Warrier's Collage October 5, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Tuesay October 5, 2021 Hanging gardens of Babylon https://youtu.be/DmglKtom7YE (One of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World) Morning Prayer Gayatri Mantra https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/herbinger/exploring-the-gayatri-mantra-37921/ Good Morning Obituary : H1 : V S Krishnan Kutty Nair husband of Kalamandalam Sumathi Teacher Nice Day M G Warrier M 134 A Messages 1) Dr Charan Singh charan singh (@CharanSingh60) Tweeted: Unity in Diversity - 29 Countless: rain drops, vegetation, flowers Limitless: Sun/Moon rays, oceans, waves in Ganga (So r virtues of True Guru) Bard Bhal, 1396, SGGS घनहर बूंद बसुअ रोमावलि कुसम बसंत गनंत न आवै रवि ससि किरणि उदरु सागर को गंग तरंग अंतु को पावै https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1444756632399855620?s=20 B Blogs WarriersViews @ Times of India Reader's Blog My first post at this Blog was https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/bye-see-you-in-heaven-7937/ posted on November 3, 2019. Today, there are about 100 monologues posted at this Blog. During October we'll look back and recap the journey of reading and writing which I enjoyed from 1950's to the present Collage. Will try to make it less miserable for those who opt to follow, by condensing the story into one article to be included in Collage on November 3, 2021. But some published articles will selected at random and links/texts will appear here from today. C Current Affairs 1) Pandora papers https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/oct/04/multi-agency-group-to-monitor-investigations-in-pandora-papers-case-2367553.amp Names of more than 300 wealthy Indians, including business people, figure in the 'Pandora Papers' that have uncovered financial assets of rich individuals across the world, and many of the Indians have rejected allegations of misdoings. The 'Pandora Papers', a leak of troves of financial records in offshore tax havens, has been obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). In a statement, CBDT said the government has taken note of this and relevant investigative agencies would undertake an investigation in these cases and appropriate action would be taken as per law. 2) Media Response To The Editor The Hindu oss the world Letters October 4, 2021 Fast forward hunger-elimination This refers to the excellent article "Reimaging food systems with lessons from India" by Bishow Parajuli & Ramesh Chand (The Hindu, October 4). The extensive coverage in the article, of hunger-related issues, calls for immediate answers and follow up from those in charge of governance across the world. We are criminally conservative while talking about resources management. World has enough resources to feed the entire population (including the 811 million mentioned in the article, who go to bed hungry each night). What are we waiting for? When fire-fighting measures like distribution of food-kits are initiated by states like Kerala, the moves are viewed and commented on with sarcasm and pessimism. The observation "Until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos." from the United Nations WFP citation quoted in the article is very relevant in the context of the prevailing hunger situation and means much more than is apparent. With the available resources, India has been managing hunger and nutrition issues relatively better so far. If there's political will, supported by public trust, we have enough unexploited domestic resources to fast-forward the elimination of poverty much earlier than the commencement of next decade. M G Warrier Mumbai 3) Frontline Book Review https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/book-review-devesh-verma-novel-the-politician-is-about-one-mans-quest-for-unbridled-power/article36515302.ece "With well-fleshed-out characters, Devesh Verma weaves a gripping narrative around a flawed hero’s quest for unbridled power. The novel pivots around Ram Mohan, an academic who belongs to the Kurmi caste. A man of erudition with a Machiavellian world view, Ram Mohan wants to learn all the lessons of political artistry as quickly as possible in order to realise his hankering for power. Unrelenting ambition is destined to cause division and violence, and Ram Mohan’s story reveals this candidly. He gets defeated at the hustings twice, fails to make it either as a minister or a member of the Rajya Sabha, but finally becomes a member of the State Public Service Commission. His life story seems to validate the view that unflinching allegiance to caste and political ideologies produces intolerance from which all sorts of ills originate. While Ram Mohan’s life neither inspires nor disgusts, the depiction of his intolerance, self-righteousness and tyrannical attitude adds punch to the narrative. Kartik Verma, the journalist friend of Ram Mohan’s son Deena, is the narrator of The Politician. The plight of Deena, who commits suicide, reminds one of Kafka, whose