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Showing posts from 2024

Warrier's Collage on December 31, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Tuesday, December 31, 2024 : Happy New Year 2025 Good Morning Collage has not been regular, of late, even as a weekly edition. For personal reasons! 🙏 Happy New Year to all and Happy Birthday to all readers having Birthday this week 🎊 M G Warrier A Welcome 2025 New Year gives you a once in a year opportunity to take stock, prepare and move forward. Collage Editorial, December 31, 2024 Social Responsibility India has accepted universal social security as a responsibility of government and interwoven all its ingredients in the Constitution. As it seemed a distant goal, the enabling provisions were included in Directive Principles and most of them are not legally enforceable. This position resulted in food security, health insurance and pension system becoming dependent on the magnanimity of the central and state governments of the day. As of now there is total awareness about the need to factor in the elements of all ing...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 🎁 And Happy New Year Let's revive the spirit of X'mas the Happiness of New Year M G Warrier

In praise of losing!

In Praise Of Losing! The Hindu Open Page article today (Sunday, December 22, 2024) "Losing is the new winning" by Jairam N. Menon is a "Must Read" for winners, losers and those aspirants and trainers who are helping others including their own family members to win. Yes. Several basics about winning and losing are covered in the piece. Kindly refuse to be carried away by the elements of negativism and sarcasm which Menon has skillfully camouflaged. In principle, generally, in sports and war, the game is played or the battle is fought, irrespective of the chances of winning or losing. Sportsmanship and fighting spirit are words coming to mind in this context. This year (2024), I have joined the group of Octogenarians and perhaps it is late in the day to talk about winning and losing with a future perspective. But, as always, nothing prevents one from sharing memories or revisiting experiences for the benefit of those who are interested in listening or reading. T...

Audit Life!

Audit Life! In lobbies and drawing rooms, we will find small stickers or framed messages, most of them expressing positive expectations. Like : 1) "Life need not be perfect To be Wonderful" 2) "Positive Vibes Only" 3) Gita Saar : "What did you bring, that you have lost? What did you create that was destroyed? What you have taken has been from here, what you gave has been given here. What belongs to you today belonged to someone yesterday and will be someone else's tomorrow." So long as one is lucky to lead an active life, every day is a new day, bringing new opportunities and throwing up new challenges. My stint in AG's Office, Thiruvananthapuram(September 1964 to January 1968) taught me certain basic principles of budgeting, accounting and accountability, concurrent audit and post-audit etc which can be easily applied in our daily life. This is in addition to the opportunity to get initiated to philosophy, spirituality and trade union movement...

The Golden Road : Dalrymple

The Golden Road By Dalrymple My son Kiran Warrier introduced this book to me. Found interesting : A Timeless Testament In The Golden Road, Dalrymple creates a bridge between past and present, offering a lyrical tribute to India’s intellectual, spiritual, and scientific prowess. His prose, drenched in the elegance of English literature, captures the soul of a civilization that has not merely survived but thrived through millennia. This book is more than a narrative; it is a meditation on India’s enduring gifts to humanity. To journey through Dalrymple’s India is to traverse the luminous landscapes of thought, creativity, and compassion—a journey that lingers long after the final page is turned. Happy reading M G Warrier Know More : https://books.google.co.in/books/about/The_Golden_Road.html?id=Gj75EAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false @Amazon : The Golden Ro...

Management Lessons from Animal Kingdom

Management Lessons from Animal Kingdom* – Dog,Lion & Monkey A lost dog strays into a jungle. A lion sees this from a distance and says with caution “this guy looks edible, never seen his kind before”. So the lion starts rushing towards the dog with menace. The dog notices and starts to panic but as he’s about to run he sees some bones next to him and He thought & applied A lesson from MBA..says loudly “mmm…that was some good lion meat!”. The lion abruptly stops and says ” woah! This guy seems tougher then he looks, I better leave while I can”. Over by the tree top, a monkey witnessed everything. Evidently, the monkey realizes the he can benefit from this situation by telling the lion and getting something in return. So the monkey proceeds to tell the lion what really happened and the lion says angrily “get on my back, we’ll get him together”. So they start rushing back to the dog. The dog sees them and realized what happened and starts to panic even more. Can you imagine the qu...

