Rahul Writes

‘Kama Vs Yama’ (Fun in Devlok Series); By: Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik; Puffin Books (Div of Penguin Books); ISBN: 978-0-143-33195 

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik is one of India’s most popular present day mythologists. I am a big fan of his writings. In his “Fun in Devlok” series of books for children, Dr. Pattanaik tells simple and very interesting mythological stories of Hinduism explaining concepts in the easiest ways for children to grasp, appreciate and love telling to others too. ‘Kama Vs Yama’, as the title suggests is a book about two gods, Kama and Yama. In Hindu mythology, Kama is the god of love and desires while Yama is the god of death. I think their relation or comparison is a new dimension which is explored in this book and it has come out very well.  

In this book, a young kid Jayshree curiously finds god Kama in her neighborhood garden. She was rather a very studious student, but on that day somehow she got the idea of not doing the homework but watching the TV and eating potato chips. Kama becomes her friend and while they planned a shopping trip, suddenly Yama appeared there and started asking Jayshree not to follow Kama’s advice. While the gods argued and Jayshree evaluated the two propositions, she discovers many facts of life and messages which both gods Kama and Yama carry for all… In the end, she finds a perfect ‘balance’ where she could have fun as well as perform all her duties. I will leave more particulars for you to get when you actually pick up this book.  

The book is full of sketches friendly to children and font sizes are big. The book as categorized by the publishers is fit for 6+ years. But I am sure readers from any age group will certainly find this book a thrilling experience. It is also a wonderful gift to children. I highly recommend this enlightening book to one and all.

‘Saraswati’s Secret River’ (Fun in Devlok Series); By: Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik; Puffin Books (Div of Penguin Books); ISBN: 978-0-143-33196-4 

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik is one of India’s most popular present day mythologists. I am a big fan of his writings. In his “Fun in Devlok” series of books for children, Dr. Pattanaik tells simple and very interesting mythological stories of Hinduism explaining concepts in the easiest ways for children to grasp, appreciate and love telling to others too. ‘Saraswati’s Secret River’, as the title suggests is a book about Saraswati. In Hindu mythology, Saraswati is both the name of Goddess of learning, education and wisdom as well as the name of a sacred river. It is believed that on the banks of Saraswati, some greatest scriptures of Sanatan Dharma were written during the Vedic era.  

In this book, Mrs. Sivakami, principal of Madame Mira High School gets a curious visitor who is none other than Goddess Saraswati. Goddess Saraswati is in search of a missing river and enquires if Mrs. Sivakami is aware about it. Mrs. Sivakami is surprised in the beginning but as she goes on in her conversation with Goddess, she actually commences on an eye opening journey which changes the way she looked at education and the modern schooling system… She realized that river Saraswati had stopped flowing in her school because her students were no longer curious… I will leave more particulars for you to get when you actually pick up this book.  

The book is full of sketches friendly to children and font sizes are big. The book as categorized by the publishers is fit for 6+ years. But I am sure readers from any age group will certainly find this book a thrilling experience. It is also a wonderful gift to children. I highly recommend this enlightening book to one and all.

‘Cradle Takes of Hinduism’; By: Sister Nivedita (Margaret E. Noble); Advaita Ashrama; ISBN: 978-81-85301-93-8 

The land of India/Bharat and its innate religion Hinduism have attracted many souls from all across the world. Sister Nivedita, born Margaret Elizabeth Noble, a Scots-Irish social-worker and disciple of Ramkrishna-Vivekananda is one such, and she is an icon in herself. Recently I have had the opportunity to read some of her writings and I consider myself lucky in this regard.  

‘Cradle Tales of Hinduism’, as the title suggests is a compilation of Hindu mythological stories. Most of these stories are already told to us by our mothers, grandparents or elders, and lessons from these stories shape our characters, thinking process, and culture. This is a wonderful book where the stories are told in English in a very touching manner. The writing style of these texts is simple but very charming. While reading the story of Sati, tears came to my eyes many times where she had to sacrifice herself and when Shiva learnt about her loss and felt a pain in heart (which the great God had never experienced before). Or the heart wrenching love story of Nala and Damayanti – though it ended in a happy note. The story of Prahalada and Dhruva – the great devotees is also so touching. And a cute lovely part is the one of Gopala who gets Krishna as his friend and companion because of his mother’s pure devotion. The story of Bhishma, Yudhisthara, Bharata, Vikramaditya’s throne, and even Prithviraj Chauhan are so heart touching that yhis book indeed teaches the readers about the virtues which our religion wants us to practice.  

