Archive for the Category »English «
Fate or life is like the moon. जब चीज़ें बुरी चल रही तो होती हैं, तो वो बद से बदतर होती जाती हैं . जब अच्छी चलती है तो अच्छी से और बेहतर होती जाती हैं. चंद्रमा की तरह. और ये चक्र चलता जाता है. अच्छा - बहुत अच्छा - बुरा - बहुत बुरा - अच्छा.
मूर्ख हो तुम यदि सोचते हो की बुरी चीज़ें अच्छी चीज़ों के विपरीत समाप्त नहीं होंगी.
और विद्वान हो जो अगर इस बात को समझ कर न सुख में सुखी हो न दुःख में दुखी.
और जब तुम विद्वान् बन जाते हो, तो तुम्हे समझ आता है की गीता ये क्यूँ कहती है की ” कर्मन्यावाधिकरास्ते, माँ फलेषु कदाचन ”
और जब तुम्हे गीता सार समझ आ जाता है तो तुम बुरे - अच्छे से ऊपर उठ जाते हो. जैसा की Nietzche कहता है … तुम “Beyond good and evil” बन जाते हो.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
–Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan, 1892, Act III
(Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900) )
http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20100315/818/tnl-what-s-wrong-if-i-install-my-own-sta.html
Lucknow, March 15 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is unable to understand why she is under fire from various quarters for installing her own statues.
‘What’s wrong if I install my own statues together with those of my party icons whose contribution as great social reformers remained unrecognised for decades because of the sick caste bias of those who were in power?’ she asked the crowd which converged at her party rally here Monday.
The rally was organised to mark the party’s silver jubilee celebrations, and coincided with the 76th birth anniversary of party founder and her political mentor Kanshi Ram.
She said: ‘My critics often argue that it is inappropriate to install statues of a living person, but I wish to ask them if there is any law disallowing installation of statues of important personalities?’
‘Where is the law preventing official expenditure on statues of living personalities?’ she said, defending her actions of spending billions of rupees on statues and memorials.
‘Remember, what I have spent on memorials and statues was only one per cent of the state’s annual budget, but what I have built is going to be there for posterity.’
‘I firmly believe that those who are unable to create history are always pushed into oblivion. That is why it was important to leave such imprints that will stay for all times to come,’ Mayawati said.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/248/20100315/1582/tnl-sparks-fly-as-baba-takes-on-swami-in.html
” ..The opening session of the second day of the India Today Conclave 2010 did arouse the right degree of passion.
One was Baba Ramdev…The other was Swami Satya Vedant, chancellor of Osho Multiversity, Pune, who is carrying forward the legacy of his teacher, whose most famous - and least misunderstood - book is titled From Sex to Superconsciousness . India Today Group editorial director Prabhu Chawla, famous for his Seedhi Baat , moderated the session.
….
The two gurus seemed to be taking the same route, but the differences began to show up when Baba Ramdev held forth on his much-publicised stance on homosexuality. “I eat from my mouth, not my backside,” he said, referring to his stance that homosexuality was “against the order of nature”, adding that a few “literate idiots” had deliberately opted to misunderstand him”
गुलरभोज में बाबा के कमरे में एक चित्र टंगा था. उगते हुए लाल सूर्य का चित्रण था. साथ ही एक कविता की ये पंक्तियाँ भी थी -
” नए गगन में,
नया सूरज जो चमक रहा है,
ये विशाल भूखंड,
आज जो दमक रहा है,
मेरी भी आभा है इसमें ! “
My sis asked me to find a poem on wine for her ladies club..and look what a gem I found!
“Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.”
Do I loose my senses easily when i have something to drink? Or even without drink.. I think I sometimes get too personal with people a bit early. For eg today, when even after a single beer I became too friendly (?) with the everyone. It wasn’t viewed favourably. Henceforth I shall take these things into account. People like to take things slowly.
or may be I should stop posting this and just enjoy the party.
My earliest memory of Kunal (Kunnu) is of him sitting in Navu’s room 246 Shivalik Hostel in 2002, taking some stuff from Navneeraj. I had just joined the college and did not know many of my classmates by face or by name. The first question that was asked was – what’s ur name and branch, followed by “what’s your rank?”. The latter often led to questions on IIT rank. It was then I noted that Kunnu had achieved a good rank at JEE entrance but somehow could not make it to finals. I had an instant opinion that this shy guy was intelligent.
Over time I came to know about the day-ski group consisting of Rajat,RG, Sharara, Buddy, Jasleen, Vachla and Kunnu. Somehow kunnu was different from others. He was soft spoken, shy and a simple person. I had interned with him in Kotsons, Agra where we were staying together at his Chacha ji’s home. We both used to stay at the top floor room, where Chachaji had kindly installed a cooler to keep us warm from the sweltering heat. The evening was spent in walking around the locality, looking at transformers and happily amusing ourselves by putting to practice our newfound knowledge. Every day we used to go to the bazaar where we used to drink “Bel ka sharbat” – a sweet yellow drink. Because Kunnu did not know how to drive, I used to drive the scooter to work in the summer of 2004, and we used to keep on chatting about so many things..
Kunnu was a down to earth person who was very interested in knowing about new things. We used to discuss current affairs, what’s going on in college, who is doing what in class, some music and all that stuff that Second Yr students usually discuss. Agra was experiencing electricity cuts that summer and quite often at night we used to find ourselves sleeping under the open sky, talking about the day’s events. Through our talks I realized that Kunnu was quite inquisitive and always wanted to improve himself. Even in Noida when I used to visit RG , Kunnu and I talked about all things under the sun. At that time he was very interested in MBA and I was only too happy to give him my idiotic Gyaan
He had no deceit in him, he could not harm anyone and he was too simple to fool any person. When were in Agra He once said, “Its too hot, I’ll wear a wet Gamcha around my head to keep cool while going to Kotsons” . I had laughed a lot about this and said, “pagal hai kya, pata hai kitna ullu lagega tu!”. It was only a simple person like him who could think of doing things like these, which the image-conscious me could not even imagine.