Warrier's Collage on Sunday December 15, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday, December 15, 2024 Good Morning Collage had a midweek edition last Wednesday. Residual content included in today's issue. Happy Birthday to all readers having Birthday during the week ending December 21, 2024. Nice Day M G Warrier A Speaking Tree : Good Karma Ends Tension https://m.economictimes.com/opinion/speaking-tree/good-karma-ends-tension/articleshow/116222625.cms B India Watch : Forex Reserves https://kashmirlife.net/indias-forex-reserves-cover-11-months-of-imports-and-99-percent-of-the-external-debt-govt-in-parliament-375741/ C Media Response The Hindu Business Line Letters I December 12, 2024 Checks and balances* This refers to the article "Institutions must act when freebies go overboard" (The Hindu Business Line, December 12). Recent history tells us that institutions outside legislatures have a major role in ensuring that the citizens' rights and interests enshrined in the Constitut...

Push Pension, Past Pretensions

The Editor The Economic Times Chat Room December 12, 2024 Push Pension, Past Pretensions* Please refer to the article "The Great Pension Mess" by T K Arun(ET, December 12). This is the first comprehensive article on the subject appearing in the mainstream media after major issues on pension started surfacing around 2003-4. Since the introduction of NPS Centre and state governments and organisations responsible for implementation of pension schemes have been playing hide and seek. The near absence of any organised voice from pensioners/retirees ensured that the grey area of retirement benefits became dark. The creation of PFRDA instead of the logical expansion and empowerment of EPFO messed up implementation of both Providedent Fund and Pension Schemes. The need of the hour is the recognition that pension/retirement benefits are part of real wages and the responsibility to pay them as part of wages, Provident Fund or deferred compensation as pension squarely ...

Mysteries of the Universe

Mysteries of the Universe I read select book reviews. When I feel that there will be something interesting in the book, nowadays, I order a copy. Since last few years, I could afford to buy books. Once I buy a book, I glance through the pages and get an idea about the content and later, I can read with concentration the portions that are found interesting. This book, I received as a gift for having subscribed for Reader's Digest. Because I got it free, the book travelled directly to the shelf, may be two years ago and I am taking it out today. Never gift a book. Thinking that the receiver will read it. Mysteries of the Universe - 2nd Edition: Answerable and Unanswerable Questions https://amzn.in/d/faWBbGP

Warrier's Collage on December 11, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Wednesday, December 11, 2024 Good Morning A midweek edition to report the change of RBI Governor. Shaktikanta Das completed his six year tenure as Governor and Sanjay Malhotra became 26th Governor of RBI. M G Warrier A Shaktikanta Das completes his six year tenure as Governor, RBI : https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/das-leaves-a-capital-legacy-12886271.html Das leaves behind a capital legacy! Few would have thought at the start of his first term in 2018 that, with a post-graduation in history, Das could have led the RBI to achieve this level of economic, financial, and technological success. History has taught him a lot. Sanjay Malhotra is new RBI Governor : https://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/policy/sanjay-malhotra-appointed-as-new-rbi-governor/articleshow/116141059.cms B Happiness My RBI colleague Shri R Jayakumar responded to my message yesterday sharing his experience of the celebration the family organised on his 7...

Making Others Happy

My RBI colleague Shri R Jayakumar responded to my message yesterday sharing his experience of the celebration the family organised on his 75th Birthday. Please read : Making Others Happy Dear Warrier Narayani Ganesh's article on Warm Glow Effect is enlightening. https://m.economictimes.com/opinion/speaking-tree/warm-glow-effect/articleshow/116112461.cms We don't need any gift for our birthdays. God has given us enough and more. Yesterday my family celebrated my 75th Birthday. In preparation for this both my NRI children made sure themselves to be available in the city. My two daughters planned ten days of outing to the South. One daughter wanted to buy me new a pant and shirt. When we went to the show room it took one hour for me to decide on the colour for the pant and shirt. Every colour available in the showroom was covered in the existing sets of dress available with me at home. My daughter got fed up and went out of the showroom. I finally came out buying cloths with...

