.... A Red Salute!

Today is Fourth June and also the sensitive twentieth anniversary of “The Tiananmen Incident” in China. For all those who do not know what this incident is, I suggest you Google or Wikipedia it out to learn more! One is not supposed to write (or read or talk) about this “taboo subject” here lest fall under the watchful eagle eye of the “big brother”.

Leading up to this day, a lot of websites (and a lot of popular proxy sites such as kproxy.com) including youtube, hotmail, twitter, flickr, blogspot, wordpress and bing are blocked in China, to ensure there is limited searches and online protests demonstrated by the local nationals in commemoration of this day. I have observed that, particularly in China, internet is a very important platform used to discuss or criticize issues and blogging is a la mode. A lot of people take into blogging and chat forums passionately. The sentiments will definitely be high around the date of the incident and hence this move by the concerned to curb that “right”. It appears that the News channels such as CNN and BBC are blocked for most part of the day due to the frequency of words such as “In China today..”, or “In Beijing today…” or “Twenty years ago in Beijing…” etc used in their news relays. Of course, RTI and FoS can be controlled here!

I read that the capital city of Beijing will be heavily guarded with a lot of people being asked (read forced) to stay indoors today and foreign journalists & newspaper teams are not allowed to go to “the Tiananmen square”, to ensure the day passes by “peacefully”. I read further that, every year the last Sunday prior to the fourth day of this month will see the people of Hong Kong demonstrate publicly calling for justice. Being a former British colony, Hong Kong is probably the only place in China where matters such as these can be venerated openly. A local group there called the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China (Yes, their website is also blocked), supports this demonstration by designing standard t-shirts for the event. However, this year they saw a lot of people design their own t-shirts with “protest slogans” and the “incident-related images” on it and share with others online. During the day, a lot of protests and candle-vigils will also be held in various parts of the city, in their attempt to force the Mainland government to acknowledge and apologize for that day. Although I am tempted to include images of the t-shirts here on this post, I refrain for the same reason I mentioned earlier.

I for one do not quite believe that these protesters dare wear these t-shirts anywhere in Hong Kong (or China) after the protests are over!......Lal Salaam!

Candlelight vigils in Hong Kong

From Picture Courtesy: BBC ....

From Picture Courtesy: BBC....

The day of the "Dragon Boat Festival"

It was the “Dragon Boat festival or Duanwu” in China yesterday, and thereby a holiday for all of us. When we enquired with a few of our colleagues on its significance and how was it going to be celebrated in their homes, they explained that the most famous theory of its origin was that it is celebrated in the memory of one of their famous poets (I later googled and discovered his name as Qu Yuan - a patriotic poet who lived more than 2,000 years ago, and who according to legend, drowned himself in the Miluo River in Hunan Province to protest the then corrupt kingdom) and it is usually celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month in the lunar calendar. People eat zhongzi (a sticky/ glutinous rice ball wrapped in bamboo leaves), drink realgar wine and race dragon boats!

Zhongzi

From Pic courtesy:china.org.cn....

The legend behind the festival can be read here

All our excitement to watch the Dragon boat race on the Pearl River, from our riverside home dampened along with the continuous rain, when there were no races scheduled on that part of the river yesterday.Nevertheless we decided to step outside even though it was raining pretty heavily.

The water level in the river had risen considerably due to the incessant rain that has been lashing the city during the last couple of weeks combined with a possible release of water from the reservoir. As we walked beside the river we noticed a group of people with motley umbrellas gathered near the river-steps, which increased our curiosity too. Apparently, the high tide on the river had attracted a lot of enthusiastic people who had brought their pet dogs for a swim and lots of pet-owners too decided to jump in to enjoy the river. Most of the Golden Retrievers and Rottweilers seemed to be enthusiastic in jumping into the river and retrieving the empty water bottles and plastic slippers that their owners were using as baits. However, the much smaller poodles had a tough time trying to let their inconsiderate owners know their displeasure in such activities that were thrust upon them. It was a pity to watch these small dogs that were forced into the water, desperately trying to swim against the tide and reach the safety of the river bank and some shivering in fear of the water.

The Rains:

From Vani Menon....

People with their pets:

From Vani Menon....

Amidst all this, oblivious to these things happening around, there was a sweeper lady who was clearing away the riverside walkway quietly. It was raining heavily and she was undeterred on her task! She was happy to pose for our picture and acknowledged us with a happy “nihao”!

From Vani Menon....