A highly recommended book for one and all.

‘The Prophet’; By: Kahlil Gibrahn; UBSPD; ISBN: 978-81-85674-72-8 

Kahlil Gibrahn was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer. He is chiefly known for his 1923 book The Prophet which includes a series of philosophical essays written in poetic prose.  

It is said that much of Gibran’s writings deal with Christianity, especially on the topic of spiritual love. Though his mysticism is a convergence of several different influences from Christianity, Islam, Sufism, Hinduism and theosophy.  

In this boo, the Prophet Al-Mustafa who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years is about to board a ship back to home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics on life and human conditions. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death. I found the thoughts shared in portions of the book really amazing. I also found some thoughts similar to those of Hinduism, Vedanta or Advaita.  

Some portions: 

“Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil. For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst? You are good when you are one with yourself. Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil. For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.” (=> Similar to the concept of Hinduism which has no concept of Devil or Satan.) 

“The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.” (=> A very exact example of Hindu symbolism behind lotus flower.) 

“You can be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment.” (=> I read an exact similar text from Sister Nivedita of Ramkrishna-Vivekananda, in her book Religion and Dharma, around 1905).  

“The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder. And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed.” (=> Theory of Karma?) 

Please excuse me of making it a parallel with Hinduism, for the book contains so many great nuggets of wisdom. Similarity can be because Hindu and Vedic texts have not left almost any aspect of life unexplored and hence we are bound to find similar references in them, for much of the modern thoughts and reflections.  

Btw, I found the book littered with art which tried to express many things through nude images of men and women – I found it unnecessary given that this book has a global audience. 

I find that this entire book, which is not long in size, is available for online reading on the internet. So you can refer to those also. It’s a very good book on philosophy and life-issues.

A couple of weeks back, a senior colleague happened to visit our work location. He had helped me many times before on some assignments and I thought I shared good rapport with him. Memories of how I had questioned him on technical topics and he had explained things so well to me, were fresh in my mind. When we met, we went on very well. We talked about a host of things, from work related to personal. We also discovered a common friend, who was his classmate and my ex-colleague. I thought I had found a good pal in him.  

Recently he was relocated to another location onsite. In fact it was like a promotion for him. When he joined from there, he stopped replying or explaining things to me. I was conscious about his elevated position and hence didn’t push, but his ‘silence’ was troubling me. It also so happened that I would ping him but he won’t reply and would leave the chat as it was. I would send him emails asking for some clarifications to which he won’t reply, even though he was designated to help me in this project! I thought he may be busy, but his “status” on Communicator was always “green”. Now I started wondering what the reason was. Thought came to my mind if it was the common friend who had spoken something ill about me to him and hence he was cutting me off? Or was it that he was too much conscious of his elevated position and hence won’t reply to me like before? Was he finding his new position challenging, was already troubled with the things he was doing, and hence he found my enquiries uninvited?  

Today, I couldn’t contain myself. I had sent two emails to him this morning, to which he hadn’t replied. Of course I had sent separate emails to other senior colleagues too, as my plan B, and I had managed to do my work, but that was not the point. I seemed to be troubled by him ignoring me! Despite the fact that I thought he was a friend! I pinged him and asked him exactly this: “you have become very silent these days :)” with a smiley and all small fonts, to appear friendly. This time, to my surprise, he replied, “may be….but am quite busy”. Just this much. I didn’t want to appear pushing, so I accepted it readily and replied, “ok ok, your status remained green so I wondered… no issues..”. And then I went for tea. When I got back, I saw his reply to the last one as “i don’t bother to change the status msg :)” 

So it indeed was because he was busy. May be, or maybe not. It can be that he has grown snobby and was indeed avoiding me. No matter what the reason was, why was I troubled? I think the reason why I was troubled was because I felt an “attachment” for him. I thought I cared for him and hence was hurt when I couldn’t feel an affirmative “return gesture”. The roots of my trouble were not in his behavior, but in my own feelings. My attachments.  

