Martin Luther King's Quote On Cowardice, Vanity, Expediency And Conscience

A friend sent me this quote. http://www.thekingcenter.org/blog/mlk-quote-week-conscience-asks-question. 

What is the basis of our actions? Cowardice, vanity, expediency or Conscience? If we talk about right or wrong (conscience), are your standards same as mine? 

When we claim to do things based primarily on our conscience, I don't think it's a very accurate statement. 

First, do we have a largely uniform set of standards? I guess we don't. What you think is right and what I think is right, may not be the same. We may not use the same yardstick. The yardstick for your conscience and mine may be different.

Our action is based on which question gives us most jitters. Am I doing a wrong thing, is what I am doing unsafe? Not popular or expedient enough? 

Conscience (an attribute of Saturn) and courage (an attribute of Mars) may not go together. These are two independent attributes. A person may have one or both or none of the two. A person with conscience and courage like MLK (Dr King) may stand up for what is right. A person with conscience and without courage may just silently suffer or lend a small hand.

Yes courage often leads to creativity. And creativity is not always a great thing. Hitler had tremendous creativity and courage. And so did Osama Bin Laden. 

People who prefer safety (weak Mars) as the primary guiding principle aren't bad. They lack courage or they may be contented with their lot. The risk of taking an initiative which could fail badly may be too much for them.

What is the difference between vanity and expediency? Vanity tries to ensure that one's actions are noticed by others. Expediency is about ensuring that one's goals are met and the action may not be tom tommed unlike in the case of vanity. 

Expedient people also have a lot of courage and initiative and creativity. What is the difference between working on the basis of your conscience and being expedient? In one case Right/Wrong (as one understands it) guides one's actions. In the case of expediency, it's the ambition (what's good for me, how to maximize what I get with the least risk, effort) that drives it. 

On the face of it, MLK's quote seemed to identify 4 simple choices that a man has!

Abstracting this, two people whose conscience, courage and ambition levels are very different will obviously have a difficult time getting along with each other.

Ellsworth Toohey

I have been trying to understand the character of ET in Fountainhead. This was one of the links that I read. 

Unfortunately most reviewers seem to write about ET somewhat along the same lines - that though very similar to Stalin in being communist / collectivist and power hungry, unlike him ET doesn't use physical power to achieve his ends. 

I am still waiting to read something that touches a cord. I am reminded of one incident that Ayn Rand writes about ET. That when Ellsworth, as a boy, won a debating contest other students felt that ET was given the easier side of the topic. So ET then talked for the other side and still won the contest. Now, what do you make of that?

And how does this relate to my dislike of any of the Tamil (frankly I don't think the dislike has anything to do with the language being Tamil) debates that is often shown on TV.

Additional reading:
http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2012/07/organ-malaise-head-vs-heart.html

Thriruvalluvar And Ann Landers

I came across this quote apparently by Ann Landers "The naked truth is always better than the best dressed lie". And that is in such contrast with the "kurals", especially the first two, in http://www.valaitamil.com/veracity-172.html.

Thiruvalluvar was a person who believed that truth is secondary to being nice. A well-intentioned lie was always preferred to a harsh truth. 

Now, why do Ann Landers and Thiruvalluvar say such opposite things? Landers must have had a strong Saturn and Thiruvalluvar, a strong Venus. Saturn is thoughtful, while Venus cares about maintaining image. Saturn lives in the abstract world of thought, while Venus is about the here and now sensual world. Saturn is about renunciation and seeking truth while Venus is about seeking material comforts and being diplomatic. 

Harischandra might have been another strong Saturn since he refused to lie no matter what it cost him and his family. 

I have always wondered what might have been the discussion been like if Harischandra and Thiruvalluvar ever happened to have a discussion.

Of course, there is no right or wrong. Each person leans towards one end of the truth - diplomacy continuum depending on what he is comfortable with.

J (as in MBTI) people are usually very touchy and not very pleasant while P's are the opposite. The latter are very ambitious. J is caused by Saturn while P is caused by Venus.

A friend sent me this link on Ti and Te (as in MBTI): http://www.celebritytypes.com/blog/2013/04/why-te-is-inductive-and-ti-is-deductive/. I guess I am Te.

Additional reading
https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2012/11/bad-venus.html

Controlling Behavior

Controlling behavior is usually indicative of a strong Mars in one's horoscope. I have come across such people. 

