If Poets can enjoy their poetry, Painters their paintings, why can’t rich their money?

I was really confused last month when Ratan Tata threw some jabs at Mukesh Ambani for him enjoying his wealth. I don’t want to go in the discussion that he has not earned his wealth, rather inherited it. But my focus here is on someone who has earned his wealth. To be fair to the elder Ambani, he should be given credit for some of his wealth if not all.

He has been praised, criticised, ridiculed for his house Billion dollar Antilla. But what I fail to understand is why? I have met a lot of people in my life, who believe that spending more than necessities is wrong and they don’t take it in a good manner, sometimes even frowning on it. The so called society has always taught me not to show off my wealth as wealth is not good. Rich people are evil and certainly sometimes a public display of wealth can leave a bad taste in many mouths.

But my question is, is earning money a science or art? I certainly consider it an art. If it is a science please tell me where they teach it, I would be the first in queue to learn. There are people from different backgrounds, different kind of upbringings who have made it into the wealthiest list. There are people from different backgrounds, different upbringing who have become great painters and great poets. They all show it and we all love it but when a man steps out of a Mercedes or a BMW in an Armani suit and Gucci suits, a certain reaction goes which is nowhere near praise.

I find it hard to digest why some still detest wealth, wealth creators. Why fingers are pointed at them. If we look up and appreciate art, I would say we need to appreciate wealth creators also. I’m not at all going for others reasons such as the amount of people found employment when Antilla was built or when a Buggati sold. My point is limited to the mindset and how differently we see, perceive and react to money. I just ask the question why different reactions, just because its money and accumulating money is considered as greed, while writing 10 poems in a day not. Perhaps we still need to broaden our mindset and see things in a different way to understand them better.

Will the same brand of justice ever be served in India?

I just couldn’t ignore the coincidence. In US, Rajaratnam was held guilty on all 14 counts of insider trading and back here in India we got the free for all access to Amar Prem Katha. And for the icing on top, I read a lot more about Niira Radia too. So as Rajaratnam is staring at 20 years in a federal prison, my question is will the same kind of justice ever be served in India?

Rajaratnam was no ordinary person, no. 236 on Forbes list of wealthiest people in US, richest Sri Lankan alive he rubbed shoulders with who’s who of Wall Street. He hired a team of one of the most expensive attorneys but contrary to what his peers in the hedge fund industry thought, he couldn’t escape conviction.

Back to India, how many big Corporates have we indicted? How many seen the inside of a jail and remained there? None expect for Raju (R another strange coincidence, Holy crap my name also begins with R) as far as I can remember. But what about other big shots who have been known to committing corporate crimes like Anil Ambani, Praful Patel etc.

The Niira Radia and Amar Singh tapes clearly reveals the nexus that is going on between corporate, politicians and even media now. These low life people are destroying and killing the Indian Dream when it is still in its infancy. All I have been seeing throughout the day has been mockery and cheap humour of both these tapes. But I am yet to see any action. I know many more like me think we can rise up the others and get noticed, but with tapes like this coming out don’t be ashamed of the route these people might take.

The last ray of hope we had was a unbiased media and a honest judiciary which has been literally stripped and is laughing back at us make me feel like a fool, a donkey. We dream of catching up with the West and all I can say is we are living in a fool’s paradise. We are bound to stay behind and will always be looked upon as the underprivileged, downtrodden ones unless we stand up, take notice, leave IPL for a moment and do something. I don’t know what that something can be or will be, but we will have to or let’s kill our dreams right now. I just ask one thing.

Will there ever be same justice irrespective of Caste, Creed, Domicile, Wealth or Political connections?

MBA for a receptionist!

So here comes another Sunday. It’s been a while I rested on a weekend and not go for some partying or shopping. But I have to say as much as I love partying, travelling or shopping, this time I really liked a quiet and alone Sunday. As the first thing on my checklist was to get a good amount of sleep for my sleep deprived body, so I woke up in the afternoon when finally my back started aching. And then as always I had missed my breakfast and lunch at the hostel mess is an option that I never consider. So I decided to take a walk and treat myself to some paranthas. That is how I ended up settling for the nearest market to our hostel which is Kailash. I went there, got my cell phone recharged, another thing I can strike off the checklist and ordered some paranthas. At that point only one thing crossed my mind if only I could have mom’s handmade paranthas. I got my order and started eating. Just as I was engrossed in them, some advertisement struck my eyes. It was one of those kinds where you take out a printout and you go around the town pasting them on the walls. It read