And I think it was precisely that he was so harmless and simple that people used to take his case, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
People think that it was a love affair that killed him. I disagree.
It was his ‘friends’ who drove him to such desperation and sadness. I wont say what exactly happened, But his friends know very well what they did with him, how they behaved with him, how they used to make fun of him. With not even a single anchor, not even a single true friend..how would someone feel? I really don’t know.
Let the world think that it was a failed love affair, after all the world wants to be deceived; so let it be…Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur
From my side, Kunnu I’m sorry , I never gave you a call, never replied to your messages.. I was too busy in my own idiotic life to think of anybody else. I’m truly sorry to have failed you.
Peace be upon you.
There isn’t much that now you can do
So have a smoke and melt in the night dew
Listen to the tick tock of your pocket clock
Wondering if naught is all, all things come to.
Or probably you can have a beer
And look at your despicable self with a sneer
Mediocre you, always knew,
My efforts were impotent, there or here.
So sip the whiskey, soda and scotch
Sit alone on the backside porch
Lo and Behold! As the truth be told
“You were always useless”, Says the watch.
The man who sings hallelujah
on the cobbled street in corn market,
does he know?
That his words ride the breeze
and enter the pasty shop,
tiptoe on the book shelf,
smell a dark chocolate,
laugh in the lovers’ ear,
repent on the church altar,
then swing around the coffee machine
before piercing my heart?
Chocking my neck,
overwhelming me, part by part?
This piece was inspired by a man playing/singing you-know-what in Corn Market Street in Oxford. It was dusk and a slight breeze was present. I was sitting in the courtyard of ‘Church at North Gate’ with Shveta and having a flavoured coffee.To listen to the original song, click here . This is Rufus wainwright. Original is by Leonard Cohen.
Before I forget, here’s what happened on 19 Nov 09:
Started with me going to Mr Joel Shapiro’s room on first floor. Mr Shapiro had just moved in and some of the boxes were still there. It was a very comfortable setting with me sitting opposite Mr Shapiro. The interview lasted for about 40 mins. It was 100% technical. No standard questions like Why MFE, Why Oxford Etc.
1) What’s your math background?
2) What is Baye’s theorm? ( Had forgotten this, could not answer)
3) How to solve a system of equations? Tell me 3 methods.
4) How to find the area under a curve for discrete points? How is this different from continuous functions?
5) How much Economics do you know? ( told him that I’ve cleared CFA level 3 )
6) Lets play a game. 2 firms produce same good, unconstrained supply, unconstrained demand. Rule is if one price is lower than second’s, all the demand will go to the lower one. Otherwise demand split in two. Is system in equilibrium?
7) What will happen to game at start?
how will it progress?
9) what will happen in end?
10) Can the firm earn profits?
11) How can they earn profits? ( told him abt differentiation)
12) how will differenciated goods work?
13) what if differentiated products work? lets say coke and pepsi?
14) How else can they earn profits? ( told him constrained supply)
15-17) how will game start, progress, end in constrained supply?
18) Lets play two period game. What will happen in two periods?
19) any questions ( I said no, had already asked them in the Open day)
I have not studied game theory, so I dont know if my answers were correct or incorrect. But I have a feel that it wasn’t very good interview from my side. That said, Mr Shapiro was great.
Buddy with Chivas
Perhaps even more difficult than the search for the Goly Grail, the search of El Dorado, The search of the fountain of Youth is the Question - “Why Buddy is Buddy and why no one can be like Buddy?”
For those of you who don’t know him, Buddy ( Parmeet Singh) is 25/M/Weird/Witty/Engineer/Doing-good-at-job. He was my classmate for 4 years in Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh (PEC) For the First three years , I found him to be the most weird guy of 2002-06 Electrical Engineering. But in the fourth year my opinions did a volte-face. During a trip with him ( and the class) to Nathpa-Jhakri I realized he was smart, intelligent, funny and good at heart.
Buddy often does things I can not even imagine to do in my weirdest dream. He’s tired of Cities? Ok He’ll go to Chitwan and valley of flowers for 10 days. He’ll go on a trip to a forgotten hamlet in Maharashtra where he’ll only have coconuts and fishes. He is missing his parents? Ok, He’ll take them to pondicherry on a week’s notice. He’s feeling artistically challenged? Ok, he’ll learn the guitar.He’s feeling lonely? Ok, He’ll talk to every single man/woman/in-between in a bus in some obscure village of Thailand and will make them friends in 5 mins flat. A dog’s barking at him? Ok, He’ll go and pet it and give him a biscuit and within minutes buddy has found a new buddy.
Buddy is the only person who can visit each and every village of Kinnaur district and distribute sweets like a Santa Claus. Buddy is the only guy who’ll complete the half marathon of 21 KM Buddy , After only one day’s practice, In the most bizarre haircut possible, And with a peg of Chivas Regal in hand
Buddy is buddy and no one can be like buddy because we all are so engrossed in making our tomorrows better that we forget today. We all are like those rats who’ll starrve today to keep storing food for tomorrow. That tomorrow never comes. And we all remain rats.
We all are in pursuit of happiness…..While buddy is happy exactly because he’s not in pursuit of happiness .
Yay!!! I got an interview call again from the MFE program at Said Business School, Oxford University.
This time they have an open day scheduled on 19 Nov 09. It is a day when u can tour the campus, meet professors and students, and can even attend a dummy class. I plan to attend this open day function and will be flying over to Oxford only for this interview call.
Although my interview went very well last year, I was disappointed that I could not convert it. This time around I think attending the interview in person might make a difference. It will also give me a first hand experience of the place I want to go
BTW, Did I tell you that my Maternal Grandparents (post)graduated from Oxford in 1962? I’m very excited to be going to that place…
Lets hope the VISA falls in place now !