New RBI Governor

New RBI Governor : Sanjay Malhotra New RBI governor: Who is Sanjay Malhotra? Meet the Revenue Secretary who will succeed Shaktikanta Das as 26th RBI governor https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/new-rbi-governor-who-is-sanjay-malhotra-meet-the-revenue-secretary-who-will-succeed-shaktikanta-das-as-26th-rbi-governor/articleshow/116141235.cms Download the TOI app now: https://timesofindia.onelink.me/mjFd/toisupershare

Making Others Happy

Making Others Happy https://m.economictimes.com/opinion/speaking-tree/warm-glow-effect/articleshow/116112461.cms Warm Glow Effect : Narayani Ganesh We are most of the time chasing happiness. For a change, today, let's ponder over ways to make others happy. This article gives some interesting clues. Srinarayana Guru says : "avanavanaathmasukhathinaacharikku - nnavayaparannu sukhathinai varenam ! Let each individual take care of his soul! Let all get comfortable! Actions that everyone does for their own comfort should bring comfort to others too" M G Warrier

Warrier's Collage on Sunday December 8, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday, December 8, 2024 Good Morning Happy Birthday to all readers having Birthday during the week ending Saturday December 14, 2024. Best Wishes 🙏 and Regards M G Warrier A Collage Magazine The book on my table : Dignity Dialogue, December 2024 These days I am getting two copies of the monthly magazine brought out by the Dignity Foundation, Mumbai. One, my subscriber's copy and second, complementary because the magazine editor Huned Contractor had interviewed me sometime back and published excerpts from the interview in the magazine. A decade ago I used to regularly contribute articles to Dignity Dialogue. Every issue of Dignity Dialogue is a feast of interesting content covering life and lifestyle for readers of all ages. The current issue has a cover story about the well known linguist Dr. Ganesh Devy (75) whose work with the tribal communities across India has been much appreciated. Dr Devy continues to do research and do...

History of Mumbai

History of Mumbai I'm sitting on the 20th floor of one of the 16 buildings in the Dreams Complex in Bhandup, Mumbai. One of the readers is thinking how a super senior citizen in India can put his location map in the public domain. No worries. By the time someone reaches here, my location will be different. Chinta mat karo... proceed with reading. There are 8 flats on each floor. So about 2000 plus residential units, with more than 90 percent with an average occupancy of 3. The vast area where the complex is, was the space occupied by Automobile Products of India (API) which produced essentially Lambretta scooters (I owned one of them during 1974 to 1990's). We are still using the water from some the borewells which were used by the factory. The large compounds in Mumbai earlier occupied by factories and cloth mills are now office and residential complexes and business centres. Geography and landmarks keep changing. On last Sunday afternoon, when we were moving out to watch a ...

Inspiration for perspiration

Inspiration for perspiration Occasionally, the thought "to write or not to write?" comes to mind, of late. Then I remind myself about my commitment to write at least 200 words every day, so long as I'm using the mobile. Added inspiration is, someone far off is waiting to read what I write. The poet Sugathakumari has written some poems explaining why she wrote poems. The link to one of them : https://malayalamkavithakal.com/oru-pattu-pinneyum-sugathakumari/amp/ Yesterday was Sunday. The other half, Sudha loves watching Malayalam movies in theatre. Once in a while we go for a movie and as a side benefit, enjoy hotel food. Some minor painting/maintenance work is going on inside the house. Yesterday also one worker came and was doing his job. Thought the movie plan will have to be postponed till the painting is over. The painter while leaving for lunch gave the good news that he was taking afternoon off. We watched the Malayalam movie "All we imagine as light......

Warrier's Collage on Sunday, December 1, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday, December 1, 2024 Beginning of the last month of 2024 takes our thoughts forward to the immense possibilities in store in the coming new year 2025. For me personally, the year is going to be particularly lucky. The numbers add up to 9 and I was born on 9th! Interpreting numbers is an art. You can always arrive at the number you love, once you decide. Even the numbers in my year of birth (1944) added up to 9. Sharing some thoughts on making a new beginning. Reshmy Warrier has shared her recent article on "hope". Happy reading. Let's move on preparing to welcome the New Year 2025 🎊 Best Wishes 🙏 M G Warrier A A new beginning Long since I captured sunrise by looking out in the morning. On Wednesday, November 27, 2024, the Sun was hesitantly looking up, ignoring the clouds around. I've been ignoring sun, taking the fellow granted as one among the pedestrian crowd I cross when I go out in Mumbai. Suddenly I rea...

Truth is stranger than fiction : So is AI

Truth is stranger than fiction, so is AI The review of this book in The Hindu Business Line prompted me to place an order for my copy. Post-Covid, I have not been into serious reading, as I had 'retired' from serious writing. Still, my love for books is not fading away. And occasionally I respond in the media. Some of my friends encourage me to share my thoughts. I continue to write my daily quota of 150 to 300 words as part of my exercise and some such writings I'm sharing with you all. This is part of that! M G Warrier AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference https://amzn.in/d/9etYVis Amazon Review From two of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, what you need to know about AI―and how to defend yourself against bogus AI claims and products Confused about AI and worried about what it means for your future and the future of the world? You’re not alone. AI is everywhere―and few things are surrounded by so ...

