tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83689564164703590002024-03-05T10:38:41.214-08:00grey shadesshilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-80210044460706422532012-05-26T06:34:00.000-07:002012-05-27T00:32:41.932-07:00Never say Never<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">Reading </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.livemint.com/2012/04/30162154/Aditya-Birla-to-buy-Pantaloons.html" target="_blank">this</a> article on
Aditya Birla Group’s (ABG) decision to buy, or more importantly, Mr. Kishore
Biyani’s decision to sell Pantaloons took me 6 years back in time when I was
doing my MBA.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">We had a course
on M&A in the 2<sup>nd</sup> year and one of the major course evaluation
components (50% weightage) of the course was a presentation which involved
choosing a company, making a case for M&A - either it acquiring a company
or it getting acquired - and then undertaking the valuation exercise. Now the
faculty for the course was a very senior professional from the industry who,
among other things, had the distinction of playing a pivotal role in the
Hindustan Zinc acquisition by the Anil Agarwal led Vedanta Group. Needless to
say, he was extremely well networked and hobnobbed with the who’s who of the
industry. So, for our presentations, he decided to go the extra mile and give
us contacts from our chosen companies. This was intended to help us get some
management perspective on our chosen companies so that the analysis and presentations
turned out better than the end product coming from a complete outsider’s
understanding of the company. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">We decided to
choose Pantaloons - an easily justifiable choice when one considers the year in
question - 2006. Lehman Brothers was years away from collapsing and the India
story was still going great guns. Research report after research report
analysed the Great Indian mall dream, how footfalls were continuously
increasing, how Indian consumers were increasingly visiting malls and how they
were expected to shop (till they drop). It was hard to find a flaw in this
reasoning - after all, that’s what you and I were doing and hopefully that’s
what the entire country would be doing too. One could almost visualise the glee
on the real estate and store owners’ faces.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile, Reliance
had entered into the retail sector and reams were being written between the
Goliath Reliance and the David Pantaloons - how Pantaloons would continue to
have the first mover advantage by dint of locking in real estate at cheap
prices years before the property boom, Reliance’s deep pockets notwithstanding.
ABG Group also soon entered the fray with pundits professing that the pie was
big enough for more players. However, talks had already started of a possible
sellout by Pantaloons to Reliance or a strategic alliance between the two. All
in all, the retail industry was (and probably still is, opposition to FDI in retail notwithstanding) the ‘sunrise’ industry to be in. With this background and having done our
homework on Pantaloons, our group prepared to call our contact at Pantaloons -
a very senior non-promoter, who also had a sizeable stake in the company. Our
brief was simple - among other things, we were supposed to ask our contact his
views if the company in question was to be acquired and who he thought would be
the best acquirer. The following conversation ensued after pleasantries had
been exchanged and we had explained the purpose of the call</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Us: </b>Sir, if at all you had to sell Pantaloons, who
would you want the buyer to be?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Mr. Investor:</b> Sell?!? <i>(Angrily)</i> Are you out of your mind?!? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Us: </b>(Oh ho… wrong question…we tried to pacify him):
Err Sir, this is just a conjecture…as we explained you, this is a part of our
project.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Mr. Investor:</b> So what?!? Why would we ever sell
Pantaloons? That day is never going to come. Don’t ever think that such a
possibility will ever materialize </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Us:</b> (in full damage control mode): Err Sir, you are
getting us all wrong. Pantaloons is a great company and we are sure the
promoters are never going to sell out. But, this is just a view that we are
seeking: if say Pantaloons were to merge <i>(please
note the complete absence of the word acquisition) </i>with another entity, who
do you think the other partner could be?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Mr. Investor:</b> Look, we will never allow any company to
acquire or even merge with Pantaloons. So your conjectures and assumptions are
all balderdash. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The conversation went downhill from there and we
quickly decided to call it a day and thanked the gentleman for sparing his
valuable time. But we couldn’t help wonder at the strong sense of ownership he had
with the company, inspite of being a non-promoter. So, one could only
conjecture what Mr. Biyani views would be like </span>:) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">As it turned out, the Indian story went into a
tailspin. People did come to malls as predicted, but who said anything about
buying stuff. Footfalls just didn’t translate into sales. The same Pantaloons,
now saddled with the burden of high debt it had used to expand, was frantically
trying to find a way out. Eventually, Mr. Biyani chose to give a controlling
stake to the Aditya Birla Group. This incident only reaffirmed something that I have come around to believing - in business,
politics and life in general, never say never.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">Just how Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla convinced Mr.
Biyani is again a nice </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-05-14/news/31701340_1_kishore-biyani-brand-factory-aditya-birla-group" target="_blank">lesson</a> in people management.</span></span></div>
</div>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-46902314181458290572011-04-02T13:44:00.000-07:002011-04-02T14:01:41.292-07:00BLUE Letter Day !24th December 2009. <a href="http://shilpi-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-match.html">Still remember the evening</a> – Sri Lanka batting 1st at Edens, had scored 315 and India lost Sehwag and Sachin in quick succession...what I managed to witness after this was historic...Gambhir and Kohli fought back and how...giving us probably a first glimpse of the team which was geared to fight till the end, which could win matches without the explosive Sehwag and the God Sachin...<br /><br />Cut to 2011...India meeting SL in finals yet again, only this time, it was the final frontier – the World Cup...The sequence to the finals for India – beating Australia in quarters and Pakistan in semis. 1st thoughts – a sense of déjà vu. In 1996, India beat Pakistan (in quarters though) and then got a thrashing at Edens in the hands of Lankans. Let the ending be different this time was all I could think of...<br /><br />Come back to today's game and again, the similarities with the 1996 World Cup surprise you...India fielding 1st (though Sanga won the toss...how? that’s a different twist :) ). An awesome spell from Zaheer (the demons of 2003 had finally been laid to rest, forever) and super fielding from India meant Lankans were kept on a tight leash and scalping 2 early key wickets was enough to bring smiles all around. 1996 – Jayasuriya & Kaluwitharna (I think), out in 1st over and Edens had erupted. What followed next from Aravinda D Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga was akin to what Sanga and Jayawardene managed today – stitching together a partnership effortlessly. SL managed 264 in 1996 semifinals. Today, they added 10 more. Last time also India lost wickets in quick succession with Sachin fighting a lonely battle. That’s where the similarities end...