Vagaries of Money Management

  

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here was a time when those who parked their savings as fixed deposits in banks were looked down upon for their inept money management skills. They would deposit their money for a certain term and had a good night sleep. Their unwavering faith in FDs could not be dampened despite the interest rate hovering between 12 and a mere six per cent in the past years.

     More than the return, a sense of satisfaction that their money was at a safer hand, mattered to them.  Ironically they had become a butt of ridicule at the hands of those riding high on bulls.

     But the kind of return from the bourses did not fail completely in mesmerizing even the traditionalists. The staggering earnings at the stock market brought in a shift in the conservative patterns of savings.

     One’s success story, though ephemeral in nature, became an inspiration for another and thus the chain grew.  Even the novice started investing without knowing the prospects of the company they were investing in.

     Experts on television channels egged the hitherto undecided investors with prudent(?) tips. They might have patted themselves on their back for their contribution to generating wealth for the common man.  Everything was going on well until the onset of the nemesis.

     Once the recession fever caught up the world, India could not escape its ramifications as every aspect of business is inter-related in the globalised scenario.  The country is now caught in the ensuing chain reaction, despite fortified against the economic downslide to some extent. Retrenchments, downsizing, right sizing, pay cuts, shutdowns etc. have now become the norm.

     The stock market got the major blow as the sensex nosedived from the all time high of 21,000 points to 10,000 in just nine months. The financial pundits who were crowing about their expertise during the boom time are now clueless about the depth up to which the market could plunge.

     While the short-term investors run for cover, it does not seem better even for the long-term investors. What is the return one would get if the market continued to languish at these levels for 4-5 years? The dividend is again subjective as it is based on the company’s performance.  So leave alone the return, even the capital itself is at stake.

     Despite the strong regulations, vigilant media and savvy(?) stock analysts, the software giant Satyam could pull the wool over the eyes of the investors/authorities for a few years. The future of the employees and investors is at stake. Satyam may not be an isolated case. There could be many more Satyams lurking behind the façade of a healthy growth.

      Not a long ago, the Global Trust Bank betrayed its investors and depositors alike. However, the timely action of the Reserve Bank of India enabled the merger of the bank with Oriental Bank of Commerce; the hard earned savings of the depositors were protected but not of the investors. So is the case with United Western Bank and Sangli Bank which were saved at the behest of the RBI. 

      Such uncertainties writ large over the stock market, the good old bank depositors, at least for the time being, are having the last laugh.

i.06.2009

Bravo ! Goody!

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hough unnerved when the death stares one in the face, it’s actually the beginning of the reflection on one’s own life. When one is aware of the fact that he/she is on the threshold of death, the pampered ego, consciously built for years, starts to crumble.  The person thinks, what he can do with the little time he has got in his hand. He knows the time is running out of his hand.

     The hypes apart, that was what the reality show celebrity Jade Goody did.  Taken aback when diagnosed with the cervical cancer, she rushed back to London from India where she was participating in a reality show.  

     True to a reality show star, she did not hide anything about her terminal illness from the media. She wanted even her final moments to be recorded. She was said to have sold the rights of her life story to a publishing firm and also the camera recordings. 

     Though it looked like a move to further her “career” till her death, she claimed that her intention was to secure the future of her little children by doing whatever she could do.   This again was a conscious decision, as Goody did not want a neglected and impoverished childhood like her for the children. She did not turn away from the marriage despite counting her days in the hospital bed.

     Post death Goody wanted to be connected with her children through Jesus. So they were christened days before her death. She lived to the hilt every moment of her final days. She never cursed the Almighty for the cruel turn in her life.  Bravo ! Goody!

                  

     Her wish to be on camera all through her sufferings did not go without drawing flak from critics on ethical grounds.   But her life story, however, can be an inspiration for the many terminally ill patients, who die thousand times out of fear and depression before the final call.  The books and recordings can, in fact, be used to uplift the sagging spirit of such patients.

“Death is not the greatest loss in life”.  “The greatest loss is”, Norman Cousins said, “what dies inside us while we live.”  Jade Goody, let that never happen in her life like Norman Cousins, an American political journalist, activist, educationist and writer.