Sample this beautiful fusion poem from a certain Mr Michael Creighton, who teaches English in a school at Delhi. This poem appeared in the Mint Lounge edition of October 24 2009. This poem was tugged on the bottom right corner of the newspaper and would have most certainly missed my attention, had it not been for the wonderful rhyming pattern that caught my attention. Mr Creighton tries to capture the essence of Urdu Shayari style in English and does an excellent job. I think this is the first poem of its kind that I’ve read.
( For those who are new to Shayari - One of the characteristic things about Urdu couplets ( Shayari ) is that they follow the aa-ba-ba-ba format. While they not necessarily rhyme in the b-b part, the a-a part always matches. )
http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/23225111/New-Delhi-Love-Song.html
Smog and dust mix with the air in New Delhi.
I buy jasmine for her hair in New Delhi.
People come from everywhere to this city;
all are welcomed with a stare in New Delhi.
The finest things in life don’t come without danger.
Eat the street food, if you dare, in New Delhi.
We push in line and fight all day for each rupee.
Can you remember what is fair in New Delhi?
There is nothing you can’t find in our markets.
Socks and dreams sell by the pair in New Delhi.
So many families on the street through the winter;
Sometimes good men forget to care in New Delhi.
My friends ask, Michael, why’d you leave your own country?
I found jasmine for her here, in New Delhi.
I have a pizzeria. This pizzeria was very famous and everyone wanted to eat there. I also like to feed people, or should I say to feed people who can afford to pay upfront bill. Now I’m a man of principles. I tell everyone that I have my rules and obviously I’ll not allow anyone to break them.
One day in 1948, a very humble ascetic passed by my store. He did not demand anything but I know I should have given him a pizza. My staff knew I should give him a pizza, my customers knew I should give him a pizza, My wife knew I should give him a pizza and my pet goldfish also knew that I should give him a pizza. But I’m a man of principles, so I wont give him anything. Just as Governor Swazzenegar said in that iconic movie of all times’ Terminator -1,2,3′, I also proclaim, “talk to the hand”. So beat it. I’m a man of principles after all
Then one day in 2009,Mr XYZ who is 100 lbs overweight , passes by my shop. He says, “Yo chum, can I have a pizza for free?” I immediately know that I have to give this poor scraggy man something to eat, or otherwise he risks being overweight by ony 99.5 lbs. So I give him some Pizza, a pepsi and 6 pieces of garlic bread for free. My Staff is surprised, My customers are upset, my wife says she’ll divorce me and my goldfish commits suicide. But I justify it all saying, ” you know, this man holds great future”
I think it was the day when people lost any trace of faith in my pizzeria and now I’m bankrupt. The flame has somehow vanished. A certain Mr Gorbachev and Mr Kissenger had already stolen some of the fuel, but this time its just dead.
Would you like to buy my Pizzeria ? Its located in Norway ( and Sweden ) . It is about a century old and is called ” The Nobel Prize, Inc” . It has great support lines from one Federal Bank, USA. And you can buy it at any price you want….. Because frankly, no one cares a $hit about it now.
—
“Some people say — and I understand it — ‘Isn’t it premature? Too early?’ Well, I’d say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now.It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us” ….. Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, told the Associated press
My fascination with Oxford’s MFE program refuses to abate even after my unsuccessful attempt last year. I just submitted my application once again ( tata £75.00 !). The interview decision is awaited on 30th October while final decisions are due by 11 December 09.
I am aware that Berkeley’s MFE and Princeton’s MiF are supposed to be much better than Oxford’s program, however Oxford remains my dream college. I think it might be because of the beautiful campus, 800 year old history, so many notable indian alumni or may be I’m just bewitched by it.
I think about 120 odd people will apply in the first deadline . I’m quite sure of this statistic. If I’m invited for an interview, there is a strong chance that I’ll fly to Oxford only to give it a shot. Last time I could not completely understand the Corporate Finance question asked to me.
Since last year, three new things have been added to my resume:
- I cleared CFA level 3
- I’ve done lots of distressed assets deals
- I’ve restructured an MBS
Yes, there is the £26,000 + living expenses to worry about, but I’ll cross the bridge when i come to it.
I started preparing for CFA when it had been 6 months into my first year at B School. CFA seemed to be that great qualification which was very difficult to attain and thus very much respected. It seemed to be the magical gateway to $100,000 jobs and it was an accepted fact that it required very hard work and that hardly anyone cleared the exams in one shot. That was January 2007. Today is August 2009. I have cleared all three levels in my first attempt. I think now having gone through the program, i can write decisively about the myths and realities surrounding it. Here’s 50 insights in the program
1) Its not that tough that they make you believe. CFA is very do-able.
2) CFA is 80% hard work and 20% intelligence.
3) An average joe can clear the program provided that he/she does not give up hope.
4) CFA is difficult because you’ll have to give up on your social life for the three years that you’re doing it.
5) It is much more difficult to clear the exams while you are working
6) Thus, if possible take atleast 1 ( better 2) levels while you’re still in college
7) Clearing only 1 level or clearing only 2 levels does not carry any weight. You have to clear all three levels before you can make the exams work for you.
CFA alone will not calapult you to the $100,000 job 99% of the times.
9) It is expensive. Abt $2500 to be precise
10) It will cover all topics in finance, but it is more suitable for equity research type of roles
11) it is not a subsitute of FRM ( and vice versa)
12) You’re not going to seem attractive to chicks in a bar only because you hold a charter
13) People don’t get that much impresed that you’re a CFA unless they are CFA level 1 candidates
14) the feeling of passing level 1 is the great, level 2 is good and level 3 is just ok
15) The happiness of passing Level 1 lasts 1 week, level 2 lasts 2 days and level 3 lasts a few hours.
