Area 51

Cafe Madras

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:53:00 +0000

I went to Chennai for my B1 VISA application. I was there for the last couple of days. What an experience!

The news is that I will be in US at least for the next 90 days. Its a city called Monrovia, CA. Coming back to my Chennai experience, I should tell you that this place needs a makeover. I thought I was in Patna for a while. About the climate – You value Bangalore only when you are out of it. I missed every bit of it. I feel that this place has the best mix of climate and work opportunities even for nerds like me.

The US consulate in Chennai seems like a fortress. Multiple levels of checking and security. They have outsourced the baggage department to a local hand cart. That guy will take all security measures before accepting, and will keep your articles isolated from others. He wrapped my laptop bag in a rag, and before that ensured that I am not carrying any Weapons of Mass Destruction. However, I did see a “weapon of mass destruction” inside the consulate, and that was born and nurtured in the US ;)

I hoped that they grant business visa to all who apply. But, I soon realized waiting on that 3rd row seat, that they conveniently reject any application they could not figure out. It makes sense for them not to grant entry to their country anybody who is unable to explain his situation to him. So, 3 applications were rejected. 2 of the applicants were too vocal to make any sense, that’s why they got rejected in my opinion. I couldn’t figure out the 3rd one. I was tapping my heart and humming what Aamir Khan preached - “Aal izz well”. I have been delaying this but, now I want to set my foot in the US, and experience it.

My interview was over before I could understand what’s happening – all I could recall is that he said “your VISA is approved”. I am not sure, but a smile, a bit of courtesy, some short and crisp answers in a fake accent sometimes works. Different people however say different things. Never mind, but I am definitely landing in US shortly.

Before my journey began, I was worried about the return journey. They had booked my ticket in a “local” train called “Lalbagh Express”. This train, when rolling from Bangalore to Chennai is called “Bangalore Express” and upon return its called “Lalbagh Express”. I tried but could not find any other decent train or flight – so I had no other option but to experience this phenomenon.

After that tryst with destiny at the consulate, I returned to the hotel room cribbing about the heat and humidity. With AC blowing on my face in full glory, I realized that my cell phone is discharged. In fact it was out of battery when I stepped out of my home. No charger, no phone which meant no contact with the world. I do not remember any phone number, so I was doing “Memento”. Some numbers I do remember even now – simply because I called them so many times and heard disturbing and annoying songs – I hate that irritating Kunal Ganjawala song. Whatever. I was worried because I knew that my family must be worried.

I could not sleep the whole night prior to the interview, because I had no alarms to wake me up on time – I am very dependent on my phone, I agree. I asked the hotel reception to wake me up at about 8 o’clock so that I can be ready for my 9:15 appointment. I could not trust them – you know why? Because I saw old age bulbs instead of CFL in the room. I thought that if they can do this, they don’t care too much about their guests. They claimed that they are some 3 star hotel, but you know I just shared my doubts. So, I kept waking up every couple of hours, and switch on TV to verify time on various news channels – Memento again. I am weird.

Finally, I woke up on time, went outside to buy a sachet of shampoo. The bathroom looked decent, but the shower wasn’t. It could only pour hot water, so somehow I completed the formality. Now get ready for the best part. I came out of the shower, the first thing I normally do is comb my hair, I started looking for a comb. But it wasn’t there. You can imagine the state of my hair coming out of that hot water shower. My head was looking like a cotton ball – after a child has finished playing with it. I used a towel to somehow bring some order to the chaos. Managing things somehow, I was sure that once I get out and let my hair soak some wind, I will be fine. After all that mayhem, I finally reached the US consulate.

Now I am waiting for the train at that really weird Chennai railway station – I can’t explain how stupidly designed piece of dirt and trash it is. You need to be there to appreciate what I am talking about. Having said that, it gave me the real inspiration to write this piece. I am in the train now. This place is lit. Yes, really it is because there are a lot of people sitting, no one standing though, interacting with each other. The seating promotes interaction – unlike flights or the elite Shatabdi express – you will tend to talk. People were interacting and telling tales of their inspirational lifetimes to people not know to them. I could not make out a lot as most of them were talking in a local dialect of the regional language, but body language will tell you the context. I must tell you each context was relevant and interesting.

The vendors selling different items in so many different shades of loud and cheer was something I missed for so long – yet never really thought about it. That train compartment reminded me of lot of things that I thought I forgot. It was like revisiting myself. I recommend this adventure.

I must mention about this old lady who came on board a little later, may be after a couple of stations. I couldn’t understand a word she spoke, but the way she said those words made me realize that this world survives because there is more good in it than worse. She had that twinkle in her eyes whenever she uttered. She reminded me of those good old days when I was pampered by my parents, when I was a kid and everybody used to like me. The days when my “badi bua” would come to me and run her fingers across my head with my head on her lap.

The days are gone, its not going to return but the memory and the feeling and the warmth stays. It always does. You always remember the good time that you spent, the warmth that you shared. Some things require a trigger, others don’t. This is life, and its best when its surprising.

The power of “NO”

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:06:00 +0000

There are a lot of people who can’t say NO; to just about anything. Even if it hurts them personally.

In one of my previous companies I attended a training on Personal Effectiveness. It covered different personality traits. They discussed about a concept called C.O.R.E. In an exercise they evaluated the attendees using a questionnaire. I was declared a person with a dominating “E” trait. Everyone has a dominating trait and certain other supporting traits. Later on they seated the attendees based on their dominating traits starting with C. Obviously I was in the last row. But, the most important point is that in a class of 20 there was only 1 guy who sat with me on that last row. I knew I am kind of insane but I didn’t know the extent. Before I started to feel lonely, the trainer started explaining things about the concept. Normally I remember all the humiliations and insults I go through but, this is kind of exceptional. I do not remember what the acronyms C, O, R and E stand for, but I remember what he said about E. Well, later on it turned out that E people are more humane than other people, so I was happy!

Lets time travel a few more years into the past. I landed into my first job in Gurgaon. It started with a 3 months training. The training was very good, and it taught me a lot about a lot of things in the world that matter. It laid a solid foundation. I was fresh, in love and in a hurry to achieve a lot of things in life. My trainers (mostly ladies) liked me for my innocent looks and straight forward answers to their (mostly) technical queries. There was this girl called Nidhi Sharma who I knew used to like me (a lot). She was not of that sheepish sorts so she used to express herself every now and then. Once in the middle of the training the trainer decided to play “Hot Seat”. That was some real hot stuff. She said that she already has a boyfriend and she is ready to leave her for me. I was blushing and I couldn’t look into her eyes anymore! She said a lot of other feel good things about me, and then we left for the day. I was wondering about it, and then I saw her boarding the same cab. She decided to sit next to me, and she started her small talks. She said that she does face reading and she told me every damn thing that the trainer told me about the E people. She kept on talking for about an hour, and when she left a lady in the cab told me that she’ll get you. Whatever that was, that was something amazing. I am not sure if she meant what she said, but the things that she told me about me as a person was largely true. I got a scientific explanation later on, after all!!

