Many of you may remember this shloka that used to preface each episode of the seminal series “Chanakya”. I continue to find it profoundly inspiring…Here’s wishing you and your loved ones the very best of health, happiness and prosperity in 2012…
|| Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti… ||

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I would be grateful if any of you can help me with the translation of the entire shloka. Thanks.

Late one evening last week, I was asked by a well-meaning friend why did I hate the idea of “Food Security Bill” so much? Surely no one can reasonably object to making sure every Indian is well-fed and healthy? He was right. No one can reasonably argue with the aim of ensuring that our population is well-fed, literate, healthy etc etc. What I was railing against was the “means” – and the misplaced belief that subsidies are the way to solve these problems; the misplaced belief that all we need …

This is a short post – written as a prelude to a discussion on “Why Socialist Planning is a Stupid Idea” that I hope to host early in Jan ’12 (exact date/time to be confirmed shortly). Pl read and share – especially with the younger ones in your family. Children in our family and society are the ones we really need to focus on – to make them aware of this dangerous (and false) ideology that passes for economic theory (even to this date).
Earlier today, while reading something else, it …

In a post titled, “Politics and democracy“, Pragmatic Euphony mentions why it is important to get the nomenclature right (emphasis added):
Whatever might be your primary vocation, once you are in politics, you are a politician.
Does it matter? Yes, it does. This narrative betrays a lack of trust in our politics and politicians — an economist is better than a politician. In a democracy, there is no way of bypassing politics; politicians should and must matter. It is dangerous to assume that a non-politician can fix the system. Yesterday it was …

Quote of the Week from the HT:

I believe and I claim that you can count the number of corrupt leaders of the political class.

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi

..in which the “Prince” reminds us that regardless of who we want to be known as – and what we achieve, we will always be known by our caste, language, religion etc etc.
Thanks to the “Prince”, I learnt yesterday that Sam Pitroda is from a “backward class”

This next generation leader and PM-in-making is supposed to represent the “Youth” and promises to lead India into the 21st century. Really?
Sad, embarrassed and ashamed of the crisis in leadership that plagues India.
As a friend remarked, we must be the “only nation in …