Dialoguebaazi - Tirangaa....

Rajkumar's iconic entry scene in Tirangaa movie

I love Rajkumar & his dialogues.
Mehul Kumar, one of better directors made memorable movies with Rajkumar.
Tirangaa, I love it.
Was watching it & found a bug in it.
In 1962 War, Rajkumar is promoted from Major to Brigadier.
TIranga released in 90's.... Rajkumar is shown in active-service.....
Meaning for nearly 30 years, He stayed in same Brigadier role all thru 30 years.
.... Funny.

Maggi - I've given it up.

http://www.rediff.com/business/interview/the-man-who-brought-maggi-back/20161220.htm

I was into Maggi, when forced to cook myself. I picked up eating Maggi pretty late in life.
Still, It was tasty.

Then came the Bomb. Maggi contained "must not eat" particles.

Rumour had it  that the incident happened at the hindi hinterlands, where Baba Ramdev was strong & was
going to launch noodles.

Now, that was when Maggi went off the shelf. Looking for alternatives, I noticed Top Ramen 10 Rs packets.
It was made of Whole Wheat Flour or Atta , while other brands(inlcuding Maggi, Sunfeast, Chings, Bambino) were made of Wheat Flour, viz, Maida.

Deciding to go with Top Ramen for both Atta & 70gm for 10 Rs, I've started stocking Top Ramen Green color packets..

Maggi is back in the shelf, but

1. it is 12 Rs. 
2. Made of Maida

Off late, I saw Top Ramen selling for 15 Rs. I bought it once, but find it no more in More Stores..

Looks priceof 12 Rs for 70 gm is going to be the new normal. Gotta brace for it, but I'm not going back to Maida Maggi.

POS Machine

http://www.rediff.com/business/special/the-foot-soldiers-of-modis-cashless-india/20161202.htm

Initial investment 25,000 to 35,000 rupees
Sim Card, Signal Connectivity, Electricity & Wiring, Place to allow customer to key-in the pin, printing paper, servicing of POS Machine(AMC), Settlements with bank (Time & charges for it)...

transaction  fees: 
Each transaction (free till end of 2016): 
0.75% of transaction,  if transaction amount < 2000 ==> (~20 Rs maximum)
1% of transaction,  if transaction amount > 2000 ==> (minimum 20 Rs & upwards)
obvious, this will be borne by customer, which is incentive to use cash...

Who bears the cost of Initial investment? 
To break even this investment in say 1 years...~69 Rs per day is the cost. POS Machine must provide business above 69 Rs. 


Like police makes CCTV mandatory, this POS Machine will add to cost of operating business.
It is uncertain, if merchant & customer benefits, but all the intermediaries facilitating the POS Machine (Bank, POS Machine manufacturer, Servicing Company, Sim Card Provider, Electricity company..)  will make a killing.

2016 Sandalwood Star Hero movies fate.

2016 Sandalwood Star Hero movies fate.

Puneeth: Dodmane Hudga Sep 30
Sudeep: Mukunda Muraari 
             Kotigobba-2 Aug 12
Darshan: Jaggu Dada July 10
Vijay: Dana Kaayonu: Oct 7
Yash: Santu Straight Forward Oct 28
:) Nikhil Kumar(aswamy): Jaguar Oct 6
Ganesh: Mungaaru Male: Sep 10
             Joom July 10
Jaggesh: Neer Dose Sep 2
Shivaraj kumar: Santeyalli Ninta Kabeera : Aug 12
Upendra: Mukunda Muraari 
                Kalpana 2 - July 15
Vinay Rajkumar: Run Antony July 15
Ravichandran: Apoorva July 10
Ananth Nag: Godhi banna saadhaarana maikattu


Godhi banna saadhaarana maikattu got good word of mouth.
Rest are Hit for producers & Stars & TV Anchors.
Unsure, how many of us have seen it.


Rajkumar always used to say, Story is important, not the Star.
His joke was "If king claps, hey come here, some one must be there to come? If only King is shown & no one answers him, Where's the respect for king?".

1996-99 was better period in Kannada Filmdom. Directors got respect & were seen as Stars.

Sunil Kumar Desai stood out with Beladingala baale & Nammoora Mandaara Hoove
Umakanth gave anuraaga sangama.
Nagabharana gave Janumada Jodi.

Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Ravichandran, Shivarajkumar, Movies that relied on Star power failed miserably.

Ramesh became a bankable star. With lot of hot-scenes, Prakash Rai's naagamandala too became hit. (Ravichandran took that hot-scenes in Malla to a new level :) )


I hope these string of flops forces film-folks to chase Good-Stories (Subject in their jargon)

It is high time, people who can direct a good commercial film like Upendra, Naganna, Yogaraj Bhat, Soori, all join hands for a day-wide workshop & discuss.

No amount of hand-wriggling about non-issues like Reality Shows run by Stars, Theatres, Dubbing, will help.

