Crazy and Fabulous Times

These days, newspapers are all about the US financial markets. Housing bubble just doesn't seem to bust completely. Last one year was marked by events which experts would term as the ultimate bust of the bubble. But the bubble just doesn't stop busting. It wiped out the whole investment banking in US and converted them into traditional banking business models. I like to believe that they are following Indian footprints. As I walk towards my office gate, I realize that tremor of this earthquake have reached all the way to Indian banks too. There's a strike in my bank and all nationalized banks. Ha.. got you.. if you thought we have some sophisticated complicated convoluted complex problem related to financial quants!! No sir, we Indians have more humane problems. Like the union issues!! Really sad.

Gods to fill US with credit flows!!

Google is serious fun!

Really… These days I get a feeling I don't own my own time anymore (ridiculous as it may sound!). There was a time when I could decide what I wanted to do when I wanted to do. But off late I notice if I decide to delay any activity for any reason, I will eventually never get time to do it. Its like procrastination is no more an option. Even if I plan efficiently to do something later on, something completely unexpected would come up and I would miss the deadline. And worse, I am not the only one who's affected by it anymore, but a lot of people around me are too. And I am not just talking about work but even personal errands. The truth suddenly dawns on me. I never had to manage time before. And now that's not the case. And I don't think time is going to turn back again. It's like end of an era. I am going to miss the old time when I owned my time.

I always refer to the rural development programmes as corruption programmes. Now have a look at this . It's about implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Main observations by Transparency International are that 61% of rural population were selected beneficiaries, 23% got job cards, 11% got paid and only 5% could demand unemployment allowance. And 1 out of 10 households had to pay bribes to get jobs, which amounts to Rs.7.15 cr paid by 9.65 lac rural households. I really believe that there are no free lunches and if there are, there's got to be something fishy there. What is required here is roll out of much needed agricultural reforms and create opportunities for these rural households rather than creating opportunities for the bureaucrats and politicians.

Indian politics is giving serious competition to bollywood masala flicks these days. I would really want to see this allegation by BJP to be investigated to the bottom. I personally feel there is equal probability for it to be true or be a complete hoax. But either way, it is serious bollywood masala stuff. And our news channels make it all so entertaining. NDTV played "Singh is King" for Manmohan Singh when he won!! Talk about dramatic! I love India. This is one of the crazy (not so fabulous!) times I am going to remember. On a serious note, I would want to see the nuclear deal through now and a dramatic topple of government once the bribery charges are proven. Ok… the second part was just to make it more dramatic. I too am an Indian afterall!

So…… I have been living in Mumbai for last two years and have been travelling by Mumbai locals for my daily commute using the three month 1 st class pass. And I buy it for Andheri to Churchgate even though I live in Matunga because I hate to stand in queues during one of those rare occasions when I might have to travel to Andheri on some weekend. And because of this I always have to renew my pass from Churchgate rather than Matunga, because (weirdly enough) pass between two stations could either be purchased from one of the two stations only and nowhere else. Initially, I would always forget to renew my pass on time and travel for 2-3 days without pass without even realizing that I don't have the pass. I would invariably remember after I reach office or back at home and could do nothing except swear that I'll buy it the next time I am in Churchgate. So if I am at office I would have to buy it while I return from Churchgate and if I am at home I would have to buy a one day tic...