Story of a Gift

Story of a "Gift" Yesterday (November 21, 2024), I had mentioned in a response in our RBI Retirees Group that the leader MO Jacob was my protector in RBI from Day One (January 15, 1968). My friend Somarajan asked me "Was there a need for a protector from day one?". I gave some answer and acknowledged that Somarajan joined the team which protected me, soon after. We three, Ramachandran, Somarajan and Warrier was an inseparable trio in RBI, Thiruvananthapuram for a long time. They moved together, they ate together and they lived together and many envied them. The inseparable friendship continues. It's about their relationship, Krishna said in Gita : https://vivekavani.com/b2v23/ Excerpts : "Weapons cannot cut, fire cannot burn, water cannot wet, wind cannot dry up this trio" Coming back to the story. One day, as on many occasions earlier, Somarajan was taking Sudha and me to Thiruvananthapuram Air Port. I was seated next to him. He asked me : "...

Warrier's Collage on Thursday November 21, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Thursday November 21, 2024 A Media Response Letters November 20, 2024 Inflation and rate cuts* This refers to the report "Centre, RBI speak in different voices over inflation, rate cuts" (The Hindu Business Line, November 20). It is uncomfortable to find the media expecting Government spokespersons and the top brass of statutory bodies to think harmoniously on the policies and issues they handle. The suggestion is not that they should fight like the treasury benches and the opposition in legislatures these days. But we should allow open debates on issues like the tolerance level of inflation, methods of arriving at various types of inflation and perhaps even the inflation target. To discuss and advise RBI broadly how to handle the Monetary Policy, there is a statutory arrangement (Monetary Policy Committee-MPC) which has been working well for some years now. MPC during its periodical meetings, will factor in in their a...

Ilanji Tree : Nostalgic Memories

Ilanji Tree : Nostalgic Memories https://melangeofmine.blogspot.com/p/under-ilanji-tree.html?m=1 I was just searching for an appropriate image to give some idea about the giant Ilanji tree which was there near the steps when we were entering my ancestral Manakkal Tharavadu compound spread in few acres, where trees and plants of every description were there till 1950's. When I opened the above link, I felt someone else has shared nostalgic memories which describes much more than what I thought of writing today. The first monsoon night rains with breeze brought down kilos of Ilanjippookkal in a vast area below the giant tree spreading a large carpet of white yellowish flowers and an aroma across the boundaries of the sprawling compound(close your eyes, just imagine and inhale... you can feel the fragrance just now). The tree was sold to Paroli Illam for Rs112 those days. The timber had to be pulled by elephants and was sufficient for use in the construction of a big temple and the...

Freedom from fear

Freedom from fear Copied below is Shri V T Panchapagesan's (Ex-RBI, Chennai...He celebrated Navati few years ago) response to a write-up on fear by Vathsala Jayaraman : "Our living as a whole is full of anxiety covered with Fear Due to various factors within, and with external influence. Every individual has to struggle. Some are Lucky. Many suffer due to internal Conflict going on. Remedy. Develop good Association from the Start. Avoid Outside interaction if it is harmful. Aim high but not too ambitious. Analyse your Potential within . Do not Compare. What you are, YOU WILL BE. FEAR WILL BE ERODED FROM YOUR MIND AS YOU ARE A NEW HUMAN BORN TO BE FEARLESS!" As age progresses we come across more and more reasons to fear. When we try to find out solutions, we are threatened by more and more frightening aspects which further add to our fears. If one doesn't know when to stop, accumulation of fears will continue. I'll share my recent experience : I started reading ...

Plato's Dream : Voltaire

Plato's Dream : Voltaire Greek Philosopher Plato (4th Century BC) is one of the earliest thinkers who had clarity in thoughts. I found the short story Plato's Dream by Voltaire (18th Century) interesting : https://websites.umich.edu/~esrabkin/sf/PlatosDream.htm Reading the story, sitting on the 20th floor of 21st Century Dreams in Mumbai is a pleasant experience. Excerpts : "Truly you have performed mighty feats! You have divided your world into two parts; and, to prevent them from communicating with each other, placed a vast collection of waters between the two hemispheres. The inhabitants must perish with cold under both your poles, and be scorched to death under the equator. You have, in your great prudence, formed immense deserts of sand, so all who travel over them may die with hunger and thirst. I have no fault to find with your cows, sheep, cocks, and hens; but can never be reconciled to your serpents and spiders. Your onions and artichokes are very good thing...