Recently some example from movies and books came to my mind of people who were so controlling that they moved from mere reporting of events (as in media) to creating the very spectacular events that planned to report.

The first is from the novel Godfather by Mario Puzo. While explaining the character of the Godfather, the author says that the former would solve problems for others which he (the godfather) had created in the first place. 

The next example I remember is the book "The almighty" by Irving Wallace. A media baron wants to beat his competitors by rushing in news before they do - only he starts creating the very news that he wants to report. A similar theme was in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies where Mr Carver plays a similar role as in "The Almighty". When the desire / ambition (caused by Venus) is strong and the energy levels are high (strong Mars), one usually ends up being extremely controlling and the next step being (as Mr. Hyde) to intentionally cause problems which the person solves or reports while playing the Jekyll role.

A person with this nature usually is great at gauging (1) exactly how much to push, how much pressure to apply for maximum results and when to withdraw - incidentally one has to only read about Hitler who managed to annex a few countries in Europe without firing a single shot - all by sheer force of speech and applying the right amount of pressure, blackmail (2) which mode of persuasion to use - the soft emotional approach, the brute force, the logical appeal - basically "sama dana beda dhandam". The ability to gauge people and choosing the right amount and kind of pressure is a feminine or Venusian trait. When Mars also is strong, it usually creates a character of immense force.

Such people are "emperors" and they treat other people as their subjects. They have an unusual ability to notice things around them. Every thing or person or event or word uttered is viewed by them with the sole objective of meeting their personal goal. And being emperors, they hate to see any emigration of their "subjects".

What they say may not often be the absolute truth. Truth, by itself, being of no relevance to them and is never a goal. Truth is useful only insofar as it is a parameter to be analyzed, manipulated and presented appropriately. Statement of unadulterated truth by such people is an option exercised only if it is seen as the best option. They are excellent propaganda machines, marketing and spamming comes as naturally to them as breathing air.

The words uttered by them are meant to sway the audience. They are usually eloquent and use 150 words which 5 might have sufficed. 

They believe that the packaging of message is as important as the content of the message. And while delivering a message they would think through multiple options of packaging before deciding the optimum one based on the nature audience, which they would have gauged fairly accurately. They would make excellent lawyers, but horrible judges.

Their enthusiasm, optimism, single minded focus towards their goal is amazing. One gets charged while being with them.

Varieties Of Intuition - MBTI: Ni And Ne

I have been intrigued by intuition, and the difference between extraverted and introverted varieties. 

After going through the definitions of N, and various articles I was sure that I was S and not N. A friend of mine would insist that I was N. 

I kept thinking.

Intuition is the ability to see patterns in data, the ability to see possibilities, the ability to intuit - "a ha, the butler did it (the murder)" rather than painstakingly go through all the clues to figure out who did it. 

As I reflected further, I realized that N had two distinct halves, I had one half and none of the other half. I could see pattern, I could sense a pattern, condense data but ,for the life of me, I could not see intuit (in the dictionary meaning of the English word).

I now understand the two halves this way. One part which goes downstream from data which perhaps is deduction (Ni). Another part which goes upstream and sees what could have caused the data (Ne). The latter is very close to what is generally known as feminine intuition.

If you look at the data here which shows the details of each MBTI type and statistics... you will see that there is a marked difference in the prevalence of Ti and Te (as dominant functions) between the genders. You can filter for the dominant function to be Ti and Te and see the sum of male percentages and sum for female percentages. 

Same for Fi and Fe across the genders. Now when we come to Ni and Ne, we find that male percentage of Ni is almost double of female percentage while female percentage for Ne is about 20% higher than male percentage.

Doesn't this seem to indicate that Ni goes with T and Ne with F? Meaning that the N/S and T/F are perhaps not independent dimensions. Look at the correlation between F/T and J/P. F constitute total (Male + Female) 60% of population, of which half is FJ and half FP. But if we look at T which constitute 40% of population, 24% is TJ and 16% is TP. But that is going to be a different post about interrelation between different parameters.

A good explanation of the difference between Ni and Ne is given here in the comment by sociotronics. Ni eliminates ideas to reach the one and only "best fit". 