E people can’t say NO. They want everybody around them to be happy. So much so that they care about the opinions of a strangers too. They try to be modest and ensure that they always leave a good impression. They like to make friends in the group. They get disturbed if they said something bad (even if it was the need of the hour). They can’t do routine stuff. If traits like perfectionism is also present these people are a perfect fit. They ensure a good healthy environment and get things done efficiently too! But, the biggest worry is that the points that go in favor are points that go against them. The fact that they can’t say NO, from the organization point of view, these people are effective but they always are flooded with work. They like to please people that’s why they can’t take tough decisions – and that’s one of the reasons they like to work alone so that nobody interferes and nobody gets hurt!! Wonderful!

However, the other extreme is also present and its abundant. The people who say NO to everything. The first word they utter after a discussion is over and if you asked him – they will say NO. These people are “C” people. They like to do routine stuff. They never take chances. They are conservative and resist change. Unlike E guys who like to try and work out new things, they will act a laggard and stay away from new things and try only when they are asked for or mandated to do so. You can easily figure them out in a conversation, and judge how they will react to a situation. In any conversation or discussion they are mostly on the opposing side. Its often said that its easy to criticize than to support – its because of these people. The pointers that go against them are the same ones that work in their favor. The fact that they resist change is the fact they bring stability to the organization. They bring the other aspect of the conversation strongly, and most importantly they never lose money in recession – because they invest in Fixed deposits and debt instruments than equity based instruments :) These are the people who survive bad times because of the power of NO.

There is nothing like right or wrong or good traits or bad traits. Everything in this world is relative. The people who let the correct trait dominate according to the given circumstance are winners eventually.

Work, Ceremony and Me

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:50:00 +0000

I have been keeping really busy for the last couple of weeks. Mostly, office kept me busy apart from a major family ceremony – Sonit’s mundan. The guy with long curly locks is now reduced to shiny heads. I was expecting him to cry and create a lot of noise over it, but he remained calm and composed. I was more nervous than he was.

Last week my family came from my hometown, and all of sudden my house is full. We are a strong 15 people noisy neighborhood now. Movies, popcorn, Pepsi, laughter and lots of fun kept us busy.

Sonit likes the idea of jumping around. He carries a lot of surprise for the people around him. So when he jumped from my bed it surprised a few but when he jumped from the arm rest of my sofa (which is about 2.5 feet from floor) he surprised all. The venture that surprised me was when he was about to jump from the back of my nephew who was doing a horse act for him on bed. Altitude from the floor was about 4.5 feet; we somehow managed to keep him from doing that!

Work kept me on my toes for the last couple of weeks. Do you remember you once said that I can’t work in a team? As always you were correct. I have been working as a lone contributor for quite some time now. I don’t trust people for the skills that they have. I have found very few people whom I can trust as far as work is concerned. I have noticed that people who work with me invariably go through a large amount of change by the end of a project. I think I influence the way they think, and sometime I feel that I have an intimidating presence. But, whatever it is, I deliver – exactly what the business want with quality. My boss, who is the chief architect of the organization, was in town. He relocated to the US a few months ago – and he wanted to get things done on time. As I am acting as an individual contributor on this project, I pumped myself in and got it what he wanted – so he was very pleased with the progress. It made me feel good too! In my last organization, I was part of a big team where people wanted to discuss everything – you can imagine what could have been the scene of one of those meetings. I sincerely feel that you can choose any color you want as long as it is black.

I am not autocratic, I am a thorough democrat, but I am also aware of the fact that you can’t have inputs and work on it from each member of your team. You need to be able to take decisions on your own. I can’t say that all of my decisions are great and that they offer the best solution, but most people feel that it’s good in the given set of variables. Sometimes, I have deliberately offered my self to be driven by others, but after a while I insisted on back seat driving.

I have also realized that managing people is not my strength. Although I can be very diplomatic at times and carry a lot of convincing abilities, but I love technology. I want to be in the middle of the game as long as my game lasts.

The Lovely Bones

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 14 May 2010 03:14:00 +0000

I have been watching movies like crazy these days. Almost every other day I watch one. Most of them are mediocre, and made without a sense of belonging, but some of them are outstanding, and then a few of them are exceptional.

Cinema is a form of art. Unfortunately there are only a few gifted people who understand this. Peter Jackson is one of them. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a class act. Even an old classic like King Kong was recreated by him in a very sensible manner. In my opinion this movie called The Lovely Bones stands apart. It’s a different genre for him, but he proved that challenges are opportunities for excellence.

Everything is so subtle, so suave yet so abstract in his renderings. It’s like watching wallpaper on celluloid. In this age of technology it’s pertinent that something like wallpaper represents art. Art is a relative thing, but it needs an eye of the beholder. The eye that can capture not only what’s displayed but can also fathom the feelings that went into creating it.

I was reluctant about this movie initially. People really didn’t think highly of this. Later on I read that it’s about some nasty killer, and a girl who was murdered in her teens. It seemed to me as a plot of some routine, ordinary movie – and it is a very routine, ordinary plot. But, I am not dancing about the plot anyways. What’s overwhelming is the fact that it’s been portrayed in way that it transforms into a piece of art. Any lesser director could have killed the movie and it would have been like a disposed off low grade offering. But, I was in for a surprise.

The narrative is by a girl who has been murdered by her neighbor. It starts with the girl recalling her childhood when she pondered about a lonesome penguin in a snow-globe. Her father used to tell her that it has a good life, and he shook the globe to scatter the snow all around the penguin. The fact that her father and her entire family loved her so much is also a pivotal part of the storytelling.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie. You will be amazed to see the story unfold, and you will be blown away by the sheer brilliance of director’s imagination. Before I forget, I must mention that this movie was based on a novel by the same name. I can imagine that most of the sequences would have been hand crafted by the writer, but it takes sheer brilliance to portray it on screen with the same amount of imagination and craftsmanship.

What’s in the name?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:55:00 +0000

A lot of people asked me what the meaning of my name is. It started when I was in 6th standard, and my moral science teacher asked me this question, and believe me it was a part of the oral examination (this is the term used for an examination where you aren’t supposed to write anything but speak, like an interview – don’t think of anything else you filthy mind!) so marks were at stake. No points for guessing but I didn’t know the answer, and there was no Google at that time - I am prehistoric, ain’t I?