When he said, “may be….but am quite busy” I felt hurt. In my true self, I cried in my inside. Why? Because his behavior was not nice to me; he whom I cared about and “expected” a similar return gesture. He may be behaving like this to everyone now a day, but not everyone would be feeling hurt. Was it because no one else cared for him? Certainly not. But may be others didn’t feel that kind of attachment which would require a return gesture. Was I selfish? Was I really “expecting” something in “return”? I wonder if I am like this to a colleague in office known for a month, how I would feel if someone I loved truly behaved with similar “unaffectionate” way. Why to keep such a sensitive heart, which gets hurt so often? 

I think getting hurt because of being sensitive is “part of the parcel”. If one has not got that sensitive heart, one would not enjoy those small little joys of life which one doesn’t see from one’s physical eyes but can only feel from heart. Only those can fall who have risen first. Only those can feel lonely who have had a company. Only those can feel hurt who have been touched before. I think yes, it is part of the parcel… It is part of being us…  Part of being me.  
– 

PS: In the above text, I look like justifying attachment, which I also think is the reason of human misery; yet it is so very part of us…

‘Forget the Elephants, Watch Out for the Fleas’

By: Justin Herald

Allen & Unwin

ISBN: 978-1-74175-691-3 

This book starts by a powerful thought:  

“You never know how many apples are in a seed.” 

Justin Herald is a successful entrepreneur and was named one of the 50 most influential leaders of the next generation in Australia. The main concept of this book is that most of our problems start out as small as a flea (at times we don’t find them, or see and ignore them), but too often those problems eventually become as huge as an elephant (which we can’t ignore, and these threaten our survival).  

Though the idea looks pretty simple, the author has made it more interesting with his examples and expansions. The language of the book is friendly and I think anyone who reads this book will really enjoy it and learn many things from it.

‘Art of God Symbolism’

By: Swami Chinmayananda

Central Chinmaya Mission Trust

ISBN: 8179570588 

Hinduism is a mysterious religion for many. Are there millions of gods in Hinduism; and so many goddesses? Why there are so many different images in worship – at times opposite and so different than others? Why gods have sometimes four hands, sometimes four heads; and at times they are not even in human image but with a head of a lion or an elephant! There is even a Monkey god in Hinduism, whom Hindus worship with equal devotion! Did Lord Ram really leave Sita Mata and yet is idolized as ideal husband? Such questions are many and the journey to find clear answers to these is not readily available… Until, we have this book in hand.  

‘Art of God Symbolism’ is a wonderful book which explains the real meaning of so many diverse images in Hinduism. It also reveals real meanings of many mythological stories which led to the development of these images. I can’t thank Swami Chinmayananda more; he has done a really brilliant work publishing this book. I am sure it will help in dispelling a lot of wrong perceptions amongst us. The writing in this book is of very high quality and content is not heavy too.  

I have just purchased some more copies of this book which I am gifting to my friends. I think this is a must-read and must-have book for all of us.

‘Emotion, Intellect and Spirituality’

By: Annie Besant

Pilgrims Publishing (2008)

ISBN: 8177695959 

We Indians know Annie Besant as one of the major freedom fighters during our freedom struggle against the British. She was also a Theosophist, women’s rights activist, secularist, writer and orator. As part of her Theosophy related work she had travelled to India and took part in its freedom movement becoming President of the Indian National Congress in 1917.  

This book is a publication of one of her lectures at the Theosophical Society. It gives sight of her thoughts which represent also those of Theosophy. Her thoughts are very learned and she has a deep understanding of human psychology and life. I especially remember the portion of this book where she tells about the importance of a balanced development (intellect Vs emotional) and also her pointers towards our one incarnation to the other.  

This is a small-size book. I think the topic is not light and her writing can best enjoyed by being reflected upon in a second read.

‘The Direct Path (The Ramana Way)’

Eighth Edition (Pocket Edition)

By Sri Ramana Maharshi

Translated and commentary by: AR Natarajan

Ramana Maharshi Center of Learning, Bangalore

ISBN: 81-85378-05-3 

I had heard about Sri Ramana Maharshi and his philosophy before but never got a chance to read him. When I got this book in its pocket edition, it was a perfect chance for me to get a glimpse of his thoughts which I found representing ancient truth and boundless wisdom.  