Warrier's Collage on Int'l Accounting Day 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Int'l Accounting Day, 2024 Accounting was part of my career throughout. But I was moulded to what I am today, during the 40 months in AG's Office Thiruvananthapuram (1964-68). Of course, from Cash Section in the Regional PF Commissioner's Office (Thiruvananthapuram 1963-64) to the Department of Government & Bank Accounts, RBI (2001-03) there was an accounting component in work which I enjoyed. So, let's celebrate the day. Regards M G Warrier A International Accounting Day https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/accounting-day/ International Accounting Day is all about promoting the accounting profession. It seeks to give people the opportunity to network among their colleagues and aims to provide the opportunity to continue education for those interested in the industry. B Collage Books The book on my table WHO is EQUAL? The equality code of the constitution By Saurabh Kripal Who Is Equal: The Equality Code of th...

Spiritual Atheist

Spiritual Atheist : Sumit Paul (Speaking Tree, ET, November 8, 2024) Most of the atheists I've come across claim to be non-believers in God and consider believers to be an illiterate class needing to be helped to understand the stupidity in believing in something which is not amenable to direct perception. Of course, the reverse is also true, as believers don't have a high opinion about atheists. One more category who call themselves iconoclasts is also there, but they have no intention to change believers and atheists. The statement "I don't believe in God, but I am not an atheist" attributed to Albert Camus is interesting. Like HG Wells tried to explain the inevitability of the fourth dimension time for the existence of three-dimensional objects, God is an inevitable necessity for athiests to explain they don't believe in God. Iconoclast by definition is a person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions. Albert Camus's philosophy i...

The Day After Diwali

The Day After Diwali Yesterday (October 31), despite my passing observation about the monkey-character of mind, a friend wondered how one can connect a poem essentially lamenting about the agony of the lover not caring enough and age-related issues post-eighty. Lazy me never reads anything written by me a second time. No proof-reading before final print order. Someone who struggled to correct my spelling and grammar is raising his eyebrows touching the specs-frame! I loved reading this 'Algo of Blisstech' by 'Anonymous' published in ET on the tomorrow of Diwali 2024. The symbolic Diya 🪔 speaks a lot. No one really cares to sit back and think the day after (any event) like this. But journalists get a holiday 24 hours late. This year, I don't know the logic, some others also had to work on Diwali 🎇 Nice Day M G Warrier

Krishna, You Know Me Not!

Krishna, You Know Me Not! Long ago Sugathakumari had written a Malayalam poem titled "Krishna, Neeyenne Ariyilla!" (Krishna, You Don't Know Me!). https://ministhysnair.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/krishna-you-know-me-not-poetry-translation-from-malayalam/ I leave the poem for you to read and contemplate. I really started writing something else. This is an age-related problem, jumping from one thought to another, you will try to console me. Really it's not. I've been living with this from childhood and it is my good luck 🙏 that my mind developed the skills to jump from branch to branch and tree to tree and when necessary from one compound to another without getting injured beyond repair! When I read scriptures I always enjoy reading the "Phalasruti" first. To my limited knowledge of religious literature and philosophy, Krishna is the only incarnation we can depend in an emergency. Like some political parties, once you 'surrender', Krishna accep...

Diwali Musings

Honestly I was not thinking about sharing any message today other than wishing Happy Diwali 🎇🪔 to you all 🙏 That was till I received today's Times of India. These days, I first glance through the edit pages of newspapers first. Reason : News on the first page and full page ads preceding first page can wait! When I read the Ramana Maharshi quote in the Sacred Space I changed my mind. Remembered a Sanskrit stanza "Anyatha Chintitam Karyam Daivamanyatra Chintayet!" which my father used to quote often. My mind is a monkey with no training. It had no business to jump to what Arun Shourie wrote about the agony Ramana Maharshi went through with his body in the context of today's quote. My mind connected the words "this hell-like house called body is me, is Narak himself" and the suggestion that "To destroy that false belief and let the self shine as Self, is Deepavali 🎇 " I refuse to elaborate. Happy Diwali 🪔 M G Warrier

