On Role Models

There are some people you meet in life and you change the way you think about life. I've finally met her and I don't know how to... rather what to say. Since this blog is hardly frequented by people, and people at IGIDR, I can safely declare who she is. But I guess that's not important. What's important is she!

All my life I'd thought you have a role model just to write your language compositions. I even contended, "Why can I not be just like I want to be?" But then I met her and all I wanted to be like is her. The strange enigma about her, the elegance that's so simple yet so attractive, the intelligence that created one of the world's most liquid markets and of course her grounded self that steals the show in spite of the riches she might possess. I never liked pompous people, but meeting her, I knew how to be confident yet not arrogant; simple yet smart; cool yet sincere. She doesn't give a damn, she doesn't care a bit yet she steals your heart. As lovelorn and lovestruck this piece might sound, I would just say, I've no better words to tell you how much I admire her. She's brilliant, she's sweet, she's Susan Thomas!

Why I take Astrology with a pinch of salt!

Everything and not just humans should have a horoscope if we were so to say! Astrology considers only human fate. It doesn't perhaps negate the existence of say a cat having a horoscope but I doubt if it has enough knowledge to come up with different predictions for a cat and a human born at the same time and place.

Further on similar lines, this struck me when I showed someone my brother's horoscope. The guy said he'd be rich and richer than me. So a thousand babies born at the same time and place would be equally rich! Unlikely!

My horoscope said I'd run away from college, I did not! Perhaps screwed up the chance to be rich and famous like my horoscope says! :p

I've seen people taking whatever they have on their horoscope as given and not working to improve situations. This is dangerous when you're in a mess! I know a guy who wasted almost 5 years thinking that the situation he was in was fated to be and hence he sat back and kept watching! Woww, 5 years!!!

The list ain't exhaustive, I can't remember the rest now and I lost interest in the post.

Grapes are Sour!

Life is strange- the moment you find you can't have something you want it more and yet say that grapes are sour. Perhaps the grapes are really sour but the only reason you want them is because out of their reach. I earnestly hope there is enough good sense in us to pick and have to sweet blackberries rather than waste time over grapes that may or may not be sweet.

Lessons from a Stranger

There are times when you meet a stranger, have a nice chat, make a connection but don't ask for details. You part saying "It was really nice interacting with you. :)" This is for such an IIMA alumnus who stayed in Hyderabad for 6 months, "It was nice talking to you too!" and more importantly I like such meetings- it just exists for the moment and there are no strings attached. No event to spoil the perfect chat, no clumsy questions such that you feel stifled and ignore him right away.

P.S. I exaggerated it a bit. It wasn't a long enough chat to be a perfect chat. Whatever! Who cares?! The longer they are, the worse they get... But I liked how I was, composed and with the right attitude. I want to be that with everybody. I guess I liked it not because I liked him but because I liked me and discovered the me I like. :)

Whether or not a true Bengali likes fish and sweets, a true Bengali loves Rabindrasangeet once he/she comes of age!

On Religion

I don't care if am hurting people's sentiments here. Religion indeed is the opium of mankind! It is too trivial a thing to argue and fight about. You don't know if God exists and you try finding which way is a better way of getting closer to God! Strange! If there be any God, I think he/she/it will be the happiest if we follow the religion of humanity and not discuss why someone converted to some religion and how great or not so great the respective religions are. If I have faith enough in my abilities and have some amount of intelligence to think independently, I believe be it Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, or Zoroastrianism, all give us the same amount of freedom to practice our faiths. If you think it doesn't you are probably interpreting it wrong and think some more rather than trashing the religion.

Muddled Mind

There are so many things you want to say but can't; so many things that you want to do but can't... Whoever says a man can do whatever he wants to is definitely wrong. Most of the times life demands you to make a choice and the trade-offs make the problem really really difficult. It's weird to grow up gradually and suddenly realize that you've grown up and in a different way from most others. It's scary, confusing- how I wish things were simpler!

These days i honestly fail to understand if am too simple or too complicated. Why is it so difficult for people to get me?

If your a clown reading this, I just wrote this to make you realize you're a clown reading this! Take care, bye!

