Recession and the Happiness Index

With the Sensex back to the 15000+ levels, and analysts already making a U-turn in their predictions to re-pompom the new India growth story (is there anyone speaking about a less than 9% growth?), I decided that one needed to quickly write about the recession before it became history.

If Analysts can be tickling funny with their predictions, the Economists can be dead serious. Alan Greenspan once worked out a corelation between the sale of men's underwear and recession. He predicted that the sales of men's underwear should go down during a recession. His logic - noone sees a guy's undies (seems like the poor guy is not clued into the latest in fashion) so they are the first thing men stop buying when the economy tightens. I am not sure why men have been singled out here in his prediction, but he probably understands a thing or two about women's fashion that I do not! I enjoyed reading about the hemline indicator though. Burton Malkiel explained in 'A random walk down Wall Street' that bull markets tend to be associated with shorter hemlines and bare knees while the bear markets at the stock market would typically mean a bear market for the girl watchers!

I do not have enough data to prove or disprove Greenspan's prediction (if I were the only data point, his theory would have been disproved already - stocked my cupboard with new undies quite recently!), but I wish someone came out with a research project corelating the recession to the happiness index. I have always known that work-life balance was a good part of the index with a significant weightage, but had never managed to work on this balance hard enough to positively influence the value of my index. My professsion hardly provided for room to influence this value in the index. The market downturn has of course changed everything altogether, especially in the broader industry that people say I belong to. Looking at the disinclination of the Private Equity and the Venture Capital Fund Managers to take decisions, I wonder what is so 'risky' about the 'risk capital' that these Fund Managers invest. But quite importantly, I thank them for their absolute lack of appetite for risk as it has given me the opportunity to work on the most critical lever that influences the Happiness Index - work-life balance.

The slow-down has given me the time to re-discover some of the lost relationships, and possibly even re-create the lost energy and fun in the very few that existed. The joy of a good personal life can be so addictive that it makes me smirk at the most important drivers of the American life - 'speed' and 'money' - and the influence that that culture has had on us. It makes me wonder if each one of us are using the wrong parameters to measure ourselves, but that's a separate discussion bordering on economics and philosophy. For now, I can only claim to have seen the immense positive rub-off that the recession has had on my Happiness Index!!

Never miss a corner

I have always found a mysterious sense of beauty associated with a corner. What awaits round any corner is always a surprise....a mystery..... a secret gate.... a new road! Unfortunately, when the corner is right next to you....very close, and you have passed by it very so often, you don't tend to realize or appreciate that beauty. Well, this particular corner shop came up so quietly that I never noticed (yeah, I have grown old). Over a period of time, this corner has managed to brew everything from coffee and hot irani chai to some fantastic dum aloos. If a lot can happen over coffee, I can assure you that almost everything in life can happen over dum aloos!! Wait as more unfolds....

Sometimes, you never realize how rewarding losing a game of TT can be (it is always great to have a bet to spice things up!), and for this opportunity, I am as thankful to God for not making me an expert sportsman as I am to the Company that hosted so many fantastic matches (I only hear of course!) amongst its employees and nurtured my most potent rival at this wonderful indoor sport.

More after the next match..... promise you that this one is going to be tough!!

New Members of Neeru's Corner

I introduce two new authors for my blog :)
1. Atreya
2. Kalpana Bhushan

In addition to my posts, you will see that the two will also be posting at this blog although occasionally. I hope you all will enjoy what they write.

All the best and happy posting.

Aromas of Kashmir - Dam Aloo Recipe

This if for you Nee..Killing time leads to doing impossible things.

