6.2': Bullet, Single Tea and Butter Biscuit

A Typical Mylapore Story - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:54:00 +0000

Its been 10 months since I first started writing it, well I didnt know how to end it and finally figured it out.

Part-2

He had money; he did not know how to spend it. It was his maadaveedhi upbringing, counting every penny he spent. He chooses to live in a small two bedroom apartment in the city of Madras. His wife too was of a similar upbringing, but for her the money had a purpose. For her the money was a sign of societal status. Growing up in a lower middle class family, she lacked financial strength. The money mattered to her. She would not step into a five star restaurant for dinner, but the knowledge that she could afford such a dinner gave her power. She did not want the Mercedes, she was content with a second hand Hyundai, but the knowledge that she could buy a Mercedes if she needed to gave her a sense of fulfillment.

The void soon filled his existence. Every time he looked at his wife, he envied her. She seemed to have filled her void, family and financial security seemed to suffice for her. It was not for him. He desired more. His professional success nor his family filled the void. It always reappeared. He realized the void is what kept pushing him to push himself. He owed his success to fill the void. He had spent his entire life meeting societal norms, he had met their norms. The fog of mediocrity had engulfed him, his neck was above the fog, but he was still a part of it. He was pulled down by the weight of mediocrity. He needed to break free from it. The fog of mediocrity arose out of his feeling that his life had no purpose.
He was walking down the streets, he saw an old man lying on the pavement, not an uncommon sight in Indian streets. The old man’s worldly possessions, he wondered probably consisted of the bag he used as a pillow. The man probably had a family, probably had kids, who had deserted him. The old man’s daily struggle for three meals kept him busy.

The old man was not different from him, he too had the same concerns, food, feeding his family well when he had one and kids. The similar concerns which dominated most of his existence, he was just better than the old man at meeting these goals.

It seemed to him that the entire purpose of his life was to procreate. Help the homo sapiens species survive. In this process it was upto him to feed his family, in the paternal society the Homo Sapiens had built. It was the same objective as the rest of the world, within this objective he had tried hard to distinguish himself, and he had succeeded. The entire construction was built on an illusion driven by a strong desire to distinguish him from the herd.

He desired to seem different; he started companies, reveled in material comforts, his huge bank balance made him seem different, but his ultimate objective was the same as the old homeless man on the pavement. Despite his attempts to differentiate himself, he was drawn subconsciously towards the only motive of his life, because it’s the only purpose for the existence of the Homo Sapiens, just like all life. Since the beginning of life, all species had the same objective, and will continue to have the same purpose for as long as life exists. He realized he had gone behind an illusion which did not exist, and believed the illusion was real and meaningful.

His existence here onwards was waiting for his body to degenerate, disintegrate and collapse. He had been extreamely successful at the only objective he could have in life, survival and procreation. Now he was literally useless, his sole purpose of existence, ensuring the survival of the homo sapiens had been met. He was no different from every other species on the planet. He had a wait, probably a long wait ahead of him, though he wished it came sooner for he felt useless.

A Typical Mylapore Story - 2

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Part one can be read here

Soon he had kids, his family in India was happy. His dad was overjoyed. His mom was ecstatic. His family in India were overjoyed that their family tree would exist and not die. He was born to procreate and ensure the survival of the human race. Even if he disappeared from this moment, he would have fulfilled his destiny. But the human race has created the entire web called society and that prevented him for disappearing, it held him back.

His wife too was overjoyed; the kids were a validation of her feminity and fertility. Now being a mother felt reassuring to her. She decided to give up her job to become a full time mother. Her kids and husband were the center of her life now. He believed she stood out in the crowd because she had a job and a life which did not center on him, but he was mistaken. She was above mediocrity, but did not want to stay afloat. It soon swallowed her. She wanted the satisfaction of having risen above it.

He realized as long as he was occupied and was under pressure personally or professionally the void did not seem prominent. When he was not, the void seemed very prominent. He would retrospect on his life; the void would emerge to fill his mind. Providing for his children kept him occupied, the void did not engulf him. He had to strive harder for that little bonus or increment. He strived hard to provide for his kids, achieving that he felt would fill the void he felt. He strived hard to provide his kids with all they desired. He did manage to do that. He though had to work that extra bit harder for that.