Finally, I know that meaning of my name now. You can just Google it to find for yourself.

Now, the point is why did I name my son Sonit? Well, there are many theories doing the rounds, but the one that it rhymed well with my name was the deciding factor. To add to the rhyme was the fact that my pet name Sonu, my wife’s pet name Soni, and my son’s name Sonit gel extremely well together. Last but not the least is the fact that I couldn’t think of any better names.

As you know some history is mandatory in all my texts, so here you go. Ever since I thought of having a family of my own, I had decided to name my kids Aayush and Ananaya. Good names aren’t they? Yes, they are, and I almost certainly decided on this name. But, I had to change my mind at the last moment because I heard about Shekhar Suman’s son who had the same name.

Actually, people tend to get superstitious when they have something in mind for someone they love. It taught me a lot of things about life. Although I had understood it before but then I began to respect and honor decisions taken by people in and around me.

That’s a sweet little note on how Aayush became Sonit, but what's in the name afterall?

The first day in school

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:10:00 +0000

Like all young guns I also had my first day in school. Nothing amusing about it but its something that’s very special to me.

I remember the day when my parents arranged a small get together inviting only close relatives for my “khalli” (please suggest an English equivalent for this ceremony) ceremony. I was about 4 years old naughty, inquisitive, curious, and twinkle in the eyes sort of kid. I could easily feel the warmth and affection almost everybody used to give me, irrespective of the proximity of the relationship.

The ceremony was scheduled to start at about 8 am, but it started at 8 am IST, i.e. at 10 am. We had to wait for everybody who was invited to be present for the occasion. For me, it was a brand new day for mischief. I can still see myself dressed in that white “kurta – dhoti” outfit. My mother, however, kept on warning me not to go anywhere near the place where the family priest was about to setup things for the ceremony. But, my curiousness knew no bounds. I started playing with the fruits, and sweets, and other stuff lying there. I had to be transported to a safer far-off place, it was difficult but the task was assigned to my elder brother so he did it with perfection.

When it all started, my father placed me on his lap and performed the rituals. I was then asked to write something on a slate. I enjoyed making the map of the world, and all the groovy mid 70’s design comprising of circles and dots and curves. My father had to intervene and then he brought some order to chaos on the slate. The ceremony was complete.

The decision was almost unanimous to port me to the same school where my elder siblings were ported. I was always told that they were simply outstanding as far as studies went, and that they always stood first in their class. That was to motivate me to do better. I used to think the same until I reached 7th or 8th standard that they were like me! At that point in time it was the biggest revelation of all times for me.

I first went on to the school Principal’s office along with my parents for admission and some kind of parent teacher meeting. The Principal was actually the director of the school, and after being a mute witness of my activities in his office he declared that I am “abnormal”. All I did was that I touched some shield kind of a thing in his office and it fell down along with some other things. But I didn’t break anything! After returning from school my parents declared the principal “abnormal” after some mutual discussion.

The day has finally arrived, I don’t remember the date but it was the year 1985, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi – I remember this because I saw people going crazy and ransacking some shops owned by Sikhs in my locality. Not a very good thing to remember, but that’s how the brain works. My elder brother and my mother went to school with me and gave me a lot of biscuits and precious advice that went over my ears and whatever oozed in went over my head.

I was good as long as they were present, but as soon as they started to leave I went crazy. I was crying as if it was the end of the world for me. I remember that moment and I can tell you that I can still feel it, it was not good, and I felt very bad. I don’t like people leaving me, I go mad, and I feel devastated. My classroom was at the first floor, and after crying my heart out I just ran out of the class. I was just a kid then, a small kid wearing half sleeves and half pant, and I ran, I toppled a few times but I didn’t care, I went down the stairs and then ran towards the main gate – which was quite far because the school had a large playing area. I finally stopped at the closed gate, and I couldn’t do anything after that, that was the end of my struggle - and that marked a new phase in my life.

It’s been destined that I find it very difficult to transition from one phase of my life to another. I don’t know if it’s with me or with everybody. You might think why do I remember all of this all of a sudden? Actually, my son is about to go to playgroup starting this June. I will try my best to ensure that his transitions are smooth. But, then my parents also tried the same. There are some things that an individual must go through and that are how he learns the intricacies of life. I guess its Sonit’s turn to take on the world. I wish him all the best. I love him more than anything else in this world, he is the center of my universe, and he is making a transition now.

Sonit can be reached at Sonit.Sahay@gmail.com

Is Google going the Microsoft way?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:11:00 +0000

Not everything that Google does is successful. Although it’s the undisputed king of the web, it has started seeing its failures too. Microsoft ruled the roost for a couple of decades and its the leader in Desktop and corporate computing. I don’t see it facing any hurdles anytime soon. Not from Google at least.

When Microsoft seemed to lose the web war, people started speculating another Netscape – IE battle. They sniffed the same fate of Microsoft at the hands of Google what Microsoft did to Real Player and Netscape. Microsoft tried a lot of things to stay alive in the Internet search and advertising market – the latest being renaming Live to Bing – trying to be catchy. It has about 3.1% market share.

The list of failures for Google is not a very long one, but it’s on the rise.

Google Chrome OS launched in July 2009, is begging for some attention. It’s called the browser OS where hardware is no requirement. I will give it 5 years to see what it does. I wish it all the best.

Orkut seems huge in India and Brazil. The rest of the world does Facebook. It’s invading India and Brazil big time now. Google seems to be playing catch-up here. They are copying Facebook’s wall and trying to look different at the same time. They introduced Buzz to see through Twitter, but again they are just catching-up. By the time they reach where their competitors are they will surge ahead. Never play catch-up in a race, be innovative.

Lively – remember I fondly introduced Lively earlier? You can see that they are saying it was just an experiment. Do you ever do Google Checkout? The list is growing and if you “Google” it you see the list.

There is a huge difference in the business model of these two hugely popular and hugely successful companies. They are not going anywhere they will stay as long as we wish to see them. But, the point is that the monopoly that Microsoft enjoyed for a long time and nobody questioned but enjoyed its supremacy can’t be shown by Google. Lets see.

With Microsoft staying strong and growing incrementally, I do not see Google toppling its throne. As the technology market is huge, the surface area has increased substantially, and you will see that they will soon share it cleanly and their will be less confrontation. The boundaries are drawn already. Apple has become an elite hardware manufacturer, Microsoft rules desktop and office computing and Google reaps the web.

These three are now trying to annihilate the competition in mobile computing and hardware. Nokia, Motorola, Sony and Blackberry could be at the receiving end. Apple has been somewhat successful, Android is catching up, and Microsoft is busy with its Mobile OS upgrades, but there is a lot to be done.

