Mahant!

PS: I nominate this as the BEST post of the entire year.

First and foremost, read  Gene Sharp 's  From Dictatorship to Democracy . Its also a good idea to read and see the " How to start a Revolution " ( see here ,  read here ). Also see this, Gene Sharp's lecture on  Power of non-violent struggles

Whats happening online these days, is interesting, amusing and sad. It somehow seems the virus of activism has thoroughly taken over media like Twitter and Facebook. Everybody is lecturing on something. Everybody is the online equivalent of placard-holders. We argue for days on why this phenomenon is interesting, amusing and sad. Though that is not the objective of this write, however I will venture my quick answer to this statement. This online activism is interesting because it shows the slowing dawning awareness among people on varied subjects, subjects in previous years would not have been aware of nor have got any showing of support for its cause. This group of new Share and Retweet activists are at the root of the changes that will have enormous impact on society of future. This trend will only gather pace in future and it becomes easier and easier to share the user-generated information to mass audience. Every activist with an issue to propagate and zeal to create will ...

Is you are looking to travel and stay to Thirvanamalai and looking for advise, this is the best place / people to ask. Arunachala Grace

Politically, today's election results are a Game-Changer . Government has both good news and a bad news. The ball is now completely in BJP's court and how it will play it will determine its political fortunes for 2014 or earlier. The background of the story is the same frustrating government with not a spine but heavily dependent on two opportunistic rogue allies. Government for all its bravado will not be able to do anything substantial in future even with help of these rogue allies. The biggest news for congress simply is that BJP for all the stinking corruption charges against Congress, could not make a dent in Himachal Pradesh. This is not a win of Congress but a serious defeat of BJP in being able to capture its vote base. Nothing highlights the BJP's inadequacies better than the resounding defeat in HP despite all the incumbency odds stacked up against Congress. From the perspective of Congress, this is a genuine relief. They would be very h...

Let me tell you my story as a trader in a short passage: We got into a game. A very interesting, motivating and rewarding game. And very tough one. We learnt the game the hard way, worked very very hard on it, and finally became good at it. Then, just when we thought we can capitalize on what we know, the rules of the game changed. Unfortunately, it took some time to realize the rules changed. But it did. Took some more jabs on the chin. Got back up. Back in the ring. Now, there are no rules. Its a new game. 

Travelling for a while, and there are tons I still need to get to. So where better to store the links than post it here!! So here it goes.  http://dynamichedge.com/2012/12/05/10-tips-from-the-trenches/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WSIUf2hD6Io http://www.bloombergbriefs.com/2012/12/05/private-equity%E2%80%99s-one-year-anniversary-special/ http://blogs.cfainstitute.org/insideinvesting/2012/12/06/talking-macro-fixed-income-and-the-strategic-alpha-bond-fund-with-loomis-sayles-matt-eagan/ http://www.cboe.com/micro/put/pricecharts.aspx http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2012/12/06/stop-asking-can-apple-still-innovate/ http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=3126 http://www.pimco.com/EN/Insights/Pages/Strawberry-Fields-Forever.aspx http://www.ambaa.org/pdf/index.html http://www.vanamaliashram.org/Gayatri.html http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjuly12/decoupled7-12.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulkyG5F9LSI&feature=youtu.be http://ftalphav...

A management consultant, on holiday in a African fishing village, watched a little fishing boat dock at the quayside. Noting the quality of the fish, the consultant asked the fisherman how long it had taken to catch them.  "Not very long." answered the fisherman.  "Then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the consultant. The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.  The consultant asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"  "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, have an afternoon's rest under a coconut tree. In the evenings, I go into the community hall to see my friends, have a few beers, play the drums, and sing a few songs..... I have a full and happy life." replied the fisherman. The consultant ventured, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you...... You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extr...