<br /><br />Chasing 270+ against a quality opposition as the SL is never easy and when we are talking out the WC final, one can safely add 20 more runs to the total just on account of the mental pressure...In the game versus Pakistan, Sehwag took the sting out of the famed Pakistan attack by taking Umar Gul to the cleaners. Such was his dominance that Gul never really got back his rhythm back in that match. That’s Sehwag for you. And that was exactly what was needed from him today. But that was not meant to be...Malinga produced a blinder spell and Sachin soon joined Sehwag in the dressing room...what happened next was a 24th December...Virat and Gauti came together yet again...exactly like last time, no clamour to hit the big ones...collecting singles and keeping the scoreboard ticking was what was needed and eventually materialized...then Kohli departed to a good catch by Dilshan and in walked Dhoni...criticized throughout the tournament for his batting skills or the lack of it, he had a point to prove today and boy, how he proved it...the sound of his bat connecting the ball was pure music and it was a delight to watch him play like his old self, while Gambhir consolidated at the other end. This was the perfect time for India to demonstrate how strong it’s famed batting line-up is and what a perfect demonstration at the biggest platform of all! <br /><br />The best bit – Dhoni in the post match presentation saying he was sure to be asked the following questions:<br />- Why was Sreesanth chosen?<br />- Why was Ashwin not chosen?<br />- Why wasn’t Yuvraj, the in-form batsman, sent in at No. 5 once Kohli got out<br /><br />Had only heard and seen bits of 1983 exploits, but having witnessed history live on TV is a different feeling all together. The tension, excitement, goosebumps...Kohli choosing to remain standing reminded how Srikkanth was forced to remain standing the day Kapil scored 175 at Turnbridge! Way to goTeam India for bringing back the self belief and the smiles :) The entire nation BLED BLUE tonight !!! Aha World Champions...love the feeling of that...Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka…what the heck, the entire world, take a bow :)shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-69593588936462082492010-11-13T06:34:00.000-08:002010-11-14T00:51:37.785-08:00The Great Indian WeddingI was busy making the invite list for Didi’s wedding... given that it was the first wedding in our family in a long time, missing out any one’s name either by choice or by mistake would be nothing short of committing hara kiri...<br /><br />Mayank, the bacha of the family, who had been watching me sit with all family members for their list of guests one by one, came to me one fine day with an extremely pained look on his face & said ‘When are you going to sit with me for my list of guests’?!?<br /><br />Amused, I apologized to him for my <span style="font-style:italic;">grave oversight</span> and asked him to rattle off the names right away to make amends...and so he started : <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : 1st name : Shubham. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Me</span> : how many guests?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : 3...shubham, his papa and his mamma<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Me</span> : ok, next?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : wait... make that 4 guests from Shubham’s family...he has a 2 month old baby brother. Even he will come for the wedding na...<br /><br />The rest of the family members by then had given up all semblance of working and were hopelessly trying to eavesdrop into our conversation...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : 2nd name : Keshav<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Me</span> : Ok...How many guests?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : 7... err make that 10<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Me</span> : 10 !!! who all?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : Keshav, his parents; Jatin his parents. Shlok with his parents and Pranav<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mom</span> (at this point in time, just couldn't stop herself from intervening) : Who is Pranav? I am hearing his name for the 1st time. <span style="font-style:italic;">Pranav kiska beta hai</span>?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : <span style="font-style:italic;">Mamma, Pranav Keshav ki mummy ka beta hai</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">All of us</span> : <span style="font-style:italic;">to bol nahi sakta ki Pranav Keshav ka bhai hai?</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mayank</span> : <span style="font-style:italic;">to Mamma hi to poochi ki Pranav kiska beta hai !</span><br /><br />Just how do you argue with this logic :)<br /><br />& the wedding preparations go on…shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-35846145454720245592010-04-21T19:35:00.000-07:002010-05-07T10:05:34.845-07:00Chaotic Order<span style="font-weight: bold;">Chaos is</span><br /><br />1. When your home is getting renovated and you postpone putting away your stuff in the new almirah till the last minute.<br /><br />2. When suddenly the workers descend upon you and ask to remove your stuff so that they can take the remaining old furniture apart.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsdtU22PjeTlZdhwLCPr01qqL2e04ATTkD1OlSIYFAldg8K2Ux0BlZwRVnEerfcZD0rYgl2zBUbwegaqB_H-yhJL8duebIXZCiaaErQewIpCM76Bb-6BUNN2SSglo29qvAUj_uF_oAqY/s1600/047+-+Copy.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsdtU22PjeTlZdhwLCPr01qqL2e04ATTkD1OlSIYFAldg8K2Ux0BlZwRVnEerfcZD0rYgl2zBUbwegaqB_H-yhJL8duebIXZCiaaErQewIpCM76Bb-6BUNN2SSglo29qvAUj_uF_oAqY/s320/047+-+Copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462786447430276706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 3. And because of lack of time, you have no choice but to dump your stuff in carton boxes. But you promise to throw away all unwanted things, stack all the important things neatly and immediately to avoid any repeat of Point 2. However, the only thing which is done immediately, is stacking up the boxes (rest assured, neatly) in the dumping room err, drawing room and adding to the chaos.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYtn0LHhmVhOjLtUWpmfnCVJLBTnkM1MsLorlVtS0NpB3SLUO1inpQZ5AWEfyr8w2SkMsCeD8SmTpIjEH56BKUT9CYz2HqRe5ZQwj_-fBzl-KRYAqB-9gjwSPT4ppeYevwXZnZ9Av390/s1600/054.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYtn0LHhmVhOjLtUWpmfnCVJLBTnkM1MsLorlVtS0NpB3SLUO1inpQZ5AWEfyr8w2SkMsCeD8SmTpIjEH56BKUT9CYz2HqRe5ZQwj_-fBzl-KRYAqB-9gjwSPT4ppeYevwXZnZ9Av390/s320/054.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462786814928901378" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /> 4. When your friend asks for the book that he had lent you months ago and your sister’s joining date at her B-school is in the middle of all this (the coming Friday to be precise). And she asks you for the Anti-virus CD to install it in her laptop.<br /><br /> 5. And you realize with horror that the CD and the book is in one of the umpteen boxes which you still haven’t touched.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But, Order within the Chaos is...</span><br /><br /><br />When in the first box you open, you not only find the Anti-Virus CD with the serial numbers, but most importantly, also get the book to return to your friend! I hope I survive this renovation to write a post on this some day :(<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdqM72K9xuLjPufnjCllN-d46TsWAENGPBCYtVfRCHuskEXy9ItSacKig8q9T9pqOva4_2dN8fx8yLCmrKxz54e1DzqYtjM9b9_kyobNtOJy5I6POtU3RKkDBhXCjVIdD96P2X6WbGhE/s1600/051.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdqM72K9xuLjPufnjCllN-d46TsWAENGPBCYtVfRCHuskEXy9ItSacKig8q9T9pqOva4_2dN8fx8yLCmrKxz54e1DzqYtjM9b9_kyobNtOJy5I6POtU3RKkDBhXCjVIdD96P2X6WbGhE/s320/051.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462787735246282338" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPH40hVzMTKKn_dm46pYFP9H_A4kOqj5oB4k2s-V10H2VR47RTtW41x5_yvkASvvSU5oqLXlTmCysZtVXQhRIg_CDoZldTvW7hH-YRefNC-kw9z8QlOW03iL52MV4PiRcjqfWOCv6lmOU/s1600/050.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPH40hVzMTKKn_dm46pYFP9H_A4kOqj5oB4k2s-V10H2VR47RTtW41x5_yvkASvvSU5oqLXlTmCysZtVXQhRIg_CDoZldTvW7hH-YRefNC-kw9z8QlOW03iL52MV4PiRcjqfWOCv6lmOU/s320/050.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462787376524938290" border="0" /></a><br /></div>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-15843750502764594802010-04-10T23:14:00.000-07:002010-06-07T09:10:25.960-07:00Dogged DownNot that I dislike animals, but they look good to me only from a distance (the more the distance, the better it is). I just can’t bring myself to cuddle them or play with them. With good authority, I can also say that this feeling is entirely mutual. This is especially true when it comes to dogs. We both love to hate each other. But it wasn’t always like this. I was happy to ignore them so long they also ignored me and life went on. The following instances have however made me a pucca dog hater (ok...the hutch pug is one exception, but only on TV mind you!