Tuesday Tale No 1

Have you ever been extended an invitation on Sunday evening for a Tuesday Dinner by Close Friends?…and you land up at their Residence on Tuesday and find the Hosts had simply forgotten about their Invite ! ?

It happened to us yesterday…My Wife and I were invited by really close friends for Dinner…just the four of us at their Residence…..we were told to come by 9.30 pm…Social Etiquette meant we reach by 9.45 pm…we did with our small Gift..a Box of Chocolate Cookies …only to find the Hostess in her Night Gown and simply no trace of the Host….she was so embarrased….we could either have got mad or laugh it off……we chose to do the latter…we gave the Cookies and quickly exited !…The Hostess told us that she had told her Husband Host to remind her in the Morning for the Dinner and he had forgotten and so had she !

Normally we don’t accept weekday dinner invites as Work Days could be tiring….and as it gets late into the Night,the next day begins with yawns!…and and especially with these friends the night would have gone past 1 am…probably 2 am as Dinner too is served at Midnight! !…they had invited for the weekend but as this was not possible we confirmed for Tuesday night….we had accepted as we had not met them for quite a while and  either they or us  were travelling or had other commitments and they were insisting that we meet and we are close friends!  

…Their Forgetting turned out to be a blessing in two ways……..The First was that we completed in the morning itself our Tuesday Religious Ritual of visiting the SiddhiVinayak Temple and St Anthony and Infant Jesus Shrine…in recent past our tight day schedule has meant doing this routine tired and sleepy past 11 pm in the night

……The second is that we yet had to have Dinner,so we rushed to catch the last order at 10.30 pm for Dinner at the Club and it turned out to be heavenly…and as usual great value for Money…I’ve been telling Wife to shut our Kitchen and just eat at the Club!…Rs 26 for the Soup of the Day…a wholesome Spinach and Corn Thick Soup served with hot crosissants with Butter chiplets on the side…Rs 57 for half portion of one of the Main Choices for the day and that can be shared easily by two….A Tasty Subz Hyderabadi that was Paneer,peas,corn,beans and carrots etc in a Green Gravy served with Rice (you could opt for Naan instead),Pickles,Salad and Roasted Papad…Wife preferred a Continental Choice for Rs 135 that she swooned over…Herbed Rice with a Fabulous Stew cooked in a rich brown non spicy gravy with Fresh Thyme and other herbs served with Boiled Vegetables as an accompaniment….washed down by her with a Coke with Ice,rather Ice with Coke (as she fills up the Glass with over Ten Ice Cubes and then pours the Coke !) for Rs 20 and by me with a Draught Beer for Rs 35….there were just a few tables occupied in the Dining Room on a Tuesday Night…so the service was very attentive….we skipped Dessert of the Day…a Blueberry Cheesecake or Fresh Orange IceCream…both below Rs 50….wonder how the Club,with all it’s Overheads, can afford such lovely low Pricing !…Good for us ! 

…….and we got home by 11.30 pm !….before midnight !….so had a Good Nights’ Sleep

Tuesday Tale No 2

India’s ‘Aam Aadmi’ is truly Honest..Diwakar Patel,a middle aged portly and bespectacled Bus Conductor on a Short Circular Route 155 from Grant Road Station through Tardeo,Haji Ali,Mahalakshmi,Peddar Road,Kemps Corner,Gowalia Tank and Nana Chowk…… I got a confirmed sense of this ‘Honesty’ yesterday….It has to be a Coincidence that my Quote for the Day in Office for July 20 from the Daily Calender read ” You Must not lose faith in Humanity.Humanity is an Ocean;if a few drops of the Ocean are Dirty,the Ocean does not become Dirty.”

