What A Bird!

Photo courtesy - NDTV

Among the millions of things that I track, Indian defence industry is one of the more important I must say and yesterday was a good day for fledgling indigenous armament industry. After waiting for four-five months, yesterday the first flight of the Indian gunship helicopter, Light Combat Helicopter took place, and am elated that it finally took off. I have been closely following any news on this project and LCA project for 2-3 years now and I am glad that the LCH program is off the air.. literally!! and the product is looking extremely nice in its first iteration itself. Tandem seating, helmet mounted sight and ability to fly in Siachen/Kargil heights. It's absence was felt in Kargil conflict, where modified M-17 gunships were sitting ducks, while huge M-24 could not operate at those icy heights. Well, what to say! what a bird! and kudos to everyone involved!

1984 v/s Brave New World

I am these days reading Huxley's "Brave New World", I found that there are unmistakable similarities with Orwell's 1984, in the sense of stark and futuristic London, where there is an all powerful and all knowing authority and everyone else is just a empty face walking down the street or working in the offices. But yet the two books are so so different in the way they showcase this alienation.. while 1984 had all its frugality, the Brave New World instead was full of unbridled excesses.. while 1984 was about rewriting the truth.. in Brave New World there was no truth, it's all make belief. in 1984 it is oppression that makes people forgo rights, in other it is pleasure that makes them do it. in 1984 there is an all engrossing pessimism, the other has a overwhelming consumerist nihilism.

This is from Wikipedia about the differences between these two seminal work of dystopian literature.

[...]
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture. In 1984, people are controlled by inflicting pain.In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.
[...]

Just so that you know, 1984 is my favorite book.

Alan Moore : The Watchmen (Summary)

I have been reading the comic novel "The Watchmen" after watching the movie, which for all practical purposes I found to be an utter waste of time. The novel on the other hand has been quite a revelation not only with its storyline and the novelty of the idea but also the context. And the context here defines the story. It is seventies and tension is high between US and Soviet Union and both on trigger alert for nuclear weapon. In this all engrossing pessimism, the book captures the story of costumed super heroes out there to save the world, but in the end they manage to save the peace, only to lose themselves in the utter grotesque of violence and madness and insanity. The mood is set in New York, with all its malice of the congested city life where no one looks out for one another and crime. These heroes, fighting to save the city from crime, but themselves are a disoriented bunch. Never before, have we seen super heroes fail, or go mad or become a hired mercenary, but this novel captures the baser instincts of lust, of power and propensity for violence and makes a case against vigilantism. Also remarkable is the imagery and the subtle meaning of symbols that have been used multiple times, like the doomsday clock. Also the storyline is non-linear and jumps to different space, time, context and even stories. In the end, the heroes lose without having to fight the villains as there were none, the context and their inner dreads being their enemy.

Interwoven with the main story, is another totally different and gory tale about a pirate ship and and a survivor who in his lust for revenge, is blinded by the all consuming hate. Nietzsche was right with his observation "He who fights with monsters should be careful least he thereby becomes a monster. When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you." - One who starts knowing things about matters that are very different from what he is, he takes back a piece of it with himself and that piece changes him. so goddamn true.

Just so that know, "The Watchmen" is the the only comic novel that is included in the Time.com list of 100 best novels of 20th century.

Iraq War : Seven Years

Today marks the completion of seven years of US second invasion of Iraq. It was today in 2003 that American Abrams rolled into the Iraq, and lot of water has flown down Tigris by now. So an obvious question is was Iraq worth seven years of American blood, dollars and time (not belittling the contribution of the "Coalition of the Willing"). The answer is not that easy as you may think so. To see the picture in totality, you need a bigger construct. American ambition (call it Bush' ambition, it doesn't matter) in middle east was shaped by that fateful morning in mid-town Manhattan. After that US wore a tinted glasses with cross hairs where everything seemed to be a moving target & a potential threat. Iraq seemed to be an obvious target. There was history for it as well. Plus the CIA did a really good job(?) in flunking up intelligence of illicit uranium linked to Iraq. It was not that only Bush wanted war, when marines entered Baghdad, Bush's approval rating were record high, denoting widespread approval of his job in Iraq. At that time, the war seemed to be worth fighting for, even if there was collateral damage for America.