He was no longer the teenager who landed on the shores to pursue his dream. He was now a middle aged man, a successful corporate citizen, a responsible father and a loving husband. He had made enough money to financially secure his family. Yet he felt lonely, his wife seemed like a stranger. She could never understand the void that engulfed him. He was always restless, she thought he was weird. They were strangers coerced by marriage to live under one roof. Soon the void filled his existence, just when he thought he had wiped it out from his life, it reemerged to fill his existence.

A good friend made an offered him his escape route. His friend wanted him to join in his start up. It would entail moving back to India. His wife was overjoyed. She was never happy here, she longed for the streets and smells of India. She need not share a house with the stranger alone anymore. His children were studying in hostels. He did not have to risk his financial security, but would reap the gains if any. The deal seemed too hard to resist. He moved back to India.

The start up kept him busy the void disappeared from his existence. Luck had always favored him, through his life. He missed the IITs but got through to REC, he missed the top universities, but got through to an Ivy League university. He also got the job everyone desired, a wife who stood out in the crowd, and now he helped build a successful start up. The company was soon devoured by a larger firm. Small fish are always swallowed by bigger fish. He though did end up financially wealthier.

A Typical Mylapore Story - 1

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000

For him, mornings always resonated with sounds of the temple, the thirupallaiyachi of Kesava Perumal Kovil. He lived in its madaveedhi. He longed to get out of the place, the air always had the smell of mediocrity and of middle aged mamis and mamas. He aspired for more than mediocrity. Living in the madaveedhi, the fog of mediocrity was wrapped around him like a blanket. He was in his tenth standard when he decided to pursue the engineering dream. He had seen his cousin and his neighbor leave the maadaveedhi by pursuing the engineering dream. He viewed them as having risen above the fog of mediocrity. They were now working with the company everyone wanted to, he desired for that. This he believed would help him rise above the fog. Like every aspiring engineer he aimed for the Indian Institutes of Technology. Like almost everyone, his aim was below the target, he had to settle for the Regional Engineering Colleges. He though had his ego intact, he was not going to any of the self financing private engineering colleges, and he got into the Regional Engineering College. He was finally out of the wretched madaveedhi, but not entirely. He did have to go back home during semester breaks, it was the entirety he desired.

He soon graduated and decided to pursue the American dream. He chose that over employment in the IT companies for he felt the back office employment was mediocre. Everyone in India seemed to be a part of the back office environment. It to him was again a sign of mediocrity. He did get into one of the Ivy League universities. He focused on passing his course and landing a job with a company everyone desired but could not get, he had to be above mediocrity which surrounded him like a thick fog preventing him from seeing beyond it. He believed rising above it was in professional success, he longed for that.

In the meantime, like all good obedient boys from maadaveedhi, while living in the USA he took a ten day break, saw a few girls who were acceptable to his family and settled in for an arranged marriage. He had to agree to an arranged marriage because he would never have been able to find a girl on his own for he is an arrogant, sub social, and egoistic character. His alpha male status hinged on his professional success, and it mattered most only in the arranged marriage market. He was ideally suited for the system.

He was a part of the crowd, the fog of mediocrity was wrapped around him, but he believed having the job everyone desired but could not get and a wife who would stand out in the crowd. This he believed had made him rise above the fog of mediocrity. To the outsider his life seemed perfect. But not to him, he always felt something was missing in his life, it had always been a void he could not understand. He believed that the job, a wife, money and professional success would fill the void. But they did not; the void only grew more prominent. He was now more aware of it than earlier.

Part 2 Can be read here

Tamil Bank Bernake and The Dollar

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:30:00 +0000

The Federal Reserve Board in the United States has made two drastic decisions over the past few weeks and months, both of which I feel present scope for us tamils to profiteer from. Firstly they seem to be giving banking licenses to anyone. The automotive financing arm of General Motors which sold bad cars to sub prime borrowers now has become a bank to raise deposits since its facing losses. So now it seems anyone can become a bank in the USA, all financial institutions seem eligible to become banks. Secondly, they cut the benchmark interest rates to between 0 and 0.25 percent.

Now, as a good Tamil financial investor I see a tremendous opportunity to profiteer from this. Short the dollar, long on emerging market currencies. But for this scheme to work, the stupid Chinese central bank which holds large reserves of the dollar, have to be suckered into this scheme. They are paranoid about losses from rising interest rates, and with falling interest rates are sitting pretty. This will be a challenge. This great scheme would require scale.

Tamilians have group and herd mentality, now we Tamils should apply to the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company. Bernake of course is now under the belief that every financial institution is a bank and all banks are financial institutions.

This new bank will accept all contributions towards capital from its members, and in proportion to the contribution shares will be allotted. We are god-fearing conservative bankers, we cannot function without the blessing of Lord Venkatesa in Tirupati, the beggar god. We are also beggars just like him. We will have the TTD board also contribute towards the capital of the Tamil Investment Bank.

We will operate an elaborate currency desk out of New York. Fill it with our Tamil Brethren who have been kicked out of Wall Street. In Simple terms, we will borrow the dollar in the inter bank lending window at 0% interest rate, sell it, drive prices down, and buy it again to repay the loan. This will be the great dollar carry trade. Being the reserve currency, it won’t have the risks like the yen carry trade. Emerging markets where there is an outflow of portfolio investments have been increasing interest rates, we will borrow dollars and lend to these countries pocketing the difference.

When we reach scale, The Tamil Investment Bank would have suckered the Chinese into this grand scheme of shorting the dollar. The Chinese would start playing, driving the dollar even lower. This is when we the great tamils, will long the dollar, short emerging market currencies. With our action, using our clout on Wall Street, especially among the Indian community, and Obama who is now a Tamil at Heart, we will collectively long the dollar and short emerging market currencies. Since the Japs and Koreans hate the Chinese we can subtly have them join the party. In effect it will be a war in the financial markets, China vs the Indians, Japs and Koreans. We of course will be part of the stronger alliance and will win this war.

We Tamils being nationalists would have accomplished a great feat by the end of the cycle. China would find its reserves greatly diminished at the end if we screw them properly. We would have ruined them economically. We tamils would then go on to financially conquer the world, learning from our great ancestors like Raja Raja Chozhan.

Irrational Exuberance, Risk and Marriage Market

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:03:00 +0000

The financial crisis gripping the entire global economy has ended the era of irrational exuberance. The worst affected market is the marriage market. According to some informed reports circulated by my investment banker and friends in the financial services industry who are on the lookout, the market is now witnessing a drastic shift.

Ever since the IT boom and the rising global growth, the information technology and financial services industry has had the maximum recall potential on prospective mother in laws’ minds, fuelled by exponential salary increases mimicking the Sensex movements. This class also has been the darling of banks who have doled out irresistible loans, which resulted in them being viewed as well settled in the eyes of prospective mother in Laws eyes.

But now my friends tell me, it is not enough for the grooms to own a house or a car to snatch the best looking girl on the market, but they also have to show their household balance sheets to prospective bride’s families, which is being scrutinized by them for the leverages on their incomes.

Just like banks, my friends tell me, prospective brides’ families don’t like highly leveraged incomes since the future is uncertain. Prospective grooms who leveraged their incomes upwards of 10 and 15 times to buy the coveted duplex in the most desirable locality in the hope that a marriage would reduce the leverage are now faced with the prospect of having to meet the EMI payments. They also under the current credit crisis are not able to roll over debt since the cost of borrowing has risen exponentially.

My good friends tell me, the previously unattractive sectors of government employment and other old industries are now in vogue. Their there is no irrational exuberance, or lavish display of wealth, but the risks on the income I’m told are considerably lower. With prospective brides’ families becoming more risk averse after having burnt their fingers in the IT and boom in financial services, they are looking out for lower risk options with stable incomes, government services and old economy industry look attractive under current circumstances. My friends add, grooms from these sectors are also used to living frugally and saving, rather than spending, which is in vogue now, since borrowing costs have risen exponentially. Saving and frugal living seems to earn brownie points with prospective mother in laws now, in addition to lower debt and debt free assets in individual balance sheets.

