The Medici

To look back at the ascent of the concept of modern day money, we need to take notice of Italy in the 1200s. Money, in token form, had come into being by then. However, lending was still not a profession of good standing. Christianity forbade usury, the practice of charging interest on the loan doled out. However, if a money-lender didn't charge interest, how would he make a living? How would he cover the defaults?

Jews were the answer to this riddle. A different religion allowed them a different set of rules. In Florence, sitting behind their benches, they gave loans without compunction or fear of the after-life. Dealing with numbers for generations on an end has clearly made them a smart bunch of fellows. The Christians could only sit in the side-lines, working away at their 'legitimate' professions.

This changed in the latter part of the 1300s. Giovanni de Medici, of the notorious Medici family in Venice, rose to clear his family of their stamp of infamy. Using his sharp intellect, he hit upon an ingenious way of tapping into the money business, and still remaining within the remit of the Christian laws. He started to work on Forex! There was no low forbidding a commission on changing currencies at the time. The commission, after all, was not interest. It was just a commission. And once this happened, there was no stopping the Medici family. By spreading their services far and wide in Italy, they grew in scale, allowing lower operating costs. Low costs and higher profits - the family became richer and more powerful. Two (three) queens and a pope eventually came from this family.

Meaningless conversations

There is a channel called 9XM. It is a good channel. It plays current Hindi music videos. However, the videos are interspersed with short clips of characters that the channel has come up with. They seem to serve no purpose other than separate successive songs from each other.

But the nature of content that these characters talk about is abysmal. Some of them say out front to not think but just listen to what they have to say. Why? Because they have nothing meaningful to say. One character, a slimy slob, has conversations with another one of its kind which ultimately leads to one of them yelling 'bakvaas band kar'. What is the point of having such a video? There are no promotional ads featured on the screen while this video runs. So ad revenues are definitely not the reason for them. I kind find any rational reason why a channel would feature such kind of meaningless content. And the absence of a rational reason makes me speculate that the video is just a representation of commonplace humor/conversation to change the flow of the music. That makes me sad... There is too much money and time going around and we, as a generation don't use it to talk sense... God help the next generation...

Fractional Reserve Banking

The history of money is fascinating. And it is not easy to get your head around it in one go. The way I understand it, banking began with goldsmiths being entrusted by normal people with their gold for safekeeping. They realized that at any point in time, only a fraction of the people (say 10%) will come back to demand their gold back. This fact allowed them to lend out gold to others, gold that was not theirs to begin with, and charge interest on it. This was the birth of fractional-reserve banking.

Most banks work on the same principle nowadays. Each bank has to maintain a capital ratio, a ratio of the amount of money in reserve, and the amount of money it lends out. This ratio changes, but is always less than one...

The masters of money ...

I have come across some fascinating documentaries tracing back the history of money and how economics had a major role to play in world affairs since the beginning of organized society. I might dedicate a few blogs to how things were ...

Wasted Years

I was wondering. 40 years back, salaries were low, progress was less and there was little to go around. However, the number of kids you had was alarmingly high. There may be exceptions but in general, people used to have 5-6 kids at least. Where did they get the money to support them?

We argued that lives were 'simpler' and people spent less outside. They cooked at home, spent time at home, at parks and other places where spending money was not necessarily part of the equation. With that kind of a 'safe' lifestyle, Looking back, compared to present day hustle and bustle, things do seem idyllic and relaxed. Who wouldn't want those days back?

However, the counter-argument is that the days when the majority of the country was enjoying this idyllic existence, partly because they didn't have the money to explore, learn and innovate (due to the expenses of raising 6 children), the developed world was doing exactly that. The computers, the science and the innovation was not happening here, but there. Anyone who has had any experience in experimentation will agree that it takes some risk and money. With a close-to-the-chest balance of money, there was no money to spend thus.

Wasted years :(

Ancient Inventions with Terry Jones

It was bound to happen. With me watching so many of these marvelous documentaries, I had to come back and tell you about one that is phenomenal.

"Ancient Inventions with Terry Jones" walks across centuries to discover inventions which we would have assumed are modern day but to my utter surprise (and I am sure yours too, if you care to investigate) are thousands of years old.

The grid-plan in modern day cities was 'invented' in the Indus valley civilization and simultaneously in the Aztec and Mayan cities of South America. It was shamefully, and quite unsuspectingly copied by New York in the 1800s when they decided to bring some order to the city plan. An interesting corollary is that the 'Wall Street' was actually a street with wooden walls to separate the British and Irish settlements from the native Indians.

