Girish's Blog

There is more than meets the eye in the mysterious “accidental / suicidal” death of Bharat Borge who discovered the pebbles and gravel in the fuel tank of the helicopter which was to carry Anil Ambani. I for one, cannot believe that an ex-army man, will choose the easy way out after serving 20 years in the Indian Army. Whatever you say about anybody else, our army personnel are way above the hoi polloi and will definitely not let go of life in this fashion. The man who probably saved Anil Ambani’s life is now no more, the press and the public are out with the innuendos as to the cause of his death. Bharat was scheduled for being questioned by the cops on Wednesday a day before he died – is it not strange that the person who discovered the sabotage dies BEFORE being questioned? In his note he has claimed that people from Reliance met him a day earlier and wanted him to answer questions. Based on his note it appears that the Reliance officials wanted him to admit that he had planted the ...

This is interesting - thought i should share it with my readers. We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes. One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Then shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen? If I speak of my foot and show you my feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet? If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth? Then one may be that, and three would be those, Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, And the plural of cat is cats, not cose. We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren. Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim! Let's face it - English is a crazy...

The situation in Pakistan today is so fluid that the US policy in relation to the hyphenated relationship of Af-Pak is more like the second part of the title – pronounced differently would point out to a mess in the making. I have already written a lot on this subject, but the action across the border is far too serious to just ignore ….. it’s more and more likely to balloon into a major Fak-Ap as the colloquialism would indicate. The Taliban are moving inexorably towards Islamabad, occupying territory as they move. Reminds me of the manner in which Indira Gandhi had ignored Bhindranwale and had ultimately to use force to liberate the Golden Temple. The massacre which happened thereafter in Delhi, is not so far back in history that one can forget. Mrs. Gandhi paid for that folly with her life, gunned down by her own security guard in retaliation for the ostensible desecration of the Golden Temple. The Taliban has become a law unto itself, terrorizing the local populace with the threat ...

Today’s edition of the Mumbai Mirror carried a very interesting article titled “…..exactly what is an MP’s job?” An MBA graduate working with a private sector company in Delhi filed an application under the Right to Information Act titled “What is the exact responsibility of a Member of Parliament?” The application was filed with the Election Commission and guess what? – the Election Commission did not know the answer, it sought the answer from the ministries of Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs – both these ministries did not have a clue either! Now why is that not surprising? First let me point out what a MP in India gets, then I will tell you what we get in return from those we elect for the tax payers money spent on our elected representatives. What an MP gets: Salary ; Rs. 12000 pm, Rs. 20000 pm for office expenses, Constituency allowance of Rs.12000 pm, Daily allowance of Rs. 1000 when Parliament is in session. This adds up to Rs. 50000 pm (assuming six days attendance of...

I had earlier written on “Who are the real terrorists” – this is just a re-affirmation of my beliefs. The incidents I am going to narrate have already been reported on – just want to give my insights about the same. Three incidents in the recent past in relation to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, firstly the Pakistani Premier saying about a month ago that the DNA records for two of the terrorists were absolutely identical, and our lazy bags going defensive saying that they need to check, second the Defense advocate Anjali Waghmare did not disclose her conflict of interest and the latest being Mr. Pranab Mukherjee going on record stating that Kasab’s mother wanted to come to India to see her son. Firstly, I cannot imagine such gross negligence, apathy and sheer inefficiency in sending an official record to a foreign government based on which India expects to have action initiated against the planners of the terror attacks in Pakistan. All we have managed to do is give the Pakistani ...

This evening when I switched on the news channels I was devastated after watching the news of 11 year old Shanno Khan’s death as a result of the heartless punishment meted out by her school teacher. Parent’s send their children to school thinking that their kids are safe and are at a home away from home for absorbing knowledge from educators. What a shame that we also produce teachers who can wreak havoc with the lives of innocent children – can you imagine the mental trauma the ten-eleven year old fellow students would be suffering from after seeing one of their own being brutally punished? The child’s head was banged on a table and then she was made to stand for more than two hours in Delhi’s unrelenting 40 degree Celsius heat with two bricks on her back in a “murga” position! I wish the teacher is punished in a similar fashion for at least eight hours with ten bricks on her back to account for the age factor. Let us see is she has the physical condition to withstand the punishment w...