The problem started when America rammed into the driver's seat & not knowing how to drive. There were colossal failures in dealing with former Baathist & disbanded Iraqi armed forces. Plan B was not a choice then, because there was not even Plan A. All America had were newly painted humvees that they rolled that into the capital thinking they will be welcomed & indeed they were welcomed initially. But as the days passed by, a visible chaos in urban settlements, the disbanded Sunni majority armed forces become a freelancing mercenary carving out their areas of influence. When these areas began to intersect with Shiite areas of fiefdom, what followed was a carnage, where America took it on the chin & Al Queda (AQ) had all the prime footage. Then the coalition 'surge' followed which has brought a little semblance of sanity to Baghdad & other urban areas. I must give it to Bush that he has achieved some success in restoring order to those killing suburbs of Baghdad like Sadr City. Even I was sceptical if the surge would work especially in the desert expanse of Al Anbar, but it worked partly due to more boots on ground, Sunni tribe joining the fight against AQ, and alienation of Sunni masses with AQ besides Shiite factions backing down. Since the summer of 2007, the violence has been on the downward trend and the number of American soldiers have dropped to there lowest numbers since 2003 with complete with drawl by 2011. The elections had just been completed and they seems to be by and large peaceful, giving hope that this freckled country can still find its feet and prosper. But the Iraqi landscape is still deeply fragmented & this draw down of forces could hold ominous potent. Firstly the ability of AQ to still do mischief through a shock-and-awe campaign. Secondly the critical question of Kurdish areas and the fate of Kirkuk. Thirdly the criminalization of the Iraqi society. Forth, Iran. Fifth is the schism between Shiite factions. Sixth, is alienation of Sunni's with the Shiite led government.

Still all are are hopeful that the worst is over for Iraq and challenges going forward are not going to be as existential as they were before. I am hooting for optimism this time, after failing miserably on my misgivings on the effectiveness of the "surge".

WTF Picture Of The Day

Come to think of it, this is all tax payers money. my money, your money and our money. and recall ten days ago, the same people said that they don't have money in government coffers to pay for the victims of the stampede in the temple. now you get the picture, where that all money went. what to say, it's all sad.

[...]
Each ring of this garland has 45 notes of 1000 denomination, i.e 45,000 rupees. Each centimetre has got five such rings. 5 x 45,000 is Rs 2,25,000. This garland is 10 meters long i.e. 1000 cm. So 2,25,000 x 1000 becomes Rs 22,50,00000.
[...]

That is hell lot of money, i am sure they will have this dismantled before the enforcement authority get a hand on it. even if the numbers are inflated by a factor of 10, it is still a lot of dough. what is sickening is couple of things, in fact three things.

firstly, why is taxpayers money being used for such utter and shameless self-fulfilment. secondly, why this government can't even do even little bit for hapless citizens even after say it spends eighty percent on itself. It still can spend twenty percent on those great unwashed masses, is it too much to ask. and thirdly why does this government always have to hark back on injustices done to her community in the past to justify their shamelessness. isn't what they are doing now injustice to millions. I am filled with disgust.

Day Dreaming

This is the second poem that I have written, this is an allegory with tribute to symbolism and fantasy.
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this is a story of a boy who used to walk everyday aimlessly on the stony shore
amid screaming seagulls one day, he finds a lovely shell that he could ever explore

with this shell in his clumsy hand, he climbs down the rabbit hole in his backyard
escaping from the giant locust who eyes the elegant sea shell, he runs feeling scared

down in the bright underground, he sees on the wall a pegasus sitting cross-legged
to the boy's surprise, humpty dumpty was his name, the pegasus hesitantly divulged

the boy tells he wants to go to eden, to the place where he gets to keep his shell
the white pegasus offered to give him a ride till there, in return of a little help

the beast wants leaves from the tree of eternal life, to heal his broken feather
the boy agrees to his simple wish, all he wants is the sea shell and he together

the boy is playing with his shell, on the way they met pinocchio sitting tight
they ask for the way, he babbles while his nose gets longer that gives them a fright

they ran & wander along the red sea, coming across the crying queen of hearts
she points us towards a red big balloon floating, and cries - o my king of hearts

they all rode towards the flying king, catching it just before the dark forest
the queen united with her queer king, thanks us and enquires about our quest

they tell her about the pursuit, she wands her stick and a black faun appears
she says it will guide us, but somehow the faun in place of eyes had only tears

on way forward they meet a princess, who offered them grail in return for the shell
the boy held it close to his heart, which made her disappear as it broke the spell

at last they all reached garden of eden, the boy climbed the fabled eternal tree
as soon as the peagasus had the leaves, the white beast morphed into a nymph free

the beauty asked what he wished, the boy cried asking to be with his shell forever
she altered the shell to a sea maiden, and granted they will be separated never

the boy held the beautiful sea maiden's hand close to his heart, and asked her name
"hope" she quivers, they gently kiss with the full moon shining in back of the frame