Warrier's Collage on Diwali 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On DIWALI, 2024 Happy Diwali 🪔 🪔 🪔 🎇 Good Morning Every celebration is a reminder that we belong to a species meant to live in harmony in the community, country and the Universe where each one of us get a destined limited time. In a sense, finding happiness or pursuing unrealistic goals which later we find to be mirages is a choice always available. HAPPY DIWALI 🪔 M G Warrier

Warrier's Collage on Infantry Day 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Infantry Day, 2024 Good Morning October 27 is observed in India as Infantry Day : https://www.tnpscthervupettagam.com/currentaffairs-detail/infantry-day-%E2%80%93-october-27?cat=important-days#:~:text=It%20was%20first%20infantry%20action,and%20dedicated%20service%20to%20nation Today's Collage remembers the sacrifice by jawans. Nice Day M G Warrier A Collage friends* All in 20 minutes After a long interval, last Wednesday (October 23, 2024) I thought of spending some morning time in the garden area. Our residential complex has a large garden area where children play, elders walk and all others can meet, play, do exercise or simply sit together and chat anytime of the day. While entering the garden area, I met an old time friend Ranade who stays on a different floor in our 20 storey building. When he was working, I used to meet him in the lobby or the lift occasionally. After he retired, occasions we meet are few and far between....

Who's satisfied here?

Who is satisfied here? https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/who-is-satisfied-here/m-lite Excerpts : "Desires are infinite. It's almost impossible to fulfil all of them. It’s like a mirage-effect wherein a thirsty person runs towards a reflection of water in a desert but that reflection keeps vanishing. Sadly, the man continues running in the desert. Yet, there are a few people who are satisfied with whatever they have and they live their life to the fullest. Who are they?..." Yesterday I happened to see a WhatsApp message. One young lady is unhappy and frustrated as the connection chord of her iPhone charger is short. Another elderly lady is saying she has to walk 8 km everyday to bring water. Bhagavad Gita on satisfaction https://gitadaily.com/satisfaction-is-not-just-a-condition-but-also-a-choice/#:~:text=The%20Bhagavad%2Dgita%20(17.16),fasting%20on%20a%20holy%20day Excerpts : "But then, how can we ever have peace and joy if we stay forever dissatisfied? And w...

Speaking Tree : Economic Times October 22, 2024

Speaking Tree Everyday, Speaking Tree appears in Times of India and Economic Times. The content would look familiar and many of us are tempted to postpone reading because more spicy content is always waiting. Last few years, I have been trying to read this column whenever I come across. Till pre-pandemic days I used to get the Times of India Sunday "Speaking Tree" an 8 page pull out (priced 3 rupees) dedicated to spiritual thoughts and allied subjects. It used to contain interesting articles and quotes from Gita, Bible, Quran and Grantha Saheb. Yesterday's ET Speaking Tree https://m.economictimes.com/opinion/speaking-tree/sometimes-i-wish-/articleshow/114436497.cms brought memories of "Time Machine" by H G Wells : Excerpts from Amazon Review : "Embark on a captivating adventure with H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Witness humanity's future, explore the depths of time, and ponder on profound questions. This unabridged edition guarantees an im...

Warrier's Collage on National Nuts Day 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On National Nuts Day, 2024 Good Morning Occasional Midweek edition of Collage is brought out when more than one subject is covered in a daily message. Regards M G Warrier Speaking Tree https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/a-calm-mind-is-the-main-ingredient-of-success/ The Bhagwad Gita speaks of serenity of mind as the main ingredient of success. When the mind is calm, intellect is sharp, and action is brilliant. However intelligent or talented you may be, if the mind is agitated, intellect cannot think properly, and action is flawed. No business school in the world addresses this issue. A AI : Nakali Intelligence? The pocket cartoon under Sacred space in The Times of India on October 21, 2024 by Ginni Rometty which just tells us "The key to success with AI is not just having the right data, but also asking the right questions" made me sit back and think. The statement said what I wanted to say and was tr...