PS Can someone verify if the risk taking prospective brides are preferring entrepreneurs over the rest? The downside risk can be high, but the upside will compensate for that. KK can you throw some light on that?

PPS: This post is entirely a work of fiction, I have just applied the global financial crises to the marriage market, with the help of Baidik and Siddharth

Religion and Tamil Investment Corporation

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:29:00 +0000

The subprime crises is here to stay, America is in the grip of recession, Europeans are following them, the British like all good allies have walked hand in hand with the Americans into recession. The Japs of course cant be far behind, they too will follow suit, dragging the Koreans and Australians into recession while the New Zealanders beat them to recession, which is not surprising considering there is only so much economic burden that the sheep can shoulder.

In all, it could get worse than the 1930s great depression. In the 1930 depression, the Chettiars, being good money lenders benefited from it. They decided the Zamindars and others in India were already squeezing the market, and so they targetted Myanmar, then Burma. In the depression, rice prices tanked, and viola, the moneylender took over the collateral, which was the land, by the mid 1930s, the Chettiars controlled 95% of the agricultural land in the country and were only forty or fifty thousand in number. After this the Burmese, got pissed with their money lenders and kicked them back to India.

Before this the Cholas conquered the South East Asian countries and established colonial outposts for trade. We Tamils being good traders always are more interested inorganic growth opportunities

We Tamils have a history of expanding our horizons beyond the Indian subcontinent, this time we should set our sights higher, I propose Wall Street. We tamils should take over global finance.

Now with the Tamil fascination for knowledge, there should be a great alliance of Tamil, and should use this opportunity of a Firesale on Wall Street to take over the all the financial institutions in Wall Street.

I propose the formation of a Tamil Investment Corporation. This corporation will be well capitalized by what ever little gold available inTamil households, and those who do part with their gold will be given shares in return. If the gold is insufficient to fund the bailout, we can ask the gods, literally. We Tamil are the religious, and we donate to temples, the temples are our source of wealth, I propose leveraging this wealth to buy out Wall Street. We will of course annex Tirupati and claim it as a part of greater Tamil Nadu. And being servants of god, we will give temples stake in our company.

The company with its divine mandate will improve temple wealth and serve the gods. The gods will also have a share in the profit. If finance is controlled by the gods, then there will be no financial turmoil, the gods will ensure that there is prosperity all around. This is the only way to save the world from another round of great depression.

Long Live the Tamil Nation, it will go down rewrite history

Sakkarakatti: Thollaikutti (to be read in mallustyle)

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:32:00 +0000

After a long time Im blogging, and feeling like tearing apart a movie. Its been a bloody long time since Ive ripped a movie, despite watching some terrible movies.