Wife had the Car and I had to rush for the above dinner…was in office at Tardeo till late past 8.30 pm and had to get home first at Peddar Road…Taxis often refuse to ply short distances…saw a Bus No 155…hopped into it to alight just a few minutes and stops away…saw this Bus Conductor counting a Big Bundle of Small Denomination Notes of Rs 10,Rs 20 and Rs 50….asked him if he could give me change for Rs 100 or Rs 200…said he can for Rs 900 !…so I gave him Nine Notes of Rs 100 notes for the Change…From what he gave me I reflexively offered him Rs 10 for this favour…..He outright and quite firmly refused and in one motion rubbed his hand over his forehead,indicating his ‘Naseeb’ and Destiny and Fate is written on his forehead while proudly asserting that in his 17 years of service with BEST he has lived honestly and with dignity and with a loyal sense of duty and would not take any money that was not his by right !…What a Guy !

Reminded me of a Bus Conductor and Saint story ” I nearly sold my Conscience for Rs 1!” that was send out by email by my father- in- law a week ago…he sends out daily such messages to over 500 people and has also got a  Small White Board put up in the Building where he religiously and daily pens an inspiring Thought for all….The Story goes like this….A Saintly Person’s reputation precedes him when he shifts towns…he gets into a Bus and the Conductor gives him Rs 1 more than Due back in Change….He deliberates whether to return this Rs 1 to the Conductor…he finally does this on alighting from the Bus….it is then that the Bus Conductor tells him that he had deliberately given an additional  Rs 1 back in Change as he was aware of the Saintly reputation of his and was simply testing it !…Wow !      

Tuesday Tale No 3

This is about my daughter,who’ll turn 15 later this year…she’s an India Probable…the only girl from Maharashtra…. and away at a 40 day ongoing Football Camp to select the Women u 16 Football Team for India…..we speak to her everyday….but she had called us yesterday morning to tell us that a girl from another State in another room had started screaming inexplicably and uncontrollably on Monday late night and had to be physically constrained and hospitalised…my daughter wanted to know how this could have happened…she said that there were rumours that she was possessed!….I told her it could have been an epileptic fit…was important to know the girl’s past medical history……told her not to be unduly disturbed……then she called again late in the evening to tell us that this Girl has returned from the Hospital and has been send to their Room !…my daughter shares her room with three other girls from three different states…now with this fifth girl too they all were a bit scared…naturally !….this morning she called at 7 am!…asked her why she was not at the morning 6 am to 7.30 am Practice…seems none of the four girls slept last night ! and the kindly Coach sensed this and send them back to rest this morning !…Phew!…told her to pen her experiences,funny or scary, at the Camp for later submit it for the Prestigious Annual School Magazine…told her to have a sunny and positive outlook and attitude on all experiences…it will help her in her game too…..firm up her mental toughness too and negate negative influence of  mindgames and make her a better and kinder and more tolerant Human Being….Competition is tough among 40 Girls from over 15 States vying for a place in a 22 Member India Team…told her to keep working hard and not to find success and that it would assuredly find her

Tuesday Tale No 4

…and for those who vist my blog just for Stock Ideas….IFCI has crossed Rs 60 and GATI has surged past Rs 75 today from levels of Rs 58 just a few weeks ago….we have exposure in both and my targets are yet some way ahead 

I just Love Tuesdays !….just like I love all Other Days of the Week too!  

Cheers !

I’m not a Christian by faith but My wife and I attend the Wednesday Novena at St Michaels Church,Mahim,Mumbai for the first nine Wednesdays of each Year where we offer our Prayers to Our Mother of Perpetual Succour and Lord Jesus….we catch the last service at 9.30 pm…the new Bandra Worli Sea Link thankfully knocking off nearly twenty minutes of our travel time

The Seventh one was last Wednesday and it began the season of ‘Lent’

Over 500 people congregate for each of the sixteen Novena Services that are held in several languages (Eleven in English,Two in Marathi and One each in Konkani,Tamil and Hindi) right thorugh every Wednesday at prescribed timings.The first begins at 6 am and the last begins at 9.30 pm.Each Novena last under half an hour…with Prayers taking up 20 minutes and the Sermon around Ten minutes

Normally the Sermon is a trifle boring and predictable…but last Wednesday we had Father George Athaide with a resonant voice,preach a very clear and concise message which connected well 

I even complimented him later on and he gave me a reassuring fatherly pat

The pace of the Novena Services,often tends to compete vigorously with the pace and rush of the Noisy Traffic Outside….However,He thankfully did not rush through the Prayers and Sermon !

