Reflections

Reflections: Introducing Perry Mason.... : Introducing Perry Mason, a lawyer unlike any other you will encounter in books, or even in real life. A passionate believer in the law, a...

Introducing Perry Mason, a lawyer unlike any other you will encounter in books, or even in real life. A passionate believer in the law, a crazy risk-taker, a fighter, an inveterate optimist, a supporter of people in trouble... adjectives fail me in describing the man! Perry Mason is the central character in 82 books by Erle Stanley Gardner. Each book is a murder mystery, and the plots are unlike any you will find anywhere.  Most murder mysteries begin with the murder and follow the investigation. Not so in Perry Mason mysteries! The plot usually opens with a small, almost ludicrous situation that unexpectedly explodes into a murder, leaving Perry's client holding the bag and in an almost hopeless situation. That is the standard format, and yet the treatment of each story is so different that the reader is stuck to the book till the last page! Perry Mason is one of the widest read characters in the whodunit genre of Fiction books, and is in a class of its own The...

Reflections: Is Lokpal the solution????? : Lokpal - the central topic of discussion, in fact the first topic to actively engage the entire society at large, without exception. Driven ...

Lokpal - the central topic of discussion, in fact the first topic to actively engage the entire society at large, without exception. Driven by the Utopian dream of Zero Corruption, it has been galvanised into a movement that dreams of removing corruption from our country by creating a powerful Lokpal. Initially even I was pulled in by its allure, my eyes blinded and my thoughts totally engaged and dominated by the promise of finally tackling corruption... This is not about Annaji, or about Congress vs BJP. It is not about the prevailing chaos surrounding this matter, and at the outset let me clarify that I am not against Lokpal. In fact, I very much want a strong central body like the one advocated by the Jan Lokpal.  The doubts and questions assailing my mind have more to do with the underlying problem: corruption, its players, its nature and its effects. The first pricks of doubt in my mind emerged when I read the latest corruption ranking index update, which fir...

"One must praise the lone woman, our great Rani, who roamed the fort and defended the city constantly for eleven days while the British bombarded us..."  History... the word conjures up images of drab dates, reams upon reams of uninteresting narrative etc. Only those who are interested in the subject will find it appealing. Thus it was that I, a history buff, spotted this lovely title on the book shelf. It seemed quite interesting from the title, and the aficionado in me was intrigued. I turned a few pages to see what it was all about, having recently burned my fingers on Alberuni's India. It came across as something off the beaten track, so I picked it up. The book was originally written in Marathi around 1883 AD, and chronicles the travels of Vishnu Bhatt Varsaikar from 1857 - 1859 during the time of the uprising. The translation is by Mrinal Pande. This is what makes it a very different book, and very entertaining. It is an eyewitness account of the events of 1857 f...

Reflections: The Beauty of Ratnagiri : Ratnagiri... a land of almost unparalleled beauty just waiting to be discovered. A beautiful town with a nice serene atmosphere, it is a tow...

Ratnagiri... a land of almost unparalleled beauty just waiting to be discovered. A beautiful town with a nice serene atmosphere, it is a town that is off the beaten track, and is not too well known as a tourist destination. Its natural beauty has not gained prominence, since what is highlighted is only The Ratnagiri Hapus Mango Variety. I was stunned at the lovely town, which far surpassed my expectations But first, getting there.... I recommended the Rail link- Konkan Railway. This is because of the superlative scenes of stunning visual appeal that greet you along the way. If you are a photo-enthusiast, I suggest you travel by Sleeper class to get some awesome shots, which are so plentiful that you will be spoiled for choice as to what to capture on camera. No joke, there. Some snaps are given below, taken only with a Sony Ericsson Mobile Phone with 2 MP camera . I did not even have a camera in my hand luggage, since as it was not a sight-seeing tour Ratnagiri lies ...

Reflections: Inflation... a household perspective; a case for C... : Inflation: The Hot Topic of discussion in all financial newspapers as well as dailies; stating 9 - 10% figures; food inflation in the range ...

http://epaper.business-standard.com/bsepaper/svww_zoomart.php?Artname=20111109aE006101003&ileft=236&itop=153&zoomRatio=130&AN=20111109aE006101003 Inflation: The Hot Topic of discussion in all financial newspapers as well as dailies; stating 9 - 10% figures; food inflation in the range of 15% or thereabouts... They further state that this has been  a problem for the past 2 years only I have just one point to make in answer: In Jabalpur, in the year 2004 - 2005, our groceries bill per month from the local supermarket was 1000 rupees. Today, it is 2500 rupees. Milk was Rs. 18 in that year; today I am shelling out Rs. 33/-. On groceries, a simple calculation will tell you that it works out to 20% over the past 7 years, and 17% on milk over the past 7 years You can do this calculation over any number of household products; the results will be extremely disturbing. Now these are hard figures and facts, and are incontestable. As to the reason for grocery bills  ...