There are overlaps here and there, but the intensity of the overlap will subside over time. When that happens, things will stabilize and then we will notice the emergence of another Microsoft-Google like success story.

Dog-matic

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 04:11:00 +0000

I am not sure if I love dogs, but I can’t stop noticing them. I live in a city that is full of dogs. My locality has a plenty of them. Each one of them carries its unique identity. As a kid I always used to wonder why all dogs look the same. But as I started to “mature” I could easily differentiate them. If you perform a DNA analysis on them you will solicit my views – just kidding, it’s not that difficult. Having said that, this one is not about how to identify or distinguish dogs, but it’s about my brushes with them. To make things more interesting I will break this one into episodes – however, unlike Love, Sex aur Dhoka, the stories do not intersect each other. The inspiration of breaking it into chapters didn’t come from Inglorious Bastards, and definitely not from Radio.

Chapter 1 – The dog bite
Imagine a 3 years young kid, playing in the verandah with the main gate open, and a local friendly dog called Sheru coming straight towards him. Sheru just wanted to be friends with that kid because the kid used to offer him leftovers. No prizes for guessing that kid was me. I was terrified, and started screaming. Khurshid bhaiya came to my “rescue”. Given my reputation I later realized that he came to rescue Sheru.

Chapter 2 – Smiles all around
Next time you see a dog, notice him (it) closely. You will always find it smiling. It will keep its mouth open, tongue out and will welcome you with a huge 18 inches smile. I always do. Whenever I am down, and nobody’s around me, and if I get chance to witness this phenomena I feel relaxed. Try that, it’s not so bad, you feel good anyways. I have had the opportunity to visit European countries a couple of times. What a place to be, full of natural beauty. You’ll notice that everybody smiles at you, and they will keep saying sorry without rhyme or reason. Strangely enough, it reminds me of dogs. I am bad I know.

Chapter 3 – This one needs pampering
Munirka, New Delhi
December 2004
It’s the very well known Dilli ki sardi afternoon, and I am enjoying carom with Pankaj, my landlady’s scheming son, and his nephew. The landlady’s dog is circling around trying to bite his tail. The scheming son often comes to me with new and amazing ideas to make money – he was once just short of suggesting to kidnap somebody – never mind, I gel around well with all types. Pankaj as usual, is fiddling around with the dog, trying to talk to him. Yes, he said bow-wow a couple of times too. The nephew hasn’t shown me enough traits to find a mention here, but the dog was a very curious one. It came to me, pretty close, and was about to lay his jaw on my lap. As usual I screamed, not as much as in the first chapter, but I did.

Pankaj then made me realize that the dog liked me, and that it “loved” me too. I was listening; he said you should have pampered him. I said wow-bow.

Chapter 4 – The superhero of DDA flats
I love Delhi, that’s why I keep going back there. The last time, when I was there I decided to stay in DDA flats, Dwarka. It was a nice little gated community where kids used to play freely in the parks, and sometimes in my flat too. I love kids, so I was pleased. My neighbor had a dog, a rare breed I would say because I never saw such a dog. It looked like as if it drunk Complan a little bit too much when it was a kid. The reason is that its face was like the famous “Hutch” dog, but his height was like of German shepherd. Quite weird, yes it is. Either it didn’t like me, or it smiled that way! This guy used to run within the campus all the time- just like that. He used to sit as if it was not only guarding the community but the planet Earth too. It was like a superhero with a cape at the back. Just imagine – two front legs upright on ground and sitting on back legs, head held high and moving on all directions. I once went behind it to check if it wore a cape too!

Chapter 5 – Humans are crazy
This morning when I was driving to office, I was disturbed to see a huge road rolling and pasting machine blocking my way. I was about to get frustrated when I saw this dog, it was gazing in amaze, with those big and beautiful eyes at the man made beast from top to bottom. I am sure, he must have thought, these humans are crazy!

Chapter 6 – I don’t want a ride
This lot is special, they will lie on the street and they don’t care a damn. You can’t just honk them out; you will have to take a diversion. It happens a lot of times when you are driving and particularly in narrow lanes. They are representatives of the driving license department. They speak out loud with their silence that if you think you deserve the license that you carry just play this curve ball. I used to wonder why my driving has improved!

The Butterfly Effect

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 03:55:00 +0000

I am a movie buff, well, not as much as my dear friend Pankaj, but pretty close. I have fond memories of him dragging me to movie halls every alternate Friday. Sometimes the movies were good, sometimes they were not so good. Those days I was kind of short tempered, and I was fortunate to have him with me to carry me through that insane phase of my life. He lives in Dubai these days, we don't get to communicate too often, but we are connected. I miss him, and whenever I fondly remember those days, it leaves a smile on my face.

The title of this post is borrowed from a movie by the same name. A lot of you must have seen this movie, but as usual I have got a different story to tell out of this known story. The plot is rather complicated and I had to see this movie with subtitles twice to fully understand it. I am not a very good listener – just an excuse, I couldn’t understand what they said in intense scenes. Whatever.

This guy goes through some “blackouts” in his life. Those are important events in his life where his mind went blank. Well, happens to me all the time. My mind goes blank just like that and little too often. My father used to say about me – this guy is good but sometimes he goes off – off the hook he meant. Nevertheless, those blackouts in the movie provided him traversal points to his life. He didn’t realize it until he was in his college. Unlike me, he used to write his experiences, and this diary provided him with the tool to communicate to his traversal points – you there?

By time traveling this guy tried to figure out what happened when he went blank. He did, and he was rather shocked. He then realized that he could change certain things. He did. When he came back to the present time everything around him changed. His life changed. People around him changed, some were disfigured, and once he found himself without limbs. In short, he was never able to get the perfect combination for an ideal life. Whatever he did resulted in a surprise in a bad way.

Did I mention about his best friend? She was his childhood friend – part and witness of his blackouts. She was involved in some of the major events. In order to live his life with his best friend, he was trying to get the combination right by altering his past. He never succeeded. Only once he did, but then they met as strangers, and passed through – that was best for both of them, and that eventually was the end of the movie.

People sometimes try to fix things and then they try to figure out the best way forward. They however don’t realize that there is a separate program that is doing all this for them – the Architect of this Matrix. Whatever he does, might not be the best for you in your opinion, but because he has to take care of everything around you, he figures out the most optimal solution that works for everybody. You might want to traverse through those blackouts but I am sure that’s not going to help. Well, that guy tried at least five combinations and they all backfired. One of them I thought was pretty good, but it wasn’t.

All I want to say is that you don’t have the privilege of doing what this guy had, and don’t even try- I am sure it will not work. Make the most of what you have got today, and be very prudent of each decision that you take from now on. That’s because each one of your decisions potentially is a traversal point in your life.