A simple statement "I am fine" would be perhaps seen by Ni as just that. No other information or possibility could be derived. While an Ne could see what caused Jim to say "I am fine", that Jim perhaps wasn't feeling good when he said that, may be.... See the difference? When you take a data point and go downstream with it, sometimes you can't go anywhere because there is no pattern to be found, yet. But if you went upstream you could see a possibility. Ne is from the heart. Ni is from the head!

I am reminded of a maths problem about dividing 17 camels. Which of Ni or Ne could solve the problem? I think Ne.

Additional reading:
http://www.personalitypathways.com/education.html

Communication, Marketing And The Dreapta Foot Forward

I have been reading a few articles on what makes you look fat and how to care for your tresses. And I thought, wow.. These are the need of the hour for the modern woman. All said and done, if it's your bad hair day and if you look fat, what else you got... :(

Then I read about the rape of a woman by a Uber taxi driver in, where else?, Delhi. And Uber's response that the company carries no liability insofar as the behavior of the drivers are concerned. Any personal damages suffered by the passenger is to taken up with the driver and/or the owner. And not with Uber. And this is the same company till yesterday mentioned that it's the safest rides on the road. 

No, I am not saying Uber is any less safe than other taxis. Delhi is an awful place for any man, woman or child or cat. Nevertheless, when an entity that proclaims itself to be the safest and also says that it is not responsible for the safety of the passengers (only the driver / owner of the taxi is responsible), one wonders...

I am reminded of an advertisement for bharatmatrimony.com which I see on TV. "Hum unse milate hai jo aapko samjh paate hain"  - we connect you to such people who understand you

If a marriage with a partner you found on bharatmatrimony doesn't work, do you get to sue Bharatmatrimony? How different is a Bharatmatrimony from Uber? Both seem to claim things which they cant follow through ("safety" in the case of Uber and well, aaah ummm, connecting you with right partners in the case of Bharatmatrimony). 

Who are these people, companies who say all those cute words but are very sure that they will not be accountable for those words? How many other such people are there around us?

The point is that there are some assertions made by entities which sound very good but they will not put it on paper. How do you know which assertions belong to this kind?

Art Of Negotiation

I was watching Mahabharata today - the scene where Satyavati tells Bheeshma that she will not marry Bheeshma's father Shantanu because Bheeshma is the crown prince. That her children would never become the prince, they would only be lowly soldiers while he, Bheeshma, would go on to become the king and she could never accept that.

I wonder. She was a fisherwoman and the king was in love with her. And she said categorically that she would marry him only if her children could ascend the throne in place of Bheeshma.

What kind of a person was she? Such an ambition.

And I can't help thinking of Wallis Simpson who was in a similar position with Edward VIII (Uncle of Elizabeth who is the current queen) in England in late 1930's. Did she negotiate thus? 

Could Shantanu have abdicated in favor of Bheeshma and married Satyavati? What kind of people were Shantanu, Satyavati and Bheeshma and Satyavati's father?

A friend of mine showed me the Bengali version here. Satyavati apparently gave Shantanu two options, either give up his kingdom as Edward VIII had done or make her the queen and ensure that her children would become the prince in place of Bheeshma.

Well each version of Mahabharat tells the story with a different flavor. Which version depicts the real Satyavati or the real anyone in that epic for that matter? My comment on Satyavati above was with respect to the character I saw on Vijay TV showing a Tamil version. I use the article "a" and not "the" as I am not sure how many Tamil versions there are.

Focusing on the Bengali version, Satyavati gave 2 options. Either that Shantanu give up his kingdom or ensure that her children would go on to ascend the throne. While both the options were painful to Shantanu I myself perhaps look more kindly upon the first option. But is the 1st option really so much better than the 2nd? Does the 1st option make Satyavati's character much better?

Telephone, Radio, Train, Car, Cycle Songs

After my previous posts on Horse Songs and Piano & Dance Songs, here is a post on Phone, train and cycle songs. As with other posts this is just a beginning and I expect to edit this post as when I come across other such songs from the golden era. 

A nice train song is Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi Mil sung by Lata in the movie Paakeezah (1972, MD: Ghulam Mohammad). Another nice train song is Hum Dono Do Premi sung by Kishore and Lata in the movie Ajnabee (1974, MD: RD Burman). RD Burman gave some good songs in the early 1970s. Zeenat looks gorgeous in a (green) sari. Even though she is not plump, sari also suits her well.