16) Schweser is the best
17) Study atleast 2 hours everyday
18) start Preparing atleast 4 months before the exam
19) refer to CFAI textbooks only when in need for level 1 and level 3
20) Use CFAI textbooks often in level 2
21) you’ll forget what you studied by the time you complete your course.
22) in View of 21, revise atleast thrice before the exam
23) you mock test scores in Schweser Pro are the best indicators of your expected score
24) Doing Schweser back of chapter problems and doing CFAI past years qns is a very good idea
25) take free CFAI sample exam 3 weeks before the exam
26) take CFA mock exam 10 days before the real exam
27) apply for a 2 week leave before the exam , well in advance .
28) try to understand the material rather than mug it
29) Ethics is BY FAR the most scoring and important topic in exam ( especially in level 1)
30) take lots of tests
31) If possible, study from Schweser Videos for L2
32) Everyone who studies for atleast 300 hours for L1 shall pass that exam
32) NOT Everyone who studies for 300 hours for L2 shall pass that exam
33) L2 is very difficult. Abt 4 times more difficult than L1
34) If possible, form a study group
35) Don’t start hitting on the girls in the study group. If prone to such activities, study alone
36) Talk to your friends regularly on weekends. take out 1 hour on both days for this purpose. This will ave you from burning out
37) Have a beer when you’re frustated of this F&&&& exam
38) If extremely bored of prepatration, take a weekend off. Go on a trip/ read Calvin & Hobbes/ Gossip with friends. After 1 weeekend, hit the books again. Without fail
39) Don’t let people fool you into thinking that you can pass the exam in 2 weeks. That won’t happen unless you’re John Nash.
40) Join www.analystforum.com
41) It makes immense sense to talk to someone who has cleared your level (recently) before starting actual preparation
42) Don’t be afraid of the numericals. They’re not that difficult
43) for L1 - FSA , ethics are Imp
44) For L3, having a holistic view is important
45) For L2, Everything is important
46) Do not send the picture postcards you received with CFA registration to anyone, that’ll instantly classify you as nerd
47) Its better to complete one book before moving to another one, that way you’ll always have an idea about how much syllabus you’ve covered
48) Once you pass, don’t boast about the CFA program. That’s one of the most stupidest things to do.
49) If you fail once, don’t give up. If you fail twice, continue if situations were outside your control. If you fail thrice, leave it.
50) Degrees, Education, Charters, Exams are all of zero importance if you do not maintain good relationships with people. That’s the single most important thing that i’ve learnt over the three years in this program
Ok. So it seems that people have seen my website 1000 times since mid-march 2009 (abt 45 days) which does not include my visits. Phew! For someone who writes primarily about his thoughts in Hindi this is a big number. Very surprisingly , last 3 days account for 189 page views (~ 20%)! Ok, I Admit, I’m gloating 
Thanks GG for designing this site, and thank you readers for all your time (even if 5 secs) that you’ve spent reading my monologues. What really surprises me is that people from all 7 continent have visited this site. I never thought someone from Iceland would be interested in what I have to say about my interview experience at Oxford.
Anyways, I think I should share with you some stats. Below are the most popular pages, entry links ad recent visior map. None of these are for the entire 1000 views. The map for example shows only the past 50 visitors.
I would really like to know what you liked/disliked about my website. Please feel free to comment. In fact I’d love to hear your opinions on this site/Author, positive or negative..
By sheer chance I noticed what Sahil D Hakim’s status message on Gtalk was. Here was a obscure song called Daily Nightly that he was listening to. I searched the net, and man! It’s Nice. The lyrics are awesome. Psychedelic Rock is not my type of music but this is different. Listen to it, or just read the words that follow…
( The monkees was a 1960’s band which was ‘pre-fabricated’ to star in a TV series by the same name. Words by Michael Nesmith)
“Darkened rolling figures move through prisms of no colour
hand in hand, they walk the night,
but never know each other.
Passiond’ pastel neon lightslight up the jeweled traveler
who lost in scenes of smoke filled dreams,
Find questions, but no answers.
Startled eyes that sometimes see phantasmagoric splendor
pirouette down palsied paths
wiith pennies for the vendor.
salvations yours for just the time it takes to pay the dancer.
and once again such anxious men
Find questions, but no answers
…. “
काफी लोगों ने कहा है की अपना ऑक्सफोर्ड का interview experience कहीं लिख दूं. आप सभी के लिए यहाँ post कर रहा हूँ. क्यूंकि कुछ लोग हिंदी नहीं जानते, सो अंग्रेजी में लिख रहा हूँ.
My MFE (Masters in Financial Economics) interview was scheduled at 9 30 Am on 27 Feb ‘ 09. As this was a telephonic format, i had to call an international Number at 3 PM IST. I booked a conference room in my company and called Mr Alan Morrison(AM), My interviewer, at 5 mins to 3.
Me-> can I speak to prof Morrison?
AM-> Hello, i guess you’re calling for an MFE interview. Ok, Tell me why you want to join oxford.
AM-> Why MFE
AM-> Tell me about securitization market in India
I told him abt the dynamics, both present and past
AM-> who are the players?
Me- MFs, LIC, Banks Etc
AM-> why do you securitize?
Me-> profit/CAPAD/Liquidity
AM -> Compare US and Indian MBS/ABS
Me-> told abt structures, AAA nature, wat gets sold etc
AM-> WHy do people buy these PTC in India
ME-> told good return, no default. AM seemed interested
AM-> Can US Subprime happen in India?
me-> No.OFS not present. CDO square not present
AM-> Tell me abt pricing of ABS
Me-> Risk Free+ premiums
AM-> OK, you have done MBA.tell me about Miller modigillani propositions.
me-> told him abt prop 1 and prop 2
AM-> connect Miller modigillani proposition 2 with Securitization market i India?
Me-> Stupified. Didn’t get the question.
AM-> Tell me why is a 300 bips spread between AAA and AAA(so) ?
me-> liquidity premium
AM-> Thanks, Any questions?
Me-> scholarship?
