Month: April 2009

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Economy subscriptions thoughts

State Bank Of India- Imperialism


The three presidency banks, Bank Of Bengal, Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras,were reorganised and amalgamated to form a single entity  The Imperial Bank Of India on 27/January/1921. On 30/April/1955 ,it was christened as State Bank Of India.

Imperial is royal, autocrat, and sovereign. The State bank Of India, continues to be authoritarian and arrogant, very much akin to its previous name. Names , give out the person’s character. I am an active thinker,and do not succumb to common beliefs and superstition. But , the audacity Of this biggest bank in Asia , persuades me to endorse the view.

Its officials react  with unbelievable haughtiness,treat the constituents with unexpected  superciliousness and behave with superiority. They seem to be o overbearing and force us to feel that they are demi gods.

The stateliest bank has prescribed its own code of conduct.Its evaluation varies from customer to customer. A constituent with millions  as overdue ,gets a Kingly  reaction. He is cajoled, coaxed and placed in a pedestal. He is   a Royal non performer, since he has faltered to pay   hundred millions- a paltry sum , according to the bureaucrats of The State Bank Of India. The genuine small time customer,who has fulfilled ,his obligations, but met with a short fall of few lakhs , is meted out with bashful arrogance.The candid customer , has repaid the small amount after three months The proud officials of the lofty bank come out with incognito loopholes,  incoherent policies, unjustifiable prologues. The ire of the straight forward management will land the presumption and superiority of the bank in a congruent predilections.

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Economy subscriptions thoughts

Infosys Too


Infosys falls short of expectation. There are no exceptions to this economic recession. The dogma every rule has an exception, has proved false.The downbeat is remarkable. The earnings per share has dwindled.The operating margins have slipped.Revenue for the year would fall.

The dependence on outsourcing gave an unexpected prosperity to the Information technology in India. There was a belief that Information technology was the sunrise indudtry of the world. There was a mad rush to computer engineering, computer applications  in colleges, pushing behind conventional subjects like civil, mechanical and electrical.

The boom was unprecedented. The salary and perks for these outsourcing professionals was amazing .The engineers  earned in lacs. The sudden spurt in economic setup, made the young very tall . They disregarded  discipline, set aside the principles and marched towards lavish spending deriding modesty.

The other professionals were not recognised by the crowd. The age old vocation like medicine , auditing,law , and teaching were thrown into darkness. Their remuneration was not in parity to fresh upstarts. A decade of glory is slowly drawing to a close. The bubble has bursted, The high style has to embark on humility.

The major Information Technology companies have not given out  rosy results.They are wallowing in unforeseen trouble. The Satyam episode has cracked down the faith in them.

It is time for these big outsourcers to think differently. They have to deviate from this cult and etch out a living of their own, How long can they rely on other countries?  It is colonisation in a subtle way. We , knowingly or unknowingly, have subscribed to the fancies of U. S and other European countries.

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reverberation subscriptions

The Culture In An Individual


Culture is referred to as an ideal of individual human refinement, according to Matthew Arnold  English poet and essayist. It is a pursuit of total perfection.Culture is reflected in the figures of speech, in the images that make imagination possible,in the artifacts that we create, in the media in which we pour our expressions.

We are inclined to think that culture is embodied in songs, music, cuisine  films and dramas. These are external manifestations. The internal development ,the inner refinement, the intrinsic value of behaviour, attitude, taste and  speech  disclose true culture.It is the essence , the finest crystallisation of the ways of the people.

Culture is well exhibited in the modulation of the  voice. A soft sweet tone enhances the  personality. The aspect  is found in the  method of speech. A smooth and firm articulation lifts the image. The attitude  is reflected in  the gait. The impressive walk raises the appeal. The impression is delivered in the expression. A twinkling curious look adds charm.The bearing  is exposed in the dress. A neat  attire gives an efficient drift.The stead is portrayed in the posture. A good stance improves the quality.The manner  is depicted in the habit. A fine disposition recuperates convention.

Culture is  an outlandish  comprehensive model of impulsion. It distinguishes the ideal from the ordinary. It discriminates the excellent from the mediocre. It differentiates  beauty from the plain. It  contrasts homeliness from offensiveness. It discerns pleasant from hideous. It segregates embellishment from blemish.It sets apart amity from abhor.