I wish I had changed a certain 6th June in my life, when I was very rude to one of my best friends ever. I wish I could change the way I talked to Pankaj when he insisted for a movie – he was just trying to be nice to me. I wish I could be very nice to all of them who were or who are a part of my life. But, that’s all gone, that time is not going to return. There is no redemption, but there is and there will be opportunities. Go ahead, grab your chances, and make somebody happy. You will realize eventually that true happiness is making people around you happy. They needn’t be physically present but they must be connected.

Just a food for thought!

The Power of Less

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:46:00 +0000

All of a sudden, I have started to feel like a saint. I leave it to your perception but its somewhere on those lines.

It takes me about 30 minutes to reach my office in the morning. The road I travel is quite wide, about 6 lanes on each side. They say that when your view is large your vision becomes larger (never heard of it? My quote!).

I was sitting quietly next to the glass window seat thinking about nothing. I was in a solace. I was feeling the oneness with myself. My thoughts were slowly getting audible to me. It was like somebody whispering in surround sound in my ears. The special effect is not that important than what I heard. If you had read one of my previous ramblings you would notice that I was searching for "what next?". Although I haven't completely found the answer but I have moved a bit closer towards the subset of a probable answer. I am not sure if its an outcome of my misadventures with life or just another thought. It could be both or neither.

I heard that its very critical to be ambitious. Ambition drives you and lets you become what you are, and it gives you the future course of action. It blesses you with a goal, sometimes an objective. I would take this opportunity to explain that ambition is a general term, and has nothing to do with personal requirements or achievements. More often than not, we see ambitious people as self-centered(more polite word for selfish!).

I am not sure, but this is how I used to see this word in my rear mirror(the one that says "Objects in this mirror are closer than they appear"). We are exploring the positive nature of this word. Mayavati's ambition(to be the PM of this country... ha ha) can make her self-centered, but Mahatma Gandhi's ambition to see this country free can't come into this category. Its what you call Philanthropy. What you see is what you believe. The glass is always half filled.
[Unfinished]

Wake Up Call

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:37:00 +0000

I never thought that I will ever write this.

The fact of the matter is that we have to start acting on it now. I am sure you must have heard about The Great Depression of 1929. It all started around 1920, and was at its peak during 1933. This was one of the prime reasons of the World War II. Don't panic yet, but you'll. During that time the world was engulfed in unemployment and chaos. Things were so cheap, but there was no money to buy.

It started in the United States then and it has started again in United States. The great economic boom of 1920 gave in to the great depression then, and the great economic boom of all economies and so called "emerging economies" may again lead to depression. Obviously enough the world is in recession now. That time it was triggered by debt and reasonably enough this time its also triggered by debt. This time however we have a funky two letter crisis-word: Sub-prime Crisis.

You will be amazed to see the striking similarity between what happened then and whats happening now. The ambiance might have changed but the process is same. The only silver lining in dark cloud is that this time they have a reference book that suggests what-not-to-do. The biggest flaw that time was impotence of the Fed. It just didn't do anything. Although this time they are planning a bail-out, but it remains to be seen how effective it turns out to be. As per an estimate more than $300 billion has been written off by various banks in sub-prime crisis. But, that's just it - an estimate. It reported pretty much as casualties are reported in a terrorist attack - deflated.

You know its coming when you see huge umbrellas striping. Banks started to fail then, and they have started to fail again. Then about 744 banks were busted, now 3 are done - and counting! Its a domino effect. The big ones fall, then the smaller ones, then industrial production is effected - to a halt, and then the middle class is rendered jobless. Nothing has changed. It happened in the same fashion then and its going the same route all over again.

I don't know if you have heard this or not - a house in US was sold for about $1.76 only. That's about INR 82. In India, it appears that the property prices are declining to go down, but its just that - a bubble. They don't come down, they defy gravity, and they burst. With the lending rate going higher, and inflation firmly in place, the bubble has got its days numbered. If you think that the flat you bought 2 years ago will give you a 100% return on investment then you must be living on an island. Go, and try to sell it, you'll get to know what I am talking about. You'll struggle to get the principal.

You must have noticed the nosedive of Equities market. Why doesn't there seem to be an end to the free fall of Stock exchanges all over the world. All the banks are heavily into stocks and related instruments. People then didn't keep any money in banks, because of the fear of losing it altogether.

Banks lend money to each other at an interest rate function of Libor/Euribor/Mibor. We call it money market. Money is lent for a period of 1 day to 1 year. The interest rate is currently at about 5+%, easily an all time high. Banks fear of counter-party risk. There is very tight liquidity, hence the bail-out. That's the reason why the RBI eased off the CRR yesterday by about 50 basis points. This measure is to ease liquidity, so that there is money in the market. The other way to increase liquidity is to buy government bonds - RBI does it, so that money is injected into the system. US Fed didn't do it in 1929, this is happening now - hopefully a good sign.

Its time to talk to your father, and ask him why he always kept you from going under debt, from taking any loans, but you didn't realise. You thought that you get salary in astronomical figures, nothing can ever go wrong. People all over US, and Europe and "emerging economies" thought the same. You used to get cheap credit, but no longer. The damage has already been done. That time, people couldn't repay their debts as the companies/factories where they used to work were busted, because banks were busted. We have seen the fate of a lot of banks in US already. We are following the same f**king pattern, all the f**king over again.

This time they had devised a "Sub-prime customer" to lend money at higher interest rate, hoping to reap a rich crop. Rest is history. That's one of the differences between 1929 and 2008. And the difference is huge. Prime borrowers became sub-prime and the latter went bankrupt. Debt is taking its toll.

I have known myself as the biggest optimist who ever walked the face of this planet; but no longer! I can't keep my eyes closed. I have started to sense the inevitable. Its shocking!

Try these 10 tips to survive a recession.

Please pray to God that I am wrong, that all my apprehensions are bullsh*t. I mean it.

Introducing Sonit

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:47:00 +0000

Visit my web album for more...

My Best Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:59:00 +0000

The Nature Inc.

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Salman Rushdie wins booker again. Good news, but I don't care. I am into writing blogs, but I can't read books. A very good friend of mine sometimes used to read novels. I wondered how? So many pages of dull text, even the font is not very good. I like cartoons. Its not that I like reading comics either, but it should be colorful, short, and crisp.

I don't know what was the topic of his book: Midnight's Children. Who cares? What I care about is that he is "communicating" with Riya Sen a little too often. Some people are born lucky!!! It has nothing to do with Riya anyways, its about the undue leverage God has given to some people. Even Charles Sobhraj is talking about girls at 64. I can't stop myself from talking about Shane - The Warne. I don't know how India survived him for 6 weeks while he was playing in IPL. But, as soon as he went back home, he started doing what he does best - yielding to nature. People say he is the best captain Australian cricket never had.