Me-> why has TARP sometimes given only $ 1 as aid to some banks?
AM-> Responded.
AM-> Thanks for calling us, expect result on 27 march.
Me- Thanks.
Interview lasted for about 15 mins. Overall it was OK. No cross questioning.It was much more technical than I had expected. I was satisfied, don’t know what will happen although
“so how’s IB going for ya?”, asks one of my Juniors at school. That makes me think. And that makes me blog 
Its not that IB image that people usually associate with. Not only for my group but also for the other verticals like M&A & OAG , life’s very very different from the typical image that’s fed to callow minds. We do NOT wear ties/suits, we do NOT work 16 hours a day, People are NOT mean (they’re nice actually), i have windows 2000 on my PC, Not every group has MS office installed(they work with OpenOffice) and most of the time goes for regular maintenance work. May be because its the worst time for IB, i dont know. I think a reality check is necessary for anybody aiming at a career in IB.
Whatever be the current scenario, I’m really happy with my Boss, Collegues and others at my workplace. My team is extremely supportive and well knit. We’re a group of 6+1 people, (used to be 9+1 — 3 months back) and anybody can talk to anybody abt anything. Whenever i am in doubt, i can bug Vittal, Vinay,Lale or others - all who shall listen and genuinely try to help me out. I really don’t know how many times do i daily seek lale’s comments. At the same time i can share all jokes with Jha sahab & Ami. The only catch is that most of the time I’m the joke, something that i’ve got used to and don’t feel bad about at all.
— had written a big post but nt disconnected and now am too tired to type it again– good night zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I’m happy, really happy after a long time - and it isn’t the smirnoff, its my heart that makes this statement.
“I’m mesmerized in every way,
you keep me in a state of daze,
and i soar like a bird in the wind
oh i glide as if flying through heaven.
Sugar you make my soul complete,
Rapture tastes so sweet!!!!”
~ rapture , lio
“Meow Mumbai!! Welcome to the best radio station in Mumbai! Blah blah!! Blah blah! Contest …23456789….blah blah …Winner….blah blah..win…see movie…blah blah…23456789”
Moi dozes off to sleep in a auto playing a radio channel . We are stuck between a deluge of cars crawling on potholes, something that is alleged to be the Western Highway between Vile Parle and BKC. Amongst the blaring horns at 140 decibel, it’s miraculous that I can still hear the radio. (1st Note to self: Kudos to my excellent auditory nerve! Bravo!!)
Radio, “SO today we are playing the weirdest, sweetest Pet name contest at Meow Mumbai! If your Girlfriend calls you by an odd name, call us at 23456789 and win exxxxxiting prizes…blah blah..blah blah…win…contest…prize…23456789…blah blah”
“Oh! B*** C*** kya hero ban raha hai kya? M*C**** Doon kya kharcha paani?” My Friendly Auto driver says to his counterpart who tries to overtake our Ferrari.
Meanwhile the Radio goes on, “call us at 23456789 and tell us….Oh we already have a caller…Yes wat’s your name?”
Caller, “Hi I’m Jignesh!”
Radio, “Not Hello Jignesh, We say ‘Meow’ on our station! Is this your first call to our Meow Mumbai station?
Jignesh Bhai, “Uh, Yes…”
Radio, “Oh! This calls for a celebration!!”
(A jingle is played that starts off on a high pitch screech and finally ends with a meeeeooooowwww , meow)
Jignesh Bhai (getting emotional), “Oh that’s so sweet! So nice of you!!”
Yup, So sweet that even the amla chooran in my mouth feels like saccharine. What bullshit. (2nd Note to self: Get some more chooran from Ajmer before supplies run out)
Radio, “So what does your GF call you Jignesh Bhai?”
Jignesh Bhai, “She calls me dolly…”
Radio cutting off in mid sentence, “oh hahahaha that’s so funny, She calls you by a girl name,Hahahaha”
Me-> Snicker, Snicker (3rd note to self: Get those wonderful snicker chocolates)
Jignesh Bhai (adding emphatically), “no no, actually the real reason that I find it funny is bec…”
Radio interrupting again, “oh please tell us fast Jignesh, our meow Mumbaikars are all dying to hear the truth.”
Methinks how great it would be if the host of this show becomes pyara to allah.
Jignesh Bhai, “because even my dog’s name is Dolly. She finds it funny for some reason but my mom despises her for this”
Radio goes silent for five seconds. That would have cost them at least 20,000 in Advertising Revenues, I calculate. I also have time to calculate that my auto fare is increasing at quite an unusual rate. But that is quite usual in Mumbai.
Radio, “that’s the most funny thing I’ve heard hahahaha…. Keep us calling on 23456789 …blah blah…blah …prizes…contest…blah blah..23456789”
(Final Note to self: Buy an Ipod. It’s worth it)
♂ “Bye”
♀ “What’s that?”
♂ “Kya ‘what’s that?’”
♀ “I mean, that’s not the way to say goodbye!”
♂ “Really? Then what is?”
♀ “You first make a context, then taper off the conversation, and finally say ‘bye’ as a fitting finish”
♂ “Duh??”
♀ “Arre, look at me. I ask how’s the weather, then I talk about….”
♂ (Interrupting) “Hey wait a minute! We already discussed about the weather in Mumbai”
♀ (Gives me an exasperated sigh) “OK. So talk about a movie, about parents, about a collegue”
♂ “There is no interesting Hindi movie going on, nothing happens in my parents lives, My dog is too dumb to be talked about & you know how bad I am at gossiping about people”
♀ “your IQ might be 170, but your EQ is surely in single digit”
♂ “Umm… I don’t know”
♀ “You’re Stupid. Chow!”
♂ “that’s ‘Chow’ all right but that isn’t Ciao.”
