Warrier's Collage on Sunday January 21, 2024

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday, January 21, 2024 Sadhana Panchakam https://shlokam.org/sadhanapanchakam/ Friends Collage is just an assortment of thoughts. We are not following any rigid pattern in selection of content. So ignore contradictions. Social media service providers are facing issues with regard to messages/links shared by some participants. We are trying to co-operate with them by adhering to some discipline. Nice Day M G Warrier A Collage Life ET : Bliss of Everyday Life Playing Ludo https://m.economictimes.com/opinion/bliss-of-everyday-life/playingludo/articleshow/106997247.cms Game of Ludo : Introduction for those who are not familiar with the game https://www.mastersofgames.com/rules/ludo-rules-instructions-guide.htm#:~:text=Players%20take%20turns%20in%20a,passes%20to%20the%20next%20player B Current Affairs I Economics & Finance Speech by RBI Governor on January 17, 2024 https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_SpeechesView.aspx?Id=1406 Excerpts Our approach to FinTech ecosystem is customer-centric, with focus on ensuring effective oversight, ethical conduct, risk management, and encouraging self-regulation by the FinTechs themselves by establishing a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO). Conclusion The global economy is confronted with multiple challenges. There is a dire need for collective and coordinated action by all stakeholders and global agencies. I am sure the discussions in Davos will energise the spirit of cooperation and guide us to a better future. As far as the Indian economy is concerned, it is now poised for a long haul of higher growth. There are challenges, but they have to be dealt with effectively. With a confluence of factors in its favour, the confidence on India’s prospects is at an all-time high. We have to make this happen in reality. All stakeholders need to be unambiguously focused and take measures to support this journey. II Media Responses 1) Pre-Budget musings January 19, 2024 Chat Room Pre-Budget musings The short piece "Prick the Inflation Balloon" by Varun Gandhi (January 19) covered a host of issues affecting the common man. Of course, healthcare and cost of living are the perennial topics for majority of Indians. The article touched upon basics like falling household savings and without correlating referred to rising costs of healthcare and daily needs. On the eve of Budget 2024-25 and the general election, we should dare to debate recasting national priorities and mapping our hidden resources like domestic gold stock for productive deployment. Somewhere we have to make a beginning. M G WARRIER Mumbai 2) Public Debt and ratios This refers to the article "India's debt pie needs watching"(The Hindu Business Line, January 17). Analysts interpret Debt, GDP and other figures related to economic development and inflation depending on the constituency interests they represent. Add to this the uncertainties of reliability of data and their timely availability. There's one more dimension. India has unaccounted domestic assets including gold stock which remain as untapped resources. Time is running out for mapping and mainstreaming such resources. If our entire valuables are properly accounted for, without doubt India's position among developing nations will be much higher and our internal and external debt service costs will come down considerably. M G Warrier Mumbai 3) Humour on waist "The little matter of the waist" by Dr Tiny Nair (The Hindu, Sunday Magazine, January 14) took humour to a higher level. Though my waist size has not changed for decades, I had never imagined that longer shirts had a purpose. Even if the chances are not frequent, they save us from embarrassment. The article was informative and I am sure, the warning signals will be taken in right spirit by those who need correction in food habits and exercise. Dr Nair has perfected the art of mixing humour with medical vocabulary. The feeling one gets after reading the article is similar to the one that lingers after your favourite professor abruptly wraps up unfinished for want of time. M G Warrier Mumbai 4) Divine Ayodhya feature "Prayers Meet Progress -Divine Ayodhya" in ET today (Consumer Connect Initiative, January 16) made me sit back and think about the changing mix of spirituality and development initiatives in India. Big hotels or shopping complexes coming up around popular places of worship is normal. Here we find a planned city being consciously developed around Ram Temple, Ayodhya. Read with this the NITI Aayog report about 6 crore from the UP population moving out of poverty during the 9 years ending 2022-23. India is moving in the right direction. M G WARRIER Mumbai 5) India story The first and last pages of ET today (Economic Times, January 15) made me sit back and think about the commendable effort the paper takes in ensuring that the reader gets something positive about India on the table early in the morning everyday. The reference here is to the stories captioned "KKR will Deploy Next $10b in India Faster than Before" (Page 1) and "UP Govt Plans to Set Up 'New Ayodhya' City on 1,000 Acres"(last page). If Henry Kravis, 80 who has been coming to India since 1989 is today smiling with confidence about India's development story and if UP Govt is serious about converting the peripherals of Ram Mandir into New Ayodhya City one of the best cities in the country one can trust in the resilience of India to convert challenges into opportunities. M G WARRIER Mumbai 6) Weapons of mass destruction This refers to the report "'Enemy country' could be weaponising weather : Rajnath" (The Hindu Business Line, January 20). It's comforting to see that the possibility of deployment of WMD(Weapons of Mass Destruction) is getting the attention it deserves from responsible world leaders. Due to the private and selfish business interests of developed nations, whenever this issue (WMD) came up, it got swept under the carpet. Yes, the reference is to Iraq war and the recent pandemic. Though the nations with Veto power will stifle the discussion before any finality, countries like India have a moral responsibility to raise the issue of having a world consensus on reducing traditional weapons to tolerance levels and preventing development and deployment of WMD. M G Warrier Mumbai C Collage Cover Story Shared by Vathsala Jayaraman Tact Vs Intelligence There is a small story in Mahabharata as told by Bhishma to Dharmaputra. There was a wild cat and a rat. The rat was inside a hole and the cat was just waiting outside. The cat was tired of waiting. When he