A Good Samaritan

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here are people who constantly grumble for not getting an opportunity to serve the society. They just keep waiting for an ever-elusive “right” opportunity. But here is an individual who enjoys serving people on all possible occasions. Is he a politician then? Nope. He is a humble man struggling to make ends meet. Still, he finds time to serve the people around him in full earnest.

     He is Ashok Charmady, Home Guards Platoon Sergeant and In-charge Officer of the Moodbidri unit of the Home Guards. His 22 years of association with this service organization, has, in fact, been mutually beneficial.  As part of his duties as Home Guards he has joined hands with police in maintaining law and order on many occasions. His service was utilized in various parts of the State during natural calamities and other disasters besides a posting at Lakshadweep during elections. The Home Guards trainings have well equipped him to face any challenge.

     That apart, Ashok catches snakes including the deadly king cobra. Whenever anybody sights a snake in their house or surounding, Ashok gets a call not to kill it, as is the usual practice, but to save both the reptile and human beings. Ashok catches them safely and frees them in the forest or hands them over to the authorities concerned.  Unfortunately Ashok was grievously bitten by a poisonous snake recently.  Anyway that has not wavered his zeal for the venomous creatures.  But after this unfortunate incident Ashok has developed his own method to capture the reptiles. Now he uses a metal pipe with lids at both the ends. And this paraphernalia is a permanent fixture in his two-wheeler. Sometimes Ashok catches snakes in different places in a single day.  He replays the feat in order to change the fearful attitude of people towards these otherwise harmless reptiles.  He has caught about 1,000 snakes so far. He jumps into action even in unearthly hours. What started as an act of daredevilry by the novice has made him an expert today.

     Ashok, an attendant at Dhavala College, Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada district, is a man of all occasions and all seasons.  People in distress most of the time send an SOS to Ashok, than to the authorities. If any building is on fire, the first person they think of is Ashok more than firemen. If any body is drowned Ashok is there to fish out the body. His heart goes out to the hapless sufferers in the society. An old man who was literally leading a “dog’s life” in Moodbidri was cleansed and admitted to a rahabilitation home, thanks to Ashok and his like-minded friends. His O-negative blood has saved many a life. On many occasions he has also provided whatever financial help he could to those in distress.

     Apart from these passions he is a numismatist and philatelist. He also tries to record the wonders of nature by collecting unusual plants, fruits and roots. . Ashok’s is a happy family with wife Chandravati, daughter Ashwini and son Eeshanya. His 14-year-old- son Eeshanya too is interested in his father’s feats of daring.  

     His sympathy and empathy for the needy from childhood itself have made him what he is today. His selfless service to the society, however, has not gone unnoticed. Forty-year-old Ashok was honoured by many organizations including felicitations at the district and the State levels.  More than awards and rewards, the smile on the relieved faces keeps him going.  Ashok is literally living up to his name.

A unique experiment with art

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here there are walls, there are art pieces. That is Bahu Art Gallery at Karkala, a unique experiment at a restaurant.  Paintings adorn the walls right from the reception up to the air-conditioned hall of Hotel Prakash situated in the heart of the town.  Apart from adding to the aesthetics of the hotel, the proprietor Hari Prakash Shetty is providing a forum to the artists to display their creative works. However, the brain behind this novel concept is the renowned artist Gopala Adkar, popularly known as Gopadkar.

     Such an idea was lingering in the ever-inventive mind of Gopadkar for quite a sometime. When Gopadkar was asked to do the interior decoration of the hotel, he seized the opportunity.   Hari Prakash, also an advocate, though did not know much about art, was however fascinated by the new concept.

     At Bahu Art Gallery, the works of an artist are displayed for a month.  However, paintings are sold depending on demand, only after the exhibition.  Thus unlike other galleries, solo exhibitions are conducted for as long as a month during the business hours of the hotel. The gallery, which is named after the 42-foot monolith of Bahubali in Karkala, was started in March with its inauguration by the director of the Moodbidri-based Alva’s Education Foundation Dr Mohan Alva, who himself is a connoisseur of art and literature. Besides, there is a small inaugural function for each exhibition. So far works of K Pundalika Shenoy, Harini and Ganesha Somayaji have been displayed.  Apart from himself Gopadkar has a long list of artists like Sanjeeva Shetty, Mohan Permude, Sharath Holla, Purushottama Adve, Mohan Sona and P N Acharya.