father made his life unliveable with continual humiliation, emotional deprivation and stifling surveillance. Before taking the extreme step, Deena hands over to Kartik Verma a file of diaries, letters and other material that reveal how his father’s debauchery and cruelty impelled him to seek solace in death." D Looking Back... Looking Forward... During 2011/12, I used to share a consolidated monthly message with my contacts. The one sent on May 29, 2012 is copied below : Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 8:14 PM Subject: My Page June 2012 M G Warrier’s My Page A monthly bulletin from M G Warrier incorporating select published letters/articles (and some stray thoughts based on what he read/saw and wrote during the month). Mailed on the last Sunday of every month. Send your responses and views to mgwarrier@rediffmail.com. Vol II, No 6, June 2012 My Page Anniversary Issue For a Mail Magazine, presenting the 12th consecutive monthly issue is an occasion to celebrate. While doing that I thank my readers and well-wishers anticipating continued patronage. M G Warrier, MLR-116-B, Mangalam Lane , Sastamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram-695010(9349319479) My Page Editorial Last twelve months, My Page has been flagging issues which it considered were important for a safe and secure life. The subjects covered included, among others, social security, equity, basic human rights, planning, legal issues, universal healthcare and so on. It went beyond a mere consolidation of its editor’s published letters/articles. It is hoped that the readers enjoyed My Page as much as its editor enjoyed while putting together each issue. Regards and thanks for the encouragement received. M G Warrier May 27, 2012 What follows: Online comment @VITALINFO, May 27,2012 under article “Paradox of forex reserves”-My View* on 'The paradox of forex reserves'- VITALINFO May 17, 2012-Use of forex reserves- The Hindu, May 14, 2012-Letters-Ban on Shankar’s cartoons- Online comments under a blog in ET titled ‘Funneling money into PSBs to recapitalize them gross misuse of taxpayers’ money’ by Mythili Bhusnurmath- Online comments @Economic Times under the story ‘UIADAI: FM gives cold shoulder to AADHAR project’, May 7, 2012- Hindustan Times hteducation: Online comments under article ‘Agents of change’ by Gauri Kohli, May 1, 2012- The New Indian Express, April 26, 2012-MAILBAG -Italian crime- Online comments in ET on HR in public sector- Letters: Making NPS work- Business Standard / New Delhi May 08, 2012, 00:20 IST-NPS, ‘No Pension Scheme’-IDBI Wage revision and more……………………………………………………………………. AND My Page 1st Anniversary Special Article-Editor’s Choice-Unedited version of the introductory article selected for a book by My Page Editor slated to be published in 2013 COMMENTS/LETTERS: Online comment @VITALINFO, May 27, 2012 under article “Paradox of forex reserves” My View on 'The paradox of forex reserves' It is a fact that our Forex Reserves Management has not been getting the attention it deserved, as it depended on borrowed expertise and RBI’s own priorities hovered more around internal debt management and monetary policy concerns. It is comforting to see that RBI governor is focusing on the components of forex reserves and their vulnerabilities. As the returns on forex investments were not encouraging, there has been some complacency in augmenting the reserves position, resulting in the reserves stagnating around $300 billion for quite sometime now. On the part of GOI/RBI, it was a late decision in the last quarter of 2009 to increase the gold component in the country’s forex reserves by about 200 tonnes, by a purchase from the International Monetary Fund. In the context of improving the country's image as one with a decent net-worth, it is important to manage the domestic gold-holdings outside the forex portfolio also and make them visible and available as part of nation’s resources. Let us no forget the 1991 episode when solid gold had to be carried abroad for pledging and borrowing. Such shameful experiences can be avoided in future, if a part of domestic stock of the estimated 18,000 tonnes of gold is made tradable and part of the ‘stock’ of standard gold. - M.G.Warrier Posted by RBI PS FRATERNITY at 9:18 AM VITALINFO May 17, 2012 Use of forex reserves Use of forex reserves to arrest slide of rupee is a short term measure, which will be resorted to by the central bank in emergent situations. Perhaps, eminent economists and statesmen should use their clout to persuade GOI to take long term austerity measures(austerity is a bad word for the rich and the powerful and the beneficiaries of their magnanimity) like having some control on import of luxury articles including aeroplanes and cars as also celebrations involving forex where there is no corresponding 'inflow' benefit. A recent report indicated that import of gold was 4 to 5 times of the average export of gold products including jewellery. Despite having a handsome domestic stock of over 18,000 