The topic for discussion today can apply in equal measure in one’s personal life as well as in the office. This topic is a management subject – I propose to briefly discuss how it affects management of personal relations as well as an individuals’ role in discharge of his/her responsibilities in office. How many times have you thought or heard someone saying “I just can’t seem to take a decision?” We’ve all more or less been guilty of asking ourselves this type of question! When confronted as a result of a bad decision, it is typical to say “I didn’t think it was a big deal” or “I wasn’t thinking”. Unfortunately this practice of “not thinking” carries with it consequences, which could in some cases be quite unpleasant. Of course the truth is that whether you think about them or think them through, we CAN and DO make dozens of decisions daily. Everyone takes decisions on a daily basis, but these decisions fall in the realm of “routine” decisions, e.g. brushed my teeth, had a bath, made ...

I was in two minds whether to write this post or not, the reason being that this subject has been the topic of discussion in various fora. But the situation in Pakistan in the last couple of weeks has become so fluid that I thought it would be better to voice my thoughts! With persistent drone attacks in the NWFP by the US, it was not going to be long before the Taliban asserted itself in Pakistan. This they have done in the SWAT valley, the Switzerland of Pakistan, a scenic and beautiful part of the country – a tourists delight! Just over a third of the Pakistani land mass, if I am not mistaken. SWAT has been handed over to the “good” Taliban – as if there is a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ Taliban! Ultimately the true colors will start emanating from these leaders and they will start asserting ‘their’ law. In fact the Pakistan Parliament was forced to have a separate law for the SWAT region and the Sharia law has now been enforced. The Pakistani Parliament was arm twisted into accepting the con...

Friends this is something I received by snail mail and I thought I must share it with you. The punch line is quite telling and is so true world wide. Let me know if you think differently! Here goes : THE TAX POEM: Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table at which he's fed. Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the Rule. Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts Anyway! Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat. Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt. Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, tax him if he Tries to think. Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears! Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways to tax his ass. Tax all he has Then let him know that you won't be done till he has no dough! When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till he is good and sore. Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in which he's laid. Put these words upon his tomb, 'Taxes drove me to my doom...' Whe...

I have been observing with some consternation the quality of speeches being made in the name of electioneering by various political heavy weights. If you could count your votes just by the decibel value, then I guess our elections are going to be a very close race between all the factions. All you can hear is election babble with no strains of any symphony which would sound as music to the ears of the masses. You have name calling and slanging matches between highly educated politicians which leaves one to wonder what these guys eat or drink before making their speeches which makes them leave their common sense and just blindly retaliate. All speeches which one hears or reads about in the press are reactive speeches – no one seems to be making a speech which is proactive and issue based. If Modi calls the Congress a ‘budhiya’ party, we have Priyanka countering with BJP has the oldest candidates. If Varun Gandhi goes over the hill with his foot in the mouth disease and vile election spe...

One of the newspapers was very apt in its headline “Samajvaat Party of India” – It is actually the “samaj ki vaat laganewali” party – literally translated to mean “destroyer of society” party. I am really not surprised at the mentally retarded election manifesto which has been brought out by Mulayam Singh Yadav for the Samajwadi Party. Computers will be banned as they take up the jobs of the poor so says this high IQ national leader. Who are the poor that he is talking about? The poor farmers who have been hood winked by usurious money lenders to part with their land and work as bonded laborers with rich landlords. Who are these rich landlords? Ask Mulayam, Laloo and Paswan – which category they belong to, and whether they have in their long careers helped to resolve this issue! If computers are taking the jobs of these poor – God help the country – because we are projecting a leadership agenda which is mentally bankrupt. No right thinking primary school student would make such a ludic...

This could actually become a new Grand Slam Sporting event. The world is evolving and new sports should be added to keep public interest alive in sporting variety entertainment. The incidents of throwing shoes at politicians are becoming more and more common with the latest targeted recipient being our respected Home Minister. He probably smelt the refreshing aroma of used canvas as the shoe flung by journalist Jarnail Singh swished past his nose as he took evasive action. After Mr. George W. Bush in Baghdad, it was the turn of Chinese Premier Mr. Wen Jiabao at Cambridge University receiving the honors from one of listeners who threw the missile and called the Premier a dictator! Now it is our famous Home Minister who became the missed target. The popular response which shoe throwing has received in the public psyche can be judged by the fact that at http://www.sockandawe.com/91,498,174 have already hit Bush in the face and the website is even offering a $1,000 prize for the person who...

The Hockey World Cup may not be permitted to be held in India in 2010. The president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has conveyed a very strong message to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that if it does not put an elected hockey federation in place before the event, the event will move to Malaysia. Mr. K.P.S. Gill who had controlled the Indian Hockey Federation with an iron hand for decades was asked to quit in April 2008 on bribery charges made by players for being selected into the national team. Mr. Jothikumaran was the prime accused in the 2008 bribery scandal which forced the IOA to dissolve the Indian Hockey Federation and appoint an ad-hoc committee led by Aslam Sher Khan to oversee hockey administration in India. KPS Gill has filed a suit in court against the dissolution of the federation. It is sad to see a geriatric policeman who did his country proud in the fight against terror in Punjab in the eighties unleashing a different kind of terror in India’s hocke...

