Either Way It's Gonna Rain In India

Agricultural sector contributes around 28 percent to India's GDP, and more than 70 percent resident Indians still live in the rural areas of India. The correlation is that those 70 percent are dependent on agriculture-related products and services. And, if it doesn't rain there on time, the chances are highly likely that it's gonna rain on the Indian bourses, stripping the bourses of their sheen for a couple of quarters, at the max -- yes, at the max! Why?

Poor monsoon leads to poor agricultural products and services for the year, leading to poorer, or lesser, incomes for the populations in those rural areas, reducing the demands for the commodities that those poor people feed on. Thus, the economy relatively slows down, and investors find it relatively very hard to send "greenshoots" on the Indian market, crippling their abilities, and/or capabilities, to play speculative games through which they "cohort-ly" "rig" the bourses to make obscene amount of money.

So, watch out for the "Indian" sky, or call the Meteorological department of India, before you invest on the Indian bourses! Since it has already been "raining" all over the world, and if it even rains on the Indian bourses, you might not have any place left to hide your "speculatively" earned stack of cash! Am I right -- dear FIIs?

Retrospect

I was thinking how weird we all have become. How fragile things are getting in life. How we unavoidably lose a lot, when we strive to earn just a little more. How far should, or could, or must, we go to get things we want, or need, the most? And, how would, or could, or should, we justify all our sincere efforts? Things do backfire! Don't they?

Life is indeed a rollercoaster ride! We enjoy it, when we are at the top. But, how should we take it, when we are at the bottom? Should we expect something to cling on? What if, when we don't have any? We are just human! Ain't we? Human!

At times, we just get scared of growing up further. You never know what is awaiting you next! Knowing all this, would you still prefer living the rest of your life forward, or would you prefer living it backward -- provided that you can make that kind of choice only once? Weird? Retrospect! That might solve a lot of issues!

As far as I am concerned, I want to make more mistakes in the future!

Bangalore or Buffalo?

I would like to share with you some newly "coined" governments' statements, and some new findings in the international-politics-cum-international-business. These are some power-pact excerpts from the Times of India.

Pitching for increased economic ties between India and the America, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for "advanced" linkages, similar to the existing ones, between "Manhattan and Mumbai," or between "Boston and Bangalore."

Unveiling new proposed tax reforms, Obama had said, "It's a tax code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York."

Terming the blooming partnerships between the two countries as "exciting", Clinton asserted that India's growing economic prowess is recognised the way, the law of gravity is accepted by people.

"We need bilateral cooperation between our governments to catch up with our people-to-people and economic ties," asserted Clinton.

"People know what kind of business and investment opportunities are there in India. According to Clinton, the America views India as one of the few partners worldwide who would help the country in shaping the "21st century."

The reason is as simple as anything! The trade between India and the US is worth over USD 43 billion and has more than doubled since 2004. Moreover, a study has found that corporate India created employment for 300,000 people in the US between 2004 and 2007. An India Brand Equity Foundation study release mentioned that the Indian industry contributed USD 105 billion to the US economy during 2004-07.

So, Bangalore or Buffalo? Is it gonna matter, anymore?

Rising Up to The Occasion

Life is a marathon, and we keep running it either relentlessly or reluctantly. We just cannot say no to this race, as it is about life, and we don't have any other choice, but to run it!

To make our life a lovely one, we work so hard that we do anything that is, or seems to be, within our reach. Isn't it? But, while chasing our dreams, do we ponder on the moments that really change our life? Yes, I am talking about those decision-making moments that change our lives, forever!

For example, we study for one full semester, but what decides, or, perhaps, justifies, our efforts is the outcome of those three hours of the strenuous, end-sem exam! True? No, I am not judging whether the system is right or wrong! I am hinting at the challenges of rising up to the occasion. Think.

No matter how well you practice the art of pitching, hitting, and running during net-practice sessions, your success counts only when you pitch, hit, and run well on the day when it counts!

So, keep preparing, but do perform to produce results, when it is required, otherwise what is the point in preparing at all? Got it! I know you did! Liar! :-)

Love Thyself

It is not at all bad to be selfish, but we should just take care that we do not harm anyone by being selfish. Does it sound counter-intuitive? It doesn’t. You need to think, and devise your own means for doing so. It is not so hard.

We should love ourselves. Only then we can love others. Give thyself undivided attention, and talk to your inner-self. Just do whatever makes you extremely comfortable with thyself. It teaches you a lot. It will tell you what it wants, and what it needs.

How can we do so? Pamper thyself! Treat thyself like a king! Date thyself! Talk to thyself! Know thyself! Love thyself! The rest will fall in place!

And, never even try to please everyone! Even God could not do so!

Jesus! I have my semester exam after just 5 weeks, have to study more than 600 pages, and, here, I am busy loving myself! I think I should get back to studies! It is high time I do so. After all, I have a reputation to maintain! This blogging business is so, so addictive! But, above all, I am just a mere human being, so I need to talk. What else is a better way of talking your heart out than this blogging thing? At least, it doesn’t scream at you!

The "Chore"

At dawn, the Sun rises up through the horizon
Hope gets ready for its toil
Mind and soul promise to help hope win
A jigsaw puzzle takes its toll
Heart fights through all the day’s odds
Spirit says never say die; the day is about to end
At dusk, the Sun sets down through the horizon
The day seems decently conquered
The Stars and the Moon comfort the day’s pain
Hope consoles for the unknown
The night seeps through the dark
Only to begin the cycle again!

