Viren Rasquinha retires from Hockey to pursue education

Viren Rasquinha has retired from Hockey to pursue management education from ISB.

I would be honest. I would not say that I follow Hockey and I cant name all 11 players that make up the Team India. Last I followed Hockey was when Dhanraj Pillai was the captain and Ashish Balal was the goalie. Apart from Viren, I remember names like Prabhjot Singh and GaganAjit Singh.

So, Viren is leaving hockey to pursue management education. I am sure it would have been a very tough decision. One side is representing country in Olympics, five minutes of fame, life time of memories and intermittent money. The other side is secure post-MBA career with a big corporate, money and ownership of businesses and power it brings.

The entire country is up in the arms because someone abused a cricket bowler and I don't know how many these "true" Indians would even know Viren Rasquinha's name. The bowler got prime airtime on even regional channels and Viren's retirement did not even make it to the front page of a national daily.

I have done my MBA (arguably from the best NON-IIM institute in India) and I can vouch for the poor quality of education. The management education imparted in business schools in India does not take you anywhere. BSchools are nothing but glorified placement agencies. They dont make you leaders. They prepare you to be a part of the herd. The herd that does not know where is it going. I am not sure about Viren's decision to leave but as they say "to each his own".

Anyways, can continue to rant on this forever but fact of the matter is that India has lost yet another athlete to money. All the best to Viren for his career ahead and may be could teach a few "managers" a lesson or two.

Taare Zameen Par

Movie: Taare Zamme Pay
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Singer: Shankar Mahadevan

One of the best lyrics EVER. Yes Ever. Hats off.

The lines in BOLD are awesome.

Dekho Inhein Yeh Hain Oos Ki Boondein
Patton Ki God Mein Aasmaan Se Koodein
Aandayee Lein Phir Karwat Badal Kar
Nazuk Se Moti Hans De Phisal Kar

Kho Na Jaaye Ye Taare Zameen Par

Yeh To Hain Sardi Mein Dhoop Ki Kirane
Utarein Jo Aangan Ko Sunhera Sa Karne
Mann Ke Aandheron Ko Roshan Sa Kar Dein
Thithurti Hatheli Ki Rangat Badal Dein

Kho Na Jaaye Ye Taare Zameen Par

Jaise Aankhon Ki Dibiya Mein Nindiya
Aur Nindiya Mein Meetha Sa Sapna
Aur Sapne Mein Mil Jaaye Farishta Sa Koi
Jaise Rangon Bhari Pichkari
Jaise Titliyan Phoolon Ki Kyari
Jaise Bina Matlab Ka Pyara Rishta Ho Koi

Yeh To Aasha Ki Lehar Hain
Yeh To Ummeed Ki Sehar Hain
Khusiyon Ki Nehar Hain

Kho Na Jaaye Ye Taare Zameen Par

Dekho Raaton Ke Seeney Pe Yeh Toh
Jhilmil Kisi Lau Se Ugey Hain
Yeh To Ambiya Ki Khusboo Hain
Baagon Se Beh Chale
Jaise Kaanch Mein Choodi Ke Tukde
Jaise Khiley Khiley Phoolon Ke Mukhdey
Jaise Bansi Koi Bajaye Pedon Ke Taley

Yeh To Jhonke Hain Pawan Ke
Hain Yeh Ghungharoo Jeewan Ke
Yeh To Sur Hain Chaman Ke

Kho Na Jaaye Ye Taare Zameen Par

Muhaley Ki Raunak Galiyan Hain Jaise
Khilney Ki Zid Par Khaliyan Hain Jaise
Muthi Mein Mausam Ki Jaise Hawayein
Yeh Hain Buzurgon Ke Dil Ki Duwayein

Kho Na Jaaye Ye Taare Zameen Par

Kabhi Baatein Jaise Dadi Nani
Kabhi Chalkein Jaise Mmm Mmm Paani
Kabhi Ban Jaaye Bhole Sawaalon Ki Jhadi
Sannatey Mein Hansee Ke Jaise
Sooney Hothon Pe Khushi Ke Jaise
Yeh To Noor Hain Barse Gar Teri Kismat Ho Badi

Jaise Jheel Mein Lehraye Chanda
Jaise Bheed Mein Apne Ka Kandha
Jaise Manmauji Nadiya Jhaag Udaye Kuch Kahe
Jaise Baithe Baithe Meethi Si Jhapki
Jaise Pyar Ki Dheemi Si Thapki
Jaise Kaanon Mein Sargam Hardam Bajti Hi Rahe
Jaise Barkha Udati Hai Bundiya...