Required-Receptionist

Salary- 6000-8000

UG/Graduates/MBA

I was stunned. It really shook me. I was so taken aback that I forgot I was having food. How can an MBA even think of doing the job of a receptionist, leave alone the salary. You go to a B-school, pay around half a million Rupees at least and then go through the entire rigor to be an MBA. They teach you operations, marketing, finance, HR, strategy and what not. How a person after learning so much, can even think of being hired as a receptionist? I started thinking, my mind now totally diverted from the fact that I had no food for the last 15 something hours and now a plateful of paranthas lied in front of me and only me. I thought, how can that person who gave that advertisement, think of hiring an MBA for the specific job. Well It didn’t require too much of thinking. It takes no Sherlock Holmes to figure out that we are living and studying in a fractured system. A system which has stuck to the old notion of just getting admission in a college and then go through the motions and one thinks he will end up having a job. This has what led to the dilution of what MBBS, MBA or other educations really meant. Many of us study because we think we don’t have enough education to match how much we want to earn. And we forget the fact that it not the education but the capabilities that matter. We forget that in the real world nobody gives a damn what degree you have, they see what you can do. What results you can deliver. I think the person who gave the advertisement, is aware of the same fact. He knows he might hire an MBA for the job of a receptionist but then that’s all he or she might be capable of. Here I am not questioning our education system, what I am questioning is our mindset, how we approach our life at college. Are we one of those who just go through the motions and are desperately waiting for two years to end, so that they can finally earn something, or are we part of the other breed who approach everyday as to learn something new and make a change in them. Are we the same what we were a year ago or there is a fundamental change in how we think, how we act. These all are questions I think all of us who have this huge burden on their shoulders to be dubbed as nation’s future should ask oneself. What am I here for?

AND I THINK REALITY IS UNDERRATED.

What do we live for?

Last few days, something has happened but it has been hard for me to put it in words. I have been unable to figure out what that has been and more precisely why? I have been running here and there for years, reading lots of stuff, questioning it, discussing it with people looking for answers. But it never occurred to me what was the question. But suddenly today it happened. I started thinking about what was the question. But still what really was the question is irking me. And then it struck me, WHAT DO I LIVE FOR? You might think what am I talking about? This is a fundamentally simple question. And that is what really is, a fundamentally simple question and one with a very hard to be answer.

I started thinking. I decided to look around, looking for people close to me and what might they be living for. Is it the family? Or that dream? , Or the money? How could be the answer, to such a simple question be so tough to be answer. I have read numerous books, numerous blogs, many newspapers, magazines etc. But all that looks like going for a toss, when I try to answer this question. I close my eyes and I feel this dark hollow black area where feel I am struck, looking for the way out. I see myself standing and wherever I look it all looks the same and I get no idea which way to go. Am I living for money or to be with the people I love or a dream which is so vague that it makes modern art look meaningful? What is it?

We all come to this world with a blank mind and we all get to know this world and ourselves gradually, taking each step with the help of our parents, friends and others who influence us over a period of time. I don’t know why but somehow after the time this question struck me, I have been unable to find answer to any dilemma that came my way. And this thing is so bothering that it is making me feel as if I am asphyxiating. Well most of us look for answer in the people who have influenced us over a period of time. Our parents, achievers, our friends or might be a big brother. And there is where my confusion even becomes more acute. I really don’t understand where to look for answers. I look at those in Egypt fighting for a cause and many losing their lives for it. Do we live to fulfil a cause? Then I look at people who study day and night to be something, but what something? I know this post is full of questions and I really don’t know what to write more. But if someone is reading this do try to answer this question. “WHAT DO WE LIVE FOR?”

Still we ask why?