♀ “what do u mean its chow but not chow”
♂ “I mean its C-I-A-O but pronounced as Chow, Italian you know”
♀ (blushes) “oh! hi hi …you know my spellings na”
♂ “by my superior IQ I have just calculated that this phone call has already costed you Rs 43 and if we didn’t have this last piece of conversation, you would have saved Rs 5..”
♀ “click”
(call ended)
♂ (To myself) “That’s the secret of the art of saying goodbye”
At precisely 3 in the night on 4th May 08, I kick-kick-kick-kick (…10times) started my bike to reach New Delhi Railway station by 4 in the morning. The objective was simple; I had made up my mind to leave Delhi for good and was carrying this last token of 200 Kgs to अजमेर . And inspired by the TV serial “Prison Break” I decided to take the motorcycle to अजमेर without the help of any agent and without giving even a rupee of bribe.
So I reached the station at 4 AM and was quite surprised to find it buzzing with activity even at that odd time. I had already come to this place a day before to know the formalities to be done for taking the bike along in शताब्दी Express. The first step was to get it packed so I thought to search for some worker on platform # 12. One accosted me even before I could start. He asked 150 Rs for the work. I’m not good at bargaining so told him 120 and not a paisa more. He was visibly excited by this offer and I got that feeling ki I-lost-in-this-bargain-game-even-though-I-won. Anyways, considering the odd time I thought कि चलता ही . This guy, a certain A K Jha from पटना बिहार , had done a good job and made my bike ready, along with a number place by 4 30 AM.
At almost the same moment, a Labrador also reached platform number 12. He was destined for Chandigarh and would travel by Chandigarh Shatabdi express. Now every parcel that goes in luggage van has to be packed and labeled. While I was lucky to find a porter who had the material (used clothes and boris) for my Pulsar, no one could find a suitable material for the dog, who looked a bit perplexed. So they decided to keep him free of shackles but a name plate was assigned to him which was promptly hung on his neck. My bike’s name plate read,” CH 03 Q 8770 Ajmer शताब्दी , from NDLS to AII” . His read, “HARDY, Dog, चंडीगढ़ Shatabdi, from NDLS to CHD”.
Anyways my train was supposed to leave at 6 10 Am. I was quite confident to catch my train in time and it seemed that Hardy’s assistant was sure too. I’m not very sure if Hardy had a understanding of the events, but that’s a different matter.
So we were supposed to meet a certain ‘Babu’ to get our parcels ( read bike and dog) registered. In the parcel office they directed us to go to platform 13’s end point to meet the babu. We were assured that in a jiffy our work shall be done. So happily I set out for the labyrinth of platforms to meet a certain Mr उपेन्द्र बाबु . Hardy and his assistant were also in the same boat. The three of us (and my bike as well) made our way to the end of the maze only to find another बाबु sleeping. He directed us back to the parcel office as Mr उपेन्द्र had still not arrived, so what if it was 5 15 Am and he was supposed to be here by 4 15. I cursed the system and went back in the Labyrinth. We found Mr. उपेन्द्र at the parcel office and requested him to please book the parcels - Pulsar and Hardy the dog.
Hardy was not in a good mod after an early morning walk of 5 Kms. Even I was not in a good mood because of the same reason. While Hardy was looking at the hullabaloo at station with big sad eyes, I was looking at Mr. Upendra with my 4 eyes. Upendra asked me to fill up a form which I promptly did. He pointed out some mistakes which I corrected. He again pointed mistakes, I again rectified them. This went on some more times. By the time he was done with finding mistakes, it was 5 45 Am and my pocket was lighter by 495 Rs. I really really wished that if Hardy bit him now; how great it would be. After having this sadistic early morning dream I realized that my train was to leave in 20 minutes.
In the meantime Hardy was supposed to be weighted. His assistant took him to a weighing machine. Since we were now at the platform, only a coin operated one was available. Hardy was made to sit on it. It was ensured that all four paws were on the weighing scale. The Machine made a lot of ruckus that startled Hardy who tried to flee. But you know, no one could escape Mr Upendra’s पारखी eyes (Big brother is watching you). He made hardy sit straight on the scale and took his weight again. The weight ticket had 35 Kg printed on one side and मल्लिका शेरावत ’s 100 DPI low quality Image on the other side. I’m not sure which side of the ticket made Mr. Upendra smile. Anyways all said and done, I and Hardy departed our separate ways.
And in case you wondered, neither Hardy’s assistant or I, paid any bribes J
“Packing the bike – 120 RS
Parcel Wage — 495 RS
Waking 3 in the morning + walking 5 kms on station with a bike + meeting Hardy – Priceless
There are some things money can’t buy, for others MasterCard certainly won’t work at the New Delhi Railway Station”
RG asked me a couple of days back,” How come you know so much about so many things? How come your GK is good and how come you have some cogent points on so many diverse topics?”
Even I thought about the issue, and then I traced myself to this …
When I was 14 years old, a question that had been in my mind since I read about human life in class 2 got finally answered। I always wondered,” how are humans different from animals? We both are just multicellular organisms who have the same sensations and physical needs. We both are driven by same desires of food, water, air & sexual needs. We both are afraid of death and pain. We have everything common, except that probably Homo Sapiens are a more sophisticated form of life. So are we no different from animals at all?” I remember asking mummy the same question. She said that humans are humans and animals are animals. She said that they are different but her answer couldn’t satisfy me.
After thinking about the issue at various levels of consciousness, I arrived at the same conclusion that Descartes did in the 17th century. Cogito, Ergo Sum. Obviously I was blissfully unaware of the exact meaning and originator of the phrase at that time. However I realized that the ‘desire to learn, the wish to improve and the zeal to know’ are the central reason that humans are different from animals. And I think that when I was in my early teens, this answer dictated the manner in which I saw education ad learning. I think this, coupled with another incident, transformed me from a back bencher and last rankers in school to the topper in board exams. (The first time that I stood first or even amongst the top 5 in class was in boards exams, 1999)
The principle was simple। I decided that I shall leave no stone unturned in the persual of education. I wanted to know more about this world. About everything. I wanted to know about science. How the solar system was created? How does the human body work? How are colors created? I wanted to know about history. How are nations made? Why does a country succeed or fail? Who created the beautiful monuments? Who went to war with whom? I wanted to know about philosophy. About relations, about literature, about each and every damn idea, tangible/intangible thing. And to accomplish this I started reading. I read EVERYTHING. From comics to newspapers to hand outs to posters on walls to even government reports and legal cases files (in revenue board’s library). And still I wanted to read more.
