Do it yourself

Thought for the day "The measure of a man is what he does with power." —Plato (Greek, 427-347BC) Word for the day Campanology (n) The principles or art of making bells, bell ringing, etc. Malice towards none I knew this ultra Hindu Rashtra chauvinist from my college days. He later turned coat and became ultra secular and self-proclaimed Rahul Gandhi enthusiast. Insiders tell me that for past many weeks he is sitting at back door of BJP office, waiting for permission to enter. First random thought this morning A number of experts have already started to rehearse the obituaries of globalization. From their writings I find that seemingly they have nothing against the globalization per se. They just want to be recognized as someone who first saw the end of it. The gratification of telling the common public "I said so" with a mean grim on your face, is so special. Almost all of these experts see the ...

Thought for the day "No one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may be the greatest good." —Plato (Greek, 427-347BC) Word for the day Quondam (adj) Former; Onetime, e.g., his quondam partner . Malice towards none How death ends animosity, enmity, hatred, rancor, acrimony, everything? Or does it? First random thought this morning After Brexit & Trump now the dreaded Italy 'No' vote also has not impacted the global markets as most experts would have expected. What could be the reason? (a)    Markets are too complacent, and would eventually explode sometime in 2017. (b)    Experts are completely out of synch with the popular mood on the street. (c)     The forecasting models and techniques used by the experts are obsolete. In search of solutions - 4 “It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves. It is, therefore, in the pal...

Thought for the day "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." —Plato (Greek, 427-347BC) Word for the day Bruit (v) To voice abroad; rumor. Used chiefly in the passive and often followed by about , e.g., The report was bruited through the village . Malice towards none In religious terms - when a person is taken as dead? First random thought this morning After UK and US, the popular sentiment in Italy has also rejected the new normal. People there have also voted for returning back to the conventional means. It is to be seen whether German and French voters will also reject the new normal and vote for the return to conventional means of socio-economic subsistence. I am not sure whether the return to roots could be selective. The pre-globalized world was after all imperialist, polarized and always at war. The positives could be that mo...

Thought for the day "We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly." —Margaret Atwood (Canadian, 1939) Word for the day Laicism (n) The secular, control of political and social institutions in a society (distinguished from clericalism). Malice towards none Could I be a nationalist and still not support BJP? First random thought this morning The life these days is much easier. I am saved from the trouble of taking a host of supposedly personal decision for myself. The government, judiciary and society (khap) are deciding for me what should (or should not) I eat, drink, wear, sing, listen, watch, study, read, show, do, own, keep, give, drive, etc. I am eagerly waiting for rules/guidelines that will decide my sleeping & waking time! In search of solutions - 2   “For indeed any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the ...

Thought for the day "Little girls are cute and small only to adults. To one another they are not cute. They are life-sized." —Margaret Atwood (Canadian, 1939) Word for the day Quinquennium (n) A period of five years. Malice towards none All rhetoric, no substance - new normal in public discourse. First random thought this morning SC wants all cinema goers to listen to the national anthem by standing in honor - Great. A noble thought. Why not begin all court hearings, schools, offices, theaters, comedy shows, police stations, rail journeys, with the national anthem? What if a foreigner wants to watch movie in an Indian theater but does not want to stand in honor of our national anthem? How this diktat is different from "Agar Bharat meni rehna hoga toh Bharat Mata ki Jai kehna hoga". In search of solutions As indicated yesterday ( see here ), these days I find that a large majority of...

Thought for the day "Some people mistakenly think nature is very nice and benevolent and never betrays" —Margaret Atwood (Canadian, 1939) Word for the day Toggery (n) Clothes; garments; togs. A clothing shop. Malice towards none BJP and SAD should contest forthcoming Punjab elections separately. If need be, they could come together post election, like BJP and SS did in Maharashtra. First random thought this morning I am unable to find an appropriate expression to describe the present state of affair of the Congress Party. It's got to be more than a tragicomedy, when the usually sober people like Dr. Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram start talking like the usually indecorous people like Digvijay Singh and Rahul Gandhi. In support of "The Radicals" Try and imagine a situation where a post graduate class of literature is given a question paper of quantum physics to solve ...

Thought for the day " For years I wanted to be older, and now I am." —Margaret Atwood (Canadian, 1939) Word for the day Soliloquize (v) talk to oneself. Malice towards none Attended a marriage last night. I am sure a lot of cash is being hoarded by the families who have marriage in family. All this money will flock the markets as marriage season ends in December. First random thought this morning BJP, RSS et. al. want to impose their idea of good governance on the country, considering it to be inarguably the best alternative. Some may find it against the basic tenets of parliamentary democracy. But I have no problem with this. If it is good for the country, it is good. Regardless of everything and anything. My problem is that they want to experiment with their ideas at my expense. BJP & RSS canteens are neither Swach (clean) nor cashless. BJP and RSS have not issued any whip or request to its...