The Mumai Local Chronicles - The Prequel

'The Mumbai local'. A part fascination, part frustration story that every other Mumbaikar (being politically correct over here) feels everyday. Let me start from the days when I used to visit Mumbai during school and college days. It was a unique thrilling experience for a person coming from the organised city of Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Chaos everywhere. People running for the local which has just starting moving. I used to make trips from Khar to Church Gate or Khar to Vasai in the 'non-peak' hours. All was at ease in the period of 11 am to 5 pm. I used to wonder why people are crying about local travelling so much!!!

After my MBA, I stayed in Thane and worked at Thane, a peaceful neighborhood of the real Mumbai for 3 years till December 2009. In the mean time, Kushal was my lone friend who had tasted the sweet-bitter locals. Even when coming to Church Gate via VT from Thane we took trains only in the non-peak hours. Kushal used to describe his daily train trips from Thane to Dadar with such romantism that I almost feel in love with the imagination of travelling in trains during the 'peak hours'. He had that ability of telling everyday train experiences with panache. Even when a thief stole mobile from his pocket in the train and ran off when the train started, it was more of a movie that we were watching than feeling the loss of our friend. So in a snapshot, I was game for the train travel. When I got a chance to move to a job located at Lower Parel, I didn't let my mind waver once in the fear of train travel. But I didn’t have a clue of what was awaiting me.

More to follow… The first “peak hour” trip.   

P.S.: If you are in Mumbai, there is great freely distributed software available at: www.mobond.com. No GPRS (Internet) requires for timetable! Mumbai Local train timetable, BEST bus route finder, Indian Railways PNR status finder by IRCTC, Current Movie Shows and Maps! (I am not associated in any way with this software)

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The journey of reading - Part I

“Reading is a passion that needs to be cultivated!” – I think so

I admit that I have been at a loss due to very late entry in bringing books in my life. But as the saying goes: “Better late than never”. In school days, I used to read the usual: Hardy Boys, Famous Five and the likes. But soon as like every other Indian, I was submersed under a plethora of text books, guides and work books. It was difficult to take out time for fiction pieces. After clearing each stage of studies, I become more and more away from pursing the hobby of reading.

I could not get hold on a single adult fiction book until I finished Engineering. While preparing for my MBA, I was told by my tutors to read a lot of fiction books. Apparently, they said it would help to improve my comprehension and vocabulary skills. I still remember it was “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. As every reader would face during their initial days, I got bored after reading 5-10 pages at a stretch. But then, the story-telling in that book was perfect. I remember vividly that the story was of a boy who was looking for a treasure and in turn finding meaning of life, death, et al. A famous quote from the book has been revolving in my head “When you want something, all  the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” After finishing the first book in hand it gives an immense sense of satisfaction. I still get that kick after I finish every book.

After getting into MBA, again the same study cycle began but this time I had one of my room-mate who was also fortunately a reader. Shashank Sharma. We both discussed the books that we read. We also found a library which used to give us books at an inexpensive rate of INR 20 per 14 days. That was the much needed motivation. In order to not waste the money on a single book, we strived to finish off the books in 14 days. Reading late night till your eyes says “sleep” but your mind says “read”. It was in that period (about 5 years ago) I picked up the book that had a long lasting impact of my thinking. “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand, my first 1000+ page book, revolved around philosophy of objectivism and individualism. You might have tried to live few of the characters that you read in books. I tried to live that of Howard Roark’s. And I was loving it. But I couldn’t carry on the baton of thinking individually because we live in a society - with people whom we love and who love us. Total disassociation from them is very difficult. Maybe in future, I might give it a re-read and again try to live it. Who knows, this time I might succeed.

P.S: To get a hang of the philosophy of "The Fountainhead" do watch the video below. It is from the movie version of the book which is delivered brilliantly by Gary Cooper. I would recommend the book than the movie!

End of Part I

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Movies that are a sure "Treat for the Mind"

I enjoy movies that really challenge your mind to work out the intricacies involved. There are movies that make the mind numb by their sheer display of story-telling and intelligence. The genre includes sci-fi, drama, fantasy, adventure and action. I am jotting down few movies that are really mind-boggling and that demand repeat views:

2001: a space odyssey - Mankind finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, artifact buried on the moon and, with the intelligent computer HAL, sets off on a quest.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.

Inception: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception.

Knowing: A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Limitless: A writer discovers a top-secret drug which bestows him with super human abilities. The best ability: While normal human being uses only 20% of their brain, he can use 100%.