Last weekend i went to Delhi. I was on my way to Deer park to be a part of drum circle. Drum circle is one of the best things that has happened to me in the past two months as part of my life@IWSB. But this article is not about drum circle nor it is about my life at IWSB. Its about Delhi and the commonwealth games. You might say not again, another article to bash our government. But here i want to push it a bit further. I went to Cannaught Place and all i could witness was digged up road, mud and puzzled people. All the glam and beauty of CP was nowhere to be find, or perhaps it was overshadowed by the so called preparations for the Commonwealth Games. I find it really hard to believe that we a nation of more than one billion people can't prepare one city to host an international event. But then where does the problem lies? Oh i know politics, bureaucracy, corruption, greed etc etc. But does that mean we should leave hopes that one day our country will be ahead of the likes of US, UK or China. One day our cities will compete with the likes of New york, Tokyo or Beijing. Should we stop saying we will be a super power. I ask, was it necessary to beautify Delhi on the pretext of games, when all they managed to do is uglify Delhi. It would have been a lot better if we just would have just considered making the stadiums and necessary arrangements for the games. Was it so necessary to dig up CP and all those other places? What effect will this have on the morale of Indian athletes who are participating in the games. Now whatever we do, the world has seen what India is and what is going on. Its a sham what these people are doing in the name of development. They are just accumulating wealth for themselves. Its high time we stand up and say its enough. We as common people do so much of hard work which gets reflected when people say INDIA SHINNING and these people just undo all that. We as a nation had a big opportunity to tell the world who we are and what we are capable of. But now as more and more time passes, i feel it would have been a lot better if that opportunity could have been avoided so that the world doesn't come to know what we really are. I did not write this just to criticise. I think enough criticism has been done. I wrote this so that some people really feel that the need of the hour is not criticism but to rise up to the occasion and take the control of our nation. Its our job to make it a super power, nobody else will do it. No neta or affsar will do it unless we do it or make them do it.
Sometime ago we have a small chat in our class regarding why even small countries are beating my India when it comes to medals in international competitions. I guess the answer lies infront of us and STILL WE ASK WHY?

Satisfied are you?

Last weekend i was sitting with some of my friends at barista having a casual discussion. Suddenly the word cropped up “Satisfaction”. One of my friend was arguing that one should be satisfied or atleast look for satisfaction. But honestly i don't believe in being satisfied, or to put it i don't want to be satisfied. Think about it, all the things we enjoy, all the world we know is because somewhere somebody was not satisfied with what he had. Starting from the two of the most important inventions mankind did, fire and wheel. Why did they came? Somebody was not satisfied by living in dark or having to walk always. The biggest invention which i consider and what changed everything and made way for many more was electricity. Again micheal faraday wanted something more. Thomas alva edison wanted more than just light. He wanted to create a legacy by giving light to all. Henry ford changed his design so many times until he got to model T. Even today the most enjoyed luxuries and the small things we enjoy are there because someone was not satisfied. He did not adhere to the line “be satisfied with what you have”. We got independence simple because some people were not satisfied with the british rule. It is very easy to say one should be satisfied and i have hearing this thing for the last 21 years of my life. You should be content with what you have. Just once think about a world where everyone is satisfied. Sachin is not breaking records everyday, nokia is not releasing new cellphones here and there and you don't want to do anything because you are satisfied. Life would become so dull and boring that eventually the end of creating anything new will lead to just one thing. So think about it guys do you want to be satisfied?

IPL Saga: Survival of the richest,is it?

Mr Charles Darvin must have been rolling in his grave if he had a glimpse of the title. Heads have been rolling and many skeletons have been coming out of the closets. The latest one tasting the curry seems to be honourable Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution(phew that one was long) Mr. Sharad Pawar.Although Mr Pawar with his partially disfigured face and completely dysfunctional mind for his ministerial duties (Though 100 percent functional when it comes to amassing Paisa) would have seen this coming long time. This is in no way just to lambaste Mr Pawar. The IPL is getting murkier with everyday passing and would have definitely put some bollywood masala movies to shame when it comes to twists and turns. Well to their defence i am mostly snoring just 30 minutes into the most of the movies.


What started as a well thought thought and a scripted event has turned out to be the most unpredicted one, to the predicament of Lalit modi. Heads had started rolling in the previous year with Kunal dasgupta who was part of the initial ensemble cast of the IPL saga leaving MSM. But like there was a lull before the storm and then all of a sudden it was IPL making more headlines than any other national news. Controversy after controversy appeared with an unperplexed Lalit modi at the centre of it all. Surprisingly IPL has made more headlines than India's recent string of losses at the hands of Zimbabwe. Looks like cricket on the fields stands no chance of competing with the one being played off it.


But there are still so many questions no one can answer, some obvious ones being what would be the fate of Lalit modi, or what about the future of IPL. But one thing for sure, all this has undermined the strong foundations cricket once held in my country and the popular belief rich always get away.