A very cute train song is Yeh Rang Bhare Baadal sung by Rafi and Asha in Tu Nahin Aur Sahi (1960, MD: Ravi). The train is shown often. The woman, Minu Mamtaz I guess, looks good.

Mere Sapnon Ki Rani Kab Aayegi Tu sung by Kishore for Rajesh Khanna in the movie Aradhana (1969, MD: SD Burman) is a lovely song. The photography is beautiful and so is the narrow gage toy train and Sharmila (and the very young Farida Jalal who comes later on in the movie). The Darjeeling scenery is gorgeous and so is Sharmila reading a James Hadley Chase novel) while Rajesh Khanna is driving by on a jeep. 

A sweet train song is Lata singing (for a very cute Sadhana) Hum Ne Tujh Ko Pyaar Kiya in the movie Dulha Dulhan (1964, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). Raj Kapoor was 1924 born and Sadhana was born in 1941.

The song Rukh Se Zara Naqaab sung by Rafi in the movie Mere Huzoor (1968, MD: Shankar Jaikishan) is a melodious one. Jeetendra sings while in a train thinking of Mala Sinha. The train compartment is of an old design - wooden colored compartments. The music aligns itself with the sounds of the train. 

Raahi Matwaale Tu Chhed Ek Baar sung by Talat Mehmood and Suraiya in the movie Waaris (1954, MD: Anil Biswas) is a beautiful train song.

A relatively new melodious train song I like is Chhaiyya Chhaiyya sung by Sukhwinder Singh / Palghat Sriram and Malgudi Subha in the movie Uyire / Dil Se (1998, MD AR Rehman). The visual in the song is absolutely stunning. I think part of the song (where they show the train crossing a bridge high above the road) was shot in Kollam district in Kerala. Incidentally the dance in the song is also very appealing.

Another new nice Tamil train song is Chiththirai Maasam Pournami Neram sung by P Susheela in the movie Raman Eththanai Ramanadi (1970, MD: MS Viswanathan). This song is melodious in direct contrast to the title song of the movie. And it is very similar to the (non-song) sequence in the movie Thillaana Mohanambaal. Sivaji Ganesan in both movies while Padmini was there in the Thillaana movie, KR Vijaya supported Sivaji in the Raman movie.

An offbeat train song is Chaattai Kaiyil Kondu sung by Cheergazhi in the movie Anantha Jothi (1970, MD: TK Ramamurthy) - a cow song (not a horse song!) with a train sound. Nice combination.

A sad lovely train song is Asha Chhilo Bhaalobhaash Chhilo sung by Kishore in the Bengali movie Ananda Ashram (1977, MD: Shyamal Mitra). Since the song is so nice, I happened to notice the lyrics. Wonder why I am reminded of the song Na Kisi Ki Aankh Ka Noor Hoon sung by Rafi in the movie Laal Quila (1960, SN Tripathi). The sadness is overpowering in both the songs - just like Raha Gardishon Mein Hardum in Do Badan (1966, MD: Ravi).

Kelvi Piranthathu Andru is a lovely train song in Tamil. It is from the movie Pachchai Vilakku (1960, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy).

The song Kaise Bheegi Bheegi Pyaare Hain sung by Rafi and Lata from the movie Apna Ghar (1960, MD: Ravi) is a cycle song while the beat would make you aver that it was a horse song. The song is beautiful, nevertheless. The pair go doubles cycling in the song.

A melodious cycle song is Maalaiyum Iravum sung by PB Srinivas and S Janaki in the movie Paasam (1961, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy). The guy is Kalyankumar. I wonder who the lady is. 

Maalaiyum Iravum sung by PB Srinivas and S Janaki in the movie Bantha Paasam (1962, MD: Viswanathan Ramamuthy) is a lovely cycle song with Kalyankumar and Devika in the song sequence - reminds me of Nenjam Marappathillai. Matter of fact most songs in both movie are good.

You have to listen to Mukesh and Lata in Bikra Ke Zulfein Chaman Mein Na Jaana in the movie Nazraana (1961, MD: Ravi). The music is sooo beautiful. Vyjayanthimala is slim and beautiful. They do show a couple of cycles right in the beginning of the song. And notice it's a Ravi song in the early 60s.

A lovely song is Ban Ke Panchhi sung by Lata in the movie Anaari (1959, MD:Shankar Jaikishan). Nutan and Shubha Khote are shown in the song sequence. Nutan, like Jayalalitha, is a good singer as well.