Cities were marked by some other characteristics that date back centuries as well. For example, cities are marked by eating joints and the ability to find and eat food without having to cook for it yourself. Well, these fast-food joints and restaurants were common in Rome around 1 BC. In fact, one of the dishes quite resembles the modern day hamburger!

Another invention to interest you would be books. Romans at it again! The city of Parthenon came up with the first library of over 20,000 papyrus scrolls for the intellectual stimulation of their residents. However that prompted jealousy by the Egyptians. So what did they do? They banned the export of Papyrus, of course. That prompted the Romans to find an alternative source of 'paper', I guess. I don't know how many animals were sacrificed for them to find it, but they finally struck on the right writing medium - Parchment, i.e dried skin of sheep. These skins, for all their inefficiencies compared to papyrus had one good feature. They could be sewn together. And lo and behold - the first books!

Enough advertising, now go see the documentary...

Side-stepping

You know what the problem is?! The problem is that in this country, people side-step too much. There is no accountability of the government machinery which leads to underdeveloped roads, loss of power and unclean drinking water. How does the Indian man respond to it? If her can afford it, he lives in areas which are blessed with the few well made roads, he lives in an apartment which has a power backup (and a monthly bill of it) and finally, he buys an RO system for his house. With all that side-stepping, it is a shame that we dance like numb-skulls. What do the people who cannot afford it, do? Well, they develop a wrecked body from the unsuspecting hops and skips of their bikes over the potholes. They learn to live without power, interpreting an unproductive wastage of hours as an idyllic life-style. And finally, they learn to drink the filthy water, complimenting themselves on their superior immune system.

But apart from all of that, do you know what all of this leads to?! Elitism! People fight for their share and start living lives that are marked by how they can differentiate themselves and prove themselves better than others. Its true that people differentiate themselves around the world. But the better way to do it is usually through their actions, achievements or skills. In India, the differentiation is done through money and a basic standard of living. Paying Rs 80K for an apartment that still looks like shit from outside (in Bby) is a pointless way of differentiation....

Done better, could I have?

How much is enough? Now that I have gotten through to one of the best b-schools in the country, I ask myself "could I have done better?". The answer is unfortunately, yes. However, when I try to sift through the positives and the negatives of the options I have, the answers and the reality seem to be a little different.

The round of introspection goes as follows:

q1. Do you want to do a 2 year MBA ?

a1. No. I think doing an MBA is fundamentally a waste of time. The less time I waste, the better. However, the world will not pay me my worth unless I do an MBA. If I have to, I would prefer to do a one-year MBA

q2. Of the good one-year MBAs, where else do you think you could qualify?

a2. I could get into INSEAD. I probably wouldn't have gotten through this year which is why I didn't apply. however, considering the job options I have, I might not make it through the next year either. I do understand that ISB is one of the best places to do a one-year MBA from.

q3. Do you want to settle abroad, live abroad or work abroad?

a3. Truth be told, I don't want to feel stuck. I guess, settling down and committing to someone and some place is difficult. However, I understand that you do have to settle down somewhere eventually. I wouldn't want to make India my home base. However, I do not want to feel stuck. I should be able to work and travel abroad once in a while.

q4. Do you think that your profile will get more traction in INSEAD or in ISB?

a5. Well. I had conceived the notion that in a great b-school, everyone will get awesome jobs. However, I realize that that is not going to happen. In fact, some of my friends are having bad luck in finding good positions in foreign b-schools. From that perspective, the IIT tag behind me will provide much more of a traction in an Indian b-school (like ISB) that a foreign one, like INSEAD. It should be kept in mind though, that the number of IITians in ISB has been rising constantly over the years as well.

q5. Finally, isn't a bird in the hand .... ? Also, if a one-year MBA is what you are looking for, how many options do you have really which are better than this one?

a5. I agree. The bird saying does hold true. It is a good school. I will just have to pull up my socks and differentiate myself there as well. Considering the fair amount of mess I am in, career-wise, it makes sense to hold on to this life-line and move. Had I gotten an awesome job to extract me out of this mire of second-rate consulting firms and non-profits, I could have reconsidered. However, looking at the possible job options I have, it makes sense to stick with what I have gotten.

I have also realized that many of my blogs are about me. It is very self-centered of me. I promise to be more informative and productive in my writing moving forward. I just hope that my imaginary readers will excuse this phase of my life. It is very difficult to make such life-changing decisions.

