Do it yourself

Thought for the day "Much that passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love of power." —Bertrand Russel (British, 1872-1970) Word for the day True-Blue (adj) unwaveringly loyal or faithful; staunch; unchangingly true. Malice towards none For a second assume Pakistan executes the death sentence awarded to Kulbhushan Jadhav. What will be our reaction: (a) Will we declare war on Pakistan and invade Lahore? (b) Will we terminate all diplomatic and trade relations with Pakistan, declaring it to be an enemy? (c) Will we at least execute couple of Pakistani prisoners in our jails, without fait trial? If the answer to all the above if "No"; then what's the deal with all this TV drama? First random thought this morning As per media reports, the government has 'asked' central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) to bear the cost of 543 "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vika...

Thought for the day "Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact." —Bertrand Russel (British, 1872-1970) Word for the day Hedonism (n) Devotion to pleasure as a way of life, e.g., The later Roman emperors were notorious for their hedonism . The doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good. Malice towards none Will a uniform GST of 28% on movies mean no "tax free" movies post July 2017? First random thought this morning So many students appear to have scored near perfect scores in subjects like Political Science, History, Literature, Psychology in recently announced CBSE 12th class results. To me this means that the system encourages only those students who are conformist. The examiners are trained to punish the students who like to differ and offer alternate views on history and political issues. This cannot be a good sign for a progressive society. ...

Thought for the day " Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. " —Bertrand Russel (British, 1872-1970) Word for the day Cantankerous (adj) Disagreeable to deal with; contentious; peevish, e.g., A cantankerous, argumentative man . Malice towards none Where would you place the dignity of a human being, in your order of priority? Would you like "if" and "but" to be used when it comes to your dignity? First random thought this morning According to various legends related to the medieval king Vikramaditya, his throne, studded with 32 statues of fairies, had two qualities: (a) the throne would allow only such people to sit on it who would possess qualities of a noble and strong human being; and (b) anyone who would sit on the throne would automatically acquire the qualities of a great king, e.g., valor, justice, magnanimity, foresight etc. We the people of In...

Thought for the day " It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this. " —Bertrand Russel (British, 1872-1970) Word for the day Ultracrepidarian (n/adj) An ultracrepidarian person. Noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise Malice towards none Regardless of the recent severe correction in broader markets, it appears that we shall see a huge wealth effect in Indian middle class as investment in equity grows and markets do well over next five years. Real Estate and Travel will be two notable beneficiaries of this effect. First random thought this morning The market participants have this tendency to discover a trade from every event that is discussed on TV. From state elections to unrest in Kashmir. GST is a popular discussion these days, and there are thousands of ...

Salvation lies in the temple I had written this earlier also. I am reiterating it, as I strongly believe that the roots of Indian economy shall remain weak if not reinforced and guided by our ethos - religion, traditions and culture. Many years ago someone told me "believe in your strengths and weakness". I emphatically said, "I do!" He paused for a while and said calmly, "my son, knowing is different from believing . For example, you know that you will die someday. But do you really believe it?" Years later, mingling with the crowd at the Haridwar Kumbh, I understood the meaning of what that person was trying to tell me many years ago. We all, especially our politicians and social media activists, know the strengths and glorious past of our country. But do we really believe in that? In my firm opinion, no, we do not! I firmly believe that religion is at the core of our society. The Indian political and economic parad...

Thought for the day " We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. " —Buddha (Indian, 563-483BC) Word for the day Zugzwang (n) A situation in chess where a player is limited to moves that cost pieces or have a damaging positional effect. Malice towards none Reema Lagoo: Millions of Indians secretly wanted a mother like her. Will be missed for long. First random thought this morning The super success of Bahubali: the Conclusion may not be as good a news for Indian cinema industry, as it may sound at first instance. One, a majority of movie watchers may have defined budget for entertainment. Spending more on Bahubali may mean cutting expense on other movie (s). Consequently, we might see many otherwise good movies may not doing that well on Box Office. So in net effect, we may be at par at the end of the day. Secondly, It may trigger a race for making very high budget movies, many of which ma...