started moving, he was caught in a hunter's net and began to struggle. As the rat saw the plight of the cat, it became confident and wanted to escape, but unfortunately an owl was fast approaching the rat. The rat immediately entered the net in which the cat was entangled and came to an agreement. "If you save me now, I shall go out after sometime, cut the net and release you." The cat also agreed. Both were chitchatting for sometime. The cat thought "If I eat the rat now, the hunter will come and catch me.So let me wait for some time." The hunter was slowly moving towards the net. The rat went round and slightly cut small bits of net. The cat got restless and urged the rat to hurry up. The rat rat said "I shall definitely honour my commitment, but can't tell the time." The rat cut a little, started doing pradakshinas around the net, cut some more, went round and round. When the hunter came very close, the rat cut the last strand. The cat had just enough time to escape, could not think of attacking the rat. The rat too went into the hole. Seeing all these things, the daughter rat asked, "Dear Mummy, why did you cut the net so slowly?" The rat replied,"I am not stupid. Had I cut the net, I would have been swallowed by the cat. You have to honour your commitment. You have to help even your enemy. Be sure that the enemy will never change for good. You have to be close to the enemy, but also keep a distance. Dealing with tactfulness is more important than intelligence". Vyasa teaches the lesson to the humanity through the mouth of Bhishma, simultaneously justifying all the tactful actions of Lord Krishna resulting in the death of Drona, Jarasandha and Duryodhana and even sending Bhishma to the bed of arrows by a single sentence. This small story has become a narrative in all the Management studies, hailing Lord Krishna as the best Crisis management expert. Knowledge takes a second place yielding the preliminary slot to 'TACT" while dealing with conflicts. Vathsala Jayaraman D Collage Books Open Book of Happy Memories By M G Warrier The book (both Print and eBook versions) is now available : Open Book of Happy Memories (And Other Stories) https://amzn.eu/d/bzDJUTO Bonus : Book Review "Breaking The Mould" By Raghuram Rajan & Rohit Lamba reviewed @Amazon.in by M G Warrier : An experiment in co-authoring Reviewed in India on 17 January 2024 This book "Breaking The Mould" co-authored by Raghuram G. Rajan and Rohit Lamba with focus on India's economic future is also another experiment in joint-writing. Such ventures expose the common belief that two economists do not agree. Dr Rajan has been keeping an eye on the political and economic developments back in India ever since his voluntary return to US in 2016. Post-RBI governorship his intelligent interventions in the economic and political intercourse in India have been beneficial to the country. Actually, India should welcome him back offering a befitting position, sooner than later to make amends for the controversial exit he had to make in 2016. Anyone who goes through the book can feel Rajan's deep interest in Indianomics and perhaps he is not hiding his willingness to return to India at the right time. Let's wait and watch. E Collage Profile* : Tagore https://mainstreamweekly.net/article14189.html To the world at large, Rabindranath Tagore is an icon in literature and philosophy, a man deeply committed to the idea of India, a deserving Nobel laureate, and a rarity among geniuses who wrote the national anthem of not one but two countries. Not much is known, however, about the spiritual side of Tagore, who came to be revered as Gurudev by Mahatma Gandhi, who himself had an eclectic spiritual side to him. *Source : Mainstream Weekly, Current Issue F Collage Jokes* Lucky me I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now. Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers.. I didn't make it to the gym today. That makes it five years in a row. I decided to stop calling the bathroom the 'John' and renamed it the 'Jim'. I feel so much better saying "I went to the Jim this morning". Old age is coming at a really bad time. When I was a child I thought “Nap Time” was a punishment. Now, as a grownup, it feels like a small vacation. The biggest lie I tell myself is... "I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it." I don't have grey hair; I have "wisdom highlights" I'm just very wise. Don't ever ask me to bend down and touch my toes. If God wanted me to touch my toes, He would have put them on my knees. Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet. Of course I talk to myself; sometimes when I need expert advice. At my age "Getting lucky" means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for. Actually I'm not complaining because I am a Senager. (Senior teenager) I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later. - I don’t have to go to school or work. - I have a driver’s license and my own car. - I get an allowance every month. - I have my own ipad (although I can't recall where I kept it) - I don’t have a curfew. Life is great. I have more friends I should send this to, but right now I can't remember their names. Now, I’m wondering…did I send this to you, or did you send it to me? *Shared by S R Badrinarayanan G Insurance Claim* A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among other things, fire. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued.. and WON! Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated, nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company, which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable "fire", and was obligated to pay the claim! Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars lost in the "fires". NOW, FOR THE BEST PART.. You are going to love this. After the lawyer cashed the cheque, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine. I wonder whether the Insurance company will issue the policy even before getting the first premium? *Story shared by Vathsala Jayaraman H Collage diversion https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenwang Found this link while searching for information about "Chinese Book of Changes" . We may not have time to learn more. But we can always increase our awareness of the vastness of literature available. H Spirituality Collage Spirituality Manisha Panchakam https://shlokam.org/manishapanchakam/ Collage is resuming reference to spiritual texts useful in understanding basics of Indian Philosophy. Today's edition started with Sadhana Panchakam. This link will take you to deeper texts by Shankaracharya. Some sites/links do not permit copying excerpts.