Impressions of childhood

Some impressions seems to remain for life. I remember years ago, when there was only a single doordarshan channel and the world was a slightly better place, how much fun it was going through the Times of India review early in the morning on Sundays. The shiny paper and the longer cartoon strips (9 boxes instead of the regular 3) were a high-point of the week. The four comic strips that colored the page were - Beetle Bailey, Garfield, Hagar the horrible and the wizard of ID.

Some impressions remain for life. One of the first Sundays when I began this ritual of going through these comic strips, my brother casually advised me to steer clear of the Wizard of ID and Hagar the horrible because they would be, in his impression, difficult for me to decipher at my age. That stuck! Even to this date, 10 years hence, whenever I come across these two strips, there is a part of me convinced that maybe I won't get it. Some impressions ...

The power of the internet!

Ok. I am going to write fast and am probably going to make tons of grammatical mistakes. But, I am trying to mark an end to the days when I was a consumer of information and transition into an era where I produce processed and useful information from what I see, read and learn.

There are several things which people fret about when they compare the developed countries to the developing ones. I refer especially to people such as myself who have spent time in both of them. The weather is more conducive and the competition is less are familiar comments. However, I am slowly and painfully realizing that the speed of the internet ranks high on that list as well. The typical model of getting information in the US used to be to stream it directly from the net. In India, the internet is used like electricity. Just as you charge your laptop overnight with power, so do you charge your computer with information over the night (via downloads). As one might suspect, there is however, no cross-selling of information in the latter scenario. What you download is what you see the next day. If you want to find more information, you just have to painfully wait for the next night to download it. And if you are human like me, you tend to forget what you wanted to search for in the day, by night-time. So all in all, a very inefficient process. Yes, you might underestimate it by thinking that nobody needs so much information and knowledge anyway, right? But no! Imagine day after day of pointless waste of the precious few hours you get after work. It is these hours that people in developing countries waste over trivialities and slow-inefficient actions that people with faster internet and information capitalize on.

Hence, the moral of the story: Get a fast internet connection and don't split it amongst your flatmates. It is one the most important expenditures that you can make from the salary you earn. Consider it indispensable, like clean underwear. And then, once you have it, use it wisely!!

Look Around, being a workoholic just doesn't make sense!

Its difficult to say which side is right, at least for me. Is it the one that supports an undying devotion to its profession, one so single-minded and committed that it fails to see how other things work in this world, or is the one that never immerses itself in its work, treating is as a source of revenue to sustain a world-view and the freedom to spend time on it. The more I see the world, and take in experiences first-hand, the more I come to the conclusion is that the former seems to make more sense, if it is accompanied however, with a slight clause. I feel that people who are committed to their profession do seem to be happier and more sorted out than others. However, just like you need a dose of guy friends to get away from the sweet, cloying love of your life, similarly you need to step back from a very interesting occupation to look at the world around you. People justify working really hard in their professions as a justification to be numb to the world’s problems and their responsibilities towards it. After all, working on a complex excel model for the entire length of day is damn draining. Why wouldn't I want to kick back with a beer and just relax, right? Sorry, the right answer is ‘wrong’! Unless we own up to a share of our roles, and just stop being like greedy kids who want things quick and without responsibility (the context being nature, wildlife and our natural resources), the world shall die, slowly and painfully…. and us and other lives with it …. Hence, my practical advice is to read, watch, observe, comment and critically analyze the world around you .... TED, Blogs, Articles, Opinions, Documentaries, NOT crappy movies, NOT soaps, NOT baseball, football and basketball around the year!

Or maybe we and viruses are alike (courtesy ‘The Matrix’)…

Blast in Koregaon Park

Woo Hoo … something exciting to tell my grandchildren about. There was a blast in Koregaon Park in Pune at the famous German Bakery. The bakery is around lane A. I live in lane C. And the lanes are not that far apart. Ok, time for familiar comments: “I am shocked out of my wits”, “This is unheard of (but actually it is, remember 26/11)”, “Pune was supposed to be a safe city” etc etc. But seriously speaking, now that I am close to the scene of the crime, it is quiet difficult to be nonchalant about it. I did the stupid mistake of walking over to the bakery only to hear in the news later that an unexploded IED was still around in an auto. (Note: remember to tell this part to grandchildren as well, if I learn from my mistakes i.e.). The place is a shambles. Thullas are everywhere.