Summer Rain In A Doon Village

I am trying my hand in poetry these days and here is one for the start. This is about the summer rains before the harvest season begins in Dehra Dun. The sights and sounds are all from doon. It is called "Summer Rain"

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somewhere in clouds above, there is intrigue in the air,
the summer sun has taken refuge, hidden in it's lair.

the lands are parched, the winds are dry and dusty,
with his cracked hands, the farmer look above lusty.

dancing with the winds, the salsify tries to keep the tune,
there is electricity in the air, in this animate noon.

the heavens shudder, nearby strikes a blot from the gray,
signifying power & fear, but somehow only my dogs gets sway.

the shiny and mighty eucalyptus, swaying to kiss the earth,
and in this chaos, a million toona seeds escape with the mirth.

in this madness, the tree-stuck kites flutter wildly and toss,
wishing to be rescued, before rains crucify them to the cross.

from my window i see, the fallen wheat crop in fields below,
as if the heavens tried crop circles, with its mighty blow.

the beetles & the bees are long gone, for their work is done,
their labor nearing fruition, which started in early spring sun

the kids are elated in the street, as if they completed high school,
maybe the power lines are down, that's why all these kids misrule.

outside the money-plant is shiny now, and dahlia is pepped up again,
all seem invigorated, i can from my watering job some days abstain.

i tell my sedated dogs, that all this will get over soon,
probably they also like this small relief, from the summer June.

i wait hurriedly, for all this blitzkrieg to be over fast,
for in my mind, is only to collect the fallen raw mango loot.

the rains were intense & muddy,as brown as if the First Curse,
ask the Maker, this is just the beginning of the first verse.

it smelt strangely pleasant,some say as if first rains on burnt lands,
i say it smells like redemption & hope, i say it smells like desire.

perched high up in the air, i wish i was a rainmaker,
bringing life to everything below, acre by acre.

The Seventh Month Roundup

This is the first post in seven months, I never meant to take this big a break from blogger ever, but then can you plan everything? any ways, for now the blog is alive. Since the last write-up in sometime October, there has been some pretty dramatic events that have happened that I used to blog about regularly. More detailed insights will be coming in the later posts that delve into them in detail.

- first, is the spectacular and the gigantic unwinding of the massive securities leveraging that has been built over the years in derivatives market. The net result has been that world financial markets has become one big vacuum that was sucking all real money to cover up losses in betting on notional money markets causing the money supply to dry and lead the world into recession. The visible result is that American corporate landscape has changed, and changed for ever. post-Detroit, post-Big Banks, the shine is off of corporate America.

- second, is the increasing grip of Taliban that is gnawing at the periphery in the neighbouring Pakistan. Add to this the 29-11 outrage, I think the day of reckoning has come for Islamabad. If you have lost control of places within 100 miles of capital (Swat, Buner), then I don't know what else is Pakistani military leadership is waiting for. I mean, can it go more dire, it does not take 100% support to conquer 100% of country. Only 10% can intimidate the rest 90% in submission. Indian Kashmir seems to be pretty much next on the cross hairs.

- thirdly, the Indian election, for not what was elected, but for what was rejected. regionalism is out, so is caste driven, religion driven politics. This election will be the first after 1989-mandal infused environs, where caste based politics was put on the back burner and development has been brought to fore. Equally inspiring is the revival of national parties and break from regionalism. Also the lack of communists can make sure that economic reforms can move forward especially in banking, pension and labour markets.

- lastly, the US election, that brought President Obama to the White House, what matters is not the party, but the style of functioning that he bring to office. The world needs some serious leadership in areas like renewable energy, financial regulation, curbing protectionism barriers, stem cell research, global warming and rising tide of militant Islam. I hope this president brings new approaches to these intricate issues, as we are already starting eight years late.

