Randomness Redefined

Circle of Life

Published on 2009-01-01 10:32:00

Remember how we learnt a water cycle and a carbon cycle and a biomass cycle in school. Life is cyclic too, it seems.Three years back, I wrote this post sitting exactly where I am sitting today, hoping to go somewhere. I was then working for our family business.And today, having been there done that, I am back, starting a new innings again, and would rather be nowhere else. As they say, life comes a full circle

Commercialization of Terror

Published on 2008-12-08 12:55:00

Recently, there has been a lot of talk around the politicization of terror. But the same people who seem to find the politicization of terror an abominable sin, have been indulging in the commercialization of terror.Let us look at the Indian media. First it ensured minute by minute coverage of the terror attacks, while putting its own journalists in the line of fire. While these media personnel were busy condemning politicians for visiting the terror sites, they forgot that journalists themselve

Spirit of Mumbai

Published on 2008-11-29 07:30:00

Here’s a term that has been much abused - the spirit of Mumbai. Once again there are terror attacks on Mumbai, and once again, you can expect the term to be thrown around aplenty. The media and the politician will no doubt be looking to salute the spirit of Mumbai. So what is the spirit of Mumbai?The way it has been used after each terror attack just goes on to convince me that the spirit of Mumbai is a red herring. Coined by politicians and popularized by the media, it is a term used to dist

Changes during an economic downturn

Published on 2008-10-31 11:53:00

Ever since disaster stuck Lehman, things havent been what they used to be. Slowdown and recession fears loom large. And you know that the economy is in dire straits when:• Industry associations forget ‘growth’ and speak about ‘costs’• Marketing becomes the popular choice over finance in b-school campuses• The statement “I am a banker” generates sympathy rather than envy• The ‘am’ in the above statement becomes a ‘was’• HR managers hope that attrition rises• Keynes

Discovering Indian-ness – Part I: Cricket

Published on 2008-01-15 12:25:00

(As an effort to revive my blog, this is the first part of a multi part series on things that connect us as Indians, a common thread running through us. I am not sure how frequently will I be able to update the series, how many parts will there be to this series, or even if there will be a next part. I very well realize that I run the risk of stereotyping Indians, but it is a part of an introspection process. The idea is borrowed from Zhu’s blog, who is writing a series on Canadians. It wou

France: At Crossroads?

Published on 2007-10-18 01:11:00

It’s been a long time since I blogged. When I last blogged, I never thought I would be blogging the next time sitting in Paris. Well I have to sit, as I have walked more than 10 km today. The walk was interesting and enjoyable, given the beautiful weather and the even more beautiful Parisian architecture to admire. But I did not walk the distance so that I can talk about the weather or beautiful buildings (there might be a post on that too, you never know). I was forced to walk to my college

Ball Tampering Controversy: Tragedy or Farce???

Published on 2006-08-22 11:14:00

Once more, the gentleman’s game is surrounded by controversy. An umpire, Darrell Hair with a history of accusations of racial bias, accuses a team, Pakistan, with a history of ball tampering of doing the same. The captain walks off with his team, which forces the umpires to award the match to England. ICC, too didn’t take too high a view of the Pakistani team’s actions, and has initiated action against the Pakistani captain. Inzamam returned the favour, accusing Darrell Hair, and the ICC o

Tradeoffs Involved in Indirect Taxation

Published on 2006-07-23 14:49:00

Economics is all about trade-offs. The government too, faces such tradeoffs while coming out with any economic or financial policy. Such is the case while deciding indirect taxes. This article has been written with the intention of analyzing the effects of indirect taxation on the market equilibrium, which leads to the analysis of constraints on the government while deciding taxes.The objective of indirect taxation (or any form of taxation for that matter) is to maximize the revenue generated fo

Adios, Mumbai

Published on 2006-06-19 09:42:00

Well, its time to say good-bye to Mumbai, at least for some time. I am headed to Kolkatta (Joka, to be exact) to do my MBA at IIM C. Not that this is the first time I will be away from my beloved city, but this seems to be the longest period I will be staying away, and will miss the sights and sounds of the lovely city. Here is a list of the things I will miss the most about the city.Being a foodie, the street food of Mumbai is placed high on my list. The variety of foods offered on the streets

Football World Cup: Missing Talents

Published on 2006-06-09 03:58:00

The greatest sporting spectacle, the football (soccer for the Americans) World Cup starts today. The sport is the most followed in the world. And there has been a huge build up to the sport, with all leading dailies in India (a country, which hasn’t ever qualified for the World Cup) dedicating a lot of print space to it. “All the best football and all the best contemporary players will be on display”, they claim.Well, I certainly hope for the best football, but the world cup will definitel