RBI Statement - Don't hoard Cash.

http://www.rediff.com/business/report/dont-hoard-cash-asks-rbi/20161113.htm

‘The Reserve Bank urges that public need not be anxious; need not come over to banks repeatedly to draw and hoard; Cash is available when they need it,’ the central bank said in a statement

When I need cash, I need to go to bank...No where else we have 10,20,50 & 100 Rs Notes.
 RBI has this tactic of forcing us to read between the lines.

Cash is available, when they need it. ==> I doubt there's not enough cash & hence, we are made to stand in Queues, until enough notes are printed.

It's a tactic from ages. Stay unprepared, endup creating panic & asking to stay calm.

ATM were disbursing 1000, 500 & 100 (occasionally 50 Rs), but now they aren't doing it.

ATM's dispense 40 notes maximum, Now that 100 Rs is the maximum currency, 40 notes == 40 X 100 = 4000 is the max withdrawal amount.

Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi.. I got thinking about him....
He's older( born 1970) than Sachin Tendulkar (24-4-1973).
Heck, even his younger sister Priyanka (born 1972) is older than the now retired Sachin.
Sachin is old man now in Indian Cricket.
But then Politics goes hand in hand with Cinema, where 50+ are still chasing 20+ gals.

So, 40+ Rahul is the youth-leader & 40+ Priyanka is his eternal-replacement, if things are to be.

The chief of baba-log, Rahul Gandhi was best suited to take oevr from Manmohan Singh.

Indira Gandhi got Rajeev Gandhi (I desist & dread writing about Sanjeev/Sanjay Gandhi.. Can't imagine India under his leadership, the leader whose hobbies were noble like blood-donation & tree-planting & energies spent in pruning down slums & population... He was ruthlessly efficient) going by getting him to organise Asian Games.

Sonia Gandhi, too could have gotten Rahul Gandhi growing in a similar manner.
With an army of advisors & well-wishers, there was no stone left unturned for Rahul to become India's PM. But, it was not to be. Hamlet of India, Rahul too turned away from throne, though he has definitely cocked a snook, saying He could have become PM, but denounced that chance.....

Being groomed by the suave Diggi-Raja (2 time CM of Madhya Pradesh, Raja Digvijay Singh), Rahul has been in Parliament for 12 years now.  He regularly makes it to the top of lists, released by ADR(Association for Democratic Reforms) in absentee MP list. (He has grand company of my other favourites, Latha Mangeshkar, Rekha, Sachin, ....)

He keeps saying power is a poison..... He's seen his granny & daddy getting blown by terrorists.

Have to give it to him, luck couldn't have been more rewarding than him to any one else.

Most eligible bachelor, eternally shy person.
Wonder, what life has to offer to him in 2019.

Equity(Stock Market) Valuation is a Maaya.

Equity(Stock Market) Valuation is a Maaya.

Valuation is not encashable at said-price.
It's just an abberration, an 

Getting screwed in Share Market is quite easy

http://www.indianotes.com/Investment-Strategy/Jyoti-Structures-Healthy-order-book-to-drive-growth/151526

Read it well.
Jyoti Structures....
I just celebrated 6'th anniversary of a stock I hold....
having purchased it around 155 Rs, It is quoting 11 odd Rs.

I'm in this for long term. :)

Domlur Road SkyWalk......

Climb & Walk thus functional SkyWalk at Domlur-Inner Road Bridge Junction,,,,,
Example of Bad-Design by BBMP/BDA & all concerned.

Some more Dr Rajan - good article raising correct questions.

http://swarajyamag.com/economy/why-is-media-giving-raghuram-rajan-a-free-pass

Sam Iyengar raises the right questions.

1. He's been with UPA1 & UPA2, not just NDA2
2. His past performance, Talks & charm gets fused with his performance, leading to confusion between performance & pedigree
3. Brotherhood could be behind "Extend Rajan" Calls.

Well, comparing him with the Jalan's, Reddya & Rao's tenure would have shown Indian Media in good-light. 

Some more Dr Rajan - good article raising correct questions.

http://swarajyamag.com/economy/why-is-media-giving-raghuram-rajan-a-free-pass

Sam Iyengar raises the right questions.

1. He's been with UPA1 & UPA2, not just NDA2
2. His past performance, Talks & charm gets fused with his performance, leading to confusion between performance & pedigree
3. Brotherhood could be behind "Extend Rajan" Calls.

Well, comparing him with the Jalan's, Reddya & Rao's tenure would have shown Indian Media in good-light. 

Why R-exit happened? TheJaggi explains it very well.

http://www.firstpost.com/business/lessons-from-raghuram-rajans-exit-stop-painting-rbi-governor-as-superman-2843184.html

 From @TheJaggi 

Swamy made it difficult for the government to act either way: ask Rajan to go or stay. Rajan made the decision easier for the government, and for this, Arun Jaitley owes him one.