Ingredients
20 small-sized potatoes
mustard Oil to deep fry
3 tspn Kashmiri chilli powder
2 tspn saunf powder
1/2 cup of curd
½ tspn of black cardamom (kali elaichi) powder
1/2 tspn of dry ginger powder
4-5 cloves
A pinch of asafoetida
½ tspn shahi zeera
½ tspn of garam masala powder
2-3 inch cinnamon sticks broken in small pieces
Salt to taste

Procedure
1. Boil potatoes in a vessel till they become a little soft (DON'T pressure cook.It will be a disaster).
2. Peel and prick the potatoes all over with the help of a very thin wire or you can use sharp long tooth picks also.
3. Heat oil in a kadai and fry the potatoes on slow flame till golden brown. Use oil generously.This is the most important step of the dum aloo cooking.
4. When the potatoes are getting fried, sprikle a little(only a little) asafoetida water over them.
5. Keep aside the fried potatoes in a vessel.
6. Heat mustard oil in a pan. Add shahi zeera,cloves,cinnamon sticks, and asafoetida.
7. Add Kashmiri chilli powder and keep stirring. Whisk curd and add.Keep stirring.
8. Add water (enough to cover potatoes),saunf powder, salt and bring to boil.
9. Add fried potatoes and cover the vessel with a lid and keep flame on low.
11.Put water over the lid so that potatoes cook by dum.
12. Cook till potatoes absorb the gravy and oil floats on top.
10.Add garam masala.

Tips
1.Choose potatoes with rough skin (pahadi aloo).Ones with smooth light color skin (sweet) are strict no no.
2.Don't pressure cook potatoes.
3.Prick throughly and fry on slow flame properly.
4.Cook by dum.

Thank you for everything

It has been long since I posted and I would say the reason for not posting is IPL (credit goes to Lalit Modi), 2009 Lok Sabha elections as well as am doing too many things together. I find no time to scribble these days.

Well as many of you might be familiar, I have added one more year to my life. I did celebrate my birthday on - May 23 (this is for all those who forgot to wish me on my birthday! At least remember it now :P) and this post is particularly for all those who made me feel precious on this very important day of mine.

I have received some incredible gifts from my friends as well as family. And this post is particularly for a close pal who says – “Neel tujaye kabhi aapni feelings express nahi karni aati.” :) I might not be good at expressing it but then thanks a ton for letting me know that and I promise to work on it from now.

For the time being, this one is for all of you - family as well as friends – (particularly for Alka) - you all are so sweet to remember my big day! What I do have of course is all of you and that makes every day special. I appreciate all you did very much, including your time and attention for me. With a wonderful bunch of people like you to spend time with, any age is great. My love to you all. God Bless!

Pain - Osho

This pain is not to make you sad, remember. That's where people go on missing.... This pain is just to make you more alert - because people become alert only when the arrow goes deep into their heart and wounds them. Otherwise they don't become alert. When life is easy, comfortable, convenient, who cares? Who bothers to become alert? When a friend dies, there is a possibility. When your woman leaves you alone - those dark nights, you are lonely. You have loved that woman so much and you have staked all, and then suddenly one day she is gone.

Crying in your loneliness, those are the occasions when,if you use them, you can become aware. The arrow is hurting: it can be used. The pain is not to make you miserable, the pain is to make you more aware!

And when you are aware, misery disappears."

Vote and Care

I don't care who you vote for (well, I wanted to but...), just VOTE please.Remember, many people in this world don't get a chance to decide their future. You do.

Thursday, April 16, 2009 – Voting day for Hyderabad - I could not do much because I never found my name in the Voter’s list irrespective of filing my papers. I never voted - I was very interested to vote this time but somehow laziness has made me corrupt. I have just one request to make : Please go and VoTe!

An intestering article - from TOI

NEW DELHI – Even in the world’s largest democracy everything is being done to make every vote count. This is apparently clear in the Indian state Gujarat, where a polling booth is set up for one single voter.

In the remote village of Banej, far into the Gir Forest, the guru Bharatdasji Bapu lives alone in a temple and is the sole voter in the area. Especially for him a voting booth is set up in a nearby ashram. Speaking to Indian media, the guru made clear that he intends to cast his vote on April 30, when Gujarat is set to vote in the third phase of India’s parliamentary elections that start today.

Besides the single voter booth in Gujarat a polling booth for only two voters is set up in the state Chhattisgarh and two booths for three voters is set up in Arunachal Pradesh.