The World In Pictures

This is how the american middle class (not the John McCain five million types) looks like. Bitter, bewildered and helpless.

(*picture taken from trip to thousand islands last week)


This is how the US financial market looks like. Hell of a way for Bush to complete his eight years in office. Hell of a way to go.

(*picture taken from trip to thousand islands last week)


well, ain't dreaming world peace or hunger-free world. I guess I am a little more selfish for those things now. I would like an island home like the one above and the bliss that accompanies with its lonely abandon even if it borders on ignorance.

(*picture taken from trip to thousand islands last week)

Indian Polity And Hypocrisy

Who needs foes when the political class is so bent on destroying the very idea of India, the latest outrage being that of Tata being forced out of West Bengal by the Mamta Banerjee and her antics. If she wants to go back to the stone age, then she can but why is she taking everybody along, why should rest of us be prisoner to her whims and fancies. It can very well be that those 400 acres in question are very very fertile, and maybe there is an outside chance that appropriate compensation was not given (though I doubt if Tata would ever do that), but any reason doesn't warrant what happened there. Either you can have a 1000 small farmers tilling that small patch of land and maybe just scraping through or you have a world class car plant that could easily employ thousands in direct and maybe tens of thousands in indirect jobs, besides the taxes it would generate for the government. Is it that hard to fathom or is that hard to sell to the masses. I agree that the whole SEZ policy is a one big hogwash, but then this so called "dance of democracy" is a more bigger hogwash.

Another phony out their is Arundhati Roy (the fairer sex is on my cross hairs today, believe me they had it coming long time..), okay so she want freedom for Kashmir, aha.. I agree that we haven't been doing our best in Kashmir but independence, lets see, we grant everyone what they want we start from top, then Punjab, then maybe Maharastra, then Tamils, the North East and more. Okay, so we have fulfilled everybody wishes, but hold on, have me ? So now people want countries the size of districts, then maybe city-nations and then maybe what if I want my home to be my sovereign fiefdom. They say that man is a social animal but it is anything but social, it appears social and homogeneous as long as it sees a bigger motive and when the motive is no longer there, internal fractures occur. Be it a country or be it a big family. It is not order that gives something a shape (maybe a water in a vase), it is the shape that gives a semblance of order. And if you have internal crooks like our ruling elite & bedfellows like our neighbours, it makes two to tango. If Arundhati is so interested in freedom, maybe she can go to Wazirstan or Dafur, and see if she can speak like this there .See what's happening in Kashmir lately, some acres of land is being given to have better tourist facilities, what's the hidden agenda in it, what are the so called nefarious designs. You know, we have pandered some people so badly that anything being requested from them, seems to be an existential injustice to them. But if some people have a special weakness for someone else agenda, then maybe God help them. One interesting part in all this maze is how come Pakistan has this much brand equity, that still people are willing to join them. Even after what is happening in Waziristan, Swat and Baluchistan. Is the bonds of religion so strong that it refuses to see that black is black & white is white! I also want to be these jholla-wala civil society members intellectual types. Love the shoot and scoot lifestyle and the easy money that comes with it. Such statements gives you lot of footage on the guest speaker circuit. Can I say something about the injustices that were done in say Tibet or maybe Red Indians in US just to begin with.

Afghanistan : Great Game Or Great Conundrum

So we are now taking significant collateral damage in Afghanistan as well, I wonder what choices we have, because there appears to be a method in these regular attacks now. Either 'they' wants to intimidate us into either leaving Afghanistan or maybe reinforcing our presence there (by being part of ISAF and sending combat troops, which I don't think is that bad an idea). I am using they because I doubt if militant forces indeed are being driven from Quetta or Islamabad. The myriad factions that stretch from Quetta up to the Wakhan corridor have no homogeneous identity or chain of command per-se. This is peculiar, because the symptom is same for all these factions but the panacea is all different. Consider this belt of resistance as a part of bigger militant Islam, but the solution can be found by dealing at each tribe level & each federal agency level, something that was done very successfully in Al Anbar in Iraq, instead of fire-bombing it.