tonnes (according to World Gold Council estimates, which must be conservative) at least a sizeable portion of which could be exploited, given the will, gold is being imported in large quantities, year after year. M G WARRIER *Here read what others say about Forex Reserves in 2020 : "Forex Reserves For Economic Stimulus" https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/forex-reserves-for-economic-stimulus (Continued at H2) E Significance of celebrations M G Warrier Every day we celebrate one thing or the other. A Birthday, a festival, an anniversary, Elders Day, Children's Day, Valentine's Day, Heart Day... the list is endless. People wish each other throughout the year, starting with "Happy New Year"and closing with "Merry Christmas", taking a break from December 26 to 31! Remembered all these and more when I received a WhatsApp forward from my niece who is working with AG's Office Thiruvanantapuram. The message was Birthday Greetings to my friend Radhakrishnan who is turning 80 on Gandhi Jayanti this year. Immediately I called Radhakrishnan and wished him "Ayurarogyasaukhyam" I was the second person wishing him on his Birthday this year. Radhakrishnan and I have been friends since our 1964 AG's Office days. Despite my having changes career path and moving out of Thiruvanantapuram later, we have been in touch for the last 56 plus years. We didn't believe in formalities like Good Morning, Birthday Wishes etc. Frankly speaking, today only I came to know about my friend sharing Birthday with Mahatma Gandhi! Beyond personal feelings surfaced on receipt of a WhatsApp message today, in retrospect, I think all celebrations and related social interactions are relevant to a healthy social life. Society has recognised this from time immemorial and observed or celebrated different occasions across centuries in all societies. I said, I was the second person to wish my friend on his 80th Birthday this year. "Out of sight, out of mind" cannot be true in the case of individuals like Radhakrishnan. In Kerala he has a large friends circle. Having worked in AG's Office for 35 plus years, having taught journalism in the Institute of Journalism, having closely associated with several projects of Sastra Sahitya Parishad and being a social activist with a scientific outlook, he is friend, philosopher and guide to hundreds of people across age-groups. The pandemic isolated him from his friends circle. Caught unawares, he was slow in adjusting to the fast changing environment. He had no connections in social media. He's not alone. Many are experiencing the "fish-out-of-water" situation created by the pandemic. Rest of us who are still able to interact and respond have the added responsibility to make such people comfortable. As pandemic recedes, instead of staying put in the new environment we have created with the help of technology, we should quickly restore the earlier social systems including festivals and other opportunities for social interactions, of course, taking all precautions to ensure health protection and safety. ****. ****. **** F Leisure : Contributed by Vathsala Jayaraman Chennai IITian and Rickshawala.... Very interesting! There were two rickshaw-walas vying for our business when we wanted to go to Sankat-Mochan temple in Benaras. I agreed to go with the one who was about 20, seemed like a regular young rickshaw-wala, but I found something interesting about this fellow in his eyes. I was not proved wrong. He wanted Rs 50, we said Rs 30. We settled for 40. Here are the highlights of the conversation that ensued while he rode the rickshaw: "aap kahan se aaye hain" "Delhi" "bijness ya kaam karte hain?" "naukri karte hain" "kismein" "internet mein" "humara bhi kuch wahin kaam lagwa do" I just chuckled "main try kar raha hoon engineering padhne kee. achchi naukri lag jaayegi tab" "achcha?" I asked a little interested. "haan, Delhi mein Guru Gobind Singh Indraprashta University mein engineering ke liye apply kara hai. achchi hai who university?" "haan, achchi hai", I agreed. "haan, kal hee maine JEE bhi diya" "JEE matlab, IIT ka?" "haan, Joint Entrance Examination" he pronounced it perfectly just to make it clear to me what JEE stood for. "mushkil hota hai exam?" "haan, 2 saal toh log padhte hee hain uske liye, asaan nahin hai" I carried on the conversation. "Delhi mein Akaash coaching institute hain na?" "haan, hai." "aapne kya padhai kari?" "main engineer hoon, aur phir mba bhi kiya" "kahan se engineer?" "IIT delhi se" He swung back, surprised, a little delighted, and smiled. "Ok, aapke liye Rs 30" Swati and I laughed. Swati asked "padhai kab karte they IIT ke liye" "bas, rickshaw chalaane ke baad raat mein". Then he added "kismein engineering kari aapne?" "Chemical" "toh aapki chemistry toh badi strong hogi" "nahin, aisa nahin hai" He continued, "yeh bataiye....jab Mendeleev ne Periodic Table banaya tha tab kitne elements they usmein?" Now it was my turn to get surprised. He was quizzing me. I said "shayad 70-80." "no, 63", he said sharply. "kaunse