He spoke of three dimensions of Prayer,Penance and Alms Giving

Prayer is the Vertical Dimension that connects you with God…It can be through Community (like the Novena Services),Family (The Family that Prays together Stay together ) or even Individual Prayer

Penance is the process of self purification…need not be contained to just ‘Fasting’ by refraining from eating and drinking…it could involve refraining from doing a lot of other addictive things like Internet etc…each religion has it’s special season for ‘fasting’…Muslims have ‘Ramzan’…Hindus have ‘Sravan’ and Christians have ‘Lent’

Last,he spoke of the Horizontal Dimension of Sharing and Alms Giving….two strong messages connected here….You do not have to be rich to be generous…..and give what hurts to give to!….normally we have a tendency to give away torn clothes and things that need repairs or mending….give,what others can use well immediately just as you could too

And when you do all three,the Father concluded,you complete the ‘Cross’…the Vertical Dimension and the Horizontal Dimension !…that’s beautifully put ! 

I hope we have Father George Athaide this Wednesday too ! 

It’s really been an uncanny two weeks…pleasantly so, as we met up with several old mates from our school,college and building in Mumbai

Uncanny because we don’t meet for decades, as all had spread their wings in India and overseas and have moved up in personal and proffessional life….have families…..and then all of a sudden inside two weeks in September 2009,we meet up with them all in seperate ‘do’s’,in Mumbai ! 

Some have become leading specialist doctors….some are top of their profession in Publications,Broking and Investment Banking….some are in top management in leading Indian and multinational corporate and banking groups in India and overseas…some are in Diamond and Steel and one even owns the Mumbai franchise of a Rajasthan based leading restaurant concept ! 

…and one of them is crazy for music…has thousands of Retro songs on his laptop…we hooked it up to his ‘Bose’ system and were behaving like crazy teenagers,jumping up to the ‘Pinball Wizard’ by ‘Who’ ! till 2.30 am ! 

Last night we met up after 31 years ! with a group of school mates and their spouses, from the batch of 1978…and last weekend and after 25 years ! we met up with our college mates and their spouses,from the batches of 1983 and 1984 and with some of our building mates of the 1980s and 1990s,after 20 years !

We’ve bunked together…studied together…partied together…..competed with each other…..dreamt together….planned careers together….played in the same football,cricket,table tennis and badminton teams together…went for student fests and movies and music concerts together…..served on student debate and performing art bodies and committees together……enjoyed trips together…one was even styled as an educational trip in 1982 to avail of 50% Rail discounts for students,when we had actually gone for the Asian Games in New Delhi !…we had taken turns to stand in lines overnight to book tickets for the sporting events !…..trekked together…..we even pranked together…Just to settle an argument that a particular teacher does not even read the answer paper when correcting it, one of us even neatly wrote the whole ‘Pakeezah’ Story on the Answer Sheets in an Internal Advertising Examination and he got the highest marks !……smoked our first cigarette and even first country cigar together !…..gave each other roses and lollipops on these designated days in college…..I had received over 30 lollipops and finished all of them in college itself !….topped up together someone’s dad’s Scotch Whisky Bottle with water after draining it by more than half !……run up canteen bills together,with the ever smiling canteen boy ‘Sunder’ struggling to keep tab……agreed,argued,debated and even fought at times on many ‘worldy’ issues to shape our Impressions and Influences….and I had refused to participate with them in a ‘Qawali’ item for our college day….they were performing “Taiyeb Ali Jaan ka dushman hai ! hai !” and the students were throwing money at them from the audience !….I could go on and on and on……..

Those were the days my friends ! We’d thought they’d never end…….no multiplexes and no mobiles…no computers and no multiple TV Channels….only good old DoorDarshan ! 

We all have promised that it’s not going to be another 20 to 30 years before we meet up again !