People would get bored in engineering classes. They would say,” क्या फालतू कि चीज़ है engineering? कितनी boring है !” Sometimes I found things tough (GD/AECD) but NEVER did I found them boring। I used to ask each and every doubt that crossed my mind in class, however Naïve or foolish it might sound to others। I participated in almost all extra curricular activities. I made innumerate friends. I tasted wine from so so many cups.
Then I came to MBA। Those classes that interested me, I attended them by sitting on the first bench. And so many things interested me. I liked statistics, QMDM, Economics, Saikat’s Marketing, ITO, and ITL amongst others. And then when I had finished with them, I would sit with the juniors to attend their courses. I even took some marketing classes. None of them gave me any marks. None of them show on my mark sheet. But I think in the persual of knowledge, I learnt even more.
My Montage (people write things about their classmates at the end of MBA course) says, “No one knows what he wants. Not he and not even God. Believes in networking only with great people”. I smile. Probably only I amongst my classmates know what I want, right from the time when I was 14 years old.
http://www.business-standard.com/opinionanalysis/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=308549&subLeft=2&leftnm=4
http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/dec/26guest.htm
Varun Agrawal: The market`s coming of age
Varun Agrawal / New Delhi December 25, 2007
Sebi’s intention of introducing a volatility index (V-I) and derivatives based on it for Indian markets is a welcome move.The Rammohan Rao committee’s proposed V-I, among other things, signifies the financial sector’s coming of age.
India’s futures and options market has seen a boom in the past five years. While a total of only 176,000 index put/call options worth Rs 3,800 crore (Rs 38 billion) were traded on the NSE in 2001-02, those numbers have skyrocketed to 25 million and Rs 7,92,000 crore (Rs 7920 billion) respectively, in 2006-07. Similarly, the total trading volume in NSE options has jumped from a paltry $555 million in 2000-01 to $1.7 trillion in 2006-07. That’s a neck-breaking 214 per cent compounded growth rate y-o-y. With such growth in volumes, the time is ripe to introduce long-awaited new products.
The V-I will measure the market’s expectation of Nifty/Sensex volatility over the coming month (30-day period). Since 1993, VIX, the first volatility index introduced by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), has been a huge hit. A number of other exchanges around the world have also introduced some mutation of it and have had the same experience.
The V-I will help Indian markets in more ways than one.
First, it will be the most direct measure of the increasing market volatility and will thus be helpful in the pricing of options. Second, this measurement will help investors hedge and speculate over the very property of volatility. Third, its input will enhance better prediction by Value at Risk (VaR) and other risk management models. Fourth, it will reduce transaction costs for betting on volatility because the speculator will have to buy only one VIX derivative, instead of at least two for constructing strangle/straddles. Fifth, it will encourage market participants to move ‘onshore’ instead of playing in private offshore arenas.
But even beyond these uses, it sends a very important signal worldwide, that India is ready to move to the next level of financial maturity. While our capital markets are very well-developed (the BSE is the world’s largest in terms of the number of scrips listed, while the NSE is the world’s largest by stock futures trading volume), there is a dearth of modern financial products. Sebi’s wish to introduce seven new products including V-I is a well-thought out decision to break out of the shackles.
According to recent news reports, India Index Services & Products Ltd (IISL), a joint venture between CRISIL and NSE, has expressed a desire to be a leading player for devising the index. It is likely to do so because of its experience in this space.
However, it’s not that the rollover will be smooth. There are certain unique issues that will have to be tackled. The single biggest problem in devising the index will be liquidity concerns. Indian derivative markets are still in the budding stage. While the number of puts and calls traded on the index has risen significantly, their depth and liquidity is a major concern. All this might lead to ‘holes’ while constructing the proposed volatility index.
According to my preliminary research, in all likelihood, we’ll follow the old VIX methodology for calculating V-I. The new VIX methodology might be unsuitable for calculating the Indian volatility index because options on Nifty, though aplenty at at-the-money strike, show an erratic behaviour for out-of-money and in-the-money strikes. Thus, a better and more practical method would be to go for the old VIX methodology which uses eight at-the-money options. These are relatively easily available and are more traded than their counterparts.
The first to cash in on opportunities in new derivative products in India are large institutional players who have already tried their hands at similar products in other markets, like the CBOE, NYSE or LME. The situation might not be any different here. The first to jump on the bandwagon would be foreign banks and other large institutional players. Retail investors will be the last to try their hands at V-I futures and options because of the classic risk-averse mentality. They are likely to wait and see what other participants are doing before giving it a shot. That said, even the average retail investor is expected to use the V-I as an index to gauge where the market is going and use the insights in buying options on other securities and shares.
One of the problems cited in Mumbai’s way to becoming an IFC is the lack of innovative financial products. While the V-I is not the panacea for all financial problems, it certainly is a very good indicator of Sebi’s long-term reforms to align India with global best practices and vision.
The writer, a student at New Delhi’s Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, can be reached at cfa.varun@gmail.com
Students -
1) Rahul Newar - The true bond.
2) Neelesh sachdeva - The only person who has everything that i’m impressed by. Studies, Intelligence, People skills, Carefree, Down to earth & helpful
3) Naval Goel - The only person who knows finance in IIFT. The only person who is unaffected by what people say. The only person whose transformation impresses & inspires me.
4) Chango - He’s Smart, he’s ambitious , he’s pragmatic & he networks like anything. If he’s your friend, you know he’ll be there when you need him.