A good summation of why retail stores have failed in India: Three big reasons why organized retail does not make money.   One is the cost of real estate. These stores typically operate out of better buildings along the bigger roads, unlike kirana stores that operate out of older buildings on small streets.   Second is the cost of people. There’s a constant churn of store staff because of difficult timings, long hours, weekend work. And new hires will always come at higher costs. The kirana stores are run typically by family folk who do not mind the difficulties.  The third reason is that 60-70 per cent of the items in a store are packaged, branded items that have to be sold at MRP (or below that during promotions), and where the margins are low. Most of the remaining 30-40 per cent consists of fruits, vegetables and dry groceries (grains, dals, etc). [Internationally, that’s where big grocery chains make money. But in India, that’s a space with lots of competiti...

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I think there are two ways of looking at the FDI debate: 1. India is rich and growing rich. 2. India is poor and becoming poorer. It might be very obvious where one stands by their view on the above. I was once told by somebody that with FDI in retail they will be able to go to new malls to shop. Can't disagree with him, but that is one part of the equation. I also know a mom-pop store who have run their establishment for ~30 years, for whom increased competition would mean retirement. Depending on where you are on your perspective of the rich-poor spectrum, I guess, so you will see the issue. More biased you are the to the Rich argument, more inclined you are to shop and experiment new consumption habits; more bias you are to the FDI reforms.  If you are so inclined to see the pain and sufferings of others, if you read the suicides of farmers, closure of industries and general lack of affluence in a particular section of society, I guess that your bias would be take the Poor argum...

Today's rather agitated discussions on FDI in retail is perfect example of how completely divorced people can be to practical realities. FDI in retail, the opposition of which has distinct socialistic connotations and support of which has shades of crony capitalism. No body will say that the tide of FDI and opening of economy can be reversed or stopped at the Retail's gate. However, what is surprising are the arguments put forth, majority of which tends to be on either end of the spectrum.  The simple answer is, both the ends are wrong. There has to be a middle ground. [We would have been happy not to have this mess for now had not been the hurried miscarriage by Manmohan's government] The practical solution is to find a workable solution, IF that is possible. [Parties so close to elections would not give a damn about practicalities.] Yes, if the elections in Gujarat had been over by now, their tone would have been distinctly lower, more conciliatory and less obstructioni...

If you are not watching a particular sector, niche, you would have missed out the total hoopla. WSJ just came out with its supplement where in practically gave its blessing to the Direct Selling industry. Thats very interesting because though proven over many years, the industry always carried a stigma.  But that's not the point of this rant.. its this: India is so so small...for a population and geography so so huge!

THERE IS NO HOLY GRAIL

Every trade is born at a specific instance because several factors help form it. This entire gamut of factors is what is summarily called a setup.  A setup is highly individualistic and systematic. It is too amorphous to be numbered. Simply put, there are infinite trading setups. And follower of one system of setup is often on the other side for the other side. Hence, it is impossible to take a specific view on any trading setup. Trader is best served by trading what his setup shows. However some general points are well in order 1. Don't second guess the setup 2. Don't front run the setup 3. You may choose not to take the setup or wait for further confirmations 4. All setups need not be traded 5. Somebody else's setup is not our setup, though principle features must be observed, learnt and incorporated 6. There are infinite systems out there, future is better if you take time to develop what suits you best 7. Every setup is wrong once in a while 8. Know the circ...

From time immemorial man has always wanted to look what lies in future. It is so important for a man to actually understand what lies in store. It helps him / her to cut down on so many wasteful enterprises and endeavors. The longing could be as simple as understanding the climate, to guessing the longevity of a relationship, to possible analysis of baby's future and many million more things. Over a period of several millennia, man has developed several intricate strategies / methods to enable him to understand, or more precisely best-guess, the future possibilities.  To solve these issues several divination systems that have come into existence. The system of one is nonsense for another but there are several methods out there and with vast majority of them undocumented or probably even lost forever. These systems, the use of them, for several centuries were strictly guarded secret. It was essentially because information is critical, and especially information regarding future is s...