Life is certainly Lively !

Do you believe in Ghosts !?…. You would if you are frantically woken up at 3.30 am in the morning by your Wife frantically whispering that our Entrance Door was ajar and kept gently banging !

This happened to me a few hours ago….. and this is how it went….. Red denotes Fear and Blue stands for Calmness and it’s just a coincidence that Wife is in Red and Me in Blue… often the colour codes are reversed !

Wife at 3.30 am pulling my Legs frantically while I was just about to conquer Mount Everest : “Wake up ! Wake Up !”

Me murmuring :”Uhh!….!?”

Wife whispering frantically and agitatedly: “Our Front Door is slightly ajar and gently keeps banging”

Yesterday was Friday the 13th… many carry a Fear  of this Day…the phobhia is called ‘PARASKAVEDEKATRIAPHOBIA’…. that’s Greek..’ Paraskave’ denoting ‘Friday’ and ‘Dekatria’ meaning denoting ‘Thirteen’ and ‘Phobia’ standing for ‘Fear’….. Interestingly the Fear for the Number 13 is called ‘TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA’…… somewhere back of mind this thought lingers…. I had blogged on Feb 14, 2009 too on this Fear… check it out here Darr kay baad hee Jeet hai !.. Yesterday was ‘Fear’ful Friday the 13th.. today it’s ‘Love’ly Valentine Day!

Me jumped straight out of Bed to check : “But it’s Shut”

Wife : “I just Shut it…. but it was open like this”…. she then opens the Door to demonstrate

Me : “I came in last at 10.30 pm…. and you saw me close the door… so how could it be Open ? “

Wife : “Just Check the Living Room…is everything in place?”

Me :”TV is there… Music System is there…. Medals Showcase is intact… nothing seems to have been touched”

Me (in lighter vein): “And even you’re there…. must be a Ghost !”

Wife mumbles something inaudible under her breath

Me : “Go to Sleep”…. 3.30 am may be an ideal hour to relate and share true Ghost Stories…. but…….

Wife visibly less frantic, but yet deeply concerned goes off to Bed reluctantly… but lies awake

And I return to the Living Room and keep my gaze fixed at the Door…. I had seen ‘Ghost Hunters’ on TV and one scene, similar to our Door situation, keeps flickering in my mind

Suddenly I hear a Key Opening the Door !…. Ghosts don’t need keys I thought excitedly !

And in walks my 20 (soon to be 21) year old Son after a long Friday night out with friends ! and the first thing he exclaims when he sees me standing looking at him “WHY DID YOU SHUT THE DOOR ! ?”…..”I had walked in a few minutes earlier and gone back down again to give my friend his House keys that were in my pocket and I left the door slightly ajar so I need not have used the Keys to Open again”

“Huh….. How did I know you had kept it open ?”

As the Movie ‘Three Idiots’ has made popular this exclamation “Aaall is Well”  in the End….

But One thing I keep rediscovering even after 22 years of marriage and feel rather warm and kicked about…. is that My Wife, despite all her bravado, yet needs me to be there for her !…. and don’t anyone of you daresay it’s only because there was no one else she could turn to at 3.30 am !

Cheers… and have a Great Weekend !

Sinecure….. A Paid Job requiring little or no work

Now wouldn’t all of us just love a Sinecure !

Have come across this word several times and recently here in the Editorial of the Monday,August 2,2010 Edition of the Mumbai Tabloid, The Afternoon & Despatch Courier

http://afternoondc.in/afternoondc/editorial/higher-judiciary-too-cut-from-the-same-tattered-cloth-isnt-it/article_6327

It reveals that a few years ago, a Delhi High Court Judge, in what would appear to have to be a quid pro quo, was given a Sinecure, on retirement, in a quasi judicial body by the CM of Delhi because he squashed suo motu the Bofors FIR and lavished praise on our late PM, Rajiv Gandhi

The same article reveals that the Supreme Court Judge who signed the Order for CBI to close out the Shorabuddin Sheikh Investigation by a certain deadline was actually acused by the CBI itself for being a beneficiary of the Provident Funds Scam that rocked the Ghaziabad Courts…. seems he was exonerated just before retirement and CBI removed his name from the List of those who ought to be penalised for the PF Scam !….. shamming what the Congress Spokesmen have been ad nauseam repeating recently on Media News Channels that this is not a Vendetta against the Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi but this CBI Investigation is directed by the Supreme Court !… and Congress has nothing to do with it !

Mind you , I hold no brief for any one here….. No one’s a Saint here….. but I’ve always held that if it were not for our Judiciary and Media,our Politicians and Bureaucrats would have sold off even our Qutb Minar !….. Sadly and Dangerously too this View has been shaken in recent times

I’m sure there are many more instances of quid pro quo Sinecure !

An Oxymoron is usually defined as “A phrase in which two words with contradictory meaning are brought together”

For Example

• Clearly misunderstood 
• Exact Estimate 
• Small Crowd 
• Act Naturally 
• Found Missing 
• Fully Empty 
•  Pretty ugly
• Seriously funny
• Only choice 
• Original copies
• Bittersweet
• And .. how about this .. ‘Happily Married!’
  