Old Friends will be Old Friends !…Breath of Fresh Air in this hectic pace of life

Cheers Old Mates !…It’s been a nice and warm fortnight !

Meet RAGHU RAI, whose Lens have frozen timeless moments to create mindboggling Photography…He recently showcased some of his Photographs at the Arles Photography Festival in France

Mumbai Mirror caught up with him on his return….. Meet him through these Gems Extracted from his coverage in today’s edition…What a Vision !..Great Questions answered with Great Insight

On whether he has a basic outline of the photograph in his mind when going to the Location

“No,Preconceived Notions is exactly what goes against creativity for me.Most of us travel to a destination with programmed minds with all the data inside them.So what we capture is only what suits us.No journey is worth it if the explorer in you doesn’t rise”

On what decides whether People or Landscapes should be the focal point of the Photograph 

” People are always placed in landscapes that surround them.They do not exist in isolation.For me a picture doesn’t have to tell a story.It is the magic of one Frozen Moment”

On ‘Perfect Light’ and returning to a Location for it

“There is no such thing as “Perfect Light” for me.But yes ,if a situation tickles me I just have to go back to it.No matter what.Kanyakumari is one place I’ve frequented….I clicked a panoramic picture there of a large group of people…..there was humour…there was fun…there was space…experience was indefinable”

On anyone objecting to be photographed by you

“Oh! people object all the time ! but the trick is to catch them when they are not aware of it,that’s all “

On Rejecting your Photographs

“Eighty Percent of the Images I click are useless…you must never get attached to what you’re clicking.There has to be an “other” objective person within you at all times”

On how careful are you with Equipment in different Climate conditions 

“I’m very careless.If I have to seize the moment on camera I never think twice before running out in the rain or in the middle of a storm.Normally I’m very simple and end up carrying just one zoom lens alongwith the camera body.You cannot afford to alarm people by landing up with four bags”

On the role of colour in your works

“Unlike the Painter who can paint the sky,green or purple and not be questioned about it,we photographers capture reality.In any situation,each colour has a physical appearance as well as an emotional appeal which you cannot change.At times a black-and-white filter silences the noise of Colour”

On Varanasi and breaking away from Stereotypes 

“From the time I visited Varanasi in 1975 my limited understanding of the place has changed considerably.Now I’m just more alive to several simultaneous experiences.Nature and Life do not change.It was I who was inadequate all this while.I would ask you to go the Himalayas,lie down flat on the ground and watch the entire expanse of space.Someday I wish to capture in one frame the entire 360 degrees experience that’s India”

I have always yearned to breakaway and simply wander off into India for a long stretch to capture it’s timeless beauty of People and Places.Raghu Rai…you have inspired me and rekindled this yearn !

Meet JEAN MARIE LEHN,Chemistry Nobel Laureate and A Brilliant Mind…He is in Mumbai and students of the prestigious IIT,Powai were fortunate to have him address them during their Golden Jubilee Celebrations

Meet him through these Gems Extracted from his coverage in today’s edition of Mumbai Mirror…his philosophical bent of mind too comes through

On his reaction on winning the Nobel Prize

“Obviously felt good…realised it entailed responsibility…I learnt to say “No”,which is Important as you cannot do everything “

On his Transition from being a Student of Philosophy to Studying Chemistry 

” When I was 17,I too didn’t want to solve the complex equations of the World.But later I realised that Chemistry is a creative science and I was drawn to it “

Is Chemistry an Art,then ?

“Yes ! Chemistry is an Art and you’re allowed to think like an artist.Art may not have rules but it is restricted to the colours.In Chemistry too,creativity comes with certain restrictions”

Should one pursue Research in Chemistry as a career option?

“It’s obvious that studying management or marketing will earn you more bucks but is that what you really enjoy doing ? You could be a Rock Star or a Soccer player and earn much more than you would in chemistry research.You have to pick your true love”

Any Mantra when pursuing Chemistry Research?