Culture in an individual makes him an idealistic person. The spirit of the man is extolled.  The goal of his ambition is realised. The target of his  exaltation is achieved.

The World hails him as

Here lives a Man with soul so pure and so enlivened.

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Economy subscriptions thoughts

Satyam Auctioned.


The fraud hit  Satyam has been auctioned. The successful bidder is Tech Mahindra.The most eligible suitor Larsen & Tu bro , backed out  of the fray.

Tech Mahindra  will pay 58Rs per share for a 31% stake and buy 20% from investors for the same price.Wilbur Ross offered Rs 20 and L&T Rs 45.9.Tech Mahindra has made a bold move. It has to act swiftly and consolidate Satyam in four or five weeks to gain from the purchase.The scandal tainted Satyam , does not appear attractive , as it is encumbered by potential liabilities from investors, lawsuits in the U.S  and the lost reputation.

The business of Satyam is in doldrums, as it has lost contracts from 46 customers. On March 23 /2009 the United nations h as terminated its contracts. The largest auto insurer fro U.S has cancelled its order.Satyam has lost 300 of its employe. Tech Mahindra has taken a calculated risk by paying a handsome  price.

Tech Mahindra may gain$1Billion revenue from this acquisition.The winning bid has to be approved by the company Lw Board, and the approval will be through n 2 or 3 days.

The thousands of employees of Satyam, the investors and customers who stayed on through  stake sale will heave a sigh  relief.

Satyam saga was baffling. Its rise was meteroic, its fall was still more impressive.Impresive may sound a bit odd at this context, but the brilliance of its fall and the terrific rigging by its founder was dazzling. The powerful emanation of its slander blindened the eyes, the resounding noise it created deafened the ears, and the massive manipulation paralysed the body.

The acquisition is  mode of resurrection to Satyam .

Satyameva Jeyathe  -quoths the Upanishad, which means  Truth  alone is triumphant.

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subscriptions thoughts

A Day Out


Today everything turned out to be different.Morning saw a bout of showers, very unusual during this part of the year. As the day advanced, the temperature did not increase, another peculiar symptom.Sundays ,are rest days for  me,for that matter almost all days are same to me, No work, no apprehension, no agitation, no palpitation, no hurry,and no worry, mark  my daily chores. It is calm, peace , contentment that go to make my routine. Kindly do not mistake it to be inertia. It is a simple life, lead unnoticed, in a small corner,willing to help out the really needy and desperate.

I am deviating from my track, I am supposed to talk about my day out. This appointment is another dissimilar conduct of mine. Going out is the most unpleasant thing for me. I would prefer to sit at home and spend hours together reading subjects that interest me, listening to music which lifts me aloft and do some writing,unmindful, whether it makes sense or not.

A very fanciful  prompt pushed me to dine out today afternoon.My husband was curious and looked at me with disbelief when I put forth this idea. He put me into the car ,and drove to a Hotel at once, for fear that I would change my mind . While we e were having  lunch , a burly looking man came and sat beside me. I ,as every woman feels, slightly pushed to the corner of my seat. He opened out, crying Meena “how are you?. It is nearly 35 -40 years since I saw you ‘, he blurted out. ‘As you were walking down the aisle, I recognised you.I could not resist calling you, then you crossed me without a slight recollection of my identity. My brother , beside me , confirmed that it is you, so  I rushed towards you.”

I felt a litle displeased with myself. Cursing my memory. I looked straight into the eyes  of the two men, took a deep sight.” Oh ., I got it “, I shouted in glee. “You are Farroq and the other one is Haniff.” We all broke out in  laughter.The  memories of my school days gushed in . Haniff , the younger one was a Tom boy, Farooq was a milder of the two.They recalled my Bharathanatyam recitals in school, my elocution  skill in inter school debates, and innocently queried whether I dance now? I wanted to bang them both, as now I feel a gnawing pain in my knees, and stagger to walk. But , I refrained from doing so, as all the three of us were carried back to the days of our childhood. We were totally oblivious to the fact that we have become grand parents, and for an hour revelled in conversation about our school. about our pranks, about our friends.and about our teachers ,who have taught us and sculpted us to become responsible citizens.

We finally decided to meet often . I became cheerful after the meeting. My husband , the worldly wise ,commented ” I can find a sea of difference in you . You appear rejuvenated. That is why , I ask you to come out and meet people. But you always refuse. “. I  butted in saying , Well it is easy to preach than to practise”. The day unusual became usual, as we started our wordy dual.