Source: Hindilyrix

The future of Indian Web 2.0 brands - will they make money?

Anurag from DGM India posted an interesting piece about Web 2.0 brands on his blog.

I replied

Hi Anurag,

I would like to digress a bit.

I think its not technology at the core, rather as we move to open standards and free availability of source codes, technology would become more of an enabler (or means) rather than being at the core.

Yes, I agree that people with deep pockets do put tons of money behind these ideas and algorithms and it is very difficult for a small player to complete with them.

And you hit the nail on the head when you said that Indian companies don't have the mind-set to compete with offerings that are purely tech led.

Finally, talking about local search, online classifieds etc, I think they have a long way to go before they truly become effective. Currently the users that they have are mostly biased and same users are creating content everyone on the web. It will be effective when Internet becomes mass and people participate rather than just read.

Thanks,
SG

Any opinions?

Google Boots IncrediMail; Stock Price Plummets

Google Boots IncrediMail; Stock Price Plummets

This is the kind of problem that you might have to face if your company is dependent solely on revenue from advertising.

Old TV Shows from India

Yet another pointless effort. I am trying to make a list of shows I
loved when I was a kid. How would I use this list, I dont really know
but here I am. Please add more names.

Dekh Bhai Dekh
Duck Tales
Ek Minute
Gayab Aaya
Junglee Toofan Tyre Puncture
Snakes and Ladders
SpaceCity Sigma
Stone Boy
Tale Spin
The Crystal Maze
Tol Mol Kay Bol
Wheel of Fortune
Zabaan Sambhal Kay

Update

Ranaditya recommended
Chandrakanta
Potli baba ki

Arvind recommended
Wonder Years
Doogie Howser M.D.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Small Wonder (in English and Hindi both :))
Ramayan???
Mahabharat???
Chitrahar????
Whos the boss
Circus
I dream of Jeannie (again in English and Hindi both)
Grah Lakshimi ka Jinn
Alif - Laila????

Vivek said
Star Trek
Jungle book
Remington Steele
Street Hawk
Knight Rider

Amit added
Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi
Filmi Chakkar
Vikram Betaal
Chitrahaar
Rangoli
The Giant Robot
Karamchand "(***** iusko kaise bhool gaye?)"
Janki Jasoos
Vyomkeysh Bakshi
Campus
The 3 stooges
Jungle Book "(tumhari ***** isey bhio bhool gaye?)"

Any more .. ?

Reliance Power IPO - Fast Facts

I have got calls from at least 4 people asking about Reliance Power IPO. What is different about these calls is that all these 4 people have nothing to do with financial markets and they have been lured by easy money to be made with Reliance Power IPO

There might be many more people like that. Assuming that they are as new to the stock markets as my friends, here is a fast fact guide about IPOs for absolute novices.

IPO refers to Initial Public Offer. In simple terms it means that the company issuing the IPO needs some money for a specific purpose and they are approaching the public to buy shares and give money. For example if Cafe Coffee Day wanted to expand from 500 cafes to 1000 cafes and they needed money for expansion, they could either take a loan or issue an IPO. The objective of IPO would be to raise money to buy stores at premium locations and open new cafes. AND NO CAFE COFFEE DAY IS NOT COMING OUT WITH AN IPO. IT IS JUST AN EXAMPLE.

Investor categories. There are different types of investors. HNI - High Networth Individuals, FII - Foreign Institutional Investors. Most of the individuals investing their hard earned money would fall under the category of Retail Investors. A retail investor can not invest more than 1 lakh in an IPO.

Demat account: Account for trading shares in dematerialized form. You need to have a demat account to trade in any kind of securities. Demat account with any broker with do. It could be an online trading account or an offline one.