This book is actually a compilation of two of his works:  

(1)  Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s Upadesa Saram (Essence of Teaching)

and

(2)  Sat-Darshanam (Forty Verses on Reality) 

Only after reading him I realized what I had missed so far. Verses from Ramana Maharshi have infinite wisdom in them. If we do some more meditation over those, we get to feel and understand what wisdom the great sages and rishis from India/Bharat had.  

This book has an introduction in the beginning, and then the two portions as told above come with Sanskrit Verses along with their English translation. The translations are perfect; here are two verses from the book:   

The controversy whether fate is stronger than free-will or vice versa

is only for those who do not know their source.

Those who know the individual for whom they pertain

remain untouched by them. ||19|| 

Both the wise and the ignorant regard the body as “I”.

The ignorant limit the “I” to the body

For the wise, the Self shines in the heart,

Limitless, including the body and the world. ||17|| 

The translator and commentator A.R. Natarajan was a disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was also the president and founder of the Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning and the Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi Research Centre.  

If you are interested in philosophy or Vedic knowledge, this is a must-have book for you.  

Some interesting webpages on him:

http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/teachings.html

http://eternalissue.weebly.com/

http://www.vedicbooks.net/direct-path-ramana-p-16078.html

http://www.hinduism.co.za/newpage110.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi

‘Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology’

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik

Penguin

ISBN 0143099701; ISBN 13: 9780143099703 

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik is one of India’s most popular present day mythologists. My curiosity to know more about Hinduism and to get real meaning of our mythology or the inherent symbolism found a savior in him. His pen is so powerful, knowledge so deep and expression so simple that I think he is changing the way we look at Hinduism and Hindus, and revitalizing the world’s interest in Hinduism and India.  

‘Myth = Mithya” is aptly termed a Handbook of Hindu Mythology. In its pages you would find descriptions and elaborations on numerous Hindu mythological stories and their real meanings and symbolism. I think this is one book which has given me most knowledge points per page than any other book I have ever read.  

In my opinion this book is a must read and must kept book for all Hindus or anyone really interested in understanding Hinduism.

‘Dabawalas: Lessons for building lasting success based on values’

By: Shrinivas Pandit

Tata McGraw-Hill

ISBN-13 978-0-07-062151-0 

Mumbai’s Dabbawallas are a case study to the world. They are a proof that in order to achieve business and process excellence, you don’t necessarily need a technically superior and cost wise expensive setup in place. The basic business ethics and zeal to provide best customer service score more to make organizations great and successful than technical tools and capital resources. In this book, Shrinivas Pandit has done a comprehensive analysis of Mumbai’s (once called Bombay) 5000+ semi-literate famous Dabawalas who serve thousands of customers with their individual home cooked food, every day for the last 115 years!  

The book has been written in the format of a conversation with mainly two Dabawalas – Raghu and Ganga. It captures things like their origin to the journey, personal beliefs to business rules, daily challenges to client satisfaction – almost everything on the subject that comes to mind. Intermittently the authors have inserted and documented the learning taken from Dabawalas which can be applicable to businesses of all size, be it entrepreneurs or the MNCs.  

The size of the book is concise and the language is simple. It may not be enough to cover each and every aspect to the minutest detail, but captures a good part overall for a less-heavy read.  

A good read for anyone curious about Mumbai’s Dabawalas.

‘Maverick’

By: Ricardo Semler

Arrow Books

ISBN 978-0-712-67886-5 

Semco has been one of Latin America’s most successful and fast growing companies, best known for its innovative and democratic business practices and philosophy. The credit to all goes to Ricardo Semler who grew the company with himself. This book, first published as Virando a Própria Mesa (”Turning Your Own Table”) is a best seller in which Ricardo spills the beans about his company and its practices. 

The book captures the historical growth of the company. For this purpose, Semco and Ricardo Semler are no two separate entities but one. Reading about his ways and the kind of revolutions he made in the way businesses are conducted, I had to consistently fight my disbelief and skepticism. Semler has shown us that it is possible to run a company where every employee feels great about his/her job, a company which is most ethical in practices, where all employees are empowered irrespective of anything, where there are no hierarchies, and no rules and policies!  

If you are interested in business management, this is one book you just can’t miss to read!