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Economy subscriptions thoughts

Paradise Lost.


Milton epitomises man’s disobedience and the loss of Paradise in his epic poem “Paradise Lost”

Satan revolts from God and draws with him a legion of angels. God drives him out of Heaven along with his crew and places him in the great deep hell.It is a place of deadliest darkness and utter chaos.

“Of man”s first disobedience and that fruit

of the forbidden tree,whose mortal taste,

Brought death into the world and all our woe.”

Milton”s Paradise Lost is being enacted by Modern Bankers.

The banking community was in an enviable status before 1930.Financial empires were built on strong fundamentals. Certain banks were based on fraud . The competence of the bankers , their influence in the society, their high ideals ,placed them in a pedestal. The profession was regarded as  a  fine vocation, with promises of lucrative  remuneration and resounding success.

During depression , the  banking system envisaged a great fall . Regulations were set in. It came under tight ropes. It became a less interesting profession. Bankers shied away from liberal lending.This period of severe security saw a rise in economic  prosperity. The growth was spectacular .

In the late twentieth century, again Banking had a radical transformation. The liberalisation found its existence. There was an enormous activity, hustle-bustle,and the industry exploded.

Anything above normal, anything exceeding its capacity, anything that is over exposed comes to a stunning halt.The recession has  set across, the meltdown  has sidelined the  industrial progress,has effaced trade priorities.Currencies have slided down,,commodities are fastly going up and  hastily. falling down . Banking has become a boring industry says Paul Krugman..

Banking ,like Satan , has pulled with it a legion of other industries and trade into an abysmal darkness. Satan tried to mend his ways to restore Paradise.The Banking sector should deliberate upon a serious financial reform to regain its fiefdom.

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reverberation subscriptions thoughts

Appreciation


Appreciation should come within. It is an  expression of admiration.,of approval and gratitude. It cannot be procured. The real value lies in the originality and spontaneity.

Appreciation is not a commodity. It is neither a speculative product. It is a powerful feeling that overwhelms all negations . It s a crystallisation of the positive essentials. It is a culmination of  the absolved ,absolute, aesthetic values.

Value may sound relative,may apparently produce a mild  impulse, but it is actually an assumption against which implementation can be extrapolated.

A quiet reading of Shakespeare’s plays Will stir your feelings, will make you live with them, will impress you profoundly. You become a Macbeth, a Hamlet a  Falstaff, a Beatrice, a  Cleopatra.You think as they think, you behave as they do, you react as well ,and your involvement becomes so intensified that you forget the world around you, the people behind you and the experience beyond you.

A piece of art , whether it be a painting ,a poem , or a building , should  create a sensation in you, You  should get baffled by its grandeur, feel amazed by its pristine beauty ,revel in its splendour, and enjoy the charm of its settings.

A beautiful flower, whether it be rose , or daffodil  should beckon you, attract your attention, invoke a  pleasant ruffle in your heart, send a soothening  proliferation and bring in abundant joy and glory.

A lovely babe should  capture your assumptions. Its soft smile  should produce a sublime  emotion. Its twinkling eyes  should permeate the soul . Its spongy touch  should fill the heart with exhilaration.

Appreciation instills confidence in us ,It  encourages and induces the latent potentials in us.It is the highest form of prayer.

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subscriptions thoughts

The Two Decades


Looking back is a an engaging pastime for me. It is not the literal  turning around , but the retrospection that holds my attention .Recollecting the past events, is an interesting and a hand on experience. I stand a little apart ,and gaze in wonder ,as how I tackled the  situations ,as how I emerged  successful in all my endeavours. Behind all these trials  are a series of struggles , a pack of sacrifices, a pile of humiliations, a  load of mockery , a collection of losses ,and  a heap of perfidy.

The past two decades were a stifling suffocation. My kids were my prime concern. Three boys ,in eight years ,was a dazzling proforma. They were impish at a time and very responsible at another period. They made no serious effort in their early school days. All the three, took things as they happened. They were always in the garden, shouting , playing, cricket one day, football another day and tennis the next morning. The lawn , which was neatly mowed and kept in perfection, would look  torn  and tattered , much to the agony of my old gardener. Not a day passed without breaking of glass panes, and bulbs in the garden .The  whole compound would be strewn with bats, balls ,socks and shoes. Rearranging them was an absolute threat.