Subscription: Simply put, this is the number times the shares of the company were applied. For example if RPL had 1000 shares in all to offer, and 10,000 people applied, the IPO would be over-subscribed by 10 times. In this case, RPL is offering 260 million shares. If only 260 mn shares are applied for, the IPO would be fully subscribed. If people collectively apply for 520 mn shares, it would be oversubscribed twice. So on and so forth.

Partial Payment: Simply put that for applying to the IPO, you dont have to put 1 lakh (assuming that you are a retail investor). You have to put just 25% or 25000 to apply for shares worth 1,00,000.

Listing Date and Price. Once these applications are made, the company would allot shares in proportion to number of applications. There is a complex formula but for fast facts, lets assume that it is oversubscribed 10 times. Each investor would thus be allotted 100/10% (or 10%) of shares applied for. If you applied for 100 shares, you would get 5 shares if the IPO is over-subscribed by 20 times.

After allocation, these shares would be listed on stock exchanges. Listing simply means that the shares are now available to trade on exchanges. People can buy and sell them in a typical barter manner.

Issue Managers. This is simply the set of bankers that manage the issue. They have nothing to do with allocation, subscription, pricing, buying, selling from a retail investors perspective. They just manage the entire process and in return get a fat fee. Dont be swayed by calls that say that they are the managers and you can only invest if you have a demat account with them.

And in the end, please think hard and consult someone who knows the markets before you invest your hard earned money.

Related Posts
Reliance Power IPO - Power On. India On.

BCCL

I love strategy of BCCL where they pick less than 5% stake in various companies in lieu of ad space.

agencyfaqs.com has an interesting article.

Where to divert the energy?

It’s been more than 25 years now that I have been living. I have nothing to show for my achievements. It’s not because I aint got no brains that I have not achieved anything so far. It’s the pursuit of greatness in every small thing that has prevented me from that very greatness.

I want to be good at too many things at the same time and I end up as average in all of them.

Probably a way forward could be division of time in the ratio 80: 20. I shall spend 80% of my time on one thing and the other 20% on things that are not important.

I have to decide what this chunk would be. Currently I want to do programming, design, entrepreneurship, stocks, photography, web, travel, writing, communications projects, advertisements, the list is endless.

I have been telling people that I want to meet other great people. Spend time with them and learn from them. I can relate to what Newton said about giants and their shoulders. I want to learn from other people who actually think and get into the habit of thinking on things. Right now we don’t think. We think that we think but in reality we don’t really think. We are reacting to things around us.

The politics of Bharat Ratna

Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award conferred by the Republic of India.

One fine day Mr. LK Advani thought he needs to do something for former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. In his opinion best thing to was recommend Mr. Vajpayee’s name for Bharat Ratna. He wrote a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh making his opinion known.

Taking a cue from Mr. Advani, we have had names of Infosys founder Mr. Narayanamurthy, Tata Group chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, Ex BSP supremo Late Mr. Kanshiram, Mr Jyoti Basu being publicised in Media for the award.

Congress leaders came out in public and ridiculed all other political parties of making Bharat Ratna an agenda. For a change I agree with a political party. Bharat Ratna is chosen by Prime Minister of our country and no one else should tamper with a thing like that. Our media should grow up and move beyond pink journalism.

It’s really sad to be part of a democracy where awards are chased by a pack of mad dogs (read politicians). They should rather be talking about development and important issues that plague the country.

The lists of recipients include CV Raman, Pt. Nehru, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, JRD Tata, and Lata Mangeshkar amongst others.

Links: Complete list of awardees

Thanks God Its Friday

Its a friday night. Most people with friends are partying. Most people with families are having their dinner. Most people who are retired are tucked away in their beds. Everyone seems to be moving towards some greater purpose in life. Everyone seems to be achieving something in life.

Except me.

I am eating my umpteenth biscuit after unmpteenth cup of tea and umpteen glassfuls of water. And I am still trying to figure out what to do right now, tomorrow and eventually.

There are few options. I would list them in order of perference
1. Leave everything behind and leave on a cross India journey.
2. Stop thinking about the India journey (sounds romantic but it sucks to not have anyone waiting for you - such are humans).

And no points for guessing which one I chose. This blog hence becomes my story.