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tail err... Tale 1<br /></span>We were almost nearing the end of Trim 6 at SP, placements were over and everyone was just waiting for the dreaded Red Book exams to get over to do some Bharat Darshan before settling in the monotony of a job. 5 of us decided to explore Goa and off we went on a shoe string trip for 3 days. All was ok until we decided to take a walk on the Anjuna beach. Ramya, Kishore (Ramya’s then fiancée, and now husband), and I were enjoying the beautiful sunset. We were just walking back to our scooties when we saw a dog running towards us and barking furiously. I just started shouting and running. Yes, I know I broke a cardinal rule by running, but please try following this dumb rule when a dog is running behind you! Poor Ramya and Kishore tried to help, but I was deaf to all reasoning :) So now, I was running like mad to save my life (it did seem quite serious!) with the dog giving me a good chase. Suddenly I tripped and fell down. Arrgh, this is the end I thought. The dog came very close to me, then perhaps decided it wasn’t chivalrous to attack an injured adversary and moved on. I was shaking till we reached our apartment. This incident started and cemented the dislike.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tale 2</span><br />Cut to Mumbai now where I was working after SP and staying with Richa and Mansi. While, Mansi is the fearless one amongst us when it comes to dogs, there can a very close competition between Richa and me as to who is more scared of these 4 legged creatures. But there is a slight difference...while I shout and run at the first instance of a barking close by, Richa just grabs hold of whoever is in front of her. So, more often than not, it fell upon Mansi to rescue us :) Infact, Nehal, another friend, used to wait till we entered our building whenever she came to drop us home! This incident happened when Mansi was out of town and Nehal was also not around. Richa and I were walking back home after dinner. There was a guy who was walking ahead of us and talking on his phone. Suddenly, we heard a couple of dogs barking. With our protectors not around, we did the next best thing: I started shouting and running and Richa grabbed the shoulder of the guy in front of us. The poor guy was shaken out of his wits and I can only imagine the reaction of onlookers (thank God there weren’t many, as it was about 10:30 pm)! <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tale 3</span><br />This incident, which occurred last week, actually prompted me to write this post. I was back to working in Cal, with Richa and Mansi also having shifted to Delhi. Now, Salt Lake, the area I live in, has lots of dogs. But for the last 1.5 years, we had managed to follow an ignore-each other policy, or so I thought. I was walking back home after office and was talking to Mansi when I saw 4 dogs in front of me. I narrated the situation to Mansi who told me to calm down and keep walking. But there is a slight problem of her giving advice sitting 2000 kms away and then, the inevitable happened. Barking, shouting and running, in that order. I ran to the nearest house and tried to open the gate, but found it locked. I was almost about to climb up the gate when sanity prevailed in the dogs. A couple of passersby helped me negotiate that stretch after which I reached home. <br /><br />And life moves on...until the next doggy encounter...shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-46615998920789469132010-03-23T01:50:00.000-07:002010-06-12T10:15:03.702-07:00Baptism by fireHowever sympathetic / scared / worried / concerned one might be when one hears or reads about any disaster, the reaction when any known person / location is involved, undergoes a complete transformation. I still get goose bumps whenever I think of the Mumbai terror attacks last year and this I attribute solely to me staying in Mumbai for 3 years. A similar experience unfolded today. <br /><br />It all started with a phone call from my home about a <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Death-toll-in-Park-Street-fire-reaches-24/articleshow/5718135.cms">fire in a Park Street building</a> close to Flury’s (the famous confectionary) and Music World (the music store run by the RPG group). They were concerned about <a href="http://www.tccmanagementsystems.com/">TCC</a>, a training centre towards MBA entrance exams. Before I move further, something more about TCC is warranted. <br /><br />This place is run by Mr. Sandip Sen and his wife Dr. Soma Sen, 2 of the best people I have had the privilege to know. I had taken admission in another famous coaching centre during my 3rd year, but it turned out to be total waste. Then some known acquaintance suggested TCC and my friend and I, though skeptical, went to have a chat with Sir. I was mentally counting the additional money outgo and how much I have to repay my Dad! The first impression was good enough for me to enroll again for the coaching, though some bit of skepticism still remained. Whatever doubt remained, was completely removed in the classes and interaction that ensued. At the end of the classes, I was no more scared of the topics and the basics in each subject were so thoroughly covered that I could only wish I had similar teachers during my school days. But apart from the teaching, what these 2 people taught was a lesson for lifetime. Notions about values, ethics, punctuality, commitment, and life in general will stay with me for the entire life. Sir & Ma'am taught by practicing instead of preaching and as they say, what you see is easiest to follow :) While everyone used to be shit scared of Sir and just froze whenever he addressed us, with Ma’am, it was completely opposite. Ma’am’s sarcasm spared no one and that included Sir :). Along with them, Maitree di, who is the centre manager, Bimal da and Kunal da who helped in administration, ensured that each of us was treated like family. <br /><br />Coming back to the trail, as soon as I heard about the fire, I called up TCC. My worst fears were confirmed when I was unable to get through both the numbers. I then called up Maitree di on her cell phone. Thankfully she immediately picked up and sobbingly she told me that they have just managed to save themselves from the inferno. I asked her if everyone was fine and she told me that no one was hurt and they have somehow got out. Even in such a situation, courteous as always, she thanked me for calling her and enquiring about their safety! <br /><br />Meanwhile, someone in office switched the channels to a Bengali news channel and we saw the horror unfolding before our eyes. I was shaken to the core and just thanked God that none of them were hurt. 2 hours later, I went to Park Street (2 min walking distance from my office) and saw the tragic aftermath. While smoke was still billowing out of the building, there were people frantically waiting for news of their loved ones. Lot of families had their homes in the sprawling Stephen Court which also housed more than 100 offices. A guy waiting on the pavement with his family was crying uncontrollably, while his family members tried to give him the strength and rallied around him. I noticed my dentist’s assistance (he also had a house and his chamber there) and enquired about him. She told me they all also managed to get out from the fire safely. <br /><br />A little further, I finally spotted Kunal da. He told me their escape story: he noticed some smoke and rushed out to evacuate the others. The others rushed out leaving everything behind, but by the time they stepped out (TCC is on the 3rd floor) onto the landing, they saw the stairs were already on fire, thereby cutting their source of exit. They ran inside and luckily one of the windows that didn’t have any bars, was big enough for them to squeeze out. They squeezed themselves out of the window and then stepped on the space between the 2 AC boxes situated outside the window. They remained in that position for close to 2 hours till someone extended a ladder to them which they used to climb down to safety.. <br /><br />When I returned home, I got to hear more stories – some good like the family owing the popular Barbeque restaurant just across the road. As luck would have it, the entire family was out lunching, coincidentally, at Barbeque at that time and hence got saved. Their house though, suffered quite a bit of damage. But, who cares about material possessions when the entire family managed to avoid this tragedy. Some stories ended tragically like that of a family who managed to save everyone, except the grandmother, who got trapped in a room. Till late evening, there was no news of her. <br /><br />When I read tomorrow’s newspapers, the stories will definitely sound and read differently. I just pray that no one is trapped and hope that loss to life is minimal.