Wit Wisdom and Whoop

One can be experienced, assume they are intelligent and knowledgeable, and yet make a complete ass of themselves by not thinking through obvious situations. This was my opening batting so to speak way back in Feb’2010 in Norway. I visited Norway for the first time in a new job, meeting various people for the first time, and I knew the place would be cold. My warm clothing was limited to what the “expert” shopkeeper suggested, when I said I was going to Norway. He wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t experienced either. I was anyway carrying loads of MTR ready to eat stuff and Maggi noodles. A friend suggested I carry a small bottle of brandy with me and not leaving anything to chance, I did that too in my carry bag. Landing in Norway my “fun” time began. Stepping out of the Oslo airport the cold breeze hit me so hard, I dropped my bag in a hurry to cover my face and heard a “tinkle” to find a broken brandy bottle. Not an auspicious start. The town where I was staying was called Gjovik. Good h...

  This piece is NOT about debating the Budget of 2022 but to decode the economy and the man who’s stamp is evident from the budget. When commenting on issues, its often tempting to use the wisdom of hindsight and show off. I prefer to share some comments I have made on Twitter in the past and they add to what I share here.   Modi the reformer: However much the popular notion about Modi as a reformer, anybody who has analysed his stint as CM of Gujarat, he was never in the mould of a PVNR/ MMS of 1991. He has never been the person who gets whistles and dancing on the streets or what I often call as an item number in matters economic. His attitude, as an analogy, has always been to build highways, rest rooms, fuel stations and then leave it to the industry to build automobiles and make people travel. Whether industry will build automobiles and people will travel is up to them, Modi will not give out free tickets, fuel or even entertainment to motivate. In short, he has alw...