A beautiful cycle song is Santhippoma Ini Santhippoma sung by PB Srinivas and LR Easwari in the movie Chiththi (1966, MD: MS Viswanathan). The music is gorgeous in the song. I guess the effect of Ramamurthy was still there on the music director Viswanathan.

The next cycle song Vaadikkai Maranthathum Yeno வாடிக்கை மறந்ததும் ஏனோ - is a reasonably good one. It was sung by AM Raja in the movie Kalyaana Parisu (1954, MD: TG Lingappa). 

Now we come to an interesting cycle song - Cycle Pe Haseenon Ki Toli sung by Manna De,  Rafi and Asha in the movie Amaanat (1977, MD: Ravi). It's one of the most awful songs I have come across. Ravi created this song? OMG.


A beautiful cycle song picturized on actress Nanda by a music director who is not known for such songs is Kaise Bheege Bheege Pyaare Hai Nazaare, sung by Suman Kalyanpur and Rafi in the movie Apa Ghar (MD: Ravi, 1960). The tune of this song reminds me of another Hindi song from that era. I am yet to figure out that song which has the same tune as this one.

Saanson Ke Taar Par Geet Gaaya Pathhron Ne sung by Mahendra Kapoor and Asha in Geet Gaaya Pathharon Ne (1964, MD: Ramlal) is a lovely cycle song. Rajashri and Jeetendra look terrific. You get to see a lot of sculptures too. Surprising that Jeetendra was still acting in movies with Jayaprada and Sridevi in 1980's twenty years later.

Mein Chali Mein Chali sung by Lata in the movie Padosan (1967, MD: RD Burman) is a decent song. The music is average, Saira Banu and the color and the scenes make it worth watching. Worth hearing? Hmmm not quite.

An old Tamil cycle song is Vantha Naal Muthal sung by TMS in the movie Paava Mannippu (1962, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy). This is a slow song showing Sivaji Ganesan riding a cycle. I wouldn't rate this song as my favorite.

A decent cycle song is Jab Din Haseen Dil Ho Jawaan sung by Rafi and Asha in the movie Adaalat (1958, MD: Madan Mohan). Strange to see Pradeep Kumar and Nargis cycling. Not only that, the video on youtube seems to have a strange aspect ratio with low height and larger width resulting in everyone looking pregnant (with twins) :(.

Jalte Hain Jis Ke Liye sung by Talat Mehmood in the movie Sujata (1959, MD: SD Burman) is a beautiful phone song. If I am not mistaken there is a lot of Bengali influence in this movie. Read the wiki entry in the link above.

I love Johny Walker, the comedian for whom Rafi a good many songs. Jaane Kahaan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji sung by Rafi, for Johny Walker, and Geeta Dutt is a melodious phone song in the movie Mr and Mrs 55 (1955, MD: OP Nayyar). 

Neend Ud Jaaye Teri Chain Se Sone Waale is a sweet phone song sung by Suman Kalyanpur picturized on Shashi Kapoor and Nanda from the movie Juaari (1968, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). 

Aaj Kal Shauqe Deedar Hai sung by Rafi And Asha in the movie Leader (1964, MD: Naushad) is a phone song. You can give the song a skip. What Naushad was thinking about when he created the tune I wonder.

The next song Hello, Hello, Hello, you guessed it, is a very sweet phone song - sung by Rafi and Asha in the movie Minister (1959, MD: Madan Mohan). Madan Mohan has created some lovely melodies in this movie.

One of the best phone songs is Chaand Zard Zard Hai sung by Rafi and Asha in Jaali Note (1960, MD: OP Nayyar). This is one song that will make any unromantic person start tapping his toes. This also has a whistling towards the end.

Now we come to radio songs.
Thamizhukkum Amuthendru Per sung by P Susheela in Panchavarna Kili is a very nice Radio song. KR Vijaya looks very young and pretty unlike her normal plump self. 

Zindagi Bhar Nahin Bhoolegi sung by Rafi in the movie Barsaat Ki Raat (1960, MD: Roshan) is one of the most beautiful radio song in this collection. Madhubala is lost in her love for Bharat Bhushan. Roshan and Rafi have created pure magic. Though I am not particularly keen about looks, Bharat Bhushan really makes even me yearn for some facial reaction, something lively.