"Outspokenness is usually not appreciated in central bank governors beyond the ambit of money policy. Perhaps this is one lesson all governors can learn. Rajan faced flak because he seemed to be playing to a world gallery, when the government was over-sensitive to domestic and international criticism after Modi came to power. Given the English media’s ambivalence — if not outright hostility — to the Modi government, Rajan unnecessarily gave the impression that he was not a fan of the government. The media’s decision to paint him as Superman did not help matters.

We lost a good governor in the process."

So True. 

Prof R Vaidyanathan, author of India Un-Inc is the best bet for RBI Governor. But then, Urijit Patel is  Rajan's Deputy & has been with RBI for quite some time.

Having seen Modi Administration's appointment pattern, they don't seem to bother much about Instituitions.... they pick the first name from the Sack, So Mr Patel could head Mint Street. 

Dr Rajan, while you were there, your serene words gave all English Newspaper & Blog Readers some hope. Your words & deeds did cockle our hearts & not to ignore, You were truly a Rock-Star, even if it hadn't come from Shobhaa Dey's column. 

I also think in other angles.

1. Was the publicity Dr Rajan was getting, a bit unsettling for administration? 
2. Was Dr Rajan's task of cleaning Balance Sheets of PSU Banks threatening big business? 
3. Was Professor Rajan's tendency to lecture bore the treasury benches?

While truth rarely comes out in full, these could have played non-zero role. 
Any way,

Go Sir, There's whole mass of students you need to educate. Plz put your lectures on MOOC's. Some day, they'll be alike Feymann Lectures on Physics.

Adil Rustomjee

http://www.firstpost.com/author/adil-rustomjee

Fuel Efficient Bikes.

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/biking-and-motoring-indias-top-10-fuel-efficient-bikes/20160428.htm

This article shows few things that are wrong in Indian Media (be  it online or offline)

1. MotorBeam take has a look at the 10 most frugal bikes in India. .....claimed mileage  Please note, this is the mileage as claimed by the bike-company under ideal conditions...  not on Indian roads, built by CP Joshi, Oscar Fernandes, Kamalnath & Nitish Kumar. (Oh, should I put it as GMR, IVRCL, Punj Llyod, Lanco & others...) Honda Activa started in India with claimed mileage of 40 km per litre of petrol (referred as kmpl). 35 kmpl is it's peak mileage. On average, 30 kmpl is terrific.
2. Bajaj Discover, Hero Splendor series sell well & do have resale value, just due to their 50+ mileage...
3. wrong in Indian Media: Mass Media is liked, when it speaks the language of masses. We, the Masses speak of on-road mileage (very much like the on-road price :)), not company-claimed mileage. Above Website would do well to mention the on-road mileage of each of these bikes....something they already do in their "long term review-Final report" section.. like Hero Splendor Pro Classic or TV Star CIty+

On a related note, look at the bikes rediff proposed to college-students....  Bikes costing upwards of one-lakh.... .. Definitely, not my type, but also not aam-aadmi type.

FMCG Companies profit strategy - Thanks to Adil Rustomjee and Firstpost

http://www.firstpost.com/business/corporate-business/colberts-goose-how-fmcg-companies-are-making-a-jackass-out-of-you-1989525.html


Finest you'll find around.

Judicial Over reach -1

Judicial Over reach

My 2 paise  comments on http://swarajyamag.com/politics/jaitley-tells-sc-to-get-off-my-turf-he-must-get-parliament-to-do-the-same#comment-2673324154

I need to find some way to get the disqus comments into blogposts.

We are seeing this day, purely because of the failure of legislature. Drought is not discussed in any legislative house (State, Center & Union Territories), far from getting any concrete action on ground.
Recall Hunger deaths in Kaalahandi forced state governments to implement mid-day meals. It was Supreme Courts "DO IT NOW" Order.
NGO's (ISKCON & etc.,) feed better than government departments. Kids are better off, due to that.

What had stopped Fin Minister from spending serious money fighting drought? Couldn't the Generals (Attorney General, Solicitor General & etc.,) mention all the MNREGA, Water Tanker to Latur, Bundelkhand & such acts to the Honorable Justices?

Isn't it ineptitude of Law Ministry which can't ascertain facts before the courts?
Throw some hard numbers to the judges, Mention the maze of laws used by themselves (The judges who dispense stay, status-quo & decrees at will ) & give them harsh look at the truth.

Start with "It takes X Lakhs to run this court" in the same way as "26 lakhs per minute to run Parliament". "It takes X lakhs, X months & X persons to argue a case at your court..." Such stats will set the cat among the pigeons. Mention the costs Courts are imposing due to their vacations, stay-orders & such.

Yes, judicial overreach is a sad fact, but it is better to fight it with proper means. Make the judges aware of the problems in "Getting things done in today's India".

Some Vineeth Narayan (guy who started bringing courts to fight Hawala in 90's) is needed today, to hold a mirror.