Back to India's unease, there is hardly any take-aways from this situation, I guess these are the birth pangs for a rising regional power in the making. The power projection and the influence do have there short comings. The best we can do is to stay put and maybe increase our security posse to safeguard Indian citizens who are in the line of fire. As for Pakistan's direct or indirect involvement in this attack, it doesn't really matter. I think the grave has been dug for Pakistan (so even if its not a grave, believe me it will be a deep pit), and they would be lucky to not have a independent jihadi state encroaching at their periphery.

Some Mumbling.. Some Rambling

The July is here, so soon I mean. it was February that I moved here & already six months are down now. The years seem to pass by so quick that some day not far in time, I may be sitting wondering if I have lived all these long years or did I pass them in sleep, seriously time seems to be flying past these days. Watched Hitchcock 'notorious' today, kept his 'the birds' for tomorrow. In other stuff today, deleted my Facebook account and opened a twitter account, I found twitter more useful then Facebook or say Orkut, but then both are catering to different markets. personal preference though.

The appraisals are going to be out next week I suppose, something to watch out for, lets see how bad the hike is. but it is definitely going to be below the rate of inflation & believe me that government's inflation rate is itself depressed( intentionally or unintentionally ). Indian economy has it going good for last 4-5 years & a couple of rainy days shouldn't be a problem at least for the nouveau riches.. poor be damned, who cares.. the government seems to have solved the nuclear tangle at last, and its good to see at least some amount of spine in the leadership, though I am not optimistic that this government would go much far, but anyway something is better than nothing.

Meanwhile July 4 passed & oil has not touched $150 as Jim Cramer was shouting on mad money, but it doesn't matter, 146 is as good as 150. 150 is just symbolic, the pain at pump started long way back. Somehow I feel Americans don't get it, wonder how can a (supposed !) intelligent country is being fooled not only oil producing countries, but by government and there own emotions. Where do you get a precious commodity for 2 bucks a gallon, a commodity that takes millions of years to create and a commodity that can drive say 4 people in a nice car for 180 miles, why the hell you should get that thing for 2 bucks, when even the water costs more. The supply is not a problem, the demand IS.

Commodity inflation is the big topic these days, and if you listen American media, this often hackneyed word about increased demand from India-China is now becoming a deluge now. take oil, India-China. take wheat, India-China. take anything, India-China. I wonder if India-China really increased there demand so much that the world's factories and farms and oil rigs have failed to keep pace. I just feel that it was okay as long as India-China were producing for the rest of the world, but as soon as we become consuming nations, the rest of the world started feeling the pinch. Take a often quoted sector refinery, which America has not built one for last 30 years. Why?  because they don't want to have pollution in their backyard, so guess what, they have other countries make them & send the finished product to US. This is hypocrisy big time. I guess US in sometime future will claim that it has curtailed its carbon emission. And how, it will send all the polluting industries to cheaper nations and import finished products, so no emissions you see. This is all a façade to not change, to save 'their way of life'. (not sure what it means)

Replacing Crude Oil : Missing Woods For Corn

You know when dealing with subjects as expansive as weather, and the effects of our actions on the global environment, there are so many variables & so many hidden cost involved that it is difficult to fathom if we have done the right thing. Take the instance of biofuels which are the new rage out here, maybe there is a thinking that just by using biofuels instead of gasoline, one just gets over the guilt of there hedonist lifestyle and do nothing about the bigger problem. Its not bio-fuels that would solve the problem, it is this voracious appetite for energy & consumable goods that is the problem. This is what time.com has to say about the real effects biofuels, the devil is in the detail though.

[...]
Why is so much money still being poured into such a misguided enterprise? Like the scientists and environmentalists, many politicians genuinely believe biofuels can help decrease global warming. It makes intuitive sense: cars emit carbon no matter what fuel they burn, but the process of growing plants for fuel sucks some of that carbon out of the atmosphere. For years, the big question was whether those reductions from carbon sequestration outweighed the "life cycle" of carbon emissions from farming, converting the crops to fuel and transporting the fuel to market. Researchers eventually concluded that yes, biofuels were greener than gasoline. The improvements were only about 20% for corn ethanol because tractors, petroleum-based fertilizers and distilleries emitted lots of carbon. But the gains approached 90% for more efficient fuels, and advocates were confident that technology would progressively increase benefits.
There was just one flaw in the calculation: the studies all credited fuel crops for sequestering carbon, but no one checked whether the crops would ultimately replace vegetation and soils that sucked up even more carbon. It was as if the science world assumed biofuels would be grown in parking lots. The deforestation of Indonesia has shown that's not the case. It turns out that the carbon lost when wilderness is razed overwhelms the gains from cleaner-burning fuels. A study by University of Minnesota ecologist David Tilman concluded that it will take more than 400 years of biodiesel use to "pay back" the carbon emitted by directly clearing peat lands to grow palm oil; clearing grasslands to grow corn for ethanol has a payback period of 93 years. The result is that biofuels increase demand for crops, which boosts prices, which drives agricultural expansion, which eats forests. Searchinger's study concluded that overall, corn ethanol has a payback period of about 167 years because of the deforestation it triggers.
[...]