We shopped around a while and had an early dinner at the Tiger Prawn, a Vietnamese restaurant. Just outside the restaurant in the mall is an indoor Ice-Rink. The vast rink had many skate enthusiasts practicing or learning. We watched some of them in action for a while, especially one of the young coaches there who was displaying his skills in ice-skating very well.

We ended the day with a movie in the theatre.. Yes! the first time we were watching a movie in a theatre in China!! We went to the Qinggong Cinema and watched one of the English movies that was being played there, Night at the Museum-2. The movie had a lot of attendance and I think most of them watched the movie since it had Chinese sub-titles while a vast majority could have been there because they understood English!

Chicken a la Carte

I recently came across this video in one of my fellow blogger’s post and I must admit that it is very touching.

This 6 minute short film made by Ferdinand Dimadura in 2005 won the “People’s Choice” award at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival, in the Most Popular Short Film category.

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

Every time one wastes food, this reminds you of those lesser fortunate people for whom food is still a “luxury”. The children crowding around the food bag, the lady of the house setting out the dining table for their meal, the man ensuring they thank God for the food they received that day, before they eat, are all heart wrenching.

A large portion of a society lives merely in the “hope” of food everyday!

Take a look at the video. I am sure it will move you too.

A Tale of a Movie.....

In recent times, the most discussed topic in India after the Satyam debacle is the movie Slumdog Millionaire (SM). This feel-good, rags-to-riches tale of a Mumbai slum dweller has stirred the nation and its filmdom. Lots of opinions have been flowing for it, lots against it, analysis on why it won all those awards including the 8 Oscars, was the movie a complete “poverty-porn”, was it a brilliant work of art by the movie-maker, did it win only because it was made by a non-Indian, is it the portrayal of the real India, etc have been some of the topics in contention.

The poverty ridden slums of the infamous Dharavi in Mumbai…...prostitution…...communal violences..….children forced into begging have been exposed to the Western (and our Eastern neighbours!) audiences. I agree that it shows India (or rather a part of India) in poor-light and I will also join the voices that speak out stressing on the fact that India is not made up of only these. We have a lot of good things to showcase too. But, most of our “Bollywood” movies are shot in foreign milieus, with the protagonists wearing the Guccis and the Pradas and the Armanis, driving flashy automobiles, working on dream jobs, enjoying holidays and singing songs in the most lavish locales. Can all these be classified as movies which showcase the real-India!？If the same people who thrashed SM are contented with these movies, then is it hypocrisy? If movies such as these are the movie-maker’s artistic freedom that he has willfully taken as a part of being in the creative arena, then why can’t movies such as SM also be seen in that frame? We are the world’s largest democracy and the primary rights of a democrat are freedom of expression and speech. So if a movie-maker has exercised these rights in creating something, purely for entertainment (..and to rake in the moolah), why are so many of us crying foul?

I recently read an article on TOI which mentioned that the movie Mission Impossible 3 was called to be banned by many Chinese since it had a scene shot in Shanghai where apartments were shown with clotheslines outside their windows!! That’s typical China for you. They do not tolerate (err.. their Government do not tolerate) even a slight alteration to the way they want the “others” to perceive them…and they can afford to do that since they are not a democracy yet!

Shantaram, a novel by Gregory David Roberts, paints a similar picture of Dharavi, where he has expressed his shock and dismay at the condition of people’s lives in these 10000+ houses. What is our government and the average Indians (and not so average Indians such as Mr. AB) who are ashamed of a part of India being projected that way to the West doing about these slums? This “underbelly” of India is showcased in the movie only because it exists in reality!! Instead of being “reactive” to such movies and books, I hope now that these people step forward to revive these slums, so that more movies featuring it do not crop up again, reeling a section of the country into unwarranted dissensions.

“Wonder”ful India!

During the last couple of weeks, I have been watching “the Seven Wonders of India”, a program on NDTV and I must confess that I am amazed at the plethora of heritage monuments, culture and natural beauty that our country possesses. India was being discovered in every episode. So much of beauty lie unexplored or forgotten in every single state and with each of the nomination vying with one other in its beauty, rarity & magnificence, it is an arduous task to shortlist the wonders to a mere 7!. The list of “wonders” included ancient temples, universities, mausoleums, caves, wildlife sanctuaries, backwaters, synagogues, and a wide range of other man-made and natural marvels that make this country so rich and so different

India is indeed incredible! Whether it is the ancient town of Shravanabelagola in Karnataka or it is the splendid Meenakshi temple of Madurai or the rock-cut caves of the Ajanta-Ellora or the Golden Temple at Amritsar or the magnificent Sun Temple at Konark, or the ancient University of Nalanda or the Holy ghats at Varanasi or natural scenic areas of Sunderbans or the Silent Valleys or the Valley of Flowers, everything in my view had perfect reasons for their inclusion in the list.

