Do it yourself

Thought for the day "If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time." —Edith Wharton (American, 1862-1937) Word for the day Lenity (n) The quality or state of being mild or gentle, as toward others. Malice towards none Q. Should Caesar's wife be above all suspicion at all the time? Answers: Amit: Who is Caesar? Rahul: Which wife? Mamta: What's suspicion? Swara: Why only wife? Yogi: Take her mobile back First random thought this morning Suddenly, the entire country seems to be engrossed in a variety of conspiracy theories. The most popular ones suggest: (a)    Some Congress leaders are planning a coup in NDA and in within BJP also, to weaken Modi and stitch up a formidable alliance that will decimate NaMo. (b)    One senior Congress leader is planning to engineer a collapse in stock market later this year, so as to create an environment ...

Thought for the day "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." —Edith Wharton (American, 1862-1937) Word for the day Cerebrate (v) To use the mind; think or think about. Malice towards none Tension with neighbors is just another indicator of complete Congressization of BJP. In Indira days "external threat" used to be the common refrain to garner support. First random thought this morning The current winter season has been unusually dry. In most part of the country drought like conditions exist. A recent road trip across UP and MP suggests that most of the smaller rivers have dried up and larger rivers' water level is much lower than normal. The weather is unusually warm and wheat crop is ripening early. The yield is expected to be low despite higher acreage. In hills summer flowers are blooming in peal winters, which as per folklores mean t...

Thought for the day "Silence may be as variously shaded as speech." —Edith Wharton (American, 1862-1937) Word for the day Crump (v) To crunch or make a crunching sound, as with the teeth. Malice towards none Now since most of the book profits have been eroded, the finance minister may safely consider rolling back First random thought this morning While a large majority of political commentators have criticized the union budget for being unimaginative and short on peoples' expectation, no one so far has suggested what the finance minister could have done better. The former finance minister Shri P. Chidambaram has been one of the most vocal critics of the budget. All the budget data has been made public. Would it not be better if PC tells people what he would have done differently, by presenting his version of the budget based on available data. Apprehensions growing Post presentation of Un...

Thought for the day "When people ask for time, it's always for time to say no. Yes has one more letter in it, but it doesn't take half as long to say." —Edith Wharton (American, 1862-1937) Word for the day Fenestrated (adj) Having windows; windowed; characterized by windows Malice towards none Has RaGa learned from his past mistakes and become modest, or he is just faking it? First random thought this morning Cricket is one thing in which India has consistently improved its performance over last decade or so. IPL has certainly played an important role in this. While many have criticized it to be a symbol of the European burgeon culture; the fact is that it has allowed lot of lower middle and poor class people to aspire high and fulfill those aspirations. The constitution of various current Indian cricket teams would stand witness to the egalitarian effect of this phenomenon. Another thing that need to be...

Thought for the day "The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it." —Edith Wharton (American, 1862-1937) Word for the day Ad absurdum (adv) To the point of absurdity Malice towards none Silence was never so glittery as it is today. #Manishankar Iyer # PChidambram #GVLNarsimharao First random thought this morning China is still far from being recognized as a developed economy. Nonetheless it has started behaving like one. Ignoring short term concerns, it is acting ruthlessly to check pollution and spiraling debt. It is keeping its currency stable, and continues to open its markets. It is assertive on geo political issues and shown great ambitions in terms of CPEC and OBOR. We certainly have many lessons to learn from Chinese, keeping all our prejudices aside. Prelude to Union Budget - 1 I spent the weekend reading reports published by various market participants highligh...

Next post on Monday, 29 January 2018. Greetings for the 68th Republic Day of India Thought for the day "If a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow." —A. A. Milne (Indian, 1863-1902) Word for the day Instauration (n) Renewal; restoration; renovation; repair Malice towards none Do you seriously think that committing suicide by jumping into fire is a good idea? First random thought this morning Stuck in a traffic jam yesterday in Delhi, I did my favorite thing again, i.e., bothering people with uncomfortable questions. Like every year, this time also, I checked with people about what they feel about Republic Day. But unlike past 10-12yrs, this year the reactions of people were quite different. People were well prepared for this question. Their responses were extremely guarded. No one wanted to be on the wrong side of the FRINGES. Almost everyone answered with nationalistic ferv...