HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY

To all of us who've written off our nation's development story as a hopeless end, let this day serve as a constant reminder that decades ago our nation's freedom story was forged only because our forefathers lived in endless hope.

It was this endless hope that made them constantly strive for independence, it was this endless hope that made them entrust power to us, the people.

India is what we've made it to be, what we'll make it to be...

Proud to be Indian.

Jai Hind.

TEARS

Tears do fall so freely

And as they do, they take away

A part of you that will never be

The way it used to be.

They rob you of yourself.

And you never know till its late,

Too late to take back tears

Too late to make amends.

Oh yes, time does rule

over the kingdom of man.

Man must abide & stick by its rules

For time decides what you lose;

And what you get,

Time decides whether you keep.

Tears do fall so freely

And you don’t remain ‘you’.

Each tear takes away something,

Something to keep.

Each tear robs you of joy

And then makes you cry when you are joyous

So perhaps you are compensated that way…

But then, when have compensations

ever made up for human loss?

STAR-GAZING

These tiny little things

that shine from so far away

Are they really

what they are made out to be?

Dead parents at times

and wish-granters at others

Curious have you made us all.

What you are I wonder?

Night after night

As I sit here by my bed

At the skies I gaze

And you never cease to amaze.

For every night you change

And yet you are all the same

Yet something different to me you mean

Every night the way I wanna make you seem…

EMPTINESS

It's a feeling beyond words

This feeling called 'emptiness'

Because it really has nothing to it

And that's what makes it worse...

Not knowing what it means

Not knowing how it makes you feel

Not knowing what is

Not knowing what is to be...

IS THE RECESSION REALLY OVER?

2007-08 saw the onset of what has gone down in the archives of economic history as the longest financial crisis since World War II. Recession had struck the U.S. World economies (including those of the U.K., Japan, China, India and Germany) were floundering owing to reduced liquidity, sector price inflation in food and energy and the U.S. downturn. Production, employment, investment spending, household incomes, business profits, stock markets all plunged while bankruptcies and unemployment rates were at record highs. Governments responded – money supply was increased and so was government spending, taxation was slashed, banks were bailed out.

2009-10 saw proclamations the world over that the worst had passed and recession was at an end. Several luminaries and most commoners begged to differ. When the NBER (the official arbiter of recessions in the U.S.) declared the recession “officially over”, scores of Americans who were either unemployed or underemployed weren’t celebrating. Bollywood-besotted Indians were told that the recession was over when film-star remuneration packages, which had dwindled during the recession, soared through the roof. The Indian commoner, now besotted with working harder than ever just to stay afloat, wasn’t paying attention. “Russia has overcome recession” said Russian PM Vladimir Putin but when he added in the same breath that “This does not mean that the economic crisis in the country is over”, I doubt that even the Russians were buying!  

The critics argued that these were just attempts at infusing false hopes in floundering economies and to substantiate this they cited unemployment rates, retail sales, the possibility of a double dip and political agenda, among other things.

So, is the recession really over? With both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers to this question and no standard measure for an objective analysis, the answer depends really on who you ask. While most economists, policy makers, industrialists and leaders have declared it over (for reasons ranging from academics to politics), the common man can’t help but ask – Have they spoken too soon?

The debate stems from the fact that while academicians consider a recession over when the economy gets back on the recovery path, the common man contends it isn't over until the damage is repaired.

So, while over for all academic (and perhaps, political) purposes, recession stretches on for the common man…