‘Words of Freedom: Ideas of a Nation’

By: Bhagat Singh

Penguin Books

ISBN 9780143068884 

Shaheed Bhagat Singh is an icon of India’s freedom movement. His life-story has inspired thousands to do something worthwhile for their nation and continues to inspire the youth, generation after generation. He was a lion-hearted young man who spent his life, blood and death for the betterment of his nation called Bharat (or India). At the time he was hanged by the British, he was only 23 years old. Penguin has done a great work by compiling some of his writings, letters and revolutionary literature in the form of a small book. Readers get to know Bhagat Singh better and also delve into his “ideas” for our nation.  

The book would also serve a very good means of waking us up to the realities of our nation. Have we in all these years proven the sacrifice of our freedom-fighters worth the efforts? Are we doing something for a better future of our nation? Or are we still stuck in the webs of religion, caste or location, which divide us and make us weak? In these pages, Bagat Singh puts his views very strongly. He also challenges those (Congress members) who were apparently soft on the British policies and believed in small incremental gains towards the freedom. His ideas on religion are also very strong and provocative, but well-grounded. Here is a sample of some lines from the first article:  

“While we Indians, what are we doing? A branch of a peepal tree is cut and religious feelings of the Hindus are injured. A corner of a paper idol, tazia, of the idol-breaker Mohammedans is broken, and ‘Allah’ gets enraged, who cannot be satisfied with anything less than the blood of the infidel Hindus.” (P-7) 

“The conservativeness and orthodoxy of the Hindus, extra-territorialism and fanaticism of the Mohammedans and narrow-mindedness of all the communities in general are always exploited by the foreign enemy.” (P-9) 

“We want people who may be prepared to fight without hope, without fear and without hesitation, and who may be willing to die un-honored, unwept and unsung.” (P-10) 

(From manifesto of The Naujawan Bharat Sabha, founded by Bhagat Singh in 1926 in Lahore)  

(I think his idea of freedom-fighters to be ready to fight even without hope points to the eternal teaching of Lord Krishna in Gita) 

Reading Bhagat Singh’s letters and speeches to the British, I couldn’t stay without being in awe of his intellect and brilliance! I think if the British gave him a fair trial, he would have got himself free, given the way he explained the matters and debated in the court. But alas, the British were bent on hanging him and ignored crucial evidence and facts, and went about their own determined ways. Bhagat Singh asked to be shot dead by a gun rather than being hanged, but no surprise that the British didn’t want to grant him his last wish too.  

Sardar Bhagat Singh’s story is worth being read, told and sung with all our heart, until each Indian counts one’s nation above one’s other priorities. It also points towards self-reflection to the communities who count some other nations and their foreign beliefs above our nation, or those Indians who harm our nation’s prospects in the name of business and trade.  

I find myself lucky to have read this book. Highly recommended to all India-lovers.  

- Rahul

‘The Post Office’

By: Rabindranath Tagore

Translated by: Debabrata Mukhopadhyay

Wisdom Tree

ISBN 81-86685-26-X 

The literatures of Rabindranath Tagore have their own charm. I think he has a unique style and charisma in his writing which keeps the readers spellbound as well as soaked deep into the world the writer wishes to take them in. The Post Office is a play written by Tagore, which captures the charms of childhood curiosity and activity as well as the misery part of human life.  

The story of The Post Office is about Amal, a kid who has to remained locked in the house because of an ailment he is suffering with. Readers get to realize the seriousness of his ailment with time. He sits on the window of his house and chats with the passersby. As it happens, he sees a Post Office from the window and waits for a letter arriving in his name. His pure heart and childlike curiosity is so heart-touching. At the same time his unconscious suffering from the disease makes our eyes wet. Life is a ride full of ups and downs and the readers of this play are taken on one such, in all its elements.  

The English translation is also at its best. In Bangla, this play is called Dak Ghar.  

A wonderful and heart-touching play, recommended to all.  

- Rahul

‘Fun in Devlok: Shiva Plays Dumb Charades’

By: Devdutt Pattanaik

Puffin Books

ISBN 978-0-143-33169-8 

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik is one of India’s most popular present day mythologists. I am a big fan of his writings and I picked up this book looking at its curious title. In his “Fun in Devlok” series of books which he has written for the children, Dr. Pattanaik tells simple and very interesting mythological stories explaining concepts in the easiest ways for children to grasp.  