Warrier's Collage on National Solidarity Day 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday, October 20, 2024 Prayer 🙏 Vishnu Sahasranamam https://youtu.be/4sOfZIWeZqM?si=DB53CtoSmXZQnCRt A Collage Editorial Universal healthcare* M G Warrier It's high time India chalks out a plan to provide healthcare to all its citizens, irrespective of their economic status. Other countries are working toward it and have already moved passed us. If the scenario has to improve, we must act faster. Sadly, from Centre and states, so far, only sporadic efforts responding to the needs of specific categories of beneficiaries are being thought of. This includes health insurance for elders, improvement in facilities in primary health centres by state governments and so on. National health cover to address access and affordability issues for ensuring universal healthcare is an idea whose time has come in India. Of late, for compelling reasons, including the comparisons with nations that have moved passed us in this respect, sporadic ...

WORLD STUDENTS' DAY 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On World Students' Day, 2024 Friends Today is World Students' Day. Collage is for students of all ages. I thank all readers of Collage for their kind patronage which keeps this experiment going. Today is my 80th Birthday. I started receiving greetings and blessings two or three days in advance 🙏 I'm humbled by your kind words of love and affection. Though it would have been more appropriate to include some of the greetings received, due to several constraints, I am copying below only one of them and my response thereto in this issue. First about World Students' Day. M G Warrier M 134 A World Students' Day https://www.business-standard.com/amp/world-news/world-students-day-2024-celebrating-apj-abdul-kalam-s-birth-anniversary-nc-124101400348_1.html October 15, Abdul Kalam's Birthday is observed as World Students' Day since 2010 : B Greetings* from Vathsala Jayaraman, Chennai Do you get inspired by famous journ...

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction As always, I will recall my own perception about job in the first place and how my own career progressed over a fairly long period of 40 years. By 1963, when I left college and started hunting for a job, I was just 6 months older than the minimum age requirement, which was 18, for applying for any job in India. Aptitude based career option or acquiring skills for a job that one would like to do were all unheard of. Of course, the affluent parents sent their children to medical colleges and if admission for medicine was difficult, the next option was engineering. In my case, college education was a bonanza thrust upon me as I had to anyway wait for almost 4 years when I passed SSLC in 1959. Remembered all these when I read Ratan Tata's view that "I don't believe in work life balance. I believe in work life integration..." Let's try to understand what was in Ratan Tata's mind when he said this. He has gone a long way in implementing the pri...

Kenopanishad

KENOPANISHAD I'm still glancing through at random, pages of Arun Shourie's book on my table. Every page I try to read takes me back to something I had come across while trying to read some other books. This is the problem one faces when one refuses to be disciplined while reading. But, we can't read a newspaper, a poem, an essay, background notes for a board meeting or budget documents with the same kind of devotion or time allotment per page. This is another subject we will take up another day. Yesterday, I was reminded of the initial stanzas of Kenopanishad : https://www.swaminarayan.org/essays/2009/2204.htm Excerpts: A DISCIPLE’S CURIOSITY The Kena Upanishad begins with a question from an inquisitive disciple: ‘केनेषितं पतति प्रेषितं मनः केन प्राणः प्रथमः प्रैति युक्तः। केनेषितां वाचमिमां वदन्ति चक्षुः श्रोत्रं क उ देवो युनक्ति॥’ – ‘Keneshitam patati preshitam manaha kena prãnaha prathamaha praiti yuktaha. Keneshitãm vãchamimãm vadanti chakshuhu shrotram ka u devo yun...

Ratan Tata 1937-2024

Media Reports : "Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata died at a Mumbai hospital late on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. The chairman emeritus of the Tata group was 86. For the past few days, Mr. Tata was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai. Mr. Tata was hospitalised on Monday (October 7, 2024) owing to age-related issues, and to control his blood pressure." (On Monday, when Tata was hospitalized, a message was sent out on his behalf that he was well and had been admitted for a routine health check up.) Ratan Tata lived a full life with satisfaction in all his endeavours, handling success and failure with equanimity. May his soul rest in peace 🙏 M G Warrier

Devi Delivers From The Dark

"Thamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya" This was the caption I gave to my first Blog post, more than a decade ago. Reshmy helped me to start warriersblog.com then. The first post was the last post that year! Now the blog has lakhs of cumulative views, thousands of posts and daily views are consistently in 3 digits. Last year, thinking that every beginning should have a decent end, I decided to discontinuing renewal of my blog link. When I shared the thought with Kiran, he renewed the subscription by 5 years. So www.warriersblog.com is live today 🙏 https://m.economictimes.com/opinion/speaking-tree/devi-delivers-from-the-dark/articleshow/114021942.c I picked up this Speaking Tree article by MN Kundu, primarily because it sinks with the theme of the book I'm reading. If Arun Shourie had remembered the context of Durga in the way Kundu has explained here "Durga Puja" would have received a mention, and perhaps a chapter in the book "Preparing For Death" (I would l...