Next we have Amitabh in Abhimaan (1973, MD: SD Burman) - the song Meet Na Mila Re Man Ka sung by Kishore. You had Roshan in 1960 in Barsaat Ki Raat and SD in Abhimaan in 1973. Just 13 years, both music directors of the highest class. Yet the Abhimaan song if you listen in isolation is decent. But when you hear Barsaat Ki Raat, you want to take the radio in Abhimaan and throw it, perhaps at Bindu?

A beautiful train song is Mein Hoon Jhum Jhum Jhumroo sung by Kishore in Jhumroo (1961, MD: Kishore Kumar). This is one of the yodeling fun songs that Kishore is famous for. 

That reminds me to tap into nice car songs. 

The first that came to mind was the Mukesh sung Jo Tum Ko Ho Pasand Wahi Baat Karenge in the movie Safar (1970, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). This was during the heydays of Rajesh Khanna. I wouldn't consider this a classy song.

The next which happens to be a beautiful car song is Aise Tho Na Dekho sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur in the movie Bheegi Raat (1965, MD: Roshan). The trees, the colorful flowers, the gardens and Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari are worth watching as much as the song is worth listening to.

A nice car song with Ashok Kumar is Badli Mein Chhupe Chaand Ne Kuch Mujh Se Kahaan Hai sung by Hemant and Lata in Shatranj (1956, MD: C Ramchandra). Interesting to see Ashok Kumar paired with Meena Kumari.

I was listening to this song Hai Un Ki Woh Nigaahein sung by Asha. The lilting music and the rhythmic beats were reminiscent of OP Nayyar. No the song was from the movie Aankhri Daao (1958, MD: Madan Mohan). Nutan sitting in the back seat of a car singing this song. So beautiful - Nutan and the song. I think this is the first time I have come across a song sung by a heroine in the back seat. And another girl sitting next to her whistling. Amazing. Incidentally Nutan is also a singer. 


A lovely and interesting car song is Chaand Aahen Bharega sung by Mukesh in Phool Bane Angaare (1963, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). It's strange to hear a car song from Mukesh. Somehow I would never have associated Mukesh singing in classy circumstances. And looking at Mala Sinha, I get a feeling she looks like the Tamil actress Lakshmi (the heroine in Julie) - very classy looks in this song sequence.

A lovely car song is Vaazhnthu Paarka Vendum sung by PB Srinivas in the movie Shanthi (1965, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy). This must have been one of the last movies where the due created music together. And surprising that the movie was in black and white despite being released in 1965.

A very old and sweet car song is Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Raahi sung by Kishore in the movie Munimji (1955, MD: SD Burman). Looking at the video one wonders - Does Nalini Jaywant ever smile? She has the original pout. 

Another car song with Dev Anand is Hum Hai Raahi Pyaar Ke sung by Kishore which also includes a whistle. This is from the movie Nau Do Gyaaraah (1957, SD Burman). May be Osama Bin Laden loved this movie so much and that's why he chose the date nau gyarah (9/11).

A nice car song is Paravaigal Palavitham Ovvondrum Oruvitham sung by TMS Iruvar Ullam (1963, MD: KV Mahadevan). An interesting thing I want to mention here. No matter how nice a Tamil song is compared to other Tamil songs, they seem to be wanting (in music) when compared with a Hindi song of the same era (1950s and 60s).

Additional reading:

• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/04/piano-duets-in-hindi-movies.html
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/10/melodious-horse-songs-in-indian-movies.http://dustedoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/ten-of-my-favourite-car-songs/
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2010/12/old-indian-movies-songs-and-actors.html
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/02/music-directors.html
• Someone else has written about Cycle songs. This is another nice post on Train songs by dustedoff.

What Is In A Name

My friend LEH, whose Tamil is very good, asked me what the word in Tamil for "Cake" was. I thought for sometime and I couldn't figure it out. I told her I had no idea and that I had never come across the Tamil word for cake. I added that perhaps it was better to use the English word itself "கேக்". She wasn't happy with my suggestion. She thought someone, an authority in Tamil, would have translated the word and she only had to find what the word was. And it was, as per her, imperative to use the appropriate Tamil word always.