1. Namba Pudhiya illam puyal Shantnoo nadikara padam dhaan Sakkarakatti. Shantanoo oru puyal, puyal madri screen la varuvar, appadiyae avar nadipa parthu, puyal madri makkal ellam theatre exit ku oduvanga, avangloda sendhu padamum theatre-a vittu odidum.
2. Padam enavo usual story dhaan, one guy, two girls usual story, indha padathula enna pudhu muyarchi na director rumba restrained-a irukkar oru “murai ponnu” angle irundhum adhai use pannalai. Enna oru pudhumai, indha adaka odukam padam poora irundha, especially over the top song sequences la irundha nimmadhiya irukkum.
3. Innoru pudhumai enna na namba mama ponnu namba hero parthu love sollarathu, avaluku teriyum avan namba heroine love panneran nu, annalum sollera. Namba hero r omba kasta pattu convince pannerar that oru aaluku oru girlfriend dhaan irukka mudiyum, avarukum aasai ivalai side la vechi ottanum nu, annal namba director oru mara tamizhan, oru aaluku oru ponnu dhaan nu solitar ba. (Mara tamizhan director should have looked at our great tamilian Mu Karunanidhi, who has a manaivi and a thunaivi, appo padam konjam interesting-a irundhurukkum)
4. “Naan eppozdhu pen aanan” nu oru song irukku, andha pattu la kekkara kelvi ku badul obvious-a irukku. But indha artistic director, ingai dhaan oru twist vechirukkar. First, indha mama ponnu kulikachae namba hero pathi nenaikera, namba heroine kooda kulikachae namba hero pathi nenaikera. Rendu per manasulaiyum butterfly parakarathu (tamil cinema la buggerfly vandha kaadhal nu artham). Idhu dhaan twist, namba director subtle-a enna solla varar na, oru Penn, avo manasula kaadhal vandha dhaan penn aagaral. Abba idhu enna oru thathuvam.
5. Namba hero Climax la bayangara feel oda sollarar avar thappu pannittar nu, the audience can empathies with him, Shantnoo cinema la nadika varahae oru periya thappu dhaan!!
6. Indha padathula bayangaramana Krodham:2 hero Prem oda influence teriyaradhu, bayangara hi-tech-a hero sight adikarar. He uses live camera to cover all strategic locations where girls congregate to sight adichify them. This definitely has to be the influence of Krodham 2 Prem only. Vera yaralai indha madri yosika mudiyum?
7. Like the great tamil cinema tradition, the director has worked a little too hard on the songs, using various elements from various Hollywood and earlier tamil movies, with an overboard of graphics
8. George Lucas should patent the Light Saber, and every unique creation of his in the Star Wars Franchise. In this movie, the director has generously used the light saber; George Lucas will commit suicide if he watches it.
9. Ah, namba hero, acts like Prasanth. Annal kodumai enna na, avan English pesina oru kevalamana western accent pottu saavuadikaran.
10. Innoru ne-ra indha padathula hero, heroine, hero-oda jalra pasanga, heroine oda jalra pasanga, the mama ponnu, ellorum tamil la pesina oru accent oda pesaranga.
11. Indha heroine andha madri pesina paravallai, avo direct import from north India, the mama ponnu also import from north India, avanga pesina paravallai, annal the rest thanga mudiyalai.
12. The heroine looks like a White wash adicha peepa, kevalama irukka, padam poora summa pose kuduthu nikkara. At least she looks good she will conform to tamil cinema norms of good looking but women who cant act, she looks terrible like a whitewashed peepa. Enna kodumai saar idhu?
13. Coming to our hero, every tamil cinema hero has to prove he is a superman who does not wear his underwear over his pants. But he still is a super man. Idhai prove pannarathuku oru song sequence irukku, plus innoru kevalamana scene. Indha song la namba director pudhumai ku Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Good, Bad and Ugly mix pannirukkar, the song is Chinamma Chilikkama, kevalama irukku. But our Hero proves he is a jetti podatha super man.
14. Innoru scene oru dream sequence, idhula namba hero avaroda vettu janal vazhiya escape aagarar, to meet his kaadhali, the heroine, annal by mistake (Maybe because he is fully drunk or doped) and goes to his mama ponnu’s house.
15. The director should switch to mega serial directing.avaruku pennin manasu romba nalla purinjirukkar, enna oru insight oru pen eppo penn aagaral nu, avar engaiyo poitaar ba. Idhukum mela, avar super-a blade podrar, idhuku mela mega serial direct panna enna qualification venum?
16. Indha padam is like our old fashioned Bagayaraj movies, love triangle, but then it tried hard to be set in the current scenario, its still an old movie.

Risk Rating: Injurious to the viewer’s mental and physical health. Only for the obsessively sado-masochistic

Sudden Longing.......

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:19:00 +0000

......Days of undergraduation.

The Canteen with its disgusting food

Cutting class

Sleeping in Class

First Day First Show at Devi

Battling crowds to buy the tickets and watching movies from the front bench.

Sigh...its so long ago.

Never.......

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:29:00 +0000

Try and strive to maintain the average rate of inefficiency at work, beating it is injurious to health

And Finally...

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:54:00 +0000

She resided next door. I had a crush on her from the time I turned 14. Every day on my way to school, I used to stare at her, admire her curves. Oh, those curves, the curves were just perfect. I can tuck my legs into those curves while riding her. I’d imagine myself riding her every time I walked passed her. I wanted her. I needed her. Only her, it just had to be her.

I wanted her, and getting her wasn't easy. I had to wait almost 4 years, during which I could just enjoy her beauty from a distance. Every time she came to life, my heart would melt, I'd run outside to enjoy her voice, in all its glory. Then one day, I walked over, and had the courage to speak up, and walked out with her. Finally I could touch her, ah those curves, I could finally tuck my legs into them while riding her. She was mine.