Magnolia: An epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Repo Man: Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed.

Requiem for a Dream: The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island individuals are shattered when their addictions become stronger.

Shutter Island: Drama set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding nearby. 

Source Code: An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.

The Butterfly Effect: A young man blocks out harmful memories of significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life.

The Illusionist: In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing. 

The Machinist: An industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity.  

The Matrix: A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.

Vanilla Sky: A successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a jaded lover. 

I am in a constant search for movies that are a real treat for the thinking minds. If you have a similar movie in mind just drop me an email or please comment below.


Image and Synopsis Source: www.imdb.com 

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Will the LinkedIn listing be a precursor to the next dot-com bubble?

I, being an Indian (like the every sixth person in the world), will have to face the aftermath of everything that happens in US of A. Be it the latest of the technology (i-phones, BBs...) or the financial products (CDOs, CMOs, ABSs…). So we have to closely watch what USA and its people are after, to estimate the "next big thing" that can alter our lives (No pun intended over here). No doubt USA is still number 1 consumer of the world and everyone, right from Mexico to Japan would be happy to serve USAites. "This we already know. So what's your point?" Exactly. The emergence of second wave of dot-com companies is the new area of concern.

Taking cue from the Thursday listing of LinkedIn, one of the major professional networking sites brought an upheaval among the investors. The share price increased dramatically from its listing price of USD 45 to USD 122.70 before settling at USD 94.25. One Friday it slipped 1.23% to reach 93.09. So, a good return of approximately 110 percent in 2 days. "This company is great!" Come on. Let's look at some of the fundamentals. LinkedIn had an pre-ipo valuation of around USD 4.3 billion which post-ipo has shot up to USD 8.8 billion, which is around 37 times its revenues last year. The tangible book-value per share is around USD 3.38 with slowing revenue growth and almost zero projected profits. LinkedIn's PE ratio is astronomical (554) compared with its peers Google and Apple (~15).

Few differences from the last dot-com bubble are:

Established revenue models: Though marginal compared to the valuation, LinkedIn earned a profit of USD 15.4 million on revenue of USD 243.1 million.

No flood of companies: There are a handful (less than 10) of companies which are in the process of getting such investor-attraction as LinkedIn did.

This would bring the case in point. After a good response for LinkedIn (a dot-com company), will the implied valuation of USD 79.4 billion for Facebook and USD 7.2 billion for Twitter be justified? Will Microsoft be able to justify its recent buy of Skype for USD 8.5 billion?

Drawing comparisons with the last dot-com bubble burst, Netscape on its listing day (Aug 9, 1995) rose from USD 28 to USD 58.25 or 108 percent. Do you smell a rat here?

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Time to say “I Quit”?

The inherent problem with most of the achievers in every field is "When to quit?" The question often arises when you have achieved something and don't know what to do next. I am coming from the ongoing debate about Sourav Ganguly padding up and bringing his bat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) - fourth season. After being not picked up by any team, the brilliant left-hander was struggling to comprehend what to do next. He could have gone the way he chose during the recent cricket world cup: do commentary and give his expert opinions. He did that job brilliantly once again. But as soon as it was over, "Dada" as he is famously known, didn't know which path to take. He has displayed an average batting result with figures of 32 (32), 0 (5), 18 (22) in his three performances. With only one game left, Ganguly will be able to play only 4 matches of the 14 that Pune Warriors India played.

Dada has displayed exemplary leadership skills. He was responsible for backing players like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and even MS Dhoni who led India to win their second world cup in 28 years. I am a die-hard fan of Dada and give him the full credit of building the base of the team which won the cricket world cup of 2011. After giving cricket so much to yearn for, the person might expect more.

Imagine this scenario: Steve Jobs after building up Apple to greater heights was told to quit the firm. He went back silently but fought back hard. The management after he left was in blank space. Jobs built up another company only to be acquired by his baby, Apple. Ho-Ha. Steve Jobs comes back and revolutionizes how people perceived personal entertainment gadgets. This might be the single most sighted story in all business books. But what Ganguly is into sports and it demands a lot more physical strength than just mental. But what he could actually do is start an Academy and/ or propose his name as National Coach after gaining relevant experience in Indian/ International domestic cricket. The same rule can be applied to any field. Once you run out of fresh ideas in your domain, take a pause. Think. Pen down what you really want to do vs. what you are expected to do. It might take a while before you figure out everything but it is better than clinging on something that you also know is "over".  

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