“Shiva Plays Dumb Charades” is set into a home where a group of children are playing the game of dumb charades. Suddenly, Lord Shiva, the ultimate and Supreme God, appears in front of them and becomes a participant. Next, as they all play Dumb Charades, the children get to know the real meanings of the symbols, gestures and portraits of Lord Shiva as seen in the Nataraj form. I found myself unable in explaining many of those concepts and this book was an enlightening read for me too.  

The book is full of sketches friendly to children and font sizes are big. I found the back cover mentioning that the book is for children above 6 years age. Since I am also above 6 years of age, so I hope no one gives me a curious look if I collect all the books in this series for myself!  

It’s a wonderful gift to children and an enlightening read for all. I highly recommend it to everyone.

The World of Nagraj

By: R. K. Narayan

Indian Thought Publication [Link] 

“The World of Nagraj” is a classic novel from the great author RK Narayan. It is one of the stories set in the town of Malgudi.  

Nagraj is a man of leisure, living in Kabir Street of Malgudi with his wife and old mother. He is blessed with inheritance, which gives him a big house and money sufficient to lead a life without working for money. His wife couldn’t have a child, but he is happy that his brother has a child, called Tim. Nagraj has a dream to write the story of divine sage Narada, the eternal wanderer who spread stories from one world to the other resulting in curious happenings. The story also covers his old mother, his elder brother Gopu and his wife, Gopu’s son Tim, and various characters from the town of Malgudi. The world of Nagraj takes a turn when Tim comes to live with him. Nagraj proves to be an ineffective guardian in a way. But when looked through his lens, we can understand the reason why couldn’t be harsh on the kid. Readers get to know Nagraj, understand him, his fancies and his ways, and I believe they fell in love with him. 

As it occurs in most of the RK Narayan stories, the city of Malgudi can be taken as any midsize town of India whether in Northern or Southern parts, and the characters are so very Indian in nature that we (Indian readers) feel as if the story revolves around us.  

The World of Nagraj has been such a wonder read for me and I would remember and love it for lifetime…  

- Rahul

A few years ago, I got too infuriated with the Times of India (TOI), due to the way it handled a news report. Some policemen had misbehaved with some women-protesters in Punjab, and the newspaper chose to show the face of the woman being harassed, her horrified friend’s face, but the camera angle made sure that policeman’s face would remain unclear and unidentified. It happened in both the two pictures it printed while reporting the news. That was a wretched show of journalism and my dislike of TOI reached a pinnacle with that incident (but many more cases had to follow). 

I look at this page which is from any normal day. 

Today is late Smt. Indira Gandhi’s 94th birthday. I come to know this through a news item displayed on google news. The news item also carries Indira Gandhi’s black and white portrait, with pallu of her printed saree covering her head. This reminded me of our childhood association with her.  

Indian democracy becomes a joke when we talk about equality of all castes and religions. What our politicians actually practice is “vote bank politics”. Any group, be it a caste, religion, or gang, can demand and get anything and everything, if they are united and ready to “vote en mass” for or against any political party or leader. Caste based reservations, or popularly called Quota, are an example of this.  

Caste based reservations were devised to benefit the poor. The rich, no matter belonging to which caste, are always protected in this world which runs on money. But just like the rich among all castes are basically “rich by caste” - they are another group altogether, their lobbying has resulted in a lot of manipulation of original policies to benefit the rich at the cost of the poor. Creamy layer was a system devised to counter this practice.  

Creamy layer system was created to pull out the rich and powerful people among the reserved castes, so that the actually deserving candidates who were very poor, could benefit. So far the limit was Rs 4.5 Lakh per annum, which itself was very high given the socio-economic condition prevailing in India. But now, our super efficient government (check which political party is in power) has raised this limit to Rs 12 Lakh p.a. in metro cities and Rs 9 Lakh p.a. in non-metros! 

Here is the news: 

OBC creamy layer ceiling raised 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/obc-creamy-layer-ceiling-raised/articleshow/10762780.cms  

Another shocking reality is the timing of this decision. While the nation is busy fighting corruption and media highlight is on other issues, from the backdoor they have passed this rule thereby benefiting the rich and powerful among the OBC castes!  