Viewers were expected to vote for their choice of the 7 wonders to choose the ultimate list of winners. When the 20 short-listed nominees were disclosed yesterday from the initial 240 choices, the only reason for elimination that one could assume was when people voting for their choice of the 7 wonders tended to be partial towards their states. As the final list of 7 will be unveiled in a few weeks’ time, this year-long, first-of-its-kind effort can be hailed as a brilliant initiative by ministry of tourism in collaboration with the media. The attempt to capture the beauty of all these and explaining the factoids behind these places deserving a spot in the list of “wonders” was outstanding.

The grass being greener on the other side couldn’t have been more clichéd than here where we see Indians (including myself.. I can barely count the number of places I have visited from this list) thronging to travel to beauty locales abroad when they haven’t ventured out to catch a glimpse of such places their own country has to offer. I am definitely smitten by the beauty of this country & the glory of our heritage and I hope that there will be a large portion of people who will be enchanted by these places now and will want to explore them.....protect them for posterity.

The call of the cuckoo..

I was awakened from my peaceful slumber this morning by the call of a cuckoo. So pleasant was it’s sound that I lay awake a couple of minutes more hoping to hear it once again. It must have been perched on the tree just outside my house. As I stood sipping my tea, I tried to look for it on that tree from the window of my living room. I did not find it anywhere nor did I hear it coo again till I left for my work.

He must have chuckled in glee to indicate the end of the Bangalore winter; ushering in the spring or it must have sung to attract its mate. But those two notes stayed in my mind as I left home to board my bus this morning. I began to notice that the winter was indeed receding.. Fresh green leaves were sprouting on many of the trees that were bald even a week ago. The newly blossomed bougainvilleas stood beautifully in all their myriad colours on people’s house compounds. The early morning wind was less crispy today and I could feel the sun fiercely penetrating through the bus’s window to warm my cheeks.

I was feeling very low since the last few days and today since the time I heard the cuckoo sing, I felt my mood slightly go upbeat. It has made me want to travel to some place else… some place near a brook…away from the everyday din...under the clear blue sky…beneath a canopy of trees.. listening to more country birds sing and lie soaking in the imminent spring. I hope I am able to gather a few of my friends together and travel away atleast for a weekend to some such place soon.

I hoped he was the first cuckoo of the spring that I heard..it gives me hope to look forward to more such wonderful daybreaks.

...In lighter veins!

I have been intending to post this for a while now but as usual I have been procrastinating a lot… Like all deferrers say, it’s better late than never!

With every newspaper keeping aside a considerable portion of their columns to write about the global financial meltdown and with so many market watchers and eminent economists predicting the fate of the world economy and so many discussions on this subject, I know that anything more that I, or for that matter anyone else, write on it is just otiose. However, over the past few months, I have come across a few write-ups that help one to look at the subject in lighter notes. I have compiled them here for future reading as well….
(courtesy: a lot of sources from the internet)

a) A little ditty about Merrill Lynch and CEO John Thain..

At first I was amazed,
But I was dignified

When Merrill offered me the job,
I almost died
But I've spent the last few nights wondering just what went wrong
Our firm was strong
But I wasn't the boss for very long
There was just no way back
From Stan's bad place
I didn't have the time to write down all our toxic waste

I should have dumped it all at once
That really was the key

Then all those short sellers
Wouldn't have made such a fool of me
I thought we'd press on
I was pretty sure
Please believe me
I didn't see BofA coming through our door

But our firm stock, it soon went short
And the future, it looked real black
Like Lehman we'd get caught
And there would be just no way back
The name's John Thain (But I'm not to blame)
I thought we'd survive

Oh, now I'll soon be off
I'll be on my way

But I've got that real big bonus
Then there's my stock option pay
So I'll survive
I will survive, hey, hey
It took all the self-belief I had
To stay this strong
I even called up Goldman Sachs
To see if they would come along
And I spent all last weekend
Trying to do a deal
But I just can't lie
Now this firm don't need me
You'll have someone new
Ken Lewis rules
That much is very true
Our staff will really feel the pinch
You'll soon be feeling blue

