Here's some news for the patriots.

India's balance sheet for the first time in its 56 years of existence is showing a surplus foreign exchange account.

India's foreign exchange reserves (Forex) stands at over $ 117 billion, while her net overseas outstanding (read loans from foreign countries and financial institutions) stands at an estimated $112 billion.

Time to uncork the champagne. Cheers.

Have been extensively using the phone, at times for a little over a hour continuously. Spotted a pattern.

At the stroke of half hour , the line went dead. And it was the same, irrespective of whether i received the call from or dialled to a landline number or a mobile.

However, there is one commonality, 90% of the time, my mobile was in use. And my service operator, while boasting the foot print advantage, has so far turned in a dismal service and value-add show.

It’s election time in India and the media is filled with jargons. Wouldn’t reports or sound bytes read or sound, crisper without these words.

Have listed a few

1) Supremo
2) Party big wig
3) Statesman
4) Battle on the cards
5) The Grand Old Party (why not just Congress)
6) The Saffron Brigade
7) The Red wave (Communist sound fine right)
8) Siege on in its citadel/stronghold
9) bhadralok
10) And off late the Feel Good Factor and India shining/not shining

Am amusing note in The Economic Times-Brand Equity, Bawdy Copy Section.

The situation: Stayfree Commercial
Players: Prabhudas G Patel and McCann-Erickson (Ad agency)

While it may not be true that the dead tell no tales, McCann-Erickson seems headed for a bit of rough spot with a person it killed in a recent ad. The Victim, a Prabhudas G Patel, a Mumbai based tailor, is alive and kicking... hard. The commercial features a garlanded portrait of Patel in the background.

The note continues- Patel, his friends and relatives were understandably surprised to see this televised notice of his demise.

Media reports indicate, Patel has taken the agency to court over the commercial.

Well, it looks the commercials and the agencies gesticulation definitely did not entertain Patel.

The latest book where my eyes trod upon is Rk Narayan's 'My Dateless Diary'

A loosely knit, ambivalent jotting of his travails/travels across The United States Of America ( New York City, through the Mid-West, the Grand Canyon, to Los Angeles and back.)

Have a few more pages to go, but my surmise on the book is that despite his tour of the USA, Narayan focuses mostly on India or Indians (including himself). Would our diary, in a similar situation, too mirror his dateless diary? Guess either some one has to tell me or I should take a journey across continents, diligently write a diary and then compare.

Another point of note, Why did i read, leave alone buy the book? Was it because of RK Narayan? Would my buying pattern have been the same had it been Narayanan Somasundaram!

Liked this Woodrow Wilson quote

The History of Liberty is the History of Limitations of governmental power, not increase of it. When we resist... concentration of power, we resist the powers of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties.

Now it's Europe after USA. The top Economies constituting the European Union are faltering. This year, Six of the single currency’s 12 member European Union states are forecast to run deficits above the 3% of GDP (Gross domestic product) ceiling set in the euro area’s stability and growth pact.

The European Commission, the guardian of the pact, was defanged by member states last November when it tried to chew into the two glaring offenders, France and Germany. Now it falls more than ever to the ECB and its governors to promote whatever possible co-ordination between the euro area’s 12 independent fiscal policies.

Atleast we have something to cheer. The talk of 'India Shining' or 'India not so shining' could well be bullshit. But our economy is indeed growing, however skewed towards the haves it may be. If Government agencies are worth their salt, India's growth for the current fiscal should cross 8% and deficit should be around 4%, a far cry from the 5 to 6% earlier predicted.

Hmmm was kicked up a couple of day's ago. Didn't know me was interacting tooo closely with a near celebrity. Not that i didn't try, only that the person is too modest.

No issues though, am going to be very close with that person and the continued modesty would not deflate my bloated ego.

Just Kidding, Things apart, feel happy and proud at the same time! I Better Be.

The current net edition of Economist features exhaustively two similar articles.

One, Another head rolls in the boardroom (Oil major Shell's)

And two, The Bundesbank loses its head

Both just go to reiterate the concept of accountability and responsibility, however high a position one may occupy. Yup Corporate tardiness has indeed risen a few notches post the Enron , Worldcom and Arthur Andersen scandals.

The second news writeup refers to Junkets, that interests me, more on that some time later

Blazing heat, thought that was the desert's forte. But it looks like cities are getting a doze of it.