In my opinion, caste-based reservations are totally against our democracy and it mocks the principles of equality which our constitution assures to provide. I believe any right minded Indian would oppose the systems like discrimination based on castes, which indeed this Quota system is!  

Long live our democracy! Let us remove all caste-based reservations and schemes! Let the poor come up and prosper!  

Taken from: http://myview-counts.blogspot.com/2011/11/obc-creamy-layer-ceiling-raised-to-rs.html

A few years back ULIPs were market’s favorite investment option. Everyone wanted to invest in ULIPs and ULIPs for income tax (IT) savings were quite popular. All financial experts used to recommend it and agents used to call unsolicited, selling ULIPs like hotcakes. They sold ULIPS in one city while sitting in another, using phone to communicate and courier to send and receive documents. Even I got a call from a salesperson selling Reliance Life plans and her promise was: you deposit Rs 30K for 3 years and at the end of the period, you will get back Rs 1.2L; apart from saving taxes! That was a very good return and I was anyway looking to invest some amount for tax-saving purpose, so I subscribed to the plan. When I received the document, the company had clearly mentioned that I could return back the policy/plan within 10 days if I didn’t like it after going through the detailed terms and conditions. I wanted to take a chance, so I went ahead. And today after 3 years, the net market value is no more than half the principle.  

The problem with ULIP was that there was a large initial allocation to economically wasteful accounts (for the investor), like to the broker, the agent, etc. Did the financial experts tell us about it? No. But by the time investors found out the hidden truth about ULIPs, the financial experts too became prudent and started speaking against ULIPs. Thanks to the government intervention which has taken the shine off from ULIPs. But till the time investors didn’t know about it, no financial expert thought it his or her duty to tell the fact in the open. 

And now, is it happening the same with the SIP? 

SIP, or the systematic investment plan, is being touted today as the best investment option. The logic is simple: since market goes up and down, it is safer to invest in small amounts over the long term rather than in bulk at one go. SIP has less risk, as they say. But the question is: will SIP give me higher returns? (Higher than other options available to me?)  

If SIP avoids the high risk associated with lump sum investment, doesn’t it also avoid the opportunity along with? For example if I know that the market would move between 16000 and 19000 and the market currently is at 16500. I would like to invest more at this point of time. 2 months afterwards when the market is at 19200, I would know that I am at the top of the curve and would like to sell and book profits and I won’t like to invest more. But through SIP, you would be forced to invest even at these high rates! And after one more month if the market comes down to 18000, all the profits you made while investing at lesser rate gets wiped out and adjusted by the losses made by investing at the time when the rates were high. Anything that is equity linked runs an exact risk like this in the long term. I don’t see the point in making 20K profit for the first 6 months of the year and then making 15K loss in the next.  

If market keeps growing, say for a period of 2 years, you shall make less money through SIP than through lump sum investment. Also, SIP doesn’t take our financial wisdom into account. If the market is too low, I would like to invest more. If the market is too high, I would like to invest less or none. But in SIP, you keep investing whether the market is high or low; it doesn’t give you the flexibility which could have been more financially rewarding for you.  

I think SIP is good for the finance and share marketing companies. It gives them a constant business, de-risking them from the ups and downs in the market. Even when the market is at sky’s top and everyone knows it will come down, there will be people putting money in, thanks to the SIP plans. SIP makes sure that the brokers and finance companies never get out of fashion. Also, the fixed elements of the cost when users place orders, like stamp duty or brokerage etc, would be higher if we place 100 small orders, when compared to place one big order.  

I think SIPs are not the best investment option available to us. It may be a structured and disciplined way to invest, but I think when it comes to money and finances, flexibility helps and a straight line rigid method harms our chances (of making more money). For a lot of investors RDs and FDs are still better option due to risk free growth and for those who can take up some risk, lump sum investment gives much better returns. SIP in my opinion needs better evaluation from the investor’s point of view while for the brokers and financial advisors, SIP would remain the best recommended option because of their own self interests. We need more number of honest evaluations to come out in the open whether SIPs are really the best option for the investors, or if these have been tagged so for milking more money out of investors, just like ULIPs.  

- Rahul

Note: The views expressed are entirely personal and don’t express the views of any person or organization associated with the author. The author has taken care to maintain the facts mentioned in the article to be true, but there can be non-deliberate errors and mistakes.