And I tried to get her into the mood, I had to kick her, and she simply refused to cooperate and burnt me, in my ankle. She'd scarred me for life. Not one who easily gives up, I tried again, this time there were some signs of life, but she still refused to come to life. I tried again, I kicked her again, this time, she hit back, right on my leg.

Finally, she gave in, she came to life. I threw my legs across her, tucked my legs into her curves and drove into the horizon.

It’s been 4 years now; she's been a wonderful companion all these years, never letting me down. She is the 1972 Standard Bullet.

Bourgeoisie, and Mediocrity

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:34:00 +0000

Yesterday I saw the Hungarian Grand Prix. Kimi drove an uninspired race, it was hard to believe he was the same person who won the 2007 championship, driving inspired races.

I then realized, we all are striving to be like Kimi. With a Drivers Championship and a astronomical pay package at Ferrari, Kimi has probably achieved his material needs. He now probably has enough to spend for the rest of his life. He has reached where all of us wish to be, that is early on in life make enough money for a comfortable existence.

This exclusive focus on enough money, has shifted the aim from to money from learning and knowledge. This change has lead to the middle class aiming for the goal of money, and not for learning and knowledge. Ideally, money would be the product of learning and knowledge, since now it is the contrary, mediocrity has set in. The middle class is satisfied being mediocre. The middle class actively strives to be mediocre and attain the goal of sufficient money via mediocrity. This has created organizations which are too mediocre. In these organizations, mediocrity is praised, it’s loved, it’s adored, excellence is shunned, because it upsets status quo.

The entire life of the middle class, or broader classification of bourgeoisie follows the path of stable income, marriage, kids, family, excellence within mediocrity, prosperity, and then finally satisfaction and death. Their legacy is their family, which is what all other species do without going through half the hardship involved. All other species, accept they exist to help their DNA replicate itself, and focus merely on that. The homosapien is unable to do that, therefore has built an illusionary world.

Thathuvam

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:19:00 +0000

All bikes sold in India except the Bullet are metallic trash, yes it also includes the new Yamaha R 15. They are meant for boy racers who are infatuated with speed or middle aged men who are concerned about the mileage.

Only the Bullet, Yezdi and RD 350 have character.

Capitalism

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:49:00 +0000

..........is Privitising profits and Socializing Losses.

Well atleast the torchbearers of capitalism the Americans believe so.

PS: Freddie Mac. Fannie Mac and Bear Sterns.

PPS: Where are the Indian Libertarians? Kupakarai Vizhandhulam Meesaila Man ottalaiya?

Random Doubt XXIXX

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Every morning, I usually have a coffee at work. It is near this window overlooking the parking lot. I am usually early, a lot of people come in after i do. I notice quite a few people come into work.

The women usually dont comb their hair looking into their bike's mirror. The men with some hair comb their hair, adjust its position looking into the mirror on their bike. This does not take them too much time.

Its the bald or balding men who take the most time adjusting their looks using their bikes mirror. I wonder why they do so. Their poor hair could not stand their torture and obsession with their hair and has given up, despite this these men torture their hair. I pity their hair. I wonder what is the point of bald or balding men combing their hair.

Ah someone once said there are two types of men, the bald and the balding men. Well then men should not simply bother combing their hair.

Random Conversations

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:38:00 +0000

Dude 1: Smoking Kretek cigarettes is supposed to cure asthma and respiratory problems.

Dude 2: Thats bullshit, its like saying "having sex to attain virginity"

:-O :-O

PS: Kretek Cigarettes apperantely are supposed to cure asthma. I quote from Wikipedia "The creator of kretek was one Haji Jamahri, a native of the town of Kudus in Indonesia’s Central Java. Suffering from chest pains, Haji Jamahri attempted to reduce the pain by rubbing clove oil on his chest. Jamahri sought a means of achieving a deeper relief and smoked his hand-rolled cigarettes after adding dried clove buds. According to the story, his asthma and chest pains vanished immediately."

