सिर्फ खेलनेका नहीं: The Business of IPL

“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

Cyprus, Cheat funds and the Cost of Ignorance

“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

The Vishwaroop Darshan of Filmmaking

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

The Boiling Frog and Political Entrepreneurship

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

Baba Bengali and Nigerian Scamsters: How becoming a False Positive helped!

“Remember many years back when you lived in Mumbai, there was an advertisement by ‘Baba Bengali’ stuck in the local train compartments?” Jigneshbhai asked Swami yesterday when we had our coffee. Swami broke into a smile, evidently remembering it clearly. “Yeah – it used to have claims like ‘solve all your problems in 11 days’ … Read more

Chutki Mein Chipkaye? Government’s Fevikwik!

“Do you remember that fishing rod ad where a serious looking businessman, who has almost given up on finding any fish, is sitting holding his rod patiently, and then a local fisherman comes, applies 4 drops of Fevikwik and runs away with the fish?” asked Jigneshbhai, as we were sipping our weekend coffee. Both Swami … Read more

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