“A lot of Chemistry is just Mathematics……but as a chemistry research student,you know that things don’t always work out as planned.You have to keep trying”

What a lovely Saturday…after hosting a lunch for overseas guests from the Securities Regulator of Stock Markets in Malaysia and Fiji,I caught up with Robin Sharma,one of the world’s top experts on Inspiring Leadership and the author of several bestsellers including “The Monk who sold his Ferrari” and “The Saint,the Surfer and the CEO”….as one close friend quipped when he saw the photo below ” So who’s the Saint and who’s the CEO ! ? “

Robin Sharma was here in Mumbai to launch his latest Book,”The Greatness Guide 2″

He says his best so far is “The Greatness Guide “….I told him that I like “Discover Your Destiny” the most

Some gems from him at the launch……

• At my first public speaking engagement there were 23 people in the audience of whom 21 were my Family Members
• If you have a pulse,you can be a leader and make a difference
• First thing in the Morning after waking,I listen to the silence…light some candles…put on some music
• My Children are my biggest inspiration

Thanks, Robin,  for the Autographs on your books and thanks darling daughter for the Photo.

Cheers !

He is RM….an Ascetic Client introduced to be by my Banker Friend some Years ago….Very Interesting Man

I see him  once in two or three years only when he vists Mumbai…He came in from South Africa in search of Divine Truth leaving behind all that he had…No, he is not Married

He settled in the Himalayas leading an Ascetic Life in a Small “Kutir” in the Jungles…..His Typical day begins before Sunrise with Meditation and then Collecting Firewood for the Day to cook his Meals and also to keep himself Warm…He owns just two pairs of Clothes and the nearby Stream is his source of Water…He is Miles away from any living Person.There is no electricity…For Illumination in more ways than one he lights a ‘Diya’  

His Guruji or ‘Baba’ is 107 years old and stays in another “kutir” some miles away

He visted me last month and confessed he yet has to Find Truth !…and that he had left the Himalayas

We end up in contemplative discussion that stretches to a few hours

A few gems from our recent conversation for your contemplation are put forth below

On Meditation

I inquire of him as to How does One Meditate…I find it difficult…but sometimes have such a lovely Sleep that it becomes sublime !

RM’s Thoughts…..When you are sleeping peacefully you are in an unconscious state…That is not a state of Meditation….Meditation is when you are conscious and can find silence inspite of distractions….When you can be detached from all around you…without any passion…. you are lost 

On Life

I argue that Life is a Journey one must Enjoy and not be obsessed by Seeking some Destination

RM’s Thoughts….If you do not believe in the Law of Karma,then this Life has no meaning…This Life is a continuation of your Past Life

On Seeking Truth

I ask him why is he Searching for Truth when what you seek is Within You

RM’s Thoughts...Truth cannot be found in exclusivity…If it is found it is not Truth !

In the Bhagvad Gita,Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that Millions will seek him but only a few here and there will actually find him !…so there is Truth out there to be sought and one should continue seeking and hope they are one in a million

On Why does an Ascetic need Financial Advice

I was curious that he needed Financial Advice when he had sacrificed Material Life

RM’s Thoughts…..I need Rs 1200 to Rs 1500 a month for subsistence…Food & Clothing and other Sustenance Essentials,Travel etc..I don’t want to Beg or depend on Charity of Strangers and Relatives and other like minded people around me

On his Need to Travel  

Has he not found Solitude in the Himalayas ? Why does he need to travel to Pondicherry and Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh in search of Truth ?

RM’s Thoughts….A Seeker is always Restless in one place…he will always need to travel…Pondicherry was nice…but I did not get any personal time to contemplate…The Ashram provides you free lodging and boarding but expect you to work and perform various duties assigned to you…being in charge of the Reception area for example….So I left Pondicherry….I left Jageswar,near Nainital in the Himalayas because it was getting very insecure there….Even the Sadhus were committing crimes from petty theft to even murder…My “Baba”told me to leave as he could no longer guarantee my safety there…He asked me to go to Pondicherry. 

