The Enchiridion by Epictetus - Learnings

This tiny book is a book worth reading and understand the realities in a better way. Thanks to James Clear i came to know about this book.

My learning from the book:

As in a voyage, when the ship is at anchor, if you go on shore to get water, you may amuse yourself with picking up a shellfish or a truffle in your way, but your thoughts ought to be bent toward the ship, and perpetually attentive, lest the captain should call, and then you must leave all these things, that you may not have to be carried on board the vessel, bound like a sheep; thus likewise in life, if, instead of a truffle or shellfish, such a thing as a wife or a child be granted you, there is no objection; but if the captain calls, run to the ship, leave all these things, and never look behind. But if you are old, never go far from the ship, lest you should be missing when called for.

Never proclaim yourself a philosopher, nor make much talk among the ignorant about your principles, but show them by actions. Thus, at an entertainment, do not discourse how people ought to eat, but eat as you ought. For remember that thus Socrates also universally avoided all ostentation. And when persons came to him and desired to be introduced by him to philosophers, he took them and introduced them; so well did he bear being overlooked. So if ever there should be among the ignorant any discussion of principles, be for the most part silent. For there is great danger in hastily throwing out what is undigested. And if anyone tells you that you know nothing, and you are not nettled at it, then you may be sure that you have really entered on your work. For sheep do not hastily throw up the grass to show the shepherds how much they have eaten, but, inwardly digesting their food, they produce it outwardly in wool and milk. Thus, therefore, do you not make an exhibition before the ignorant of your principles, but of the actions to which their digestion gives rise.

Rajat Gupta Interview

Rajat Gupta , One of the few early Indians who managed to reach at Global CEO level, was convicted for Insider Trading. Many articles and even a book was written on Rajat Gupta explaining the entire Insider Trading issue.

Rajat Gupta has come out with a book and with respect to it he participated in many interviews. One of the interview with CNBC , interviewed by A Ross Sorkin (Author of Too Big To Fail) is worth listening to.

Sorkin did a great job of not posing intimidating question to Rajat Gupta. The interview appeared to be more casual and a friendship chat. 

Interview is worth listening:

Link Source: CNBC

Interesting Anecdote- Thanks Mr. Parrikar

An interesting anecdote on importance of education was given by Mr. Manohar Parrikar. The example he shared was of watermelon which i feel is worth listening to.

Speech Source: Fundamental Investor 

Real Estate Investing

Suddenly out of nowhere Brookfield Asset Management is investing in India an amount of Rs.17,000 crores. The details are excepts from Business Standard newspaper:

Hotels, gas pipeline, real estate. Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management seems to be on a deal-making spree in India. Last week, an investment trust led by Brookfield bought RIL's East West Pipeline for Rs 13,000 crore ($1.87 billion). On Monday, it announced the Rs 3,950-crore deal to acquire five assets Hotel Leela Venture. - March 2019

From Business Line:

Debt-laden Essar group has sold Equinox Business Parks in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex to Brookfield Asset Management for ₹2,400 crore in one of the biggest transactions in the commercial real estate sector. - April 2018

From Economic times:

Brookfield Asset Management has concluded the agreement to acquire Hiranandani Group’s offices and retail space in the tony Powai suburb for around $1 billion or Rs 6,700 crore, making it India’s largest office space transaction. - October 2016

The above three deals total to roughly USD 3.75 billion and best part is real estate prices have stayed fixed or have given very minuscule return in the last 3 years. This is evident from the real estate prices around Mumbai.

To understand the investment philosophy of Brookfield Asset Management and why they are investing in real estate properties in India listen to Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield Asset Management at Google Talks. 

Worth listening.

Andhra Bank - I will close my Account

If i would have bank account with Andhra Bank it is better to close it. Reason, blatant acceptance of one time settlement with Sterling Biotech (Willful Bank Loan defaulter and case filed with NCLT).

In a scathing article Ms Sucheta Dalal  explained the following:

In fact, the NCLT bench slammed the bankers, Andhra Bank, which leads the CoC, and exposed the questionable and hasty manner in which the Bank has tried to withdraw the bankruptcy application. At the hearing on 11th March, it became clear that the CoC has not shared any details of the proposal with the NCLT or the resolution professional (RP). 

Further it was stated in the article:

In effect, a bunch of mainly public sector banks (PSBs), led by Andhra Bank, were brazenly willing to settle for less than half the amount due, to allow the Sandesaras to fly back to their 40,000sq ft (square feet) mansion at Vadodara in their Rs 100 crore Gulfstream Jet and retain control of the company at a time when fugitive industrialists, from Vijay Mallya to Nirav Modi, are finding it difficult to live their lavish lifestyles with dignity or respectability abroad.