I told her that there are plenty of words which are not there in the Tamil dictionary, and even if they were there, they are not known to most Tamil speaking people. I cited examples of such words: biscuit, coffee, cloud (as in internet) etc. And I suggested that we just use the English words in such cases. Matter of fact, such words don't exist in Hindi or Bengali etc either. I sought the help of other friends who are proficient in Hindi who agreed that they were not aware of those words in Hindi.

I told my friend that trying to find the right Tamil word for such nouns was a silly waste of time. And if some scholar were to coin words in the vernacular for such words, it was a colossal waste of time.

She was furious. She said the language (Tamil) had to keep up with the times and words which are now in common use in Tamil were once not there. It is our responsibility, as Tamilians, to keep the language current and to coin new words where necessary and inculcate the use of such words.

Hmmm. Maybe she has a point. So I tried my best. Here is my attempt below, though, slightly longish.

Cake = பெவாபிமூவிமு (abbreviation for பெண்மணிகளுக்கு வாழ்கையில் பிடித்த மூன்றே விஷயங்களில் முதன்மையானது - The other two being chocolate and ice-cream). For those of you who can't read Tamil, here is a rough translation: the first among the only three things in life that women like.

Hope I have made my friend happy. For her deep interest in knowing the Tamil word for Cake, I hereby recommend that she be known henceforth as CakeDG (I am loosely copying a theme from the Tamil movie Thillana Moganambal, where the heroine Mogana is given the title Thillana because of the extraordinary skill she displays in dancing to that Ragam).

Additional reading about my friend:
http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2013/09/speed-at-work.html

P/E - Markets - Potato, Tomato, Sensex And Nifty - PE Variations And Correlations With Returns

Prices today (Jan 2011)of :

1. Potato: Rs 55/Kg
2. Tomato: Rs 24/Kg
3. Sensex (P/E): 18.55 (note that values for Dividend Yield, P/E etc given for a year, month etc are average values for the period and not the closing values for the period) and latest value here (without history).
4. Nifty (P/E): 21.16. 

There is more than a 10% variation in the prices of the two indices. Hmmm.

Well tomato at another shop is Rs20/kg. There is more than a 10% difference in the prices of tomato also.

As on 2015 Jan 22:
P/E for Sensex = 19.7, That for Nifty = 22.21 (about 10% difference)
Tomato and Potato prices are about the same as mentioned above.

As on 12th Oct 2015:
Stocks that are likely to enter Sensex in the next decade: https://www.valueresearchonline.com/story/h2_storyview.asp?str=28987

3 year returns from equity correlated with P/E: http://craytheon.com/charts/nifty_pe_ratio_pb_value_dividend_yield_chart.php : 

• Buying at P/E (of Nifty) less than 22 gives a positive 3 year return. 
• See also this NSE article: http://bse2nse.com/fundamental-technical-analysis/189-nse-nifty-pe-chart-p-e-ratio-last-10-years.html 
• This article for Sensex and PE: http://www.dalalstreet.biz/forum/sensex-nifty/historical-sensex-forward-pe-chart/

P/E analysis for NIFTY: www.stableinvestor.com/2015/03/PE-Ratio-Analysis-India-in-2015.html and https://www.stableinvestor.com/2017/03/nifty-pe-ratio-analysis-2017.html

17 year returns of Sensex: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets-business/sensex-rises-5x-in-17-yrs-dont-pull-out-when-you-can-get-multibagger-returns-2302991.html

A Sensex historical P/E chart from 2008 to 2017 is given here: https://www.equitymaster.com/5minWrapUp/charts/index.asp?date=04/27/2017&story=1&title=Ten-Year-Sensex-PE


Additional reading:

1. http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2015/07/interesting-mutual-fund.html
2. Sensex data in the year 2008: http://bse-2001-2010.blogspot.in/p/bse-sensex-historical-prices-in-year.html
3. http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/01/pe-ratio-for-stock-market-index.html
4. http://www.fundsindia.com//select-funds
5. http://www.moneycontrol.com/mutual-funds/compare-funds/All
6. http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/how-to-choose-the-best-mutual-fund-for-your-portfolio/1/15779.html
7. http://www.investing-in-mutual-funds.com/standard-deviation.html
8. http://www.morningstar.in/mutualfunds/f0gbr06rc2/tata-balanced-fund-growth/risk-ratings.aspx
9. https://m.economictimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-pe-jumps-16-in-a-day/articleshow/68162388.cms Sensex PE ratio jumps from 23 to 26 in a single day on account of Tata Motors' loss