Book Review

My reading habits since childhood can be compared to the old saying in Malayalam about "Vaidyan kattil kayariya pole" (The ayurvedic physician who enters the forest finds every plant and tree of medicinal value and forgets for what purpose he entered the forest in the first place : which was to collect some essential ingredients for use immediately). In the process I didn't complete reading books selected by me in any category, be it about spirituality, literature or Economics. Now I depend on good reviews. Here's one in yesterday's The Hindu Magazine : 2024 Booker Prize shortlisted "Stone Yard Devotional" By Charlotte Wood reviewed by Sudipta Datta. The review gives you the feel of having glanced through the book. Once you complete reading the review, some thoughts about the content of the book will linger on in your mind. It could be mice menace, "death, a dreadful truth" or "And yet" depending on what your blotting paper absorbs fa...

Warrier's Collage on Sunday October 6, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday, October 6, 2024 (Sunday Collage) Good Morning Happy Birthday to all friends who have Birthday during this week. Today is my grandson Vihaan's Birthday. Happy Birthday to him and Best Wishes 🙏 and Nice Day for all. M G Warrier A Collage Book Review Preparing For Death : Arun Shourie https://www.amazon.in/gp/aw/review/0670092398/RTFYD41ABU6FU?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_dprv_WKM976AMK1M3BQ1AS8D9&language=en-IN A Manual for understanding Life Reviewed in India on 5 October 2024 This book was published during the pandemic (2020). After reading some reviews, I had decided not to buy this book. When a senior colleague suggested a mutual friend may consider reading and reviewing this book, based on the impression I got from initial reviews in the media, I discouraged the idea. I didn't want our octogenarian friend to get depressed by laments on fear of the inevitable. But later I felt that the reviews of this book I had access, ...

Preparing For Death : Arun Shourie

This morning I was reading the last twelve pages of the book "Preparing for Death" by Arun Shourie. The book has 500 plus pages and I have only glanced through pages 1 to 488. Last 12 pages, I was reading word by word, line by line, para by para. Now, I can, without any hesitation, recommend this book to those who have been following my writings during the last two decades. It's very rarely that one will be able to agree with another person's thoughts on several dimensions of life 🙏. Here, I'm confidently endorsing Arun Shourie's conclusions about life, death and life after death. If confused, the only option to get more clarity is to read the book. Regards M G Warrier

Thoughts On Gandhi Jayanti 2024

Thoughts on Gandhi Jayanti 2024 Soothing words cannot satisfy the hungry. The Rich & The Powerful who took over the reins of governance from the British gave a lot of reading material to the educated poor and hungry. From an excellent Constitution to several reports on the doables to improve the living conditions. The allocation of two percent of surplus profits for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is symbolic of the space available in the hearts of the rich for the poor and hungry. With exceptions here and there, the individuals and families remember the "Daridra Narayana" and the real NARAYANA only when reminded by some health issues or when caught red-handed doing something corrupt or criminal. There's no record of M K Gandhi's thoughts during the short period he survived independence. On his Birthday, let us read his "Experiments With Truth" once again 🙏 M G Warrier

Home Video : Dance By Reshmy Warrier

Home Video Dance by Reshmy Warrier https://youtu.be/7fEU43Monho?si=Vy4LntW7qbd8pmnw

Warrier's Collage on Thursday September 26, 2024 : Midweek Edition

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Midweek Collage) Hutt River Principality : The smallest micronation in the world https://youtu.be/gmS-yjAgtaM?si=4ppcbjAeuzqAu-HB Good Morning Midweek edition of Collage may carry some links and write ups already shared with some readers as part of daily messages. M G Warrier M 134 A Media Responses I The Economic Times September 23, 2024 Chat Room Alarming rise in unclaimed deposits This refers to the report "PSBs to Pitch in for Faster Settlement of Unclaimed Deposits, Suggest Steps to RBI" (Economic Times, September 23). Any move on the part of banks to ensure that the sums entrusted with them in good faith by savers are returned safe should be welcomed. Deposits become "unclaimed" only after remaining inoperative for a long duration. But accumulation of huge sums in such categories is not a healthy trend. The rise in such deposits in recent years is at unacceptably high...