Thought for the day
“The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
— Albert Einstein (German, 1879-1955)
Word for the day
Ad infinitum (adv)
To infinity; endlessly; without limit.
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Teaser for the day
Mamta Banerjee is certainly more Aam, Anarchist, Honest, Transparent, Experienced, & Gritty than Arvind Kejriwal.
Does TMC has a better claim over the territory which AAP is aggressively trying to encroach upon?
Two short stories
Power of ‘the 49’
A dear friend, one of few smart equity analysts I know, also
happens to be an ardent fan of RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. While I do not
share much of his adulation for the governor, I was left completely speechless
when he argued last week “notwithstanding your deep skepticism over long term
efficacy of “Americanized policy ways” of the governor, Rajan will continue to
enjoy support of ‘the 49%’ for his
charming personality”.
Shopping for kitchen yesterday I suddenly realized why the
charming governor could actually be dear to ‘the
49%’. I am sure he is regularly assisting his wife in shopping groceries,
fish vegetable and fruits. Because, only a person who actually visits the
market regularly and keeps a tab on the grocery bills would know that the
downtick in consumer inflation is merely a statistical phenomenon and could be
totally misleading. Notwithstanding the claims of the finance minister
regarding success in bringing down the consumer prices, the bill for daily
kitchen expenses is rising every week. Besides, the petty inflation for middle
class may actually be running into high double digits – if you evaluate movie
tickets, popcorns, haircut, parking charges, doctor fee, salary for domestic
help and drivers, phone bill, utility bills, tuition fee etc.
That is perhaps why the governor has not only refrained from
easing rates, but also refused to hint any imminent easing; disregarding the
high decibel clamor from Industry captains who might be oblivious to the power of 49% and may not be regular
in grocery shopping.
China – friend or foe
Historically the Sino-Indian relations have been defined by
strong trade and cultural ties. There is no evidence of any substantive
conflict between the two ancient civilizations prior to 1950. In fact many
studies have suggested that prior to middle 19th century Indian and
Chinese economies thoroughly dominated the global economy for many centuries.
Despite such great shared history and economics the mention of
two most populous nations together only evokes a sense of rivalry in India.
From my friends in US, Hong Kong and Singapore I understand that
a common Chinese citizen carries no sense of rivalry for India or Indians. For
most Chinese businessmen India is one of the biggest “opportunities” at hand.
For Chinese politicians the territorial dispute with India is more of a “carry
over” agenda item for their routine meetings.
To the contrary, a common Indian citizen hates China from the
core of his heart, Indian businessmen are ambivalent towards China – they are
scared of competition and enamored by the opportunity, and politicians leave no
opportunity to highlight the Himalayan threat.
Recently (a) an Australian journalist sought to redefine the
role of China in Indo-China war in 1962; (b) Rahul Gandhi is often seen “vowing”
to bring back all jobs back lost to China in past couple of decades and (c)
Narendra Modi has dared China to control its territorial ambitions.
I wonder is there a way to reset Indo-China relation to
pre-20th century era!
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