Sentinels of nobel profession

Recent articles of the true contributors towards a better India -

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125875892887958111.html

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/july-3-2009/aravind-eye-hospital/3449/

Hum Na Samajhe The

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si 

khaab sheeshe ke 

duniya paththar ki 

 

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si 

 

Aarzoo humne ki to hum paae 

Aarzoo humne ki to hum paae 

roshni saath laai thi saaye 

saaye gehre the 

roshni halki 

 

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si 

khaab sheeshe ke 

duniya paththar ki 

 

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si 

 

Sirf veeranee sirf tanhayee 

sirf veeranee sirf tanhayee 

zindahi humko ye kahan laayee? 

kho gayi humse raah manzil ki 

 

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si 

khaab sheeshe ke 

duniya paththar ki 

 

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si 

 

kya koi beche kya koi baante 

kya koi beche kya koi baante 

apne daaman mein sirf hain kaante 

aur dukanein hain sirf phoolon ki 

 

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si 

khaab sheeshe ke 

duniya paththar ki 

 

Hum na samjhe the 

baat itni si...

Sources would follow...

 "1975: Judging the path the institute had taken after its genesis in 1949 and the vision for the institute in mind Father McGrath took the decision of making this institute as the foremost management institute in India. In his words he described 'As soon as this decision was made, the greatest hurdle was crossed and that sources to make this happen followed'. " - These words were quoted by Father Director on the 53rd annual convocation. 

The institute has since then lived up to its expectations and produced industry leaders of the future. Even in today's gloomy situation the institute has been able to place all its 2 year students with success.

But is everything alright with the way this institute runs all its courses. The question raises serious doubts if we consider the situation of the GMP batch. The institute has invested quite a bit in developing and expanding this course albeit with a skepticism that it may hamper their already established brands. 

The administration just has to make the decision of bringing GMP to the forefront and the sources for success would follow without denting any of the established courses.

Has XL lived up to its promise in the media? - http://www.financialexpress.com/news/XLRI-to-make-GMP-second-flagship-course/196835/

West Ham Anthem

I'm dreaming dreams,

I'm scheming schemes,

I'm building castles high.

They're born anew,

Their days are few,

Just like a sweet butterfly.

And as the daylight is dawning,

They come again in the morning.

I'm forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air.

They fly so high,

Nearly reach the sky,

Then like my dreams,

They fade and die.

Fortune's always hiding,

I've looked everywhere,

I'm forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air.

If - Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you 
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 
But make allowance for their doubting too; 
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, 
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, 
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; 
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; 
If you can meet with triumph and disaster 
And treat those two imposters just the same; 
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, 
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 
And lose, and start again at your beginnings 
And never breath a word about your loss; 
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 
To serve your turn long after they are gone, 
And so hold on when there is nothing in you 
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; 
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; 
If all men count with you, but none too much; 
If you can fill the unforgiving minute 
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - 
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, 
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! 

The Road to Serfdom

Just read ' The Road to Serfdom' by the Nobel prize winning Austrian economist Friedrich A. Hayek (LSE and Univ of Chicago). He is known for his defense of classical liberalism and free market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought. 

Biography: http://mises.org/about/3234

Wrote in response to the rising government controls in post World War 2 Britain and other democratic countries, it very well compares the conditions prevalent in Germany in the early 20th century and post war Britain. Nazism had socialist roots. The war had forced central planning on the allies to counter Germany.

Hayek argued that war time planning should be dismantled during peace, as it is certainly inefficient and also breeds socialist policies. More importantly the individual loses his freedom and liberty. 

He argued that the condition in post war Britain and pre-war Germany was similar and that although Germany had lost the war in military terms it had won it on the ideological front as the allies were steadily increasing government controls.

