing his composure is not good enough to be in the markets" So cultivate Patience and Courage along with Knowledge. Investing is as much about emotion as it is about Intelligence.
The greatest Investors have all been emotionally very strong.So the first step would be to prepare urself emotionally to be an Investor. Be courageous to admit ur mistakes and trim ur losses. Have the Conviction to hold on to businesses if u feel after ur analysis that they are really good.
Finally Never be tempted to put all ur money in either because the markets are too good or because u want to average. Always have Cash in hand. Savings to cover all ur needs and contingencies and then of the remaining disposable Money, Invest 75% and let the 25% remain as cash.
I know it is easier said than done, for I am stuggling to fight off these demons of Panic and Greed and hold myself.But remember that when u win over Nature, the rewards are extra ordinary.
P.S: First Step in markets is to prepare Emotionally and the first step towards a peaceful India is to Kick the current ruling Government out of power. Seems like they have forgotten that it is their duty to protect the people of India.
Whats the Magic Number? Cmon,must be an easy guess.Yep got it folks. Its 700. First it was the USA which was and i must say still is all fixated over this number and now we have a new friend or rather companion for them.
This set of people must be thinking that they are here today in this position because of the mess created by the greed of the financial companies of the USA. I would rather say that this is where they were supposed to have been or maybe a bit better.They had an awesome time because of some of the actions of the ex-President of the USA and also the cheap money that helped inflate asset prices beyond reasonable levels.
Now that the bubble has burst,they are crying, feeling bad for it. OPEC's chief has said that OPEC nations have lost 700 Billion Dollars USD because of low Oil Prices. Low Oil Prices,considering the artificially high prices that were prevailing then. An act ot Terror in Nigeria, problem in Russia or Venezuela, Embassy attacks in Saudi Arabia were all gud enf reasons for the price of oil to go up then,contrast that with today where even 2 production cuts by OPEC nations have not been able to stop the falling price of Oil.
Where has the "Fuel Guzzling" Chinese Dragon gone? What happened to India? the 2 nations who were cited as the main reasons in the media for the start of the upward crude rally. In reality none contributed in a major way, Cheap money which was made available through questionable polices of the FED along with the Iraq war which has made the region a hotbed were the major driving forces in my humble opinion and once the prices started to be pushed upwards, the OPEC nations felt wonderful.
Now the whole party has ended and ended in a very bitter fashion and with Obama not intent on continuing the Hunt for Weapons of Mass Destruction( just to remind readers that, that was the reason for the Invasion cited by Mr Bush) Oil seems to have got into this bear Mode.
Now every single negative report out of the USA and the rest of the world will push the price of Oil Down and it will be a huge challenge for OPEC to boost the prices of OIL now. They will try their best though, as all the nations had a lot of plans based on the money that they thought, they would be getting out of selling Oil at high prices.
But for the moment it seems like the efforts of OPEC are not going to yield much benefits and i personally believe it is very good for the world, as high prices means more Inflation.
P.S: This happy news has got no relevance for India though, the PM of India Dr Manmohan Singh has decided that Petrol prices will not be slashed as the Oil Marketing companies have suffered huge losses and now its recovery time for them. While I do agree that the Oil Companies suffered huge losses, one must remember that it was because of the poor policies of the govt which taxed and taxed and taxed Fuel for revenues. My Question is why should the people suffer even now when things are better?
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