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1kVGrYk6YkNudwqK36ApTn6J8si_x6qUsip1F7cYPpZMWtlGoOtpzF19HYa-hY0YN-XUnRvIqVIiFu2_QWbV5wdsTLmMbvHT72gQhyphenhyphenoxb9B85pdvp5R04w-3SiU5i8jhDlOGMVjBZyg/s1600/TCC+-+waiting+for+help.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1kVGrYk6YkNudwqK36ApTn6J8si_x6qUsip1F7cYPpZMWtlGoOtpzF19HYa-hY0YN-XUnRvIqVIiFu2_QWbV5wdsTLmMbvHT72gQhyphenhyphenoxb9B85pdvp5R04w-3SiU5i8jhDlOGMVjBZyg/s320/TCC+-+waiting+for+help.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452228519284621298" /></a><br /><br />Left to Right: Kunal da, Sir, Maitree di, Ma'am and the student. Pic courtesy: Sify<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_oUPTplUJy5Mh6wwuSMPiXHcr6_0T2zKlk8mPrrTUxrTfHEQjHyfiJ6PDQgmyYzk7snavlvOOq7Xw59AEs1WAsomJ_fYVpJcGXAKIO8ROt99AXWI4mLv5xI8VR23g5OzgLF5ZC6qNXc/s1600/Finally+escaped.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_oUPTplUJy5Mh6wwuSMPiXHcr6_0T2zKlk8mPrrTUxrTfHEQjHyfiJ6PDQgmyYzk7snavlvOOq7Xw59AEs1WAsomJ_fYVpJcGXAKIO8ROt99AXWI4mLv5xI8VR23g5OzgLF5ZC6qNXc/s320/Finally+escaped.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452228780539518978" /></a>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-35340002196902740682010-03-09T10:17:00.000-08:002010-03-24T10:33:24.129-07:00Kids SpeakAfter dilly dallying for a long time, my sis and I finally decided to catch Ishqiya on 14-Feb (ya ya the V-Day). So, to avoid the V-Day rush, even though the show was at 10 am, we got the tickets the day before. But sis woke up with a terrible pain in her ribs (doc later pinned it down to her recurring cough) and so the plan was shelved. My bro and I decided to go to the hall to sell off the tickets (small liberties, as the hall is 5 min away from my place)…As expected, the place was teeming with couples, who wouldn’t have given a damn if Wolfman was being played instead of Ishqiya. I spotted a young couple in the line for the tickets and approached them to sell my 2 tickets. The following conversation unfolded:<br />
<br />
Me: Hi, I have 2 extra tickets for Ishqiya. 3rd last row. 80 Rs each. Would you 2 be interested?<br />
<br />
Guy: which seats?<br />
<br />
Me: C8, C9 (the centre seats, 3rd last row)<br />
<br />
Guy: Mmm… let me check if the guy at the counter can exchange the seats. (he checks, turns out the exchange will depend on the empty seats)<br />
<br />
Given the morose look he gave me, I asked him to buy his own tickets and started looking around for some other people willing to buy the tickets...<br />
<br />
I soon spotted another guy who agreed to buy the 2 tickets... Happy to have sold off the tickets, I was on my way back when my bro (all of 10 years), asks me ‘Why didn’t the 1st guy buy the tickets from us? These were like the best seats..centre of the hall, 3rd last row, plus we weren’t even charging him extra!’. <br />
<br />
I tried to diplomatically tell him that maybe the couple was looking for seats in the 2nd or the 1st row. My brother gave me the look which only kids can and then quipped: ‘Aahh now I get it… those people wanted the corner seats so they could watch the movie without any disturbance!’I sheepishly pretended to be completely absorbed in the poster of Karthik-calling-Karthik and moved on…shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-25417909455413658852010-02-12T12:17:00.000-08:002010-02-12T12:20:56.412-08:00I protestThe drama that has been slowly unfolding over the last 2 weeks over the release of My Name is Khan has all the trappings of a Bollywood potboiler. We have the quintessential villain in Bal Thackrey and his cronies, the wronged hero in SRK and the silent sufferers in KJo, multiplex distributors and the aam junta who have been refused their basic right of freedom. Madhur Bhandarkar, please take note – you won’t have to search far for a ‘realistic’ plot for your next film. <br /><br />Almost all the people I know, feel outraged at the illogical demand of a party which has been trying to come into prominence for a long time now. As <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/61523/an-open-letter-to-uddhav-thackeray.html">Rajdeep Sardesai</a> mentions candidly, these self appointed guardians of the Marathi and Indian pride just don’t know where to draw a line. <br /><br />SRK, kudos to you for not buckling down even in the face of a huge release as My Name is Khan. This almost wipes away the ignominy of your volte-face in the testimony against the mafia in the Bharat Shah case. A thumbs up to the administration also who at least made an effort to stop this dangerous trend of letting a political outfit get away with anything, Mr. Pawar notwithstanding. A big round of applause to all those who are choosing to venture out and watch the film in the city of dreams <br /><br />We have one chance to prove once and for all that such hooliganism will not be tolerated. Here’s a simple thought – reports say that rest of India contributes 50% to the revenues of any film, with Maharashtra alone taking care of the other 50%. It’s a no brainer that the disruption of the screening of the movie would be a big blow to the film makers and hence the drama. If the rest of the country decides to watch the movie one extra time to make up for their counterparts in Maharashtra, wouldn’t that be a big slap on the faces of these vandals? I will do my bit from Calcutta to protest against what threatens to be a dangerous trend. What will you do?shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-794451359682133972010-01-21T10:14:00.000-08:002010-02-12T12:33:44.873-08:00For Keeps<meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cs%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cs%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cs%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> 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{mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >My earliest memory of school is the ride to the school in the bus. A girl, studying in the same class as mine, used to get on the bus much before me. For whatever reason, she always sat in the 2<sup>nd</sup> ‘big’ seat in the bus. The ‘big’ seat was called so because it used to seat 3 people. I started sitting beside her. Another classmate, getting on the bus much after me, started occupying the 3<sup>rd</sup> seat. The first was Sachita and the second was Shruti. May be it had something to do with getting access to one of<span style=""> </span>the best seats in the bus or something to do with studying in the same class, but we 3 soon became very good friends.
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >We used to go to each other’s place on birthdays & other days and our moms and families started knowing each other. Obviously, proximity to our houses helped…but these were my first set of friends in school. A year later when Sachita’s sister also started in the same school, we started to either take turns in sitting or simply made way for all 4. So, I got introduced to the 4<sup>th</sup> seat much before using the Mumbai trains </span><span style=";font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10pt;" ><span style="">:)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style=";font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10pt;" ><span style=""></span></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Our sections in school were changed in class 8, but nevertheless, we had the bus to catch up. However, that changed when I shifted to a different place. We remained in touch till class 12, after which each of us went their separate ways. I chose Eco, Shruti chose Commerce and Sachita chose to go into fashion designing. As it normally happens, we drifted apart and lost touch over the years. We would have hardly talked to each other over the last 7 years.
