Excessive reporting and results of hypercompetition

A very interesting analysis of what is happening with our stock markets by Sunil Jain of Business Standard. The Educomp issue burning these days is analyzed in Guilty till proven innocent

While the discussion has a fascinating take on the stock movement and volumes that surrounded the timing of news, I was more fascinated by the discussion on the issues surrounding media's role.

Mr. Jain raises an interesting moral question - is media ok in speculating on a company (or an individual) such that it blemishes the image, reputation and credibility of the company? And to what end?

The point is, just like a few companies' irresponsible behaviour gives rise to compliance laws that all have to follow that in turn increase the costs for everyone and leave everyone worse off - irresponsible media reporting also leaves everyone worse off.

If a channel or news misrepresents some data, then the victim of reporting loses credibility. The channel/newspaper may gain TRP or additional readership but it also loses credibility in long run.

Who loses? the company, the media company (though they never realize anything of this sort), and most importantly the customer!

Who gains? There are speculators in the market who gain on the movements.

Conclusion - I am dreaming about the utopian setting of all people being truthful about everything.
Time to wake up!

DISCLAIMER - I am not making any judgment on the report or the company in focus. The above post is more about the effects of such events.

Aamir at IIMA

Hey!

I could say hi to Aamir Khan at IIMA. Here is his pic that I took when he was leaving. Was happy to have my family here when he visited - they could catch a glimpse of the much respected actor.

Stardom is so tough to manage...Aamir had a huge security, folks were saying hi, he was polite enough to say hi to them yet he had to keep moving on because I am sure he had a flight to catch or another festival to attend somewhere in the country.

Honour to see an admired star on our campus!

- sid

Appreciating a new genre of hindi movies

Dibakar Banerjee just moved few notches up in my great director's list. Ahem, methinks me is a great reviewer of movies ;-)

But seriously, compare his movies Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Look at the protagonist, then we understand the effort the director and scriptwriter has put in creating the character.

Chiraunjilal aka Cherry and Lucky are not very different. There is a fire simmering within but the triggers are different. Cherry is far more controlled and jumps in when his father gets pushed in a corner.

Lucky is more enamoured in the superficial but his crossing the line comes with a full knowledge of ones own wrongdoing. He is never disillusioned that he is doing something correct. The strife within comes to the surface in his drinking binge when he meets his family. His heart breaks for his father (whom he has detested so far).

The director Dibakar gives us some fantastic characters to study and observe. While Khosla ka Ghosla is intended to keep spirits up with light humour, Oye Lucky delves deeper inside the skin. Both films are on a backdrop of rising spending power and its interpretation by the two protagonists. That backdrop is not to be missed.

Dont miss out on the actors either - underrated power performers.

Great going hindi cinema!

Mystic Music from the Master at IIMA

We, at IIMA, had the privilege of listening to the sweetest sound that man has produced from wood. On a mild winter evening of 29th January 2009, the great Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia enthralled the audience in Chaos 2009 with his flute magic.

I am a novice in classical music and generally depend on what my parents or colleagues recommend to me. I seriously need to change this and start proactively listening to more of this. Yesterday’s performance certainly took me in a mood that was soothing and calming. So soothing that I felt lighter and so calming that I completely forgot about my pending assignments ;-)

I reached there with a time limit, mindful of the assignments. But then I soon lost all consciousness in the magical ragas coming from Panditji and his colleagues. I tried to remember the names they told, but I think I need more education in this field.

What is interesting is the practice these maestros put in to achieve these heights. The 4 human beings on the stage never looked at each other or told each other. They just knew what each other wanted, expected and it was delivered that way. On tabla, was Pt. Ghate who would spice up the rhythm every once in a while. As that happened, it was amazing to see the expression of joy and fun in the other artists up there. They just knew where the music was taking the audience.

As I walked back to the dining hall, a few questions lingered in my mind....

In this running around behind goals and targets, can we take a pause and practice a game so much that we become masters like Pt. Chaurasia and Pt. Ghate? Can we, unconsciously, independently and reflexively, perform our tasks so well that together comes an output that is as harmonious and sweet as Shri Krishna’s music? Is it worthwhile to skip experimenting and work on mastering an art so well that world gets awed by the final output?

I don’t have the answers but I would like to think on these lines more.

- Siddharth

Articles on Mumbai Attacks

Now that the Taj and Oberoi have been attacked one can expect some action from our very effective politicians. Hopefully, not with the same efficiency that was seen after Mumbai blasts, Ahmedabad blasts etc.
(Did you observe the "etc." there? Yes, per the standard rules of English, this usage is a valid and reasonable in this case. Soon we will be able to use it twice at the end "Blasts attacks etc. etc.")

Oh sorry, was just supposed to list down the articles,

Sadanand Dhume in WSJ
Rama Bijapurkar in ET
Jerry Rao in Indian Express

Will keep adding as I read them...