Monday, January 30, 2006

Foreign policy - Mulayamji ka ishtyle

Mulayam says he will withdraw support to UPA government at the center if India votes against Iran in the IAEA referendum. I have stopped going to circus ever since I started understanding politics (or should I say politicking). Mulayam and his ilk have no genuine sympathy for Iran, but thinks that some religious fanatic cleric (read vote bank) will be happy if he opposes the capitalist US (which provides umpteen opportunities to young India) and supports the Islamic Iran (which chops off the limbs of poor immigrants from India). Mulayam cannot comprehend foreign policy per-se without garnishing it with ‘secularism’

Equally funny is his statement on withdrawing support for the UPA at the centre; it makes no difference to the government! It was his man-Friday Amar Singh who gate crashed uninvited to the initial UPA meeting when the government was about to be formed. It is as good as me saying that I will not support the activities of the MLA of my constituency.

Foreign policy – Mulayamji ka ishtyle

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Matrimonial columns

Now, before you stretch your imaginations about my marriage plans based on the title of this blog entry, let me clarify that even though I am old enough to enter wedlock, there are parameters other than age which prevents me from entering into one.

I have been browsing matrimonial columns (even before shaadis successfully went online) right from the age of say 12. I was not too young, I was just right for that or rather anyone is. The matrimonial columns  offer much more than just linking two unknown people into wedlock (kind of blind date followed wedding, but it is blasphemous to say so in India that is Bharat). The columns can substitute any comic strip, can provide exact figures of salary structures of various companies, provide INS information (mainly visa status) of many, holiday plans of grooms from amerika, hot jobs, hot companies (mostly technology companies) based on which one can even decide the kind of stocks one should invest, vulgar display of status, conservative interiors of people who otherwise sport a very modern outlook, double standards, status of siblings and much more. Should I say…full time pass….
    

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

SIP

Spent the last weekend studying & analyzing mutual funds. Mutual funds (rather anything to do with equity markets) were till recently anathema to me just because the first two IPOs that my parents invested during the Harshad Mehta times simply vaporized. However all articles on rediff, outlook money and so on emphasized that SIP can give you good returns in growing markets  (like that of India) provided you have the patience to wait for the returns on a long term. Convincing now. Let me see, I will again write on this blog after 5 years what I gained or lost.

This SIP funda gave me an idea to suffer the minimum cheating by faulty auto-rickshaw meters in Bangalore. If you have to travel a distance more than 15 kilometers, divide your journey into chunks of 5 kms and it is more likely that at least one rickshaw will have the meter right. So you can reduce the amount of money you get cheated (and again like mutual funds this makes sense only on a long-term). Funny?

Not proof reading…got to catch the bus…

Monday, January 02, 2006

Happy New Year

For those who wander into my blog area this week, I just want to wish them a great year ahead.

Nothing more at present.