Such Clients Balance Out My Life Beautifully….I am truly grateful for such experiences…even if they occur at intervals of a few Years  

Hi Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (RJ)…just caught you on the CNBC Interview on “Wealth Creators”…you’ve now acheived a cult and icon status  with your investments in midcaps coming  good and how ! Titan,Matrix Labs,Nagarjuna Construction,Mcdowell Group,Crisil…..your gains from these are now legendary….Remarkably the billions have not been made in Core Scrips like BHEL,Reliance or Larsen…but in relatively smaller scrips

I have interacted with you a few times at social do’s and had also invited you to interact with my participants at the Equity Portfolio Structuring and Stock Analysis Workshop at the Bombay Stock Exchange Training Institute a few years ago…You had accepted graciously in a second and at very short notice…. and had thoroughly regaled everyone in your patent blunt and straightforward  style….”I’m a sadak chaap“ you had thundered but then gone on to demonstrate your grasp of economic issues vividly and that you were fully upto date on views and model portfolios of large domestic and overseas Institutional Financial Houses….it was amazing you were able to relate,connect and comment instantly with the interesting and comprehensive slides that I was showing on macro and micro issues…this was completely unrehearsed and had gone down well with the House Full Participants….your passion for stocks  came through instantly….you love to share your experiences and are an open book really…one just has to ask the right questions  

So it was interesting to catch you on CNBC yesterday in  the “Wealth Creator” Interview….though thought  the Interviewer,Mithali, could have probed you better

Some Sound takeaways from this interview are tabulated below….many have been a consistent mantra

• Look for Opportunity,Competitive Ability,Scalability and Valuation when analysing a Company
• Respect the Market…Be Responsible…know how much to stake and when to take a loss
• Mother of all Bull Runs is yet to Come
• Spoke to the Top managment of Titan to assess Opportunity,Competitive Ability and Scalability and then staked  Life on it by Investing Well in it
• Has intensified Charitable Disposition,especially In Charities that will benefit Children,particularly Girls…recollects that his late Father never ever asked him how much he earned but always how much had he donated…”Daan and Dena are more important” advised his father
• Has faith in himself and does not rely on anybody
• Aims to live a Life so that when he is no  more those who come to his funeral say “This was a Good Man” 
• Aims to earn maximum Income in the most Legitimate manner and donate a large percentage to Charity 
• Openly confirms he has no Pretences and has no other Interests other than the Stock Market
• His Investment in “Mid-day” has not worked…he is still hopeful but scalability by “Mid-day” has not been acheived and this has affected growth 
• Clearly had a premonition of the current Financial Meltdown by October 2007
• Was an isolated Bull in September 2001…no one listened…… and the Sensex ran up from 3000 to 21000 in six to seven years…the run to 21000 from 13000 inside a year was clearly too fast and an excess and was thus reversed

RJ,you look every bit as prosperous as your Investments…..however couldn’t help recalling how a chubby Anil Ambani had been chided by a potential Overseas Investor in the 1990s when on one of Reliance’s Road Shows he was asked bluntly as to when he himself was not fit how could he ensure Reliance would be Fit !…Anil took this to heart and is now a Fitness Freak

My wife says looking at me it would be like the Pot calling the Kettle Black if I advise you to take care ! 

Look forward to interacting with you again RJ sometime soon….maybe interview you on a popular TV channel…sure I can draw out more from the depths of your experience and knowledge for the viewing pleasure of millions to reveal the rarity of how “Wealth of Mind”and Wealth of Money” are not mutually exclusive when it comes to RJ

What a connect ! “Rock On” hit theatres in India in the last week of August and I saw it at Sterling Multiplex in Mumbai the second day,Saturday…the late night show

Related instantly to Farhan Akhtar …sacrificing pursuit of personal passion for a highly successful Investment Banking Career in his twenties only to realise the folly…connected to the characters of his three friends too 

The Moment Purab Kohli sings, impromptu, Gloria Gaynors “I’ll Survive” and coaxes Prachi,Farhan’s wife in the movie,to sing something and she knowing only Hindi Songs softly and hesitatingly rolls out “Ajeeb Dastaan hai yeh”,my wife and I were hooked…because “I’ll Survive” was my anthem in the eighties when I was in the rat race of the auditing and consultancy line with  KPMG in the Middle East  and “Ajeeb Dastaan hai Yeh” is my wife’s anthem…she is coaxed to sing it often at many do’s