Video summary of the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12oFhO3UZdU

The inefficiencies of central planning have certainly been proved over the years but not after a long stretched battle over the last century. Although the allies had adopted free economies, they were restricted by government control after the war. Hayek's arguments were ignored until about 1980s as Keynesian economics took centre stage. It was not until Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan came to power that the market economy became popular as they abolished government controls. It was only towards the end of the century that the free market economy of the early years of the century was restored. 

An excellent documentary on the 20th century economic ideologies can be seen on pbs-http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/lo/story/index.html

As the current recession grips the world, countries have increased restrictions on trade. Keynesian mixed economy finds its application in such a scenario. However, the world should not fall prey to the thought that government control is good for them as it is certainly inefficient. It would not be easy to set the thought process of people back to free markets as they are experiencing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression caused probably due to the free market structures.  

Countries have started adopting protectionist & restrictive policies as they strive to get out of the mess hampering international trade. The protectionist policies might give rise to socialist tendencies over a long time. This might cause a shift back to the post war era and a major hindrance on the progressive path of humanity towards freedom.

“The finest opportunity ever given to the world was thrown away because of passion for equality made vain the hope for freedom” – Lord Acton

Why do I drink..

In these times of financial crisis where people and enterprises are struggling to make ends meet, with all the looming uncertainty about our future I believe that there should be some people who maintain sanity and go about doing what they do best. It's only when people resume behaving, working, spending & lending normally that certainty would start winning over uncertainty.

So, I thought in what way could I help the situation sitting in this small town of Jamshedpur. Well I'm not working anymore and hence not warning anymore to lend people. The only way I could help churn the economy is spending a bit in this town. If a few like me keep on spending as usual, the town would surely be able to sustain the slowdown. And so I thought about what I do best or what I enjoy the most. Drink 

The macroeconomics work somewhat this way - 

I spend on liquor at the bar. The bartender and the waiters do get some amount of tip in addition to their salaries from their secured jobs due to some of us drunkards. 'The Sonnet' is hence able to keep its debt obligations and makes profits in addition. The banks and the hotels creditors are paid back in time, which in turn are able to have more amount of liquid money at their disposal either to be lent or invested in other projects, say the celebrations on the 'City Founder's day'. Due to the money borrowed by JUSCO for the celebrations it is able to organize a grand ceremonious day, spending lakhs on the decorations and management. 

Now, these celebrations employ a few event management companies, local government bodies for the occasion. These in turn give work to numerous small time electricians, sound, laser & pyro technicians, movers & packers, etc to make the event successful ensuring a grand turn out. The large mass people attract other dependent folks such as hawkers - panipuri wala, gubbare wala and other such as autowalas. All these people are able to earn a living because of this gala event. On the bazar day then these autowalas and hawkers go to the local bazar to buy clothes, food grains, and other home utility products. 

After days of hard work one of them food grain merchants takes his family out for dinner and for simplicity's sake lets consider this to be the coffee house at 'The Sonnet'. This way the hotel is able to generate surplus profits and hence pay more taxes. Now, if a few of such hotels start paying larger taxes, the local government would have more funds for development & infratructure activities of the region while employing local private enterprises. This may help to some extent in alleviating the poverty of the region by engaging more people in the development activities dispersing more money in the local economy. 

Now think about the larger picture. If people do keep spending normally or even more in these difficult times, that would mean more tax revenues for the state and national governments in addition to the frequent movement of money within the economy. The state and national governments would then be able to sustain larger infrastructure projects proliferating employment opportunities and projects for private firms. This could even turn into tax breaks for ailing industries. These industries would then be better able to compete in the global scenario and grow in size. This could mean a larger good for the entire nation. Atleast some of these companies could then visit our campus for recruitment and offer us or atleast our juniors a few commensurate jobs. 

Hence, I think it is important to spend and more so in gloomy scenarios. 

The questions that remains is not 'why am I drinking so much?' but rather 'am I drinking enough?'

Quoting Brearley & Myers: ' Money is what you can buy beer with'.

Note: Liquor has some of the highest excise duties in India with around 550% on liquor imported from the US.