The ordeal of bathing them and bringing them to the desk was an extra strain . I used to have severe heart attacks. There is a belief ,that a person  can withstand three infractions. But I have  survived hundred of such attacks,and still going strong. Putting them in the wheel was an arduous task , but I managed. The eldest will have  doubts in Algebra, the second will be doing his  English homework, and the little one half asleep will be counting the numbers. I was a three in one teacher, and coped up with this exercise comfortably.

As they reached the middle school level, each one slowly became studious, much to my amazement. Their border line pass, became a distinction . When they stepped into he high school , it was such a smooth transition, they rose to the top rank.The graduation and the post graduation were a simple jump for them They bagged gold in their masters. They chose different fields, business administration, journalism and advertisement. They are making waves in their areas,. They are excellent in their jobs and have registered a tremendous sequence in their avocation.

I had set aside  all my passions, my interests, my socialiing  for the sake of my children. The writing skill, in me .was dormant all these twenty years. The inclination towards music , which I learnt during my young age ,was shelved . I was not myself. I was primarily a mother, nothing else crossed me, nothing else intercepted my thoughts, nothing else disturbed my composure. 

After ,they have taken off , the I in me is surging and raising its head. I try to put it down , by mumbling , that the remaining years would provide a platformto perform and enumerate my talent.

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subscriptions thoughts

Epilogue Of The Meenakshi Consecration


Meenakshi Temple had  a ceremonial  abishekam on 8/04/2009 It was a serene ,sullen sober occasion. The acharayas did a meticulous job. The traditions  were kept live.The major significance of following age old practices was visible when the  karudans kept up their appointment. They came in a row and took a turn round the gopuras. It was a beautiful sight to watch. The belief may sound superstitious,  the punctuality of their arrival may seem a strange coincidence,but their presence added a holy significance to the abishekam.

The Police made a dismal performance. They misused their power and authority. They were strict to the public , but extremely lenient to their families and friends. When mobile phones , hand bags, umbrellas and sachets of water were not permitted, many were seen talking in their mobiles, taking photos and throwing sachets over the vidhanam.   The rules ,as usual are only for the public, not for the Police and Politicians. The latter,  an elite clan , were exhibiting their power by bringing in their near and dear ones .The temple authorities were dumb spectators and posed an helpless .pathetic demeanour before this temporary elites. I call this temporary, because the so called new rich would be around as long as their party is in power,then vanish into dust as  their  party loses its reign. The same  holds good to the Police department. It is a department ,which has to keep law and order and restore dignity and discipline, reform the crude behaviour of the mob, and restrict the deviations and upheaval.Unfortunately , the Police force , behaved so irresponsibly,that the morale of the Public was shattered , as they were driven from one corner to the other, even the donors were not spared.

Meenakshi and Somasundereswarar, the Presiding deities of Madurai , have seen many such consecrations. They are the witness to  these arrogant atrocities and power drunk activities.

They will definitely take a note of such vile behaviour and give due credit to such violence and irreverence.

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thoughts

Prelude To The MahaKumbaabishekam


The consecration to Meenakshi temple will take place in 15 hours  from now.The city is agog  with  excitement, anticipation and merriment.

The poojas  connected to yagasala is being conducted for the past five days. The religious fervour  expressed by the  people, the dedicated performance of the acharyas, the coordinated chanting of slokas , the perfect pronouncement of mantras, and the rendition  of Thevaram, Thiruvasakam by the othuvars  have a remarkable  impact. The velvi , to put it precisely the fire ignited with herbs, ghee, sandal, purified the air of this holy city.

The eleven yagasalas were conducted with great care . The temple was illuminated .  The authorities are  working round the clock .The crowd is highly organised.The thrill and excitement  is writ large in every face that we perceive.

In this age of fear and terror, in this period of  style and  modernity, in this  era of scientific and technical advancement, in this  epoch of political unrest and turmoil, in this saga of economic gloom and meltdown, the  thought of God ,and the spiritual  influence  overwhelms the mind.

We still believe in God. We still have faith in the almighty. We still  like to  unify with the omnipotent . We wish to diffuse ourselves  in the  immense  profound love of the sublime.

God is the greatest giver. He blesses his devotees with  wealth, health and knowledge.