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Last November Shruti tied the knot. She had called up to invite me. I had almost thought of giving the wedding a miss – we have nothing in common now, I won’t know a soul there etc were my thoughts. However, 2 weeks before the wedding, I was just getting back to office from a meeting when Shruti spotted me. She was with her Mom on one of the endless shopping sprees. We stopped, caught up over a chai on the pavement and reminisced about the old times. Her Mom remembered small small instances that both of us had forgotten. It was exactly like being back in her house. And yes, I did go to her wedding </span><span style=";font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10pt;" ><span style="">:)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style=";font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10pt;" ><span style=""></span></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Last December, Sachita sent her wedding invite. She also called me last week. That’s when she told how she convinced her family for an inter caste wedding (she liked a batchmate, who was a Bengali). Today was her wedding. Having been caught up with work, I just somehow managed to reach her wedding just before the crowds came in to meet her and leave immediately. She was still getting ready and the place was teeming with the caterers putting the final touches. Suddenly I saw an old lady shuffling. I went up to her and asked her if she was Sachita’s grandmother. She said she was and then asked who I was. As soon as I told her my name, she gave me a big smile and hugged me. We then sat and chatted while waiting for the bride. What was amazing was that Dadu (that’s how Sachita addresses her grandmom) remembered everything about me. She remembered how many sisters and brother I had and enquired about each of them! She also lamented that while she was very happy with the groom and his family, the fact that they were not Maarwaaris, still rankled a bit – guess the biases will remain for some more time in Maadus! We would have waited for close to 15-20 mins for Sachita to come, but never once did I feel out of place. Maybe, that’s what they call providence and friends for keeps </span><span style=";font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10pt;" ><span style="">:)</span></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-55750043612596043562009-12-25T11:04:00.000-08:002010-02-12T12:36:24.131-08:00What a match!<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">I finally managed to achieve what I have been planning for a long time now… watch a match at </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Eden</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> – the mecca of cricket! For the ongoing </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">India</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> – </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Sri Lanka</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> one day series, Dad somehow managed to get 2 tickets…</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">given that I had office that day, he decided to accompany my kid bro for the 1<sup>st</sup> half, with me replacing him in the 2nd half...</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">The day started with my boss announcing to everyone that he was in a very bad mood. Reason – for the 1<sup>st</sup> time, he didn’t have a ticket for the match! Oh o I thought.. wrong time to disclose that I was going to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Edens</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">. However, once he came to know I had passes, he became more excited than me and was perfectly fine with allowing me to go to watch the 1<sup>st</sup> innings as well </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial; mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings">J</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> this reminded me of the IPL match between KKR & Mumbai Indians where Manish allowed us to run away from office to watch the match! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">Tracking the score on cricinfo, I was aghast to see </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Sri Lanka</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> run away to 315. Anyways, with the incentive of being at </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Eden</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Gardens</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> and watching Sehwag / Sachin play, I entered the stadium to watch the 2<sup>nd</sup> innings. My brother, who had been sitting through the 1<sup>st</sup> innings, had by then, stocked the plastic water packets (water bottles were banned inside the ground) and even managed to patao a man sitting next to us to use his binoculars! <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">Sehwag & Sachin entered the field to a rapturous welcome. The 1<sup>st</sup> boundary from Sehwag’s blade had everyone up & shouting. Sitting near me were 2 gentlemen who were obviously </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Eden</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> veterans. They were perfectly content to just sit and watch the proceedings. They continuously kept their commentary going, but otherwise, never did they once get up and cheer a boundary or a shot well played...they just politely clapped.. This was in sharp contrast to a group of college students sitting in front of me. Every shot and every run saw them standing up and cheering like mad. This had a Bengali gentleman sitting behind me completely agitated and a shouting match ensued between the 2 before sanity prevailed. The group’s final comment to the gentleman were <i>‘picture thodi na dekhne aaye hai jo seat par baith kar rahenge’ :D</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">Suddenly, Sehwag gave catching practice to the fielder and departed. Crowd got restive, but no worries, Sachin was still there. Horrors o horrors, soon Tendulkar also joined Sehwag in the dressing room. There is literally a pin drop silence in the stands. Out walked Kohli and the general chit chat going around me is as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">‘<i>aaj to </i></span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><i>gaya</i></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><i> </i></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><i>India</i></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">…’</span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">‘<i>J</i><i>uvraaj hoto to jeete jetaam aaj ke</i></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><i>’ (If Yuvraaj was there, we would have won)</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><i>‘Dhoni nei, Juvraaj o nei – kichu hobe na Indiar aajke' ( No Dhoni, No Yuvraaj...nothing will work for </i></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><i>India</i></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><i> today)</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p>As Kohli’s batting statistics were being displayed on the electronic screen, somebody commented</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p><i>‘arey dekh iska career best 79 hai’</i></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">to which someone replied <i>‘abey to aaj wapas thodi na 79 maarega!!! </i></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><i>’</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">But, Kohli did hit 79…infact, bettered it by a mile… Each run from Kohli and Gambhir was cheered and any appeal from the bowler had the crowd booing loudly. And the atmosphere when the two got their centuries – one simply had to be there to witness the madness …Just when Kohli reached his century, the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">Eden</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> veteran sitting near me, suddenly stood up… Ah..finally he gets up to cheer, were my thoughts… But, he took the water packets safely stored with him, opened them a bit and threw it high in the sky in front to celebrate the centurions </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-hansi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">Kohli fell to a good catch on the boundary but with the target within reaching distance, the crowd welcomed Dinesh Kartik and gave a standing ovation to Kohli. Just when we were 4 runs short of victory, the veterans stood up again…this time however, everyone was ready and ‘packet rain’ followed in the chill of December night as Gambhir hit the winning runs… Slightly soaked, but super charged, we made our way out of the stadium, having witnessed history today </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings">J</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-2748100502378596382009-09-28T13:11:00.000-07:002010-02-12T12:36:11.926-08:00Pujo time<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pujas were just around the corner – a time when </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Calcutta</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> completely transforms. Each area puts up a pandal for welcoming the goddess and she is kept in all finery for 5 days. Each pandal tries to outdo the other in their budgets and creativity to get the maximum crowds and the all important awards to establish their supremacy. Every year, my family goes for pandal hopping - a recce of the Puja at different places. It’s an all nighter with junk food and the works…don’t remember how this tradition of going for pandal hopping each year started at our place, but the festive atmosphere is surreal and each of us look forward to it.