element kee electro-negativity highest hai?" Swati was laughing, and I didn't try too hard and said, "pata nahin." "Flourine", he said confidently. Without a break he asked,"kaunse element kee electron affinity highest hoti hai?" Now I was laughing too and said, "nahin pata" "Chlorine. toh aapka kaunsa subject strong tha?", clearly having proven that my chemistry wasn't a strong point. "Physics", I said "achha, Newton's second law of motion kya hai" I knew this one I thought, "F=ma" I said. "Physics is not about formula, it is understanding concept!" he reprimanded me in near perfect English. "Tell me in statement." I was shocked. Swati continued to laugh. I said "ok, Newtons second law, er....was...." " 'was' nahin, 'is'! Second law abhi bhi hai!" he snapped at my use of 'was.' Surely, my physics wasn't impressing him either. "yaad nahin, I said" "Force on an object is directly proportional to the mass of the object and the acceleration of the object", he said it in near perfect English. "aapne Mtech nahin kiya?" "nahin, mba kiya" "mba waale toh sirf paisa kamana chahte hain, kaam nahin karte" "nahin, aisa nahin hai, paisa kamaane ke liye kaam karna padta hai" He said "arrey, rehene do" or some words to that effect. He didn't think too highly of me apparently anymore. In a minute we reached our destination. We got off and I told him that he must and should definitely study more, and that I think he is sharp as hell. He took only Rs 30, smiled and began to leave. I got my camera out and said "Raju, ek photo leta hoon tumhari". He waved me off, dismissed the idea and rode off before I could say anything more.... leaving me feeling high and dry like a spurned lover. Damn, what a ride that was! India is changing, and changing fast! Vathsala Jayaraman G Quotes about prayers "Prayer Quotes - BrainyQuote" https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/prayer-quotes Like : "I do believe we're all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other." Harvey Fierstein (Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor and playwright. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and movie roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II.) H 1) Obituary Movie and Serial actress Asha Sharat's father V S Krishnan Kutty Nair passed away in Kochi on October 4, 2021. He was ailing for sometime. Condolences to the bereaved family members and Prayers 🙏-Warrier 2) Continued from D The Hindu, May 14, 2012-Letters Ban on Shankar’s cartoons Efforts to erase history by bans and withdrawals of textbooks and pictures are too primitive. Those who were fortunate to live during the Shankar's Weekly era will know the respect the cartoonist commanded from the political leadership and other statesmen. The cartoon row makes the following observation by Shankar in the souvenir he brought out in September 1975 (the farewell issue of Shankar's Weekly was dated July 27, 1975) prophetic: “It was not without a pang that I decided to stop publication. We could have taken the Emergency in our stride, but the burden of running a weekly magazine on a shoe-string was too much. Institutionalisation of a magazine of this type is extremely difficult, for the flavour will indubitably change in that situation.” It would have been tough for even Shankar to prove his irreverent honesty of purpose. The letter will not be complete without a word of appreciation for Surendra's cartoon on the subject (May 12), which speaks out for the country's conscience. M.G. Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram In a blog titled ‘Funneling money into PSBs to recapitalize them gross misuse of taxpayers’ money’ Mythili Bhusnurmath made the following observations: T he government is committed to protect the financial health of public sector banks and financial institutions," said finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, announcing an allocation of Rs 15,888 crore for capitalisation of public sector banks (PSBs), regional rural banks and other financial institutions in his Budget 2012 speech, delivered in March. This is not the first time taxpayer money has been set aside to beef up banks' capital. Ever since the country accepted the Basel norms of capital adequacy, successive finance ministers have provided money to capitalise banks in their Budgets. Budget 2012 is no exception. But at Rs 15,888 crore, the amount earmarked side to recapitalise banks in fiscal 2012-13 is more than double the amount set aside last year. It is more than 25 times the amount allocated as the Central Plan Outlay (Rs 631 crore) for the ministry of statistics and programme implementation - any wonder why we get such appalling statistics? - and about half the amount allocated for the much-acclaimed poverty-alleviation programme MGNREGA (Rs 33,000 crore). It is only a little less than half the amount set aside as revenue expenditure for the police for the current year (Rs 35,000 crore). Yet, it is only a drop in the ocean compared to what PSBs would need to be complaint