Do it yourself

"Wish all our readers a joyous Diwali. May the new Samvat be propitious for everyone - full of peace, prosperity and pleasures." Thought for the day " I hope to stay unemployed as a war photographer till the end of my life." —Robert Capa (American, 1913-1954) Word for the day Stalwart (Adj) Firm, steadfast, uncompromising, strong and brave; valiant, e.g., a stalwart knight . Malice towards none सिद्धि बुद्धि प्रदे देवि भुक्ति मुक्ति प्रदायिनि। मन्त्र मूर्ते सदा देवि महालक्ष्मि नमोस्तुते ॥   First random thought this morning Diwali without Chinese goods could be an innovative means of wealth distribution. The rich traders who have made tons of money by importing Chinese goods and selling these in India over past decade of so will incur some losses on the inventory of the stuff they have already imported; the middle class households will spend little more money for Diwali decoration...

Thought for the day " This war is like an actress who is getting old. It is less and less photogenic and more and more dangerous." —Robert Capa (American, 1913-1954) Word for the day Compunction (n) A feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse. Malice towards none How could Amar Singh, who has never been public servant, minister, police or judge, could save someone from going to jail? Will SC take suo moto cognizance of MSY's 'confession' and order an inquiry? First random thought this morning I am not sure whether many people noticed it, but to me it was rather too conspicuous. The MSY and his clan treat the State of Uttar Pradesh as grocery shop run by their family. In their discourse, they sound like 'owner' of the State. And we all know MSY family is not the only one that sounds like that. The first families in m...

Thought for the day " In a war, you must hate somebody or love somebody; you must have a position or you cannot stand what goes on." —Robert Capa (American, 1913-1954) Word for the day Thunderstruck (adj) Overcome with consternation; confounded; astounded, e.g., He was thunderstruck by the news of his promotion . Malice towards none Is MSY's family taking Ram and Ramayana too seriously?   First random thought this morning The way Virat Kohli is going, he may obliterate many great names from the Cricket's record book. The age is on his side and he is already a youth icon and worshipped ahead of the greats Sachin & Lara. I wonder will that automatically entitle him for a Bharat Ratna, or he would need do little more to earn the honor! Waiting for the tide to turn Indian equity markets started attracting interest from common public in mid 1980s' when the erstwhile Controller ...

Thought for the day " A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left." — Alexander Pope (English, 1688-1744) Word for the day Lexicon (n) The vocabulary of a particular language, field, social class, person, etc. Malice towards none US presidential election is turning out be quite like Bihar assembly poll last year. Do you also see similarity between a variety of women accusing Trump of outraging their modesty (in some cases 20-30yrs ago) and the spate of intelligent people returning their awards? First random thought this morning The present Indo-Pak policy of China is eerily similar to the Indo-Pak policy of USA till a few years ago. China wants to have good relation with India for mutual economic benefits, and wants to keep Pakistan in good stead for geo-political reasons. Much like the USA in the decades of 1980, 1990 and 2000. I wonder, why is it ne...

Thought for the day " Man never thinks himself happy, but when he enjoys those things which others want or desire." — Alexander Pope (English, 1688-1744) Word for the day Potboiler (n) A mediocre work of literature or art produced merely for financial gain. Malice towards none Congress is desperately trying every trick in the trade to stay relevant in UP. Genuflecting to Ms. Mayawati is perhaps the only thing left! First random thought this morning The online retailers are joyously claiming huge growth in sales this season. Their offline counterparts are echoing their sentiments. This may therefore be a case of some shift of customers from off-line to on-line; and not necessarily reflect the growth in consumer spending. Regardless, the customer is benefitting from lower prices and manufacturers may also benefit from lower sales and distribution expense. The retailers in both the worlds may end up f...

Thought for the day " Some old men, continually praise the time of their youth. In fact, you would almost think that there were no fools in their days, but unluckily they themselves are left as an example." — Alexander Pope (English, 1688-1744) Word for the day Understory (n) The shrubs and plants growing beneath the main canopy of a forest. Malice towards none First random thought this morning For past many days, the front page of my news paper starts from page 5 or page 7 and its usually a half page in width. The notions like Front page, main headline, Page 3 have all lost their meaning. "Discount" is the key operative word these days. I heavily discount whatever people want to "sell" or 'tell" me. Show me the evidence These days everyone in India suddenly seem to have become rationalist - a trait not usually associated with us. Everyone is seeking evidence before believi...