Its not about the Salmans, or Charles, or Warnes of the world, its about nature. We are animals - alright, social animals, happy? We live in houses, wear clothes, make buildings and computer systems. But never find any happiness in what we create.

I don't know about everyone, but I think a cool natural breeze can give you what an AC can't. Alright, what would you prefer? Constant bombardment of chilling air on your face inside a room or lovely, cool, fragrant breeze near a mountain/hill/whatever? Do you prefer watching snow clad mountains on your 42" LCD TV or being there to feel it? What about watching Katrina Kaif on TV than seeing her in person? Oh my God. What? I only said "seeing her in person".

The real thing is that nothing gives you more peace and satisfaction than Nature. There are no alternatives to Natural beauties of the world. Your alignment might differ - you may prefer a man or a woman/women, hills, cliffs, mountains, oceans, sandy beaches... All the beautiful things in life that God has given to us. You can't ever get enough of it. I love natural beauties of the world - did you guess my preference?

Don't forget to share your preference. What do you like?

Lively By Google.

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:20:00 +0000

Allow me the privilege of presenting to you: The Google Lively

Its a new chatting platform that allows you to create 3D ambiance and let you and your friend's avatars to communicate with each other.

They can show emotions(animated emotions) as you chat. Other features like File sharing has never been this exciting. Its not like what you have seen or done before. Have you ever seen your avatar moving inside the room you created?

I am sure it going to be loved by one and all. Its like playing a video game while chatting - its more interactive and a gives you a richer feeling.

For more information see this.

Enjoy.

The God Of Small Things

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:13:00 +0000

What makes you happy? What possibly can make you happy? Is it the accomplishment of a goal or achievement of something that you always asked for? I feel its relative. It tends to vary from person to person. As I am not a professional psychiatrist, I will talk about myself. However, I have a feeling that people who shared my kind of upbringing and values will definitely agree at some points.

I have grown up in a small town, in a middle class family where less was more. Now I am growing up in a larger town, own a middle class family where more is less. I have been like this for a long time now. However, I had been influenced by a person in a big way - for good. I am an improved person now, but still there are some things that were never exposed to the person in question so they are just hanging around. People around me feel that I have matured, have immense patience and never show off emotions easily. But there are certain other things that have cropped up, and growing. I am into a phase where more is indeed less.

I have grown in patience but my quest for the next big thing is increasing by the moment. The only question I keep asking myself is: Great, What Next? I am enjoying a rather successful career. Wait, I beg to differ with the word "enjoying". Once I wanted to work with the "best company"(another relative thing) in the world, I did. Once I got into it, I thought What Next? I worked harder, tried to prove myself among a bunch of super-minds, got it done, What Next? I wanted to work for a huge bank(currently world #1 in terms of assets), joined it, and currently working for it. Learned quite a few investment banking skills, now what next? The next thing in my mind is to assume a big and influential role in the organization. I am working hard to achieve it.

The question remains the same - What Next? Is there any upper limit to ambition? Am I doing anything strange that others aren't? I don't think its a problem. I think its a bliss. But for how long? What if I indulge too much into it? What if it spills over to other aspects of my life? I hope its good for me and my family as long its with my career.

When I was in school, I used to get happy when I managed to get a day off from school. Weekends were the best part, but if I could manage a weekday, I used to be very happy. I could do a lot of things. I was in a habit of exploring, so I used to explore the already visited areas of my neighborhood and tried to find something new. A new face or an old friend was enough for the day. So finding people used to make me happy. People were very important to me, I used to give all my toys to my friends and cousins so that they can spend whole day with me. In fact they have played with my toys more than I ever did. But I was happy because I wanted to be with them.

Gradually the toys gained importance in my life. I started to lose my friends and cousins since then. These things are known to keep you away from humans. But reality is that toys can never replace humans.

I can still remember the day when I was insisting my father to buy me a computer. He said: Thanks to God that you are studying Computers; what if you had decided to study Aeronautics? I would have to buy a plane for you!!! It took me about 2 months to get it. It was my prized possession.

But only after 2 months I thought - What Next? That was the end of small town me. Then I fell in love. Got it too, but lost it because I didn't deserve it. That episode changed a lot of me for good.

Never mind, realization is the bliss. The fact that I am writing about it makes me aware of it. The inner turmoil will be put to rest soon once I achieve my next objective.

You will be happy once you start to enjoy the small things in your life. The day a new flower in your balcony puts a smile on your face is the day you should be looking for. Money, fame and power can never make anybody happy. There is no upper limit to beauty, money, fame and power. There is no upper limit to lust. There is no upper limit to ambition. But there is a upper limit to the number of words I can write here!!! So, take care, and look within.

How to make money in a falling market?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:39:00 +0000

First things first - you may make money by following the suggestions if you are lucky enough. I have been losing money ever since I figured out how to make money in a falling market. So apart from the various instruments, you need to have a great timing to enter the market.

You need to be informed and take calculated guesses. A very obvious news might not move a market, an unexpected news does. For example, everyone knows that crude/bbl will continue to move around $140-$150 this week if it reaches $160 this week you can expect a crash. Same goes with inflation, the market will react if it reaches 14% instead of 12% this week as everyone has already guessed.

In one of my previous blogs I wrote about "Positions" in a market. It could be either Long or Short. You go long in a rising market. You expect that the price of a stock will rise, so in that speculation you buy at lower levels and sell at higher levels. In other words, you go Long. An active Demat account is a prerequisite.

In recent time markets have been witnessing a free fall, obeying Newton's laws of gravity. Just like migratory birds go south during summer, the market is going south these days. The reasons are many. So, going long is a bad idea. But the scenario can change any time. Once people start to think that its over-sold you will see an uptrend. The market fundamentals are strong and in safe hands.

So the strategy for the season is to go Short. You speculate that the market will fall, so instead of buying first, you sell. Yes, this is possible. You take a short position and expect the price of the stock to go down. Sounds like a winning idea? Not always. Just as you can't guess when its going to rise, you can't guess when is it going to fall. There are millions of factors that drive the market, so you need to be well informed of all the major business activities around the world. As I said, I have been losing as I always enter the market at the wrong time :(

Alright, so you have the strategy in place, but you don't know the products. The products that I know are: Individual stock, Index and Commodities. You can short "n" number of an individual stock like Reliance Capital, but you will have to square it off(perform equal and opposite trade) within a specified time frame.