:-O :-O

Random Post XXIVV

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:31:00 +0000

Google Chat status Message:

XYZ: Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. Thats relativity- Albert Einstein

ME: Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty brainless girl for minute and it seems like eternity. Thats relativity- Albert Einstein

Dude 1: Put your hand on a hot girl for an hour and it will still feel like a microsecond.

Yes and Dude 1 is going to get married soon. Wonder what his wife is going to say :-) (Guess she is not the hot girl he is referring to).

Idhuku peru dhaan velila pora oonanai, madila edhuthu pottukarathu.

I wonder........

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:14:00 +0000

......if news papers now consistently choose columnists because they are dumber than the average reader. Then the reader would massage his/her ego reading the columnist, and also can have a good laugh at the columnist. Classic example would be the Business Standards weekly technology column

There was a time when reading the Hindu editorial was educational, it was before N Ram decided to turn it into the "People's Daily of Chennai". Indian Express and Hindu writers were more intelligent than the average reader. The news papers actually strive to publish intelligent writers who made sense.

PS: Maybe I was younger then and dumber, therefore found the Hindu and Indian Express writers as intelligent.

Circa 2008, 1990 Japan

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Irrational exuberance never lasts. Plain and simple.

Sensex at 13000, Nifty at 3600. Japan 1990?

Recession? Depression? Housing bubbles always precede them.

Another Great depression, nah too far fetched.

Interesting time to live through I suppose.

The Salaried Class

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:48:00 +0000

..........is now screwed from both ends.

1) At one end inflation leads to increasing prices in the market. This is largely fueled by global developments.

2) And at the other end, employers do not dole out as high pay hikes because they can feel the pinch of rising commodity prices leading to lower margins. They cut expenses to remain afloat, viz pay hikes, while at the same time increasing prices. Repeat impact 1.

This is the worst time to be a salaried employee. Entrepreneurship is the way ahead, its a one side whammy, and the salaried class can always be screwed to avoid a double whammy ;)

Random Nonsense: 1

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:21:00 +0000

Reservations it is said will be the death knell for meritocracy, but meritocracy was already killed by seniority.

Indibloggers

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:14:00 +0000

......took themselves too seriously, and as expected ended up making fools of themselves.

PS: The meet was supposed to "Pep up the bloggers" WTF!! Bloggers who need pepping, should not blog. End of Debate.

PPS: The "Unbook" was dropped because the community cannot do 90% of the work. WTF!!

The Bullet.......

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:47:00 +0000

I’ve always said has character. It’s almost like a living person, albeit a bit mechanical. There is another bike that comes close to it. It’s the bike Id be seen riding if I wasn’t riding my Bullet, and that’s the Yezdi.

Now, this proves the Yezdi has character. In synopsis, theres a dude whose got a date with his girlfriend, his bike screws up, and his girlfriend dumps him. Plain and simple.

This proves the bike has character, simply because the story doesn’t mention whether the girl has any affection/liking for bikes nor whether she rides one. How the bloody hell is a Yezdi/Bullet supposed to put up and let a girl who does not appreciate the beauty of this bike? As expected the Yezdi/Bullet true to its character lets the owner down. The owner is a jackass for choosing a girl who cant appreciate the beauty of the bike.

Arm Chair Analyst - Tata Takes on JRL

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:55:00 +0000

Tata has acquired Jaguar and Land Rover. Indian media and industry is agog with claims of technology transfer blah blah blah and more blah.

This is of course total bollocks. None of this is going to happen because

1) Tata Cars currently straddle the lower end of the price band, between USD 2500 and USD 30,000 (the Safari). These cars are already loaded with the maximum possible technology possible under current market conditions, namely the Common Rail Diesel Engine.
2) The only possible transfer could be advanced chassis construction for the Safari, which can finally discard the ancient body-on-chassis aka ladder frame construction.
3) Jaguar brings with it aluminum construction, which for the short term will be too expensive to implement in Tata’s current range of models, similar to the common rail diesel technology which is only now slowly being implemented across all diesel engines, though Fiat pioneered it 10 years ago with Alfa Romeo.

