“Andy Murray’s victory in the Wimbledon final last Sunday reminded me a lot of the Indian victory in the Mumbai World Cup final.” Jigneshbhai said when we had our coffee last week. Swami agreed. “Both Andy and the Indian team carried the heavy burden of expectations on their shoulders, albeit Andy had it more in … Read more
Dynastic rule is not new in India. In almost every field of life, it is the default way of functioning. To follow in your father’s footsteps is seen as a matter of pride and families in India boast about it. In politics, it is not just the default, but even if it does not happen … Read more
“It is pathetic – this spot fixing. They get so much money, and still fix”, cried my friend Swami, as we were having our weekend coffee. My broker friend Jigneshbhai was, as always, watching Swami and listening. After a while, Jigneshbhai asked nonchalantly, “Who are you talking about?” As always, this irked Swami even more. … Read more
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
“Where is Cyprus?” asked my friend Swami as we were having our weekend coffee meeting. We had met after a long time, as my broker friend Jigneshbhai had been out of town. Jigneshbhai knew what was coming next from the ever-questioning Swami, but like all his terse, double-edged, and somewhat unclear answers, he said “Somewhere … Read more
My readers have been wondering where I have been for the past so many days, and why there have been no posts for a long time. My profuse apologies, but I must admit that I was busy in something more important. Well, not more important as such, but something that kept me busy. I was … Read more
“Ben Johnson would seem a like a small-time cheat compared to Lance Armstrong.” Jigneshbhai tells Swami and I to not lose our heads, and stay composed in all circumstances, but he seemed truly angry today. Sarcasm coming from him generally meant that he was not at all impressed with what was happening, to say the … Read more
Where does misuse of power and position end and where does corruption begin? Consider the following examples from the private sector: – The boss likes office parties and asks his favourite ‘compliant’ subordinate to pay the party bill and claim reimbursement, as the boss is the only approving authority. – The boss ‘negotiates’ with the … Read more
“I sometimes feel that the West Indies is every non-West Indian cricket fan’s favourite team after their own country.” Jigneshbhai made that remark as we were having our coffee. Swami was enthused with this cricketing remark. “Actually you might be right” he said. “If one were to ask cricket fans from different age groups and … Read more