with the Basel III norms announced by the RBI last Wednesday. That's when you begin to scratch your head and wonder. There must be something very wrong with our sense of priorities. Why are we shovelling money into PSBs when we don't seem to have money for other far more critical needs: strengthen our badly-stretched police force and our court infrastructure to make the justice delivery system work better, improve our primary health care and primary education systems, beef up our statistical machinery, etc? But first, why do banks need capital? Under existing norms, banks in India have to maintain a capital adequacy ratio or a ratio of capital - consisting of tier I (equity and reserves) and tier II (long-term subordinated bonds) - to risk-weighted assets of 9%. Further, at little over half the total capital must be tier-I capital (5.5%). Existing rules therefore place a limit on the total risk-weighted loans that a bank can give; about 22 times banks' tier-I capital (equity plus reserves). Once banks reach this limit fresh loans can be given only…………………………. My online comments copied below: M G WARRIER (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM) We notice draft on taxpayer's money only when funds flow to PSUs and PSBs. It is the taxpayer who foots the bill when the rich and the powerful in the private sector builds a house spending thousands of crores, buy aeroplanes, keep secret accounts abroad and avoid tax, appropriates concessions in prices of mining rights or spectrum space or get land at throwaway prices in the name of setting up industry or 'assembling units'. One gets an impression that ethics and values are applicable only to government and public sector. Online comments @Economic Times under the story ‘UIADAI: FM gives cold shoulder to AADHAR project’, May 7, 2012 M G WARRIER (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM) The much publicized and costly UID project which was entrusted to a successful entrepreneur from the private sector and mandated to be a panacea for all problems of poverty and deprivation the country is facing, has encountered serious problems even from the conceptual stage. In addition to its normal share of constraints like inadequate funding and non-availability of in-house expertise and resultant dependence on external agencies including banks and government departments, the lack of experience betrayed by Nanden Nilekani in dealing with the invisible hands of government is now coming out in the form of hostile statements from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Before the whole concept of UID becomes incredible, Centre should commission a mid-term review of the UID project to find out whether at all it will meet its objectives in the near term. If the results are not encouraging, considering the huge cost and viewed from the cost-benefit angle, the project should wait for the country to mature and become rich enough for such luxuries. Meanwhile, the benefits of groundwork done in the name of the project should be transferred to the Census Organisation which can proceed further at the appropriate time. It would be suicidal to mix up PAN numbers with UID. The UID project may come through successfully in states like Kerala where literacy rate is high and total financial inclusion is a reality. But that doesn’t help achieve the broader objective of UID. Hindustan Times hteducation: Online comments under article ‘Agents of change’ by Gauri Kohli, May 1, 2012: M G Warrier May 1, 2012 08:32 PM A recent RBI Committee has reviewed bank credit exposure to Priority Sectors and debate on redefining Priority Sector is on. Some thoughts come to mind:As public sector banks including State Bank of India and its associates, old private sector banks, new private sector banks, RRBs and cooperative banks have different approaches to resource mobilization, lending and profitability, varying capabilities in terms of outreach and expertise and different mandates from the stake-holders, each category of these institutions will have to be given resource mobilization and credit delivery tasks factoring in these structural and policy aspects. As the reorganization of the banking system may be further delayed, in the medium term, GOI and RBI may consider the following steps:• Redefine sub-sectors in the priority sector reckoning the changes that have taken place during the last two decades and realign the targets for sub-sectors• Ask banks to ensure that their rural, semi-urban, urban and metro branches realign their credit portfolios to meet local credit needs• Instead of prescribing straight-jacket targets for lending to sub-sectors like agriculture, make necessary policy changes which will reflect the availability of expertise and outreach of each category of banks. E.g. If a bank has more branches in urban areas and cities and are able to lend more to microfinance, allow a set-off their disbursal to microfinance over and above a bench-mark against their target for lending to agriculture.• Route all