2008 American Credit Crisis

Thou' speak when the damage is already done. Alan Greenspan & his take on the deepening credit crisis

The news is getting increasingly ominous here, some are already hinting that this crisis in american financial markets could easily be the most gravest since the great depression, I am no expert on such a fancy subject but even the talk of comparing these two events makes you realize that things are maybe unravelling a bit too too fast. Maybe its all hoax, but then how could a company like Bear Stearn's be worth 2 bucks a piece just in matter of a fortnight. Being devalued 99% in fifteen days is something. There is more to it then meets the normal eye, and the way fed intervened [ Remember when satara-based UWB, that was sold lock,stock & barrel in three days by RBI ] to save it from going under suggests that its failure is maybe incomprehensible and could trigger a cascading set of failures. It means that there are other pressure points in the system that are under a lot of strain & are possibly waiting to rupture. I am surprised by the inherent flaws that this 'small' credit crunch has exposed in the glitzy american financial markets and its domino effect around the world. The seemingly hard and tinted glass building hides a lot of skeletons inside.

Its the return of the Karma in the financial markets these days, finally we are seeing that gigantic de-leverage-ing of the entire financial muddle that has been created over the years. Frankly, do we need so many financial instruments just to manage risk? All this risk based default swaps, where the risk can be quantified. It's good that some sanity is getting back into the system, but at a heavy cost. Somehow, how did not anybody saw this coming, how come those blue-blooded analysts were caught unaware. Over the years, Greenspan's low interest rate regime boomed these fancy paper and the housing market. Caution was the first thing that everybody threw to the winds, I guess if you keep good times for too long, then complacency sets in. But then some day the cookie had to crumble, and look the way it crumbled.

2008 Crisis : My Take On Coming Full Circle

Yesterday it was Carlyle capital, today its Bears Sterns & Co and rumors are hot that Lehman Brothers is also in a bit of trouble. The story keeps getting better or morbid whatever way you call it. Are there any lessons to be learned from so much deadwood floating around. Yes, Obviously for one greed is bad, it always has been bad, two convenience (i am not sure if its the right word) is not always such a good thing, making it possible for sub prime credit rating people to own homes was not probably the brightest of ideas. Attempting to build castles that has its foundations of sand is always a risky proposition, but then greed took care of pragmatism. Third, such moderation is maybe good or even necessary every decade to remove the complacency that builds up into the system. Fourth, this recession could lead to cooling of commodity prices worldwide that have been on the roll for quite some time now, last seen Brent was at $111 a barrel, I can still recall when the basket was ruling at sub-10 levels (around 1997). Every central bank worldwide is having a tightrope to walk between recession & inflation and Last this could be a clarion call to the US that its no longer the centre of the economic & industrial activity that it had been till now, the balance of power has started to move towards Asia and US can not continue hoping that it can be the richest borrower for all its life and not keep its own house in order.

Are there any lessons to be learned from this for India, Yes, one there is nothing like decoupling, we will not go into negative growth, but yes we will feel the pain,see ICICI Bank sub prime write-offs. second, avoid excesses in investments of any kind as you could be holding on to an assets for a long amount of time as market moves possibly sideways. Third, the India growth story is intact but the exuberance could wear of a little, so no more of hefty jumps on job hopping, Fourth growth would now have to be created as world economy has slowed, earlier we were on a gravy train that built the our growth rate with its own momentum, no since the train is de-accelerating India must push its engine harder to keep the train going faster. To take growth to the next level we needs reforms, solid reforms & with the election just around the corner, I am not putting my buck on reforms.