Do it yourself

Thought for the day "If you can do it then why do it?" —Gertrude Stein (American, 1874-1946) Word for the day Wastrel (n) A wasteful person; spendthrift. An idler or good-for-nothing person Malice towards none When all the TV channels in the country unashamedly air private moments of an aspiring politician, why don't I hear a word from the crusaders of the Right to Privacy? SC has upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right. Why should the police not take a suo moto action against people violating this right of Hardik Patel? First random thought this morning Any regular visitor to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine would know that VIP culture has not spared this temple, like any other. It is common to see sundry government servants and their families being escorted by the soldiers in uniform. A number of people carry VIP slips for a privileged tryst with the Divine, while the common people, old and y...

Thought for the day "Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense." —Gertrude Stein (American, 1874-1946) Word for the day Eurhythmic (adj) Characterized by a pleasing rhythm; harmoniously ordered or proportioned Malice towards none Besides Rakhi Sawant, Rahul Gandhi   is the only person seems to be thoroughly enjoying his stint in politics, regardless of election results. First random thought this morning Imagine, schools shut in Cherrapunji due to rain, in Leh due to low air pressure, in Helsinki due to snowfall, or Congo due to heat wave. Obviously, children in these places will seldom get to go to school. Why is that Children in Delhi are made to feel so weak and insecure that they are told not to come to school if it is too cold, too hot, or too dirty? The better course would be to guide children about the risks and train them to weather these risks. Hiding them beh...

Thought for the day "What is the answer? In that case, what is the question?" —Gertrude Stein (American, 1874-1946) Word for the day Razzle-Dazzle (n) Showiness, brilliance, or virtuosity in technique or effect, often without concomitant substance or worth; flashy theatricality, e.g., The razzle-dazzle of the essay's metaphors cannot disguise its shallowness of thought . Malice towards none In childhood we had summer vacation and Christmas break. My children now have (a) Heat wave vacation in May; (b) Cold wave vacation in January; and (c) Smog break in November. First random thought this morning In last one month two criminal cases have shaken everyone's confidence in Indian legal and judicial system. In infamous Aryushi murder case and Pradhyumn murder case, police, administration and lower judiciary seems to have acted purely under influence of perceptions created in media (electronic, print and social...

Thought for the day "The earth is the earth as a peasant sees it, the world is the world as a duchess sees it, and anyway a duchess would be nothing if the earth was not there as the peasant sees it." —Gertrude Stein (American, 1874-1946) Word for the day Logrolling (n) Cronyism or mutual favoritism among writers, editors, or critics, as in the form of reciprocal flattering reviews; back scratching. Malice towards none 0.00011% of 1.3bn is 1430. 33% of demonetized currency is Rs4.50trn. If with all restrictions, 1430 people could deposit Rs4.5trn in banks in 50days, then our system is totally dysfunctional and I don't trust anyone. First random thought this morning The entire political establishment in the country seems divided in two camps - those supporting DeMo and those opposing it. Both camps are using their full might (supporters issuing multiple full page advertisements in newspapers and hours of...

Thought for the day "Communists are people who fancied that they had an unhappy childhood." —Gertrude Stein (American, 1874-1946) Word for the day Netiquette (n) The rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over computer networks, especially the internet. Malice towards none The question after all is "Will the Lotus finally bloom in TN?" First random thought this morning As per the latest Global Nutrition Report, more than half (51%) of all women of reproductive age in India are anemic. Not a medical expert, but I do believe that an anemic women is less likely to give birth to a healthy child. One wishes, the government would accord the same priority to the quality of life index as it does assign to the ease of doing business index. After all, finding adequate number of healthy workers is also an ease of doing business matrix. The thought came to my mind because our health minister, like a...

Thought for the day "The thing that differentiates man from animals is money." —Gertrude Stein (American, 1874-1946) Word for the day Atemporal (adj) Free from limitations of time Malice towards none Is one of the finest Indian actors of current times, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, following the path taken by the likes of Om Puri, Raghuvir Yadav, and more recently by Kapil Sharma. First random thought this morning There are many Indian youth in their 20s and early 30s actively participating in financial markets in various capacities, e.g., analyst, advisor, investor, trader and even money manager. Most of these youth may not have real life experience of rising inflation and rates, a bear market in equities and bonds, financial crisis of global scale, high volatility, etc. It may be appropriate time for them to take a break and study the past carefully and skill themselves in strategies for a market that may not ...