And Guess what ! both the director,Abhishek Kapoor and I have something in common!…our pet name…we’re both called “Gattu”  

And as if God wanted us to keep up the momentum ,my wife and I caught the Superb Play “Class of 84″ at Tata Theatre at NCPA,Mumbai the next day,Sunday…we had missed it earlier and it features some of our friends from Sydenham,Sohrab Ardeshir and Rajat Kapur….the play directed by Rahul D’cunha is about seven friends from St Xaviers College in 1984 who meet several years later at the death of one of their college friends…they all thought they really knew each other well but what unfolds between them shows how little they really did and how circumstances had moulded them and the pretences they created and lived with

A good wholesome way to have ended August 2008      

You got to get to know this Lady….MM….let’s call her M Square…..she’s been a part of the Bombay Stock Exchange Circuit for Donkeys years….she’s not a Broker….but knows most of them…atleast the ones’ that matter…..trades in and out all the time…an addict you might call her…cries when she loses…cries even more when she has to pay taxes…handles her own portfolio…nobody elses

Her passion for stocks supersedes all other passions,including those she may feel for her husband and kids…….she’s more Sensitive than our Sensex !…..I thinks it must run in her genes…she’s been brought up in one big joint family and in a commercial environment, as a big mill owner’s daughter…”Those were the days” she reminisces  

At Two in the night she’s online and initiating a chat with me saying “What’s Up ?” and I tell her to go to sleep promising that the Sensex would be Up the next Day…We’re always popping up on MSN during Market Hours exchanging stock notes and research and how our kids are faring in school…both our daughters are in the same division…same class and same school

She’s more into Technical Analysis and reads Stock and Index charts all the time…I’m not into  it at all…More a Fundamental Guy

She’s street smart and her Instincts are very sharp…she can smell a winner before it becomes one…..”I told you so !” is her common refrain when I don’t heed her call…and when she herself does not heed her own call or instinct she utters ” I’m sooooo stupid…I’m an Idiot…a fool !  “ 

Her Network is very strong…all “Bhais”…no “Behens”….she’s an ace at keeping these “Bhais” at arms length…some of them are “Big Bhais” in our Capital Markets….after all this is the line where you work hard and play hard…she’s especially get’s hot when she inquires ” What’s Hot?” and expects a Stock’s name and I reply “You!” 

She prefers stocks to shaking a leg while her husband,who’s a great guy, loves partying…he’s promised to take me instead of her to happening do’s…he’s invited regularly to quite a few Page 3 events…he’s in a top position in a top ad group..I’ve told him I would prefer “do’s” where I can have some intelligent conversation…he’s not yet taken me !   

She never talks shop when we’re chatting even when I’m trying to “de-addict” her if you call it that when I try to veer away from stocks….Awhile ago I did succeed in breaking through her Stock barrier where she  revealed her creative side…she emailed me two poems she had written in English…here’s One of them….if it’s not below it means she’s asked me to remove it from this blog and I would have done so to respect her creative privacy

In dark nights

Silence speaks

The words not uttered

Linger amidst the arch of the brow

A kiss lies quiet on the moonlit bed

The hours

Are not afraid to pass on

By the windows

The heat of summer fading

Lovers sleeping

Their breaths mingled with each other

The heart is not quiet

It searches its own picture

In the past

The present

Climbs steps one by one

Reaching further onto long roads

With some flowers along the side

Some blooming,

Some yet budding

Some withered and forgone

Long roads

Silent words

Dark nights

Dormant emotions

The hands of the sky are empty

Even when the stars are plenty

The clouds do not echo

Their voice

Silence speaks

The words not uttered

Do they always go unheard?

On long roads

In dark nights

The need of love

Grows

Like seasons

Without the need of reasons

Love

Is never right or wrong

It’s like

A beautiful song

That lives

On and on

In the hearts

Of those

Who long

To belong

To love………..