Yesterday was at home in Madurai and saw first hand the effects of the the sun. Leaves decked around a coconut sitting smugly on a metal pot had drooped and looked so zapped, reminiscent of a diabetic person, low on sugar. Mind you these leaves usually stay smiling for a week atleast, and this was just three days.

Then went around testing several parts of the house to see if the leaves were over reacting. Metal pieces as usual were hot but here are the surprises

1) Bedsheets placed on the bed for changing were like straight out of the coal iron box pressing.

2) Ropes to tackle the Venetian blind not just greased my hands but slighlty shot a burning streak across my palm

3) The bathroom tiles were warm as a toast

5) My soap case, tooth brush and towel too were warm and the soap didn't look too good

4) I changed two shirts and like gulped down 6- 750 ml- bottles of water and still woke up in the night for one more.

Been reading 'Beyond the Last Blue Mountain', JRD Tata's biography. One aspect that stood out, his life too wasn't a cakewalk.

Losing his father early, JRD had to sell off their palatial house to meet his dad's debts! Not that they were bankrupt, his father's stakes in the Tata concerns were good enough, but then he had to tidy up the financial effects of his father's philanthropy. The other part of his struggle like losing his Co, Air India, New India to nationalisation are well etched in history, that one needn't spell it out here.

But here is one passage, i particulars liked.

At the Tata Oil Mills Annual General Meeting in the early seventies, an agitated shareholder said, " Sir, the quality of Hamam soap has deteriorated sharply"

"Who says that?" JRD enquired

"My wife sir, she has been using this soap for several years."

"If your wife is so discontented she must change the soap she uses."

sir, replied the share holder, "she won't do that, she will never do that."

Then said JRD, "You must change your wife!"

Here is just one more to that

An annoyed shareholder said that even after a Tata company, New India was nationalised another Tata company was still giving it a lot of business.

Dramatically the shareholder exclaimed, "I ask you sir, 'Why?Why?Why?'"

JRD came back, "and I ask you, sir, 'Why not? Why not? Why not?'"

The last two days were essentially different from my routine. Actually it was pleasant and memorable. And ironically latest technology was of virtually no use. Up in the Nilgiris, my cell service refused to send micro/radio waves to my parents house, nestling in a valley, turning my mobile into a baggage. And amidst all this, I craved to talk.

Mercifully the holiday home came with one frill, the dear old land line phone. Thanks to it, two words keep ringing "Tell Me" with a twang accent and "I don't know", catch you later, me gonna hear those words again.

Three days, was up in the hills, away from the heat and more so the dust and grime. Add to it the aura of cruising through tea gardens in open jeeps, spotting a barking deer couple, a malabar squirrel. Man! savoured every moment of it and even now can recollect the deers tearing off in opposite directions leaping over felled branches.

The planter told me that particular plantation was home to panthers and bisons as well. And he was not bluffing, i did see the pug marks. If discover channels clipping were true then those were legitimate panther foot prints. Vowed to return there with a camera, next three day hols and lie still to capture the deft movement of the panther.

Poor bugger (Jeffry) spent the week with the gardener and house keeper at home. Must have missed my parents, siblings or me. This is the first time he toddled away his time at home without us for this long.

Maybe he should get used to it. Mom and Dad have to holiday, elder bro and sis in law are caught up in Chennai with their careers, younger bro is aspiring to be an adman and is at Mica,Ahmedabad. And me 250 kms away from home.

But Jeff remember we all care and think about you, always

This post is reassuring, am reasonably certain i saved my fourth attempt at blogging from infanticide. Now that i have come a cropper, here is a point that i conjured up last week

IIM'sIndian Institute of Management) are in the news and for all wrong reasons. Here is one more to that list

IIT's (Indian Institute of Technology) and IIM's are accepted as the meccas of knowledge. While the IIT's have played a role in shaping biggies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipros, Cognizants, and scores of engineering and steel behemoths in India, the IIM's have failed to usher in one truly Indian consultancy service that can match the Mckinseys, PwC or Ernst and Youngs.

True, the IIM's too played their part in the growth of the mentioned bigtickets, but then they seem to have no answer to their core--management consultancy.

Back after a sabbatical. Two events, exercising significant influence on my personal and professional life surfaced. The personal effect was determined on March 31, and today firmed up my professional maneuver.

Both demanded a well oiled thought process, and took up most part of my time. However much difficult the final moments were, feel the right decisions are in place. Though I would not rule out terming these a gamble.

Now the very few 'passingshots bloghoppers' it's up to you to wish me luck!