     Hari Prakash is of the view that initially they have to focus on artists of repute in order to drive home this novel concept. He, however, is not shrugging off the idea of giving opportunity to upcoming artists in future.

     Hari Prakash, though anxious before, is now excited for adopting such an innovative practical idea. Decorating the interiors with new looks in such short intervals has not only become feasible but also affordable; while it is not possible to change so frequently the other usual interiors done spending a huge sum. Interestingly, at this hotel cum gallery a customer can be a buyer of an art piece and vice versa. The oft-changing interiors, perhaps, symbolise the fast changing “tastes” of the people in the fast paced age. Bahu, probably only one of its kinds, is slowly succeeding in catching the attention of the customers and the art lovers alike.

Struggle for Survival

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oing by the crowds in the malls and the multiplexes, the rising inflation, appears to have no effect on the affluent and the neo-rich. There could have been a dent in their investments but their day-today life seems to be least affected.  But it’s a body blow to the majority who struggles to make ends meet on a daily basis.

     This clearly shows the lopsided development of our society.  No wonder that a report states that India, that ranks fourth in the world’s list of dollar billionaires, ranks 126^th in the human development.  The root cause of the problem is the stark disparity in the income levels.

     When Prime Minister Manamohan Singh expressed concern over this alarming trend, there was a large hue and cry. His statement drew flak especially from those whose income is in the upper bracket. Unfortunately, those who ought to have elated were not even aware of his statement.

     As the private sectors do not have a set guideline, the executives at the higher echelon try to extricate as more as possible while the staff at the other end of the spectrum are dolled out as little as possible. The high emolument is to placate and retain the limited talents.  Those who do menial jobs are always left with “fair” wages as in their case the supply outstrips the demand.

     Agriculture, nowadays, has turned out to be nothing but a gamble.  The situation being like this, there is a steady increase in the neo- rich, so is a rapid increase in the number of poor.

     Such lopsided development is, in fact, a dangerous trend. This breeds animosity between the classes. The poor could not afford to lead a decent life as all their needs go out of reach. The needle of blame for the deplorable plight of the poor tends to point at the rich.

     How else one can interpret an incident in Bangalore in the recent past? A group of four techies was attacked but without being looted of their money or valuables. It shows the hatred the  average Bangaloreans harbour against those people who made the city, a home for them for years,  unaffordable.  On the other hand the rich generally are apathetic towards the problems of the thousands of the poor around them.  

     Development has to be inclusive. It should not create a vast wedge between the classes. Difference between economic classes is natural, but it should not be so wide that the one class ending up with all the pleasures of life leaving the people at other end to struggle for survival.

(The article was published in Open Page section of The Hindu)

It's human spirit that always wins

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he Port Town of Mangalore has finally limped backed to normalcy, after witnessing a spate of group clashes for a few days. The peace loving people of the city are divided over the cause behind the triggering of these unfortunate incidents. The escalation of the situation, though, is attributed to some “unforeseen hands”, political parties should be blamed for feeding the communal cauldron all these years.

     When people were gripped with fear and insecurity, political parties, as usual, were playing dirty politics. They were busy tarnishing the image of one another and also the organizations except those with which they were associated. Every party seemed to gain some mileage from the unfortunate incident, while it is well known that community organizations flourish under the patronage of political parties. Their intention is nothing but to build a strong community-based vote bank.  Such organizations are pitted against one another as an attempt to divide common people.

     Despite this, ultimately it is the human spirit that wins.  Amidst torching and damaging of properties, there were incidents such as people irrespective of religion contributing to rebuild a shop that was gutted and people of different communities forming peace committees as well as participating in one another’s worships. These certainly appear as a glimmer of hope in a society that was engulfed in communal fire. Such incidents should be made more visible in order to build solidarity among people. During the two-hour relaxation of the curfew, at a grocery shop owned by a Muslim, I also witnessed Hindu boys attending the customers.

      These instances show that it is not Hindu or Muslim, who is bad, but people are bad. Ultimately, we are human beings first. Haven’t we come across good Samaritans in all religions? Don’t we have good relationship with our neighbours though they belong to a different community? While closely guarding our faith in our hearts, we should respect but not hurt the sentiments of others. Let us live and let live.