Professors -
1) Deepak Chawla - for developing a passion for Stats in me.
2) P. Bhaumik - The only teacher who taught me ‘why’ of mathematics. The only teacher who instilled confidence in me that I too can understand mathematics.The only teacher who made me believe in my intellectual capabilities.
Administration -
1) Gaurav Gulati - For proving that rules are meant to help you, not hinder.
Support Staff
1) Ramnivas Ji - for having a smile on his face even while dealing with so many irritating situations.
Ok. So I came all the way back from Delhi to take the CFA exam in Bombay on June 3, 2007. so what if the useless trip cost me 12,000 bucks. It was well worth the efforts, time and money…. Or was it?
Ummm… may be not. this exam was different. .. Chalo let me start from the beginning
I landed at Mumbai airport after flying through beautiful clouds aboard an Indian airlines flight. People say that their service is poor; however it was much better than Go air. Anyways, I had a window seat and for the first time was in an airplane while being in midst of a storm. The plane was shaking violently and was bumping too… seemed more of being in a bus from Kota to Ajmer rather than in a plane from del to bom.
Anyways, after a 45 min delay I landed at Mumbai airport at about 8 PM. I had already made my boarding arrangements at 3 places. So I went to NITIE because it was closest to the test centre at Thakur Engg college at Kandivili. I got a room on 7th floor, number 707. it seemed as if the airplane thing was just not leaving me. There the room was in a mess and no pillows or bed sheets were provided. So I borrowed a bed sheet from shriharsha which I eventually used as a pillow because I didn’t want the sleep to be a pain in the neck (pun intended)
When I landed in NITIE, Chandan told me that PPO decision is due on Tuesday. Now I already know what skimpy chance do I have at a PPO so it didn’t bother me much. However there was, and is, a small feeling that ….. Chalo, let’s leave that for a moment.
So I borrowed an alarm clock. I set multiple alarms just to make sure that I don’t forget to wake up in the morning. . I studied a bit of GIPS and asset valuation before I slept at 11 30.
I woke up at 5 30 AM. But then I thought “ki agar life mein neend nahi poori ki to kya kiya?”. So I slept for an hour more and woke up at 6 30 AM out of sheer tension. Then quickly got ready and was set to leave for the exam.
A break here— at this point I must state that NITIE campus is very beautiful. I liked it very much, about the same as PEC.
Haan to as I was saying, when I was going out of the hostel I found a few guys all ready like me. I guessed immediately that they too were CFA candidates. Since there was only one centre at Bombay, my baniya buddhi thought it better to share an auto (read cut my operating expenses by half). So I sat with this padhakoo looking guy. The route from NITIE to kandivili was very beautiful. It was a cloudy day and that really cheered me up. In fact it was so beautiful that I really had a doubt that this place was in Bombay. Chalo koi na, I finally reached thakur’s at about 7 50 AM.
There were lots of people at the centre. Around 2000 may be. There were a quite a few sexy looking chicks too, which busted my myth of finance being a male dominated area. Or may be it was just another application of looks-and-boobs-can-take-you-places theory
Jo bhi ho, the centre was very well managed. Invigilators were wearing a seemingly bulletproof yellow top up shirt which reminded me of a parrot. I asked one of them why was it like that and she told me it’s CFA policy. I though that the CFA institute makes people work like an ass and look like a parrot… what are they somehow affiliated to PeTA? But then I just shrugged off the feeling and continued my observations at the firagi test centre. There were big posters of Cell phones not allowed and Laptops/ PC’s not allowed all over the place. They were printed on pretty decent paper and I wondered how much would have this bullshit cost them. But with all that $845 fees, they can spend money on things like that I guess.
So then I went inside the centre where they repeatedly checked my hall ticket and Passport. They’re pretty touchy on these issues yaar. So then they gave us a very well printed exam booklet and OMR sheet and read the instructions aloud. The test began at sharp 9 AM according to the 30 Rs digital ‘hello kitty’ watch that I purchased from Dwarka.
I started with Portfolio Mgmt . there were 6 qns and I did not know answer to 1. CML and SML were heavily tested material. I then moved to asset valuation. But I found that tough and in the mid section went to economics which I again found tough. There were some qns on monetary policy effects on currency appreciation that I’m sure I did bad in. I next moved to Quant which was ok types and to Ethics which were fine. Then I went back to asset valuation before finally doing Financial statement analysis, which as again OK.
So in essence, asset valuation was tough and other sections were fine… but I din’t have that ‘phod diya’ feeling in AM test.
BUT I finished the test 1hour before .
Then there was a break for 2 hours where I had a very oily chola bhatura and a fag. This guy from ICFAI was also smoking and I cursed his institute a bit. He was curious about IIFT and I gave him general gyaan.
I met a few of my college seniors also during the exam
Then came the afternoon session.
This section was easier. I started with portfolio mgmt again which was just OK types. Lots of CML/SML qns again. Then I moved to asset valuation which I found easy. As I was a bit confidant, I moved to FSA which again was easy. Nest I went to Economics which was cool . Then was Quant which I think I cracked. Last was ethich where again I did well.
Overall paper was easy But tricky. Also lots of ‘ratta’ is required. Theory is big time important. Even quant had theory in it.
So in essence, AM was bad and PM was good. However, because AM was Quite bad, I’m 80% sure I’ll pass. Ok may be 90% but definitely not 100%
Out of 240 qns I did not know/got confused in 54 qns.
Assuming I knew the answers at this much correct of level, my score is
70%level 75%level 80% level 83%level 85% level
sure 186 130.2 139.5 148.8 154.38 158.1
unsure 54 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5
Total 143.7 153 162.3 167.88 171.6
% 59.875 63.75 67.625 69.95 71.5
at most I can get 74% approx
Most probably I’ll get 68% types. So that’s it. I’m borderline case in this exam