Metamorphosis

I have been noticing a big change in myself. With time and experiences, I feel more content. It seems I am learning what I should be learning. I feel I am growing day by day. Sometime back, I wrote a poem! And, here, I am going to share it with you. But, before I start off with that, I must tell you about my favorite poem, since my school days. It has been "If" by Rudyard Kipling. I don't remember any other poem, except for "If." It has taught me more than hundreds of valuable lessons, since then.

So, I pay my heartfelt tribute to "If" by Rudyard Kipling by dedicating this poem to "If." I feel that all the best things in life are for free, for example, the Earth, air, water, fire, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, etc. It's a different story that we human beings have started monetizing some of these free elements, for example, the Earth, and water. You never know, one unfortunate day, we might be taxed for breathing as well!

Anyway, my thoughts, including my poem(s), will always be for free. That's precisely the reason that I have not authorized Google to put any ads on my blog page, except for a link that endorses a social cause and news links that I find handy for myself. I just love reading news -- positive news!

So, you guys, if you like, or want, to reuse my thoughts, including my poem(s), please feel free to reproduce them. I don't intend to copyright them! Obviously, they are not worth copyrighting! If any of my works is successfully reused, I would consider my efforts to have met their destiny. No, I don't even like to hear a Thank-You note. But, if you still want to, then, perhaps, you can thank me in your heart. I am not used to of more than this, for sure.

The mind sees no boundary
The eyes dream of me
The ears listen to me very patiently
The nose rests my pride
The lips pronounce me the fighter
The tongue unleashes extreme motivation
The chin keeps me up to the sky
The heart beats with my thoughts
The hands catch me whenever I fall
The stomach digests my craziness
The steps match my endeavors
The One knows my worth
The One lives off my dreams
The One is I and will always be I!

Profound Words

Words, perhaps, are the strongest weapon that we human beings possess. We should take extreme care when we are unleashing them. They might haunt us, forever, for our lifetime, and, moreover, they might put the deepest scar right in the bottom of our hearts. But, on the other side, we must take extreme care in not to infuriate someone to the tipping point, wherein, someone spits the venom right in your face.

Getting the right words for the right occasion is again a daunting task. But, we must strive to practice the art of getting it right – consistently, and that’s too perfectly. Try to even mean your “a”, “an”, and “the.” Practice makes a man perfect. And, striving for perfection is a virtue, and is not a bane! Don’t ever let the insurmountable challenge pull you down! Strive for it, and keep raising your own bar! Trust me, the juice will worth the squeeze!

It apparently is easy to say, but, without a doubt, is hard to practice. That is why there is a beautiful saying, “To err is human, and to forgive is divine.” So true! Isn’t it?

Ridiculous Crusade

Isn’t life a ridiculous crusade? Yes, it is! Yes, because, as we all know, in the end, it is life that subverts itself to death. Always, death has its final laugh!

We know we will lose, eventually – no matter what we do! Still we fight for our life, knowing the final outcome beforehand! Yes, this doesn’t mean that we should just give it up! A mighty heart always fights, with zero-level ego, and chin up to the sky.

The beauty of life lies in the way it unfolds itself. You just do not know what is coming next! You think you can take life head-on! Perhaps, you can! And, you must! Ridicule it when you have your say, so that you do not have any regrets when it takes you down! Ridiculous crusade! Indeed!

Globalization In Its Own Spirit

I was going through my International Business Strategy book by my IBS Prof Charles Schell – who is a Canadian, is teaching at a British business school, Manchester Business School, comes down to the MBS Dubai campus to teach about businesses that are being carried out all over the world to a class of students that are from 14 different nations, and that are mostly managers managing companies from different parts of the world – and I hit an anecdote that is worth sharing in order to explain globalization in its own spirit.

“In this interdependent global economy, an American might drive to work in a car designed in Germany that was assembled in Mexico by DaimlerChrysler from components made in the US and Japan that were fabricated from Korean steel and Malaysian rubber. She may have filled the car with gasoline at a British Petroleum (BP) service station owned by a British multinational company. The gasoline could have been made from oil pumped out of a well off the coast of Africa by a French oil company that transported it to the US in a ship owned by a Greek shipping line. While driving to work, the American might talk to her stockbroker on a Nokia cell phone that was designed in Finland and assembled in Texas using chip sets produced in Taiwan that were designed by Indian engineers working for Texas Instruments, a US chip giant, at its Bangalore office. She could tell the stockbroker to purchase shares in Deutsche Telekom, a German telecommunications firm that was transformed from a former state-owned monopoly into a global company by an energetic Israeli CEO. She may turn on the car radio, which was made in Malaysia by a Japanese firm, to hear a popular hip-hop song composed by a Swede and sung by a group of Danes in English who signed a record contract with a French music company to promote their record in America. The driver might pull into a drive-through coffee stall run by a Korean immigrant and order a “single-tall-non-fat” latte” and chocolate-covered biscotti. The coffee beans come from Brazil and the chocolate from Peru, while the biscotti was made locally using an old-Italian recipe. After the song ends, a news announcer might inform the American listener that anti-globalization protests at a meeting of heads of state in Davos, Switzerland, have turned violent. One protester has been killed. The announcer then returns to the next item, a story about how fear of interest rate hikes in the US has sent Japan’s Nikkei stock market index down to new lows for the year.”

This is the world we live in. Does this make you uncomfortable? Get used to it – the more, the better!