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This time however, I was in a slightly different frame of mind as we approached the Pujas. Aagh…its that time of the year again I thought. Teeming crowds thronging the roads, bumper to bumper traffic. My mood was not helped by the fact that 45 mins after starting from office, I was still almost half way from my home, a distance which I generally cover in 30 mins. Add to this my anxious colleague who through the days, kept thinking & talking (very loudly) only about the preparations for the Puja at her building complex. I was royally bugged and so all in all, the only saving grace for me was the 4 day holiday for Pujas…</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Given my aversion, I was determined to give the pandal hopping a complete miss this year. Holidays started from the Saptami…sheer bliss </span></span><span style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family: Arial;mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;"><span style="font-family:Wingdings;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">J</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> my day was panning out just the way I had planned… sleeping, movies, crossword etc etc…I could see the coming 3 days. Then in the evening, my Dad dropped a bomb shell…this year, there would be 2 rounds of pandal hopping – one within </span></span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Salt</span></span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lake</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (a satellite residential township) & the 2</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">nd</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> outside </span></span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Salt</span></span></st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lake</span></span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">! Just as I was about to launch into my well rehearsed speech of not going along with them, came the next bomb shell… my driver would not be coming and so I would be the designated driver for the Salt Lake trip…Damn…all the lines about ‘if you want God to have a good laugh, tell him about your plans’ went through my mind…</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anyways, we started at some </span></span><st1:time minute="0" hour="22"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">10 pm</span></span></st1:time><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and 5 mins onto the road, I was badly cursing all the cars in front of me… we were crawling at a snail’s pace and there was absolutely no place to park the car. We finally managed to find a place to park the car and still cursing, I got down with others to see the pandal…the melee of crowds at 10 enthusiastically moving to see the Goddess further irritated me (a pandal is a pandal and a goddess is a goddess! What’s the need to visit so many pandals?? were my words). But, the pandal was a work of art and the Goddess was divine. We then moved to the 2</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">nd</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and then the 3</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">rd</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and so many others. The enthusiasm of the people was infectious and soon I found myself enjoying the experience. The feeling of being truly blessed when you are looking up at the Goddess is too hard to describe in words. One simply has to be there to experience it. And yes, each pandal and each </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">murti </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">was unique.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To cut a long story short, the night and the next 2 days turned out to be simply fantastic experience. I fell in love with the city again…hats off to the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">karigars</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> at kumartulli who modeled the Goddess such that no two pandals had the same type. The police and civic volunteers worked through the night to ensure that everyone had a good time. Kudos to them for this as the arrangements this year were just amazing. And as I tucked into an aalu dum at the famous </span></span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lake</span></span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><st1:placename><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kalibaari</span></span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, my thoughts were </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">‘aaste bochor aabar hobe’ </span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-22849096462503918782009-09-22T10:59:00.001-07:002010-02-12T12:36:47.561-08:00Great jobs?<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><st1:city><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Massa</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> suffered a massive crash at the Hungarian GP, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. Then much to the delight of all F1 fans, Ferrari announced that Schuamcher would be replacing </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Massa</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> for the remaining 2009 season. However, this was not to be. An old neck injury prevented the great Schumi come back and after an inspired win at the Belgian Grand Prix, Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella won the much coveted position of the Ferrari driver for the ongoing season. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While Fisi would be driving the car in 2009, in all probability, he would only be the reserve driver in 2010. This hasn’t deterred him from accepting the position and he is perfectly happy playing the role of reserve driver with Ferrari when he could have easily been the main driver for Force </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">India</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> or any other team. Such great is the prestige associated with Ferrari along with the opportunities that would be available to a player after doing a stint at Ferrari. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This incident got me thinking: which other jobs / companies command such a high respect / prestige that someone would be willing to take a small role there instead of a bigger & more important role in a smaller organization: Investment Banks of the likes of Lehman, ML, Goldman (before the recession of course!) immediately come to mind as do the consultancy firms like Bain, Mckinsey etc. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Any other? </span></span></p>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-85083567662638127032009-08-13T12:31:00.000-07:002010-02-12T12:34:43.551-08:00Last Day..<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So much to do and so little time left...! As they say, old habits die hard :)</span></span>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-25089825191372430582009-07-21T07:07:00.000-07:002010-02-12T12:35:41.733-08:00Potternama<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Dear Mr. David Yates,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Having watched the earlier Potter movies and my general distaste for movies based on books (Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code – you know the type) it was with a sense of great trepidation that I entered the cinema hall to watch the Half Blood Prince. But then, when the request to see the movie comes from your 9 year old brother, you really don’t have a choice, do you?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">The 1<sup>st</sup> 10 minutes – immobile pictures in the Daily Prophet (!!), Dumbeldore arriving unannounced on the platform, Harry seeming just a wee bit reluctant to go along with Dumbeldore – reconfirmed my fears. There it goes again, I thought. Why cant the makers just stick to the book!! But, moving on, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The book has been followed more or less (elaborated below), some parts edited out do not add much to the narrative, new characters played their parts well and the movie was sufficiently dark to act as a good prelude to the grand finale. The narrative was good enough to be followed by those who haven’t read the book yet. Why, even my brother exclaimed that he finally understood Draco’s mission was to kill Dumbeldore after pestering me through out the movie to spill the big secret (and no…I didn’t give him a single clue!). So kudos for that. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Let us now come to the ‘more or less’ bit mentioned above. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Harry taken to Slughorn’s place to convince him to take up the teaching job at Hogwarts. Unlike the book, here, Slughorn didn’t need any convincing from Harry at all and readily agreed just as Dumbeldore started to leave. So apart from seeing Slughorn emerge out after masquerading as an arm chair, there wasn’t any thing else in that scene.</span></li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="2" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Molly (along with Ginny, Ron, Hermione) being completely clueless that Harry was coming over to the Burrow. Dumdeldore had gone to the Privet Drive precisely for that reason – escort Potter to the Burrow safely for his remaining holidays (of course with a detour to Slughorn’s place)!<o:p></o:p></span></li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="3" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Draco entering Bogin & Burkes with the trio (Harry, Ron & Hermione) following them. At one point, they climbed over a roof to see what Malfoy was up to. Climbing??? They are wizards for chrissake! And whatever happened to the Extendable Ears invented by Fred and George especially when their shop at Diagon Alley was showcased in full glory 2 scenes before!<o:p></o:p></span></li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="4" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback attacking the Burrow with Harry, Ginny, Lupin, Tonks and Mr. Weasley rushing outside. After that, the Burrow was set ablaze. The Burrow along with the </span><st1:street><st1:address><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Privet Drive</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> was placed under the strongest possible protection by the members of the Order. So, this scene was nothing but pure fabrication. Did we really run out of scenes that you had to resort to this kind of ‘creativity’ </span><span style=" font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">L</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="5" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Ginny taking Harry to the Room of Requirement (RoR) to hide the Half Blood Prince’s Potions book. The RoR was discovered by Harry and utilized time and again before this (DA classes being just one example). Pls give Ginny and Potter more credit than that! Her fiery temper, quick wit, quidditch talent have been completely discounted. <o:p></o:p></span></li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="6" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Towards the end, Harry waiting silently while he sees Dumdeldore being surrounded by Draco and other Death Eaters. In walks Snape, gestures Harry to be quiet, moves up and finally kills Dumbeldore. Atrocious! Harry would rather die than follow any instruction from Snape especially when Dumbeldore is sick, unarmed and surrounded. In the book, he had been immobilized by Dumbeldore by a freezing charm (a non verbal spell) and hence was unable to move – unlike what has been shown in the movie. And I am not even mentioning the complete absence of the DA members in the last fight…!</span></li></ol><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Modify these and you have an amazing movie adapted from a book…still, not discounting that this movie is a good one. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">No hint of romance between Lupin & Tonks and Bill & Fleur is enough for me to pre-empt which parts are definitely going to be chopped / not shot at all in the Deathly Hallows. Nonetheless, here’s hoping for the grandest and the best of all for the finale – the Deathly Hallows..! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;">A Potter Fan</span></p>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-51787591797942199772009-07-17T06:49:00.000-07:002010-02-12T12:34:51.807-08:00Bandhs<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">After a long hiatus, grey shades is back to talk about bandhs..<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 48px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p>When we were kids, bandhs meant watching TV / reading books through the day. Then depending on whether it was a 12 hr or 24 hr bandh, we used to step out in the evening for chaat or a meal. All in all, we used to think a stay well spent…! My Dad however used to get super excited on these days. He conveniently used to stick a ‘Press’ poster on his car and rush to his office in the early hours of the morning before bandh officially kick started. I remember we sisters and friends praying fervently for a divine (read Mamta more often than not) intervention before every exam.