If such a scandalous deal, with a huge hair-cut, was contemplated for one of the biggest and most scandalous defaulters like Sterling Biotech, whose promoters are absconding, one can only imagine what is going on at banks with regard to loan write-offs and settlements.

The question asked by Ms Dalal in her YouTube presentation was very valid:

"For a pending housing loan of Rs.100,000 will the bank go for one time settlement of Rs.45,000".

My recommendations to depositors:

If a bank (Andhra Bank) is willing to take a hair cut then it is better close your bank account and shift your money to other Bank (with lesser Non Performing Assets).

An Excellent Book Review

I happened to accidentally read a book review by Robert Walker. The review was for The Invention of Science by David Wootton. The review was provided at Amazon website.

The review is a pleasure to read. I am compelled to read the book purely on the merits of the review provided by Robert Walker.

I am reproducing the review:

Robert Walker

5.0 out of 5 stars A lifetime of scholarship - in one text - a gift.

31 July 2016 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

It appears that some lament the length of this text and that it might be 'hard' from time to time. I disagree with both impressions. I think readers today are too used to the brief, bulleted, and conclusory rendering of information. What is wonderful about "The Invention of Science" is that it builds, brick by brick, what the edifice of science is and how it got to the preeminence it enjoys today. In teaching young doctoral students I have been disturbed by the degree to which people take "science" as fact and as offering conclusive answers to questions about social problems as well as natural things. Teaching them that the human mind has not always had 'facts' and that our rendering of the physical and historical world is relatively new and is now taken to mean far more than it can often handle. Listen to contemporary political debate and the ways in which all sides talk about 'facts' as if they were irrefutable things, not recognizing that we all take in everything through cognitive lenses and these lenses color all 'facts.' There are things in the world that exist utterly independent of human consciousness. Then, there are things that only exist because of human consciousness like justice, truth, freedom, and science. Wooton's text reminds us of the evolution of human thought into what we now recognize as science. It was not always this way. The detail with which Wooton explores even the evolution of the idea of 'fact' provides a way to more seriously critique what we hear today as facts. There is a soft underbelly here in contemporary thinking and having a grasp of the history behind even this one word, helps us re-think what we and others means when we say, "it is a fact." Wooton is not proposing a smarmy relativism, but he does educate us about the ways human history has changed thought patterns, consistent with available knowledge, media for exchange of ideas, and cultural values such as religion. As such, his work inspires a more independent reading of what we are told by all kinds of authorities who now claim the mantel of having 'facts.'

This is perhaps not an undergraduate read. Wooton has clearly drawn in a lifetime of scholarship and this is evident on every page. We should not draw back from this density. it should be a call for closer and more thoughtful reading. This is a book that might be best read in chunks then thought about for while before proceeding. I tend to think of it as a classic of scholarship about the formation of the modern mind.

Inspiring Speech by Swami Sarvapriyanandaji

Speech worth listening.

Swamiji explained 3 Great Powers. Examples shared are invaluable and they are self illuminating.

HDFC Bank - May the credit grow forever

A undesirable news by HDFC bank to credit card holders is sending a message about what they encourage.

First the news:

“HDFC Bank hikes late fee on credit card bill payment”. The charge from April 1, 2019 is listed below:

Balance Rs.	Till 31/Mar/19	From 01/Apr/19
Less than 100	Nil	Nil
100 to 500	Rs 100	Rs 100
501 to 5,000	Rs 400	Rs 500
5,001 to 10,000	Rs 500	Rs 600
10,001 to 25,000	Rs 750	Rs 800
More than 25,000	Rs 750	Rs 950

In other words, if outstanding is Rs.500 late fee will be Rs.100 (20%). Let’s see how it looks for others:

If balance is Rs	Late fees Rs	%
100	0	0
500	100	20%
5000	500	10%
10000	600	6%
25000	800	3%
100000	950	1%

The message is take credit and enjoy less late fees payment as they will get more interest earnings. Customers are informed higher outstanding will attract less late payment fees.

The difference of 19% (between Rs. 500 and Rs.100,000) will be recovered easily by charging 3% to 4% on outstanding amount on a monthly basis.

Quotes to remember:

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” ~Abraham Lincoln

For My Son - Must read on leadership

There are few speeches which an individual should not miss. One of them is Solitude and Leadership by William Deresiewicz appeared in The American Scholar.

This speech i will strongly recommend my son to read.

If any person stumbles on this post / blog please take out time and read, it is worth investing time and learning how Solitude and Leadership is connected

I thought of and started reproducing key sections of the speech for busy souls (which was done in earlier posts). I started and deleted and decided that this speech given at the plebe class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in October 2009 should be a must read.

Allowing the blog / post reader to miss the flow of the speech and share key sections is like showing key organs of the body instead of introducing the human being:

Image source:Human Body

Speech Source: James Clear