Of late, it has become a habit to first read... and then criticize the media for reporting precisely what we have just read with a great deal of interest. Take the latest example of what happened in Mumbai, or many such  previous sensational cases. Many bloggers, readers have made the point that the Media frequently resorts to sensationalism, that it does not highlight and make attempts to reform. What precisely is the role of the Media in a modern and free society? And why does the media write what it does? The Media is simply the mirror reflection of the society. It will only write what the people want to read... they are in the business of selling news. That is one undeniable truth, and the sooner we accept it the better. It is our patronage of the kind of reportage that occurs in the news, our penchant for the sensational and the spicy that forces the Media to highlight what it does. If we did not read it - they would not print or show it for the very simple reason tha...

https://apps.facebook.com/wpsocialreader/100001310925826/channels/trending/content/ePpMw?p=3&e=title&via=side_activity The Aakash... coming after the Nano, is already making waves across the world. It seems we are getting a reputation for creating affordable technology solutions. Another example is the connection of rural hinterlands through the computer kiosk that provides farming, fishing and market information. A tablet at that price is certainly going to make an impact. But care needs to be taken that the primary focus and positioning is not lost. Consider the Nano - it has become a second or even third car for families, while the original target segment of families who could not afford a car remains untapped. The Nano is still delivering decent numbers of 5000 - 10000 per month - but these are nowhere near the targeted numbers or the potential of the original target market Similar is the situation with the Aakash - it might just become a second device of professio...

h ttp://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-134th-in-global-human-development-report/454388/ BRIC.... that is what we are known as. BRIC... all of us Indians - at least the educated ones - take immense pride in the supposed fact that we are the poster-boys of the world. We are growing at 8% in GDP terms (some of us might even think that 6.5% is not bad considering how the rest of the world is doing), we escaped the 2008 financial crisis. Great. Fabulous.  BRIC: Brazil, Russia, India, China. How do we compare? And why are we thinking only about China? Look at some facts now, enumerated below (click link for full details) Adult Literacy: Russia 99.6% Brazil 90% China 94% India 62.8% Even Sri Lanka 90.6%!!!! Life Expectancy: Russia: 68.8 Brazil: 73.5 China: 73.5 India: 65.4 Sri Lanka:  74.9!!!! Under-5 Mortality: Russia: 12 Brazil: 21 China: 19 India: 66 Sri Lanka: 15!!!! Total Fertility Rate: Russia: 1.5 Brazil: 1.8 China: 1.6 India: 2.5 Sr...

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Youth-succumbs-to-injuries-after-taking-on-eve-teasers/Article1-764099.aspx This is not about the enclosed incident... it is more concerned with the response. The first question that comes to my mind is why should some boys have the courage to first of all eve tease, and then secondly back it up with violence. The next question that comes to my mind is equally disturbing - why are such incidents - I am referring to random violence - on the increase? And the third obvious question that pops up is what are we as individuals and as citizens doing about it? I dont have an answer to the first one. Quite frankly, I dont have the slightest idea as to the reason. One thing is certain, at least to my mind: our falling morals standards, our it-doesn't-concern-me attitude, corruption and the attendant I-can-get-away-with-it feeling, are all involved. One cant just state that there is one specific reason. As to the second question, this is o...

I have read a few articles regarding Diwali season offtake from retail counters. What surprises me is why should this be News?  One, it is a foregone conclusion that the sales would be slower - given the burgeoning interest rates, high inflation, job losses et al. That should have been obvious, even more so if you take into account the buildup to the season in terms freight increases, fuel price increases, LPG price revision, high food inflation, rising home loan EMIs (all issues that lower disposable income) slowdown in all macro-economic indicators. It should have been difficult to imagine any other outcome... Two, The fear of a double - dip recession which is being expressed these days. With the European and American drama playing out the way it is, the problem (from a consumer's perspective) is only being exacerbated. And it is a fallacy to believe that this does not impact on sentiment - every little thing, each small factor has a perceptible impact on consumer sentimen...

A chance of click in the blog directory took me to a blog on "Occupy Wall Street" protest... Is it just another flash in the pan... or something more? Much is being made of it as on date, but only time will tell as to how it develops, and how far it goes. I for one will be watching and observing these developments with interest, since in my opinion this just could just be a symptom of something else in the wind. I say this because this is really borne out of the overall socio-economic situation that pervades in modern society. Call it the Rich-Poor divide, or a result of the economic woes, or an overall dissatisfaction... call it what you will. The name or the classification is immaterial. What is far more pertinent to me - and by extension all professionals - is the impact on society, organisations and overall conduct. Protests have been a part of life since the beginning of society, and are nothing new. Protests also cut both ways - they can bring about positive chan...