However, in Futures contracts you can keep the contract until expiry. Its usually a 3 month contract with 3 contracts active at any point in time. Depending upon the market trend and your position in the market you can continue to make or break money. If the market is going up and you are long you will make money. No points in guessing, if the market is going down and you are holding a short position you will make money till the time you hold the contract before expiry.

Whenever equity is in tatters, commodities take over. Have you checked Gold, and Crude these days? Futures in commodities promises to be a hedge for any possible risks in Futures in Equities.

Just an FYI. The crude oil price is touching new heights each day due to speculation and futures trading. You must be aware of the fact that OPEC doesn't control price of crude anymore... US does. For in depth analysis read this: The real reason why oil prices are rising

All the best.

Do you believe in ghosts?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:38:00 +0000

Do you believe in ghosts?

I can't say for sure whether I do or not. I may tend to say no. People who claim to have witnessed it will say that its just a matter of time when you see one. Scientists and researchers may attribute it to anomalous magnetic and electric fields at certain locations. They do not believe in God either. They never have found any proof!!!

When I was in college, I studied about Id, Ego, and SuperEgo. Id is stubbornness, ego is based on the moral values you gain over time - the good and bad of things, and SuperEgo is all about beliefs. It could be your belief in religion, its teachings. These are the various states of your mind. Id tends to overpower your sensibilities and you may end up crying for moon. Ego provides a healing touch and explains to you that you can't have moon because: its too large, too far, impossible to bring to earth, and simply because its not yours!!! I am unsure if everybody can have SuperEgo - the inner eye that can see God and can seek his answers.

Believing in Ghosts could be a state of mind. Is it the Id in you? It can't be Ego, or SuperEgo for sure. If its Id then it has to be intense and it is. Its a known fact that hatred is the easiest and the most intense emotion. It usually comes naturally. Its the Id in you. It simply captivates your mind. Love on the other hand is a milder emotion. What about Fear? What about devotion?

If there is good, there has to be some evil to balance the world. You may call them the positive and negative forces. Even atoms - the building blocks of matter have them in equal proportion. The constant shift of balance provides the energy necessary to keep things moving.

I think if you believe in God, you have to believe in the negative forces also. Ghosts could be one of them. Existence of Gods is an entirely different and debatable story altogether. Its your brain that decides. Let it decide.

In the meantime take a look at the picture below. I captured this in London.

Doesn't it seem like I photographed a ghost? Its 100% original photograph, and explains a lot a camera can do. There are technical limitations to a camera. This image is of a fast moving car with a person sitting inside it as it passes by me.

This is what I see as proofs presented by a lot of people around in various articles over the Net, be it the ghosts of Bhangarh, or Scotland. Never mind, the real proof is in your head. Its how you see or feel or perceive things around you.

If you believe in it, you will feel it someday. If you don't you will not. But, its not as easy. Even if you don't and if you are subjected to such a circumstance that has led others to believe, chances are that you will tend to believe in it too. Why? Your brain might not have a ready-made answer, and you have been hearing stories about it for years. So, you will end up believing.

How many times have you been scared within your own home when the light goes off and there is darkness all around? Don't you feel sometimes that a pair of eyes is watching you at that moment? There is no ghost around but you feel like having one. Your brain is a smart thing...

Caught in the wrong job?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:36:00 +0000

Courtsey: Monster

The Realty Check

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:57:00 +0000

Yes, its time now for some Realty check. It doesn't need a rocket scientist to figure out the slowdown in the real estate market. For some reason the term "slowdown" is being widely used now. We tend to refer everything as a slowdown if its not progressing the way it was projected. I beg to differ. I am sure others will too.

I am referring to the ever booming real estate market in India. After all, a house is one of the basic needs. But, a 1 crore house may not be a basic need. Its a wish. Its luxury and a perfect display of affluence.

The other day I was reading an article that talked about top 10 countries in terms of inflation. Zimbabwe is right at the top with 355,000%. Their government just rolled out a $ 500 million note. Oh yes, their currency is also dollar - the Zimbabwe dollar. The 10th country in the list is Serbia with an inflation of about 15%. We are now competing with them. For all practical purposes the inflation has touched 10% here. So, in days to come everyone will be crore-pati in India. We will become the land of millionaire/billionaires/whatever again. Imagine an auto rickshaw charging 50,000 for a ride from Chandni Chowk to Red Fort(its about 100 meters). Love Story 2050, anyone?

The point I wanted to make is the exorbitant real estate prices in some (sub)prime(its a doomed term by the way!) locations in our new age country. The other day I was watching CNBC Awaaz, and they came up with a nice report on hammering on real estate sector. Although the real estate developers are running out of cash, a substantial number of projects are delayed, new ones are waiting endlessly for buyers but still the price refuses to ease. They say that they are waiting for Diwali - they expect buyers to turn up by then.

They are ready to incur losses and let the projects be delayed than lower down the price. The reason is simple: they don't want the prices to go down. If it happens once then the real estate prices will become susceptible to market conditions as all other commodities - good for the customers. But, if they stop it from happening now, they think they will keep the prices isolated and unaffected by market conditions, and continue to reap rich dividends. I am sure you'll agree that the prices are atleast double of what they should be. Every broker or an agent is a market maker. They decide on price on the run. If you drove to them on a Santro - you'll get a different quote from someone who drove-in on a Sonata.

I am sure this will not happen for a long time. They are a part of the system after all. They will have to correct themselves or the market will force a correction. Buyers are well aware of the fact and they are expecting the prices to go down soon. But, it seems unlikely before Diwali this year. Lets hope for the best. Lets hope that the customer becomes the king again.

Margin and a day - II

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:42:00 +0000

Welcome back.

Let me talk a bit about the going long and short again. As you now now when you go long you must have bought something, and when you went short you sold something. To add to your disbelief, they can be separate transactions.

Allow me to make things clear the Bunty and Babli way. Going long comes naturally but the trick is about going short. Its a like selling The Taj Mahal. Do you own it? No. Can you go short on it? Yes.

No, I am not playing with your emotions. I am playing a trader. I was excited when I heard about it a few days ago. I was astonished when I executed the trade on my own, and I was overwhelmed when I saw the result in the ever falling market.

What else do you need? You don't have to pay the entire amount of trade - you have margin. You don't have to own the stock you want to sell. What else do you need? Luck.

You have a very nice platform to ply around, and they encourage you to put money. They guarantee you of prompt service but what they can't give you is the wisdom and luck to win. Even masters of the trade can't always win. The reason is simple - the stock market depends on thousands of factors - on supply/demand, on sentiments, on breaking news!!! Countless. So you end up guessing. But, the trick lies in taking calculated guesses.