A Demagogue is a Political Leader who appeals to people’s desires and prejudices rather than using reasoned arguments

Our Secular and Democratic country is plagued with many of them….. They forget that with Freedom comes Responsibility… their Cause and their Vested Interests guide their Thought, Speech, Deed and Actions… many warm the Centre and State Legislature Bodies merely to serve these Interests

Sadly, it is we who are responsible for voting them in !… Many even have Criminal Records… flaunt them like some Status Symbol !

A sad reflection of the state of affairs in our great country as we celebrate our 62nd Year of Independence on Saturday

‘Dilettante’…an Interesting Noun…Oxford Dictionary meaning is ‘ a person who dabbles in a subject for enjoyment’ and is pronounced ’di-li-tan-tay’

A New Book,‘Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America’  by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr reveals that famous author,Ernest Hemingway was a ‘dilettante spy’ for awhile.This revelation is based on the notes of Alexander Vassiliev,a former KGB Officer

Hemingway was recruited in 1941 by the KGB and even went on the sly to China under the name ‘Argo’

However,Hemingway’s Information was pretty ordinary and KGB stopped contacting him by 1951

Whether Hemingway was genuinely keen on becoming a Spy or whether he was just collecting data for a Book is left to conjecture

Reminds me of the 1990s…A close friend and also client at the time had referred me to a very Senior Russian Diplomat in Mumbai as the latter was keen to meet me…I had wondered why then !…he preferred to meet outside the Office and he chose  the restaurant ‘Caravan’ for lunch.It was housed in the Sterling Cinema Complex in the Business District of Fort in South Mumbai…It no longer exists now…another famous restaurant,Royal China ,is now housed there….I remember that the Russian Diplomat had paid for the Lunch ! After all he had Invited ! That was the only time I have met him…Cannot even remember his name or how he looked !..was nearly 20 years ago !….Well what did he want ! ?….Information on People in High Places in Business and Government….what were they talking about on business,projects etc…was he trying to recruit me !? I don’t know…suppose he really was testing me out whether my network did include People in High Places  !…I remember how I had fenced him off,by commenting how lovely the Lunch was ! and that the client had exaggerated !…It was an amusing incident though ! will remember it always !

Love James Bond and Love Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible Series…so it was an intriguing thought when I read about Ernest Hemingway being a ‘dilettante spy’ ! ,that I too had a chance to go this route !…It would not have been worth it though ! and thank God the Russian Diplomat too must have thought I was not worth pursuing !…he would have saved himself Lunch Money if he had visited my office instead…he would not have missed the deep sense and signs of Patriotism….with the Indian Flag proudly displayed in more than one place and Indian Gods all around keeping a protective eye and showering their Blessings

But I can tell you this….Top Universities and Colleges all around the World are hot recruiting grounds by the Top Spy Agencies…and Espionage is not all ‘James Bond’ ! 

Just thinking aloud….It’s somewhat akin to Insider Trading in our Markets !…you’re damn tempted for the Easy Money and the Glamour and Excitement that accompanies it…but let me tell you it’s not worth it in the end !….Espionage and Insider Trading….Both illegal…both dangerous…both ill-gotten wealth…both treacherous as you could be betrayed and manipulated by those who you even trust !……. know many of you will tend to disagree !…and you can call me a ‘dilettante philospher’!

Came across an American Term called ‘Boodling’ this morning while scanning one of the Investment newsletters that flood my email daily

‘BOODLING’ was a term used for ‘counterfeiting’ the Dollar

In 1865,there were thousands of Banks in USA…all went bust…. 1600 of them actually printed their own Dollar Currency,which in theory was backed by Gold Reserves…so with this variety of Dollars, the ‘Boodlers’ had a field day as detection was very difficult

Even when the universal currency ‘Greenback’ Dollar Notes were issued,Boodlers found it easy to counterfeit the currency…Interestingly the Dollar was called a ‘Greenback’ because only one side,it’s back, was printed in green ink 

Amusingly,’Boodlers’ were held in awe and regarded as Ingenious Masters of Complicated Technology available near 150 years ago…just like so many view ‘Hackers’ in our contemporary world today !

So can we say that the Birth,Origin and Source  of all woes and troubles associated with Capitalism and Democracy is the USA ! ?

Just to remind you that ‘Counterfeiting’ will debase your country’s currency and gives a friendly ,but evil,impetus to Inflationary pressures in the Economy

Just to remind you that India continues to be the victim of Rupee Counterfeiting with strong evidence of the source being at the highest levels across our borders

Jai Ho ! Tatas !

The eagerly awaited booking for the Tata NANO Car…the Rs One Lakh Car…The People’s car…has just been announced this late afternoon…..Booking opens on April 9,2009 and will close on April 25,2009

You can access their website for more details

Ratan Tata appeared greatly relieved at the Press Conference….gave several light hearted comments…on answering how soon can an applicant/allottee expect the car delivery,Tata commented that it was like a Pretty Girl…the quicker you get her the better,otherwise she will age and get fat and lose her prettiness !…he will try to meet the demand fast…..