</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">As we grew up, we realized bandhs are quite a regular phenomenon in this wonder state called </span><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Bengal</span></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">. They were called for the slightest of reasons - lawlessness in the state, highhandedness of the govt in power, some policy of the central govt., - you name it, we have had it. And, promptly on that one call (whether by the state govt or the opposition), the entire city would shut down.</span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p>To give credit to the bandh callers, the day of the bandh was chosen quite strategically – not any day of the day would do… mind you, the bandh had to be on a Monday or a Friday so that the hardworking people of Bengal could get the benefit of an extended 3 day weekend. Who says politicians don’t work for the welfare of the people…!</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Slowly but surely, the sheer futility of the bandhs hit us. Crippling the entire state on the whims and fancies of the CPM or the opposition was criminal. Spare a thought for the daily wage earners who wouldn’t get anything to eat if they don’t get a full day work. But, when you are tackling larger issues like terrorism, lawlessness, Singur, the daily wage earner can take a hike. I have no clue what was achieved through the bandhs and the damage done to </span><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Bengal</span></st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> and its people with each bandh was evident. I remember one bandh called in the city to protest against the terrorist attacks in Zaveri Bazar, Mumbai. On this, an Industry captain had commented: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">‘I find it extremely funny that Mumbai is up and running the day after the attacks, while Calcutta has chosen to shut itself down in protest of these attacks’. </i>This bandh obviously did not deter the terrorists from bombing Ahmedabad / </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Delhi</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> / Mumbai etc. </span><span style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial; mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">J</span></span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Wingdings;font-size:7;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 48px;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> Today another 12 hr bandh has been called in the state to protest the attacks on the Congress workers by the CPM. Anyone who thought that the MLA who ran 3 kms in the paddy fields, chappals in hand and dhoti held high, to save his life from the CPM workers running behind him, would let this incident pass by were sorely mistaken. The entire state will pay for it – already evidenced by the torching of 7 state buses yesterday. To top it all, my 9 year old brother says ‘I had an exam today…awesome now I don’t have to study’ – somethings clearly haven’t changed...</o:p></span></p>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-25777146432918683312009-01-24T12:24:00.000-08:002010-02-12T12:34:02.133-08:00Gentleman’s game…<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;">Passion, anger, exhilaration, dejection… few things in life invoke so many emotions at one go & cricket features very high on that list… one just has to witness the old matches between Australia-England (Bradman, Botham era), India-Pakistan and more recently the India-Australia matches to understand what I mean…<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:48px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">The colourful mass of the tricolour or the ‘greened’ stadium cheering <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>… England’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barmy_Army">Barmy Army</a> or <a href="http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=120861">Pakistan’s Jalil Chacha</a>, Indian spectators provoking ‘Aalu’ (Inzamam-ul-Haq) or ‘Monkey’ (Symonds)… each spectator either in the stadium or watching the action live on TV becomes so personally involved in the match as if it is a life and death situation & gives cricket its<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>religion / cult status in the sub-continent... the colourful abuses & commentary at Eden Gardens stand testimony to this </span><span style="font-family:Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-hansi-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> … as does the world cup semi-final flare up at Eden & the Pakistan-India test match being played out in front of empty stadiums in Chennai… Half of the Indians haven’t met Javed Miandad, but almost all of them feel a personal enmity against Miandad for that famous six off Chetan Sharma…that’s cricket for u……</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:48px;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;">Almost every one among us has been subjected to ‘stay where u r if the team is doing good’ rule… This will be testified by none other Kris Srikkanth who was forced to remain <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/37102120.cms">standing outside on a cold windy day</a> when Kapil Dev scored his brilliant 175 not out at Turnbridge Wells against Zimbabwe in the 1983 world cup…!</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:48px;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;">With this kind of public frenzy, no wonder each match against the famed opponents becomes a do-or-die situation for the players as well…tensions & tempers run high…well directed abuse, a hurried shove or just some fantastic cricket … anything to break the concentration of a well set player, or demoralize a player…this calls for a lot of exciting cricket which gives rise to some of the best cricketing moments… while I had the privilege to watch some of these, others have been compiled from our very own googleji (where else…)</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:48px;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"></p><ol><li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Miandad vs Sharma: </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Venue: Sharjah, 1986. <st1:place st="on">Australasia</st1:place> Cup Final. <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place> needed 4 to win off the last ball… Indian fans were sitting happy & relaxed… the match was as good as won… in comes chetan sharma to bowl the last ball…<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>a full toss, bowled to Javed Miandad who swung his bat & hit a six! An almost unthinkable feat which ensured 2 things – miandad suddenly became every Indian’s enemy and Indian pace attack suddenly lost its sting … such was the loss in confidence that prior to this game, <st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region> had lost 6 of their 9 ODIs against <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>. After <st1:city st="on">Sharjah</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region> won 8 of the next 9 matches against <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region>, with 5 of them being played in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>…</span></li></ol><p></p> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="2" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Sohail vs Prasad: </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Venue: Banglore, 1996 World Cup, Quarter Final. Chasing <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region>'s score of 287-8, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place> got off to a flyer of a start, Amir Sohail and Saeed Anwar went about tearing the Indian bowling attack. Anwar fell with the score on 84 but Sohail continued to shred the opening bowlers. He brought up his fifty at more than a run a ball and celebrated with a sizzling slash off Prasad. Sohail after hitting the shot pointed his bat the area where the bowl had disappeared and then towards Prasad apparently gesturing where he will send the next one. Attempting to repeat the shot, Sohail made room, exposed his stumps and lost his wicket. As the wicket lay uprooted, Prasad returned the favour to Sohail, pointing to the pavilion this time. The comeback was truly remarkable, almost a miracle .... Prasad has bowled thousands of deliveries and taken hundereds of wickets in his career but, it was this one granted him a place in the History of Indian Cricket .. for ever... the ghost of Miandad's last ball six was exorcised, once and for all as India went to win this epic game…</span></li></ol> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="3" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Waugh vs Gibbs:</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> 1999 World Cup, Super Six League Match: Australia vs S.Africa… at 48-3, the Aussies chasing 271 were clearly in trouble…the fightback was led by Steve Waugh… luck favoured him when he was given a lifeline by Hershelle Gibbs who let the ball slip from his grasp as he prematurely celebrated Waugh’s dismissal on 56… such was his confidence that Waugh reportedly told Gibbs: ‘<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">you just dropped the world cup mate...' </b>he went on to score 120 & won Australia the match… Waugh’s world proved prophetic as <st1:country-region st="on">Australia</st1:country-region> defeated S. Africa in a tie in the semi-final by virtue of this Super Six match & then went on to win the World Cup…</span></li></ol> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="4" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Waugh vs Ganguly:</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> Venue: <st1:placename st="on">Eden</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Gardens</st1:placetype>, 2001: 2<sup>nd</sup> Test Match: Day 5: Chasing 383 to win, <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Australia</st1:country-region></st1:place> were 166-3. Just before tea, Ganguly dropped a sharp chance off Waugh at backward square leg…Waugh repeated his ‘you just dropped the Test mate..’ line to Ganguly… In Ganguly’s own words, ‘maybe if he had said nothing, the game would have drifted to a draw, the result that appeared to be its natural conclusion. But, it (Waugh’s words) had the effect of geeing up the Indians. Immediately after tea, Harbhajan got Waugh out and Dravid gave him a sendoff from slip asking who had given away the Test match now.' A sure case of over confidence……</span></li></ol> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="5" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Tendulkar vs Qadir:</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> Venue: <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>, 1989. Sachin had recently made his debut in Pakistan…not even old enough to to get a driving licence, Tendulkar was facing the best bowlers in the business. As the Pakistani crows jeered and mocked Sachin holding out the placards saying ‘<b>Doodh Pita Bachcha ..ghar jaake doodh pi, </b>Sachin sent the then young leg spinner Mustaq Ahmed hiding for cover (he had hit two sixes in one over). The frustrated mentor of Mustaq Ahmed, the legendary Abdul Qadir challenged Sachin saying <b>‘Bachchon ko kyon mar rahe ho? Hamein bhi maar dikhao’..