The buy out though will give Tata

1) A luxury brand with a history. Though any monkey with technology and money can build a luxury brand, it takes almost a decade for the brand to be established and gain common acceptance. Lexus and Infiniti were launched in 1989, but took a while before consumers accepted them as brands to be reckoned with. With this buy out Tata has an established brand with technology and no money, with money Jaguar.
2) A successful luxury brand will improve the bottom line of Tata Motors because of higher margins.
3) A strong distribution network. This though Im skeptical of its ability to help Tata crack the European market largely because JLR dealers are high end dealers, while Tata with its current model range needs dealers who sell similar brands like Fiat. It will be interesting see how Tata leverages this network to pierce open the European market.
4) With the Landrover buy out, Tata has good piece of machinery which defense forces across the world would be interested in. This opportunity can be leveraged by the company.

The buyout though is not entirely a bed of roses some of the issues are

1) Will Tata be able to turn Jaguar around, questions persist because of the lack of consumer interst in British sports car brands. Sports cars and speed are still synonymous with the Italian brands like Ferrari and Lambourgini, and not the British brands.
2) Jaguar is the quintessential makes tourers, but the competition from the Germans is fierce and the Germans own the best British tourer brands like Aston Martin. Will Jaguar compete in this scenario is still questionable
3) Land Rover is a SUV, but with women increasingly driving SUVs and manufacturers making feminine looking crappy SUVs like the BMW X3/X5 and M class trash from Mercedes, the market for a rugged SUV like the LandRover.
4) The challenge will be for Tata to maintain both Tata Motors (current brands) and JRL separately in terms of public perception, similar to what Fiat has done with making the cheapest cars (Fiat 500) while at the same time making desirable supercars (Ferrari).
5) Impact of this deal on the Fiat-Tata partnership. This partnership is vital for Tata especially for its current range of small and cheap cars. Fiat still makes the best engines of small capacity (sub 2000cc). A classic example would be the multijet engine in the Maruti Swift hood, which traces its lineage back to Turin. It was a part of Fiat-GM partnership (which is now defunct) and via GM, Suzuki laid its hands on it, and via Suzuki Maruti. Fiat engines especially small capacity CDI engines will improve Tatas current product range from being rated to trash to a few notches above that. (the fit and finish levels still suck big time)

PC on Inflation

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:38:00 +0000

For the uninitiated, inflation this week touched 6.68%, which will pinch peoples pockets. Speaking on this our finance minister says that inflation is a concern for any government, more so for a government which has pledged to work for the aam-aadmi.

Ah, now am I the aam-aadmi supposed to feel privileged to have a government that has pledged to work for me? I was under the impression that since I pay taxes, every government's first goal is to work for the aam-aadmi.

Either PC doesnt understand governance or governments in India are not expected to work for the aam-aadmi.

The Budget

noreply@blogger.com (ada-paavi!!!!) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 03:38:00 +0000

.....importance irks me. It reminds me of an era I would like to forget. Casually referred to as India’s lost period just after independence, namely the socialist years, when the state treated the people as cattle which needed to be herded and provided for. The intelligence of the people? Non existent. The state aimed to provide fodder and clothing for the cattle, and of course kept they busy, by providing them employment. In such an era the budget is important. Hell its life or death for most. It decides how the cake is appropriated amongst the various stakeholders.

But alas, the ant cant forever keep subsiding the dragon fly. And yes the government went broke and said it cant subside the people. And today the budget is not of great importance for the people, and more so for the Indian economy. It essentially is an income and expenditure statement of the government.

Today economists and pink papers all over India were looking for a needle in a haystack, that one comment, that one move which will help revive economic growth to over 9%. Well the IT exemption limits were converted into that. The budget didn’t have the indication because it is a policy issue, which does not concern taxes and spending. Infrastructure thrust? Its again a policy issue, merely reducing taxes wont stimulate a sector or lead to economic growth. If that’s the case the Japs would not have lost a decade.

I feel like an idiot because I paid too much attention to an accountants document. In a non socialist society, the budget is irrelevant. Hell, it neednt get so much attention. Growth is not because of tinkering with taxes, but rather through policy issues like regulation and stimulating competition. The budget is an income and expense statement. The governments income and expense statement is unlikely to help economic growth. That the disillusioned Keynesian’s thinking.

PS: The RBIs boring quarterly statement matters more than the budget.