I liked the statement made by Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Gandhi family (akin to the Kennedy family in the US) yesterday, namely, “We are proud of the poor of India. We believe in the poor people of India and they (the opposition) are ashamed of them”. We all know that it is election time and that every politician worth his name is trying to be pro poor, secular, patriot, savior of the nation, etc. I liked this statement by Rahul Gandhi because it comes from the heart and he means every word he has said. If it had not been for the Congress, right since Nehru’s time, followed by Indira Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and then various non-Gandhi Congressmen who have ruled India from Delhi for around 55 years of the 62 years after independence, India would not have remained poor you know. The policy of the Congress has always been to keep the poor in poverty, bring in various schemes for poverty alleviation, slogans such as “garibi hatao”, “roti, kapada aur makaan”, etc and then go on and enrich ...

Over the years I have had the opportunity to study managers in action in various organizations spread across industries as diverse as steel production to software engineering. One basically comes across two kinds of people – the talkers and the performers, there is a third kind, but he/she is rare – he/she balances talking with performing – this would be the ideal person to lead a team. There is a French proverb, which beautifully summarizes the subject – translated it means – “Great talkers, little doers”. I will take you through my understanding of the character traits of talkers and performers in that order. Lots of people are talkers. They tell you all about what they are "going to do". They have big plans and good intentions, but all they do is talk. They're always going to do it tomorrow. They're always going to do it later. They're always "going to do it." These guys have all the ideas, but to implement them they will say they need to hire more pe...

It is really long overdue and welcome news which has emanated from the G-20 meeting being held in London. Tax havens have had a pretty free run for the past few decades and have sheltered funds of dubious characters – whether they are crooked politicians, arms/drugs smugglers, terrorists or crooked businessmen. Along with these deviant characters you also have genuine businesses who plan their taxes in such a way as to minimize the incidence of tax so as to maximize shareholder value. A differentiation between tax evaders and tax avoiders needs to be made, and this has been discussed threadbare over the years. I am sure those who plan their taxes will have no problem with the disclosure requirements which will be laid down following the G-20 meeting. It is the others who need to worry! Tax haven countries have lax banking laws which enable them to refuse parting with information about their clients in spite of requests from various national Governments. The countries named are Costa Ri...

The wiki describes “secularism” as the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs. This would therefore imply that people belonging to different faiths and sections of society are equal before the law, the Constitution and government policy. It also means that there can be no mixing up of religion and politics nor can there be any discrimination against anyone on grounds of faith – this is what the Constitution makes an attempt at guaranteeing. If you accept the concept of secularism as defined then the validity of religion in the public domain and in society is necessarily limited. Individuals in society may base their values on the basis of religion but where such values impinge on society as a whole, in such cases the basis of social consensus cannot be religion - definitely not any one particular religion! Historically too, certain values in a society may have their foundation in religion but these values nee...

I have been giving deep thought as to who should actually qualify for the tag of “terrorist”. Are misguided and brain washed youth with weapons of destruction who come once in a while and wreak havoc on an unsuspecting populace better deserving of this tag or is it the PWD workers / bureaucrats / politicians / cops who in the guise of serving the people end up making life miserable on a daily basis to almost the entire citizenry more deserving of the tag? Do give it some thought. I do agree that killing people through violent means definitely qualifies as an act of terror as and when it happens. In such a scenario unknown people kill wantonly and sometimes escape and in other cases are either killed or arrested – after their arrest what happens – is justice delivered? Is it seen to be delivered – in fact by the time it is delivered the act of violence invariably has faded away from peoples memory. What about those people who make life a daily living hell for the vast majority – the cit...

ESOP’s (Employee Stock Option Plans) have always been issued as an incentive to retain good employees. In times of rising markets employees gain along with investors hence investors have no grounds for complain for issuing a small percentage of shares as per the approved plan to employees at the price determined as per SEBI’s pricing formula. The price so determined is usually much less than the market price in times of rising stock markets which is inherently beneficial to the employees. The question to be addressed is whether ESOP’s should be re-priced in normal and abnormal scenarios. By normal scenario, I mean in cases where the markets are fairly priced, but a particular company’s price has fallen drastically. This by implication would mean that the company has not performed to expectations. The fact that a company is not doing well economically would imply that the employees are not performing or the management team is not leading the company in a profitable direction. In either ...