There'll be no more Merrill Lynch
No more jobs left for me and you
I thought we'd press on
I was pretty sure

Please believe me
I didn't see BofA coming through our door

But our firm stock, it soon went short
And the future, it looked real black
Like Lehman we'd get caught
And there would be just no way back
The name's John Thain (But I'm not to blame)
I thought we'd survive
But I thought we'd press on
I was pretty sure
Please believe me
I didn't see BofA coming through our door

But our firm stock, it soon went short
And the future, it looked real black
Like Lehman we'd get caught
And there would be just no way back
The name's John Thain (I'm off to work for John McCain)
Sorry we didn't survive

b).The after-effects of the sub-prime crisis:

President Bush said, the clients shouldn't be concerned by all these bank closings. If the bank is closed, you just use the ATM, he said.

George Bush said that he is saddened to hear about the demise of Lehman brothers… His thoughts at this time go out to their mother as losing one son is hard but losing two is a tragedy.

How do you define optimism? A banker who irons 5 shirts on a Sunday.

Why are all MBAs going back to school? To ask for their money back.

For Geography students: What's the capital of Iceland?
Answer: About Three Pounds Fifty...

A trader: "This is worse than a divorce. I've lost half my net worth and I still have a wife."

If you want to gamble, go to Las Vegas. If you want to trade in derivatives, God bless you.

Forty years ago I sold fifty shares of my company stock and had enough money to purchase a brand-new 1967 Ford pickup. Last week, I checked it out, and if I sold another fifty shares, I'd have enough money to buy a 1967 Ford pickup. So, the market has stablized.

"I want to warn people from Nigeria who might be watching our show, if you get any e-mails from Washington asking for money, it's a scam. Don't fall for it" — Jay Leno

"Do you have any idea how cheap stocks are now? Wall Street is now being called Wal-Mart Street" — Jay Leno

Q: What is the difference between a pigeon and a London investment banker?
A: The pigeon can still make a deposit on a BMW

Q: What's the difference between a guy who just lost everything in Vegas and an investment banker?
A: A tie

The problem with investment bank balance sheets is that on the left side nothing's right and on the right side nothing's left

I went to buy a toaster and a bank was given free with it!

c). An ode to Lehman Bros...

There once was a bank built on credit
Toxic loans, CDOs further fed it
But when it came time to sell
It was after the bell
And the Fed and the Street simply fled it

But think of us upper class bankers
Good food and champagne we still hanker
Now back on Main Street
No more world at our feet
Yet still we are thought of as .......

Who next ? What now ? Where to go ?
Are we heading for Wall Street's last throw ?
Replaced by hedge funds emerging
Sovereign money resurging
Is there a future for us ? We don't know'.

d). Investment banking groom valuations fall in Wedding market

Hyderabad: The subprime crisis in the US has made its effects felt in India as well, this time in the highly lucrative weddings futures market in Andhra Pradesh. "An IIM passout at a US investment bank like Lehman Brothers was as good as it got, a few weeks back. But now parents of brides want to stay as far as possible from such profiles", said Dr Rajan, an expert with over 20 years of experience in the matrimonial industry.

The first visible effects were noted in the online space yesterday with scores of investment banking profiles being "blocked" by women across matrimonial & social networking sites. Apparently the average "Be my friend" request index from 20 - 26 years old women to investment bankers have dropped from 24 to 2 in a period of three weeks. "As Indians, we have always been trained to think long term", said an unrepentant Sophia after deleting 6 investment bankers from her Friends list.

Mrs Narayani, head of the Old Wives & Aunts Network, the most powerful lobby working in this industry said that the offline impact will also be felt sooner than later. "As of today, we are downgrading Financial Services, Investment banking & Outsourcing from 'Marriage Material (MM)' to 'Ignore Politely (IP)'. But we stand committed to all deals that have been mutually agreed upon before Sep 15th, provided the groom can present evidence of fresh employment & adequate capital reserves, preferably in cash only", she said.

Raj Malhotra, a Lehman Brothers investment banker who was holding out, hoping for a better valuation said "Maybe I should not have waited so long & should have accepted the buyout offer from the Mysore based girl". Utopia has also learnt that a number of investment bankers have lowered their next quarter projections and are now ready to marry any girl who will just let them.

It is also reported that the worst fears of any banker - the girl insisting on a sense of humour - might also come true as the market prepares itself for a long winter.