</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> Tendulkar obliged Qadir…he hit 4 sixes in Qadir’s over, making the spinner look the kid in the contest. The over read 6, 0, 4, 6 6 6, David had felled Goliath ... and a legend was born.</span></span></li></ol> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="6" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Viv Richards vs Greg Thomas:</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"> County championship between Glamorgan & Somerset: Glamorgan quickie Greg Thomas had beaten Viv Richards' bat a couple of times and informed the legendary West Indian ace: ‘It's red, round and weighs about five ounces, in case you were wondering.’ The very next ball was given the King Viv treament and smashed out of the ground, into a river - at which point Richards piped up: ‘Greg, you know what it looks like. Now go and find it.’</span></li></ol> <ol style="margin-top:0in" start="7" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">McGrath vs Brandes: </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Aus vs <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Zimbabwe</st1:country-region></st1:place>: Aussies have been known to sledge…not all cricketers take this lying down & some like Eddo Brandes gave it back fittingly… McGrath was bowling to <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Zimbabwe</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s No. 11 batsman Brandes, who was unable to get his bat anywhere near the ball. McGrath, frustrated that Brandes was still at the crease, wandered up during one particular over and inquired: ‘Why are you so fat?’ Quick as a flash, Brandes replied: ‘Because every time I make love to your wife, she gives me a biscuit ‘</span></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">And now for the funniest of all: Incident described in "From the Pavilion End" by Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird: ‘Bomber’ Wells, a spin bowler and great character, played for Glocuestershire and Nottinghamshire. He used to bat at No.11 since one couldn't bat any lower. Of him, they used to paraphrase <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Compton</st1:city></st1:place>'s famous words describing an equally inept runner; ’When he shouts 'YES' for a run, it is merely the basis for further negotiations!’ Once when Wells played for Gloucs, he had an equally horrendous runner as the No.10. During a county match, horror of horrors.......both got injured. *Both* opted for runners when it was their turn to bat. Bomber played a ball on the off, called for a run, forgot he had a runner and ran himself. Ditto at the other end. In the melee, someone decided that a second run was on. Now we had *all four* running. Due to the confusion and constant shouts of "YES" "NO", eventually, *all* of them ran to the same end. Note - at this point in time, the entire ground is rolling on the floor laughing their behinds out. One of the fielders - brave lad - stops laughing for a minute, picks the ball and throws down the wicket at the other end. Umpire Alec Skelding looks very seriously at the four and calmly informs them ‘<b>One of you buggers is out. I don't know which. *You* decide and inform the bloody scorers</b>!’<o:p></o:p></span></p>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-64457097909852390222009-01-07T07:05:00.000-08:002010-02-12T12:36:47.562-08:00Raju nahi raha gentleman<div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We couldn’t have asked for a more shocking start to the New Year… just when the economies, battered and bruised from the onslaught of sub-prime crisis, recession, bankruptcies, were limping back to normalcy, came another nail in the coffin – corporate fraud…whether this is the final nail or more such skeletons will come stumbling out of the cupboard, only time will tell…</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It all starts with a small lie, minute misreporting - under or over statement, to cover the losses and present a better picture… & very soon, it balloons into a huge crisis. The incident once again proves that people just refuse to learn from history… what led to </span></span><a href="http://www.riskglossary.com/link/barings_debacle.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nick Leeson & Baring Bank’s downfall</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, now has contributed in making Satyam a junk stock with the now ex-Chairman's </span></span><a href="http://bseindia.com/qresann/news.asp?newsid=%7BB54441D9-E133-4C94-B29E-6ACA1FB34E65%7D&param1=1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">damaging disclosures</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">… Problem however is that while the ECB stepped in to safeguard the beleaguered depositors of Barings Bank, the stake holders of Satyam have just about no where to go… </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Satyam thus because of its misdeeds, has catapulted into the Enron league with PwC looking to go the Arthur Andersen way… looks like the </span></span><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=316917"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ban on PwC</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> from auditing NBFCs and banks post Global Trust Bank fiasco, lifted in Mar-08, is now back for good...The audit club just keeps on shrinking…will it be Big 3 now?</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This unfortunate incident raises a lot of uncomfortable questions which we otherwise took for granted… Who has the final say on what numbers will be put for reporting, how did the entire company including the top management remain so clueless on the actual numbers, how did the auditors allow such a gaffe, how come the umpteen analysts tracking the scrip and FIIs, MFs invested in the scrip did not smell anything cooking, how come the banks took the reported numbers as final for deciding how much to lend…the list goes on…</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While one can question the growth in the numbers achieved & stated in the balance sheet, how does one question the numbers itself? Entities like banks, audit firms etc. have all been set up for different purposes with each entity having separate responsibilities and system overall having supposedly stringent checks and balances. This basic premise has now been questioned as a result of this crisis (as has been the case in all crises)…What we see here is a mass hoodwinking scheme where everyone was taken for one jolly good ride (the sadist in me gloated over the fact that my bank is not one of the 6 banks to Satyam). Ironical…given that the company stood 2nd in the Asia, Pacific and Africa Region for its Corporate Governance practice in 2008…!!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The banks which had anyways become cautious on whom to lend, now will be forced to take a hard relook at all the companies balance sheets and numbers… another round of scenario analysis (the audit oversight sensitivity or fudging sensitivity now), MIS and downgrading follows…more bad news for India and the Indian growth story…</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The sad truth is however that checks & balances have failed to avoid any failure in past and there is so reason to believe that future will be any different. While one can do endless analysis on a company, there really is no replacement to gut feeling when it comes to deciding where to invest or whom to lend. Seasoned bankers and investors swear by it and there definitely seems to be a lot of merit in going by one’s own judgement instead of believing some excel workings…As my friend recently commented, this is one hell of a time to be working in financial sector… people like me & my friend above, who started working 1.5 year back, couldn’t have asked for a better exposure (pun intended)… </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;">P.S. Apologies for the extremely corny heading…suggestions for changes will be welcome…</span>shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8368956416470359000.post-75339491908201483942008-11-30T08:45:00.000-08:002010-02-12T12:35:05.259-08:00A Wednesday<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CPGP-05%7E2.SPJ%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">India</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">'s tryst with the number 26th continues... the earthquake in Gujarat, rains in Mumbai and now the attack on 3 landmarks…also continuing unabated are the repeated terrorists attacks - Zaveri bazar bomb blasts, train bombings…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">The ferocity of the attacks has left the common man angered and the bereaved families devastated. While it is difficult to deal with the loss of a loved one / country's brave soldiers killed fighting a battle on the borders against a known enemy, coming to terms with life lost fighting an unknown enemy within our own country is a herculean task. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Repeated attacks on Mumbai point only at one conclusion - the intent of the terrorists to create mayhem and confusion which will cripple the economic capital of <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> and hence <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> itself. Idea seems to be to create so much of fear in the common man's mind that he is too scared to step out of the house...</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Lets not get drawn into a blame game as to whos at fault – terrorists do not have a religion – so painting all Muslims or Pakistanis as terrorists will not solve problems… will just add to the prevailing sense of injustice and anger than an Indian is feeling and put fuel to the fire...</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">We all have gotten used to frequent calls by family members in the course of the day on the pretext of finding whether we are safe or not… I am now loathe to let my kid brother disappear from my sight for more than 2 min… these attacks are depriving us of our privacy, our freedom – something which separated us from our neighbors… <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">What does the common man do now? Start buying arms and ammunitions, invest heavily in security systems, start operating out of homes? </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Time now I think, for the common man to now retaliate… to take back what is deservingly ours – right to move freely in any part of the city, country without the fear of being gunned down by terrorists… This retaliation was captured brilliantly in the movie <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3447419.cms" target="_blank">a wednesday</a>. If the terrorists are willing to lay down their lives and prepare painstakingly for a cause that half of them don’t even understand, we can definitely achieve much more by fighting for a much more personal cause – our freedom… lets start being more careful and protecting ourselves and others around us....<o:p></o:p></span></p> shilpihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02660616791817125422noreply@blogger.com3