Warrier's Friends' Collage, July, 2026

Warrier's Friends' Collage, July 2026 Good Morning Random Reading : Loneliness & Solitude A rainy Sunday morning in Mumbai cannot be conducive for writing about current affairs, philosophy or pure gossips. Neither for reading a book one loves. But the day doesn't dawn with a menu card, to chose from. Every next minute unfolds with its own agenda. This morning, I was reading some pages from "The Outsider" by Albert Camus (1913-1960). They related to a prisoner waiting execution being counselled by a messenger of God. We may not be able to fathom the thoughts of other individuals who are alone or love solitude. Remembered M T Vasudevan Nair's "Aalkoottathil Thaniye" (Alone in the crowd). Each one of us is alone at some stage in life. Not necessarily by choice. We, in many situations get a choice, though. Alexander Pope's classic work is titled "Ode on Solitude", a poem he wrote around the age of 12. It beautifully celebrates the ideal of a self-sufficient, peaceful life, where a person is perfectly content with a small plot of inherited land and simple, quiet pleasures. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46561/ode-on-solitude Bonus : I Short Tata Stories (SHO-T-S) JRD Tata loses a pen!* JRD Tata, then Chairman of the Tata group, and senior Tata Directors used to meet for lunch at Bombay House (the Tata Group's headquarters) every day. One day, JRD came to lunch, sad that he had lost his favourite pen. He used to always carry a Parker pen set - a fountain pen and a ball pen. "Look", he said sadly, "I have lost the ball pen. I don't know where it has gone. I have looked all over...but it's gone." One of the Directors in the lunch room that day was Dr. Jamshed (JJ) Irani of Tata Steel. He made note of JRD Tata's loss. A few weeks later, when he was visiting London, he went to a small shop near Selfridges specialising in pens, and found a ball pen identical to the one JRD had lost. He bought it immediately. The next time he met JRD Tata, he presented that pen to him. JRD was delighted. "Yes, Jamshed, it is exactly like the one I lost." For the first one or two minutes, he used it and tried it out. Then, Dr. Irani saw JRD's expression change slowly. After a couple of minutes, he gave the ball pen back to Dr. Irani, and said - "Thank you for the thought. This is exactly what I wanted, but I cannot accept it." "Why?" asked Dr. Irani, "I thought you were looking for this." JRD answered - "Yes, Jamshed. But it is a principle of mine not to accept any gifts from any of my colleagues at work. If I did, then I know my colleagues would try to outdo each other and give me exorbitant gifts." Dr. Irani tried to persuade him. "But Sir, nobody would know that I have given you this pen. You can say that you found it in your room. I am not going to go around saying that I have given JRD an identical pen." JRD responded - "Jamshed, I know you will not do any such thing. But I would know. I would know that I accepted this gift against my principles. I am sorry, but I cannot accept it." Each of us decides the principles by which we lead our lives. The principles that we will stand by, even if no one is looking or speaking about them. The principles that define who we really are. This story of JRD Tata's lost ball pen can help us reflect on what our own life's principles are. (This story has been narrated by the late Dr. J.J. Irani (1936-2022) in his autobiography, "Doctor Steel", published by Penguin Random House(2023). This book, with many more beautiful anecdotes that can inspire you, is now available for sale on Amazon on this link. https://lnkd.in/dUm8q7if.) *Story shared by R Jayakumar, Ex-RBI II Blog* https://econo-reflexions.blogspot.com/2026/07/time-for-regulatory-framework-for-home.html *Dr T V Gopalakrishnan, Ex-RBI