Flatmates

I am interning in a non-profit for the experience. Part of the experience is a very modest stipend I get for work done. Though I am guilty of living in an expensive part of town, I stay in a small room in a PG to keep my costs down. I don't mind the room but its definitely not a place I would invite friends over (quiet simply, there isn't enough place to sit anyway). Along with the PG, comes the free company of a flatmate.

He is a straight-forward simple fellow. However, what is amusing yet disturbing about him is his ill-informed perspective on almost every other topic that comes up in casual conversation. He is a sales rep by profession, which may explain his confidence in everything he says, but the gross inaccuracy in knowledge is just pathetic. A few examples of his words of wisdom are as follows: "So Sumit, what is this H1N1 visa that you need to work in the US", "I dont like sugar with saunf, I like Misri, because it is good for your haemoglobin", "Enemy at the Gates is set at the time of the cold war (since they is so much snow in the movie)" and "Mr. Musharaff, Sheikh Hasina, Imran Khan were leading lights of Pakistan"

Now I don't really care how people live their lives and how much they learn. But if this is the state of graduates in our country, then its definitely not good. I can see how his ignorance will continue this way for years to come considering a very hectic, meaningless job that occupies his day from morning to night. Then eventually he will get married to a girl as ignorant as he is, spawning children who will look up upon them for guidance and opinions in their formative years. They will grow, biased and confused and the cycle will continue ...

My external worth

I have been the victim of a spate of thefts in the office recently. First, I lost my sunglasses. By the time I recovered from that loss, my earphones went missing. I am trying to get to the bottom of it, but I am not very hopeful of the outcome.

These events made me realize that our average worth, based on what he wears daily, is pretty high. It might be an interesting exercise to do a quick estimate of your worth, i.e the worth of what you wear daily. Forget the depreciation to make it easy. For me, a couple of days back, the estimate would have been as follows:

Shirt/ Kurta = 340/-

Jeans = 2500/-

Watch= 2000/-

Earphones= 1000/-

Iphone= 25,000/-

Boots= 5000/-

Socks= 40/-

Wallet= 500/-

Sunglasses= 3500/-

Total= 39,880/-

Imagine walking naked with a that much money in your hand.

Give away a few bucks

Give away a few bucks to the poor once in a while. We have been taught since childhood to oppose begging. "They should try and earn a living", is what is commonly suggested. But who offers jobs to the poor? Are they so easy to come by? Where does a product of an unjust, ill-managed, tottering education and social system get employed? The only avenue of work would be to start a small business, selling things to begin with. But how easy is that to secure? To the budding entrepeneurs I ask - is setting up a business that easy? I wouldn't think so. Maybe the beggar makes more of a profit begging that selling wilted flowers at a traffic signal that no one buys anyway. Shouldn't he go with the 'profession' that gives him a little more dough?

I don't think most beggars are organized in syndicates as movies such as 'traffic signal' suggest them to be. I think many of them would use the money themselves. Yes, they may go and buy some cigarettes from it. So what!? Why do they have to be burdened by our expectations for them to go buy 'parle-g' biscuits. We make stupid decisions with our money. Give away a few bucks and let them make their own judgements. Allow the poor to be human.

I just don't want to get sick

I am sick. I do not understand why women get so worked up if you suggest that you don't want to 'mingle' when they are sick. A cold or flu is communicable and will pass from one person to another irrespective of the good intentions of the person who is sick. If I do not have any problem mingling otherwise, why is the simple explanation that I do not want to get sick enough?! And guess who conceded in the argument that ensued? Well, I am sick now, am I not :(

Shiny Swanky Malls

Voo Hoo,

I am free enough to attempt to put some words on my screen.

Living in Pune makes me miss Delhi.

Maharashtrians are nice, unpretentious people. At least, the previous generation was much more than the present one. Give a Marathi lady her gold mangalsutra, a pair of nice earrings and gold bangles and she will be content with her conventional sari and attire. Very few of them branch out to wear ill-fitting jeans and tight tops in an attempt to catch up to the 'modern' style of dressing. However, what may appear to be a good attitude to have has its own downsides. For me, the downside is that these 'maushi(s)' (the equivalent of Aunties here) spoil the look and feel of the swanky, shiny malls and shops they frequent. Everything about malls is meant to be attractive and enticing. They entice people to come, look around and eventually get sucked into one shop or the other. But, the people themselves, as they cross the glass doors, become a part of the mall. So while in Delhi, the well dressed folks add value to the surroundings, in cities such as Pune, they bring down the fanciness by a few notches.