Ratan Tata used the words ‘Facetious’ and ‘Serendipitous’

“Facetious” means treating serious issues with inappropriate humour and Tata stated he was not sounding “facetious” when he made a ligh hearted comment

When a Foreign Correspondent asked how he could explain to those overseas this fantastic Interest that has been generated for NANO,Tata spoke humbly stating that the NANO Project actually began with the aim to transport Indian Families safely at an affordable cost and in a robust Car….Everything else,the Engineering etc…..was ”Serendipitous”……..it  means the fortunate occurrence of events by chance 

Ratan Tata said the NANO will be a profitable Venture without revealing margins. 

Some Interesting NANO facts

• Three Variants to be launched
• 23.6 Km/Litre Fuel Efficiency
• Rear Engine 624 cc
• Wide Colour Range
• Initial Annual Production 50000 from Pantnagar Plant
• Real Scale when Sanand Plant in Gujarat rolls out Production end 2009/early 2010….Annual Capacity is 250000 that can be ramped up to 500000
• Tatas moved out the NANO Project from Singur in West Bengal due to the violence and hostilities unleashed by one political party with Ratan Tata in a TV Interview,bluntly accusing and blaming a business rival without naming them
• Emission Norms ahead of Euro Legislations
• Top Speed 105 kms/hour
• Delivery Begins in July 2009
• Fuel Tank is 15 Litres
• Luggage Capacity ranging from 135 litres to 500 litres
• Project Cost is Rs 2000 crs so far
• Acceleration 0-60 kmph in 8.6 seconds
• Warranty 18 Months/24000 km

SOME BOOKING FACTS

• Exclusive Tie Up with State Bank of India across 850 towns and cities for Collection and Booking
• Down Payment begins with Rs 2999
• Forms available across 30000 locations in over 1000 towns and cities…..Online,Westside,Titan,Croma,Dealers etc
• Booking Form to cost Rs 300
• Tie up with 15 Financiers
• 380 Dealers and 450 Service Centres
• One Lakh Allotments to be made initially by random….Expect 15 lakh Bookings !

FINANCING

State Bank of India has announced financing schemes,one of which is as below

• Financed Amount : Rs One lakh
• Term : 7 Years
• EMI of Rs 1752

On Sum of Digits,I worked out the Real Interest Rate at 13.3 % pa

Later this evening there is a NANO ceremony at the Parsi Gymkhana on Marine Drive Seaface in South Mumbai….Tatas are ’Parsis’ …maybe just a coincidence !

Whatever ! Mighty Proud as an “Indian”….Congratulations TATAS for our “INDIAN NANO”

My 19 year old son just called…..” Dad,are you applying for a ‘NANO’ for me ! ?

“Yeah”

Bill Gross,the legendary Bond Investor labelled Collaterised Debt Obligations or CDOs as Bank’s ‘Egregious Concoctions’

‘Egregious’ is an adjective that means ‘Outstandingly Bad’

The CDOs and the Credit Default Swaps or CDSs are the Devils that are will devastatingly demonize the Financial World in 2009…Outstandings at over US $ 650 Trillion….yes Trillion !….are over Ten Times the World’s aggregate GDP….Hundreds of Banks,with huge exposures, are going Belly Up fairly soon!….as a result of this Super Leverage ! 

Kya Life Hai !

Yesterday was Friday the 13th…many carry a Fear  of this Day…the phobhia is called ‘PARASKAVEDEKATRIAPHOBIA’….that’s Greek..’Paraskave’ denoting ‘Friday’ and ‘Dekatria’ meaning denoting ‘Thirteen’ and ‘Phobia’ standing for ‘Fear’

Interestingly the Fear for the Number 13 is called ‘TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA’

Now you know why Some Tall Buildings prefer to label their 13th floor as ‘M’…because it’s the 13th letter in the English Alhabet

And Today it’s February 14…Valentines Day…Love Conquers All…Day to express your Love for Family,Friends and Lovers

Watch out ,this year 2009 even the next month March has Friday the 13th !…November too !

In fact every Month that begins with a Sunday will have Friday the 13th in it…also every calender year will have atleast one Friday the 13th

If you want to know the origins of these Two days,you can google search them easily

Gaelic is a Noun.It’s a Celtic language spoken in parts of Ireland and Western Scotland and even a part of Canada..It has three variants,Irish,Scottish and Manx…It was on the verge of fading out but there has been a revival of sorts and the Scotland Government is keen to support it’s existence….Barely 100000 people have some ability to speak this language…..As an adjective,Gaelic referes to ’pertaining to the Gaels’ 

Gallic is an adjective referring to the French or France…However it also could refer to Gaul,a region in Europe that is traced to being largely a part of Modern France.It also could refer to a Gaulic Celtic Language spoken in Gaul before the Roman conquest

Remember Asterix the Gaul ! ..Asterix and Obelix feature in the hilarious Comic Series that pits their Village in Gaul against the Roman Might of Caesar…no matter how hard the Romans try,these shrewd villagers beat them at their own game