Those Anonymous Relations

There are some people in your life you respect a lot, care for a lot, don't expect too much in return. It's kind of a platonic love. I wonder if these are the people whom you can call a soul mate. The word is so very loaded, but I still don't understand what the concept of a soul mate is. And I don't agree to the fact that your soul mate is the person whom you're eventually supposed to fall in love with. Anyway, that's another discussion altogether. All I wanted to express is that not all relations have names, but they are special in a very special way. But am afraid, such relations might not last because they are in that misty region covered with the froth called love and friendship. Am not saying love or friendship are not good but perhaps the best relations in life are those that don't have names. They are strange, weird in every way; but they make you happy and fulfilled. And isn't that the whole purpose of life?

Solace in Tagore

These days, whenever I feel sad, I listen to Rabindrasangeet. It's heartbreaking, it's beyond what I can describe... It's been something I've not explored and am wondering why. It gives you solace. Mostly I guess because he went through so much... Am feeling very very depressed, I don't know why, or wait, I do know why! But am feeling even more morose after listening to the song

গহন কুসুমকুঞ্জমাঝে
মৃদুল মধুর বংশি বাজে ,
বিসরি ত্রাস - লোকলাজে
সজনি , আও আও লো ।

I read the dedication of Bhanusingha'er Padabali, it broke my heart!

উৎসর্গ

ভানুসিংহের কবিতাগুলি ছাপাইতে তুমি আমাকে অনেকবার
অনুরোধ করিয়াছিলে। তখন সে অনুরোধ পালন করি নাই।
আজ ছাপাইছি, আজ তুমি আর দেখিতে পাইলে না|

People would say don't read, don't listen to it if they make you depressed. But then what do they know of creativity, of penning down your truest, deepest feelings, of Rabindranath?

Eco Tit-bits

Was reading a paper in the EJ of the 1st quarter today. Kinda fell in love with the game theoretic approach the author took on explaining the financial crisis. Optimism and pessimism are both states of minds and many a times quite easy to manipulate. The author suggested as an example from "It's a Wonderful Life" as to how the customers ended up withdrawing lesser from their deposits while the frequent bank runs during the Great Depression, once they were made to believe that the bank is there to stay!

Wonder if we could, beside fiscal and monetary policies, frame policies taking in to account human behaviour. Modelling would be a challenge but definitely it's something that has scope for research!!

You Know You are an Economist When...

• You continually include "optimize", "budget (set)" and "limit tends to" in your vocab without even realizing it
• You trying figuring out if you have smooth, convex preferences
• You wonder if and how much to save, keeping in mind "The Paradox of Thrift"
• You make Economics jokes (you reach heights when you can incorporate "neighbourhoods" and "open balls" in the jokes- if you don't understand this, don't bother, you are safe!)
• People around you understand your jokes or give a puzzled frown
• You assume and predict
• You claim to understand most phenomena in the world with an "epsilon" error term
• Epsilon is sufficiently small to suit your model but big enough to create a major disturbance
• Data doesn't suit your fancy models
• "In the Long Run we are all dead!" is knowledge to you!
• demand, supply and extraction of consumer surplus is a way of making ppl understand the essence of bargaining.
• Monopoly power is a term so common while discussing prices.
• Time constraint n budget constraint are terms which seem easier to use than time limit n just budget!
• You have found the above extremely "normal"

P.S. This list is not exhaustive, suggestions and additions are welcome.

We have all been 21... we've all made mistakes when we were 21!!

Back to You

Not may be with a vengeance, but I've decided to write more frequently. It was indeed disturbing to realize that it's been over about 2 years since I've written anything that satisfies me. But then, perhaps the best pieces flow from the "pen", the "keyboard" in this case, when you are upset, depressed, lonely- psycho-pathetically true!! And am at least happy to realize that I've been mostly happy since 2008 and writing for me became inversely proportional to my happiness.

Doesn't mean, am unhappy... trying to search myself and add some dimension to this morose blog in a peaceful state of mind- or so do I hope.

Soul Searching

You gave me light,
You gave me darkness,
You give me wings to fly high.

You give me power,
You give me illness,
You give a sail to steer through.

You give me joy,
You give me grief,
You give heartbreaks to tear me apart.

You give me strength,
You make me weak,
You give me love, never explained.