Cr.

I looked at my savings bank account statement and it so happened that I saw a lot of figures which ended with "Cr.". Now for a moment it appeared like "Crores"! Certainly some "Credit" to such an imagination :)

Selected Sanskrit Shlokas With Meanings

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एकं सद् विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति।

- ऋग्वेद [१.१६४.४६]

सत्य तो एक ही है लेकिन विद्वतजन उसे बहुविध प्रकार से समझते हैं। / एक ही ब्रह्म है, जो विविध नामों से विख्यात है।

(There is a single Truth, which wise people describe differently.)

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आयुर्नश्यति पश्यतां प्रतिदिनं याति क्षयं यौवनं

प्रत्यायान्ति गताः पुनर्न दिवसाः कालो जगद्भक्षकः।

लक्ष्मीस्तोयतरङ्गभङ्गचपला विद्युच्चलं जीवितं

तस्मान्मां शरणागतं शरणद त्वं रक्ष रक्षाधुना।।

- शिवापराधक्षमापनस्तोत्रम् [१३]

प्रतिदिन आयु नष्ट हो रही है, यौवन का क्षय हो रहा है।

बीता हुआ दिन फिर वापस नहीं आता, काल संसार का भक्षक है।

लक्ष्मी (धन-संपत्ति) जल की तरंग-भंग की भांति चपला है, जीवन विद्युत के समान क्षणभंगुर है।

इसलिए, आप जो सभी को शरण देते हैं, अब इस शरणागत की रक्षा कीजिए।

(Every day life is seen reducing and youthfulness decaying. Days that are gone never come back. Time is devourer of the world. Wealth is as fickle as the breaking of the waves of water, and life as transient as lightning. Therefore, you who gives refuge to all, protect me now who has come to you for refuge.)

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ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविः ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम्।

ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ॥

- भागवत गीता [४.२४]

- जिस चम्मच से अग्नि में आहुति दी जाती है, वह ब्रह्म है। जिन (घी आदि) पदार्थों की आहुति दी जाती है, वे भी ब्रह्म हैं। जिस अग्नि में आहुति दी जाती है, वह भी ब्रह्म है। आहुति देने वाला भी ब्रह्म है। उस ब्रह्मरूपी कर्म में समाधि को प्राप्त योगी को मिलने वाला फल भी ब्रह्म ही है।

Human Side of Shopping Should Not Be Ignored

Bought a cellphone from a small shop in our neighborhood market. Online shopping portals have made their life so miserable (they have to work longer hours to make the same revenue, which is only to reduce with time) that it felt like a social service to buy from them. The human side of shopping can also not be ignored.

In our childhood in our small town, shopkeepers were important part of our society. People depended on them and they depended on customers. There was a mutual respect. Society functions when people bond together and no one is isolated. Today, since I was not getting the cellphone model I was looking for, I had to do a survey of 6-8 shops. I visited all these shops for the first time ever. I talked to all these shopkeepers for the first time - person to person. Despite living in the same locality for so many years I had not "needed" these guys till yesterday - for me they had not existed or if they did, fulfilled some purpose alien to me - all due to shopping from online portals.

When I visited these shops, I saw so many new things; got to know a bit about my fellow neighbors (shopkeepers), and their places. For me as a part of society, this is important.

I also negotiated with them a bit and when we made the deal - I could see a sense of satisfaction in the eyes of the shopkeeper. I was happy too as a customer. I saw how respectfully he treated me. I saw him writing my 'name' on the receipt with his hands. Online portals don't care about my name - they even don't care if I am a man or a robot - until they are getting orders which are getting paid for.

I can go on but I think you have understood the message. I think it is a good idea to buy from our neighborhood shops every once in a while. The smaller the shops - more humane would be our experience. Even if they are not as good, not as polite as we want them to be, but remember - they are "us". And we should take care of each other.

- Rahul

Disclaimer: Written by Rahul Tiwary on 18 Oct 2015. Views expressed are personal.

Durga Puja and Nav Ratri

या श्रीः स्वयं सुकृतिनां भवनेष्वलक्ष्मीः 

पापात्मनां कृतधियां हृदयेषु बुद्धिः। 

श्रद्धा सतां कुलजनप्रभवस्य लज्जा

तां त्वां नताः स्म परिपालय देवि विश्वम्।।

- जो पुण्यात्माओं के भवनों में स्वयं ही लक्ष्मी के रूप में, पापियों के यहाँ दरिद्रता के रूप में और शुद्धचित्त वाले व्यक्ति के ह्रदय में बुद्धि के रूप में, सत्पुरुषों में श्रद्धा के रूप में तथा कुलीनों में लज्जा के रूप में निवास करती हैं, उन देवी को हम प्रणाम करते हैं, हे देवि! आप समस्त जगत का पालन कीजिए!

Sustainability of Loss Making Online Companies

How do you swallow this: Flipkart which was established in year 2007 has never earned profit till date. It has accumulated losses in hundreds of crores till now (e.g. it reported Rs 281 Crores in losses in FY 2013). But this year Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal have become India's 86th richest persons with wealth of $1.3 Billion each.

Compare this case with Kingfisher and Vijay Mallya. The company was making losses while Vijay Mallya was India's 84th richest man till year 2013. Perhaps not many would have raised brow even at him if he kept finding investors to keep his loss making company running. But ultimately his company went bankrupt and he also came out of India's 100 richest persons list. It was not only a personal loss for him but it meant disaster for thousands of his employees.

Can the story repeat itself with Flipkart? Most likely no - but it is only a guess. Flipkart has some 33,000 employees. What if the company fails? It would surely be tough for its employees and their family members. Same case with so many other online retail companies.

My point or concern is simple: what are our regulators doing about it? Is not some government regulator meant to keep track of such risky businesses - losses for 8 years straight with owners rising high on the Billionaires list? Of course I am not saying ban them; but owners should be held more responsible by regulators if their employees count goes > a threshold.

I think there is a strong case to bring out some sort of mechanism to protect workers and other stakeholders in case of such companies.

- Rahul

[Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal]