“Wimbledon is a bit like Disneyland – it is a world of make-believe.” Jigneshbhai said when we met last. The three of us were just back from London having gone through the surreal experience of watching a couple of matches including one featuring Federer in Wimbledon. Jigneshbhai was right indeed. Everything about Wimbledon is far … Read more
Greek mythology is full of kings and heroes who get condemned by the Gods to punishments that are cruel and terrible. Some of these are fallen heroes like the defeated titan, Atlas, who was condemned to hold the burden of the world on his shoulders. Or his brother, Prometheus, who stole fire for human use, … Read more
Three years back, SEBI decided to ban entry loads on equity mutual funds to stop their gross mis-selling. What this move also ended up doing was it stopped its selling. While it is true that no one has any monetary incentive to sell mutual funds anymore, the widespread perception that the problems in the mutual … Read more
“Yesterday a friend of mine said that he used to have a Professor who taught them Market Research and Quality Management, and who repeatedly made a statement that none of his students will perhaps ever forget.” Jigneshbhai started today’s coffee conversation with an almost unexpected academic background. Swami and I waited for him to complete … Read more
“I remember watching Didi’s comedy show on Doordarshan when we were kids on Saturday afternoons” said my broker friend Jigneshbhai as we were having our coffee yesterday. Swami got excited as he remembered it. “Yes, it was such a hit show. I used to wait for it – that guy made all kinds of faces … Read more
A voice of sanity and wisdom among all the noise in an environment of pessimism – here is a note from HDFC Fund Manager Prashant Jain sent out to investors. It’s tomorrow that matters
And for a Saturday, a few stray thoughts and a few general observations and a few points of view (all my own work): Like the Congress seems to be happy about winning the Karnataka elections, but I am unable to decide whether they won or the opposition lost. Like removing two more or less politically … Read more
“The problem with famous people and their quotes is that I don’t understand which one to apply when.” Swami remarked, as he walked in for our coffee meeting with a disappointed, confused face. He had a book of quotes with him. “Is India a leaky boat?” he asked suddenly. Surprised, I looked up to my broker … Read more
The problem with making a business out of a profession is that a client becomes a customer. And when that happens, the professional becomes a businessman. The other day my friend Swami was asking me this. “Am I a patient or am I a customer when I visit a hospital?” I did not have a … Read more