Chamanlal asked: How can you ever sell Taj Mahal? Its not yours. I replied: But, I can borrow it from Government of India for a day and then do whatever with it with a promise to return by the end of the day.

Margin trading, also called Day trading or Intraday trading is considered a very risky affair. It indeed is. The rules involved make it riskier. Whatever position you take, you have to "square off" the position by the end of the trading day. In India, trading starts at about 10 am and ends at about 3pm excluding weekends. As you don't have sufficient time to recover from your losses, you end up losing - its intraday what did you expect? Squaring off is the process of performing the equal and opposite trade e.g. if you sold 10 stocks of XYZ, you have to buy it back by the end of the day.

Chamanlal says: Alright, I have sold Taj Mahal, now do you want me to buy it back? Ruthless. What will I do with it? I can't sleep with Shahjehan. I said: Grasshopper, you don't have to keep it, remember its not yours, you borrowed it from someone. You have to return it. All you end up keeping is the profit/loss(P/L) that you generated during the day.

You have to keep in mind that apart from margin you need to pay a minimal brokerage. Your P/L is adjusted from the margin. The good thing is that your P/L can't go beyond 16%. So, if a stock moves more than 16% since you last traded, it will be automatically squared off. So, for every 100/- you can gain or lose 16/-. Other features include stopping your losses, and placing Limit orders for Buying and Selling.

So irrespective of the market position you have the chance to make money. If the market is falling, you short at a higher price and then square it off at a lower price. Similarly if the market is moving up, you can go long at the lower price and then square it off at a higher price. Exciting strategy isn't it? Did I say that margin/day traders are the ones who are worst affected by any strong adverse movement of the market? So research, make calculated and informed choices, and use only your risk capital(money you can afford to lose) to make profits.

As per general perception and lot of text written over Intraday trading, its a widely accepted fact that 90% of the traders lose money. This is an adventure sport and must be played only when you are ready to lose but wont mind winning at times.

Margin and a day - I

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:06:00 +0000

Warning: Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.

Please don't mind the relation between margin trading and cigarettes - I am in a habit of deriving inferences from real world entities. As I have clarified earlier, my writings are for those who are new to Equities and Futures. That's why a cigarette.

There is a theory revolving risk and profit. The more risks you take the more profit you make. Or in simpler words, or for the lack of better words - No risk No gain!!!

Warning: I am in no way trying to convince you to indulge in Margin trading.

What the heck is "Margin Trading" - I just heard you say. So, here you go. We have a very smart exchange called NSE(National Stock Exchange) that has most stocks available to trade in margin. It makes sure that the stocks are good and they have a proven track record of NOT killing their investors. So, in a way they have taken the very first step for you. These stocks are not of any fake company, they are perfectly real.

Lets take a simple example to explain this concept. Suppose you want to buy shares of a company called XYZ. The price of a single stock of this company is at about 1200. To make some generous investment you would like to have at-least 50 shares of this company. It amounts to: 1200*50 = 60,000. But, didn't I just say that my target audience are novice? So I can't expect them to shell out(read: Risk) this relatively large amount of money at once. NSE and other major exchanges in the world are very much aware of this fact, that's why they have devised many investment/trading instruments. In this concept of margin trading they don't expect you to give them the entire amount, but a margin.

So, if the margin of this stock at NSE is 21%(it usually ranges from 21% to 35%) you need to pay: 0.21*60,000 = 12,600. The riskier the stock the more the margin.

Great. So you just started off with 12,600 taking a position on about 50 shares of a coveted company.

Dude, I have 12,600 and I now want to trade. But how? Do I have a platform? Yes. There are many like ICICIDirect, Reliance Money, and ShareKhan called De-mat account providers. To get started, you need to open a De-mat account to trade stocks and invest in stocks. PAN card is mandatory these days.

Bloke, you just said "position" whats that? Is it another of your jargons? Or just a position? Doesn't make much sense to me. Grasshopper, don't worry I am coming to it. Its a jargon, and we "take" a "position". You can either take a "short" position or a "long" position.

When you buy a stock you are said to have taken a "long" position, and when you sell you take a "short" position. Its at the center of all the trading and investment strategies. So, its a very important concept.

contd...

Futures - Scratching the surface

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Fri, 30 May 2008 04:15:00 +0000

Keywords: Futures, Forwards, Derivatives, Exchange, OTC, MTM, Margin, Spot, Chamanlal

Financial Markets - The Intermediaries

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:05:00 +0000

The last important part of our discussion is the role of market intermediaries. These are interesting people, often the most important ones. They are:

Market Makers

They are a firm(sometimes an individual in certain unorganized markets like real estate) who offers(or makes) a price to a financial instrument or commodity.
They quote 2 prices - a bid and an offer.
Their intention is to make profit on the bid/offer price spread. e.g. the bid/offer price for USD/INR may be 42.2 and 42.1. Price spread = 0.1

Distributors/Sales Staff/Brokers

Often a trader/dealer doesn't have any direct contact with the customer. They need sales staff.

These are the people who interact with clients and market makers.
They receive requirements from clients and fetch price from a market maker.
Quite often, they "broker" between two different clients by introducing each other if an offsetting requirement is met without involving the market maker.
They may be in touch with different market makers to fetch the best price for their client.

Structurers/Research

This is a critical part. With various risks involved in the market, all institutions need research personnel to device ways to cut risk.
They take market data as input and provide highly customized solution to a given problem/risk.
Researching for derivatives to device a way out is a common practice.

Middle/Back Office

After the transaction is complete, it needs to verified, cleared/settled in bank account of counter-parties. There are other related office/paper work involved in a transaction that is taken care of by the Middle/Back office staff.

Financial Markets - The Need

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeet Sahay) — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:05:00 +0000

Why do we need a market?
There are a lot factors that contribute towards the need of a Financial market. Some of them are:

Price Discovery and Asset valuation

There is a golden rule to the market: The value of an asset is no more than somebody is willing to pay for it. As markets bring people together, it allows "price discovery".Now you may understand why SEBI allows 1 day(the day of listing or re-listing) for price discovery. Some stocks like KGN may take undue advantage nevertheless. However, they are shown the real value in subsequent days.

Capital Opportunities

Financial instruments like Equities, and Debt help raise money to fulfill capital opportunities(of firms or governments) like building a factory or providing civic amenities(trains, roads, electricity etc.).

Short term financing

Its required for fulfilling any immediate cash requirement.

Investment opportunities

People who have surplus cash can invest in various products thus building their own asset portfolio.

Risk Management

The market always innovate and offer new products that may minimize various risks.

There are two types of Financial markets: Primary and Secondary. The former takes care of issuance of Securities(a common stock!) and the latter takes care of trading of those issued securities.