Letting Go..

I will start this brief account on philosophy in the usual fashion which is much appreciated by the masses-a list. I love lists really-they are concise and spaced out and if I’m lucky-entertaining. Ergo, the fervor for lists. I love making them, reading them, and putting them up on walls.

10 things I’ve lost in Madrid or should I say..In Madrid..I’ve lost:

1. One earring belonging to a pair; bought after much speculation as to price and quality at GKI-M block Market in New Delhi.
2. The will to iron clothes. I like the dwindling supply of clothes in my closet
3. The inertia that prevented me from cooking meals.
4. The ability to finish books in a day. When you have Organizational Theory readings to devour, who’d like to read fiction anyway? (For the uninitiated: We do not like OT readings and yes this is my feeble attempt at sarcasm; if it is a bit much, please hold thy breath as my pristine philosophy follows soon after)
5. 20 Euros in a club. I believe it was for a good cause. Some poor soul must have been bestowed with 2 more hours of inebriation courtesy my absentminded generosity.
6. My way to the airport. The circular line is just that: CIRCULAR.
7. One earring belonging to pair#2.; bought without any speculation as to price and quality at the famous Janpath (literally: Road of the Masses) Market in New Delhi
8. A couple of kilograms. But this was after I’d gained some. So it’s okay right?
9. All semblance of sanity on weekends. ☺
10. My way to Noviciado.Getting on to the train going in the wrong direction and not realising it till it ends up in the outskirts of the city-Not very promising. Even less promising when you realise there were actually 3 of you and none of you noticed the drastically changing landscape. Ah, but more of that later…

Engrossing as it was to come up with this list, the intent for writing this was in reality to broach issues of change and adaptation or to put it more colloquially-letting go. I have always faced inertia as the bouncer outside the club that greets you when you are dressed all wrong. It sneers, and declares that it won’t let you pass, such is Inertia and its power. It just doesn’t want to let you pass through the gates into something new and exciting, even when you are all ready to go.
So what do you do? Well, I for one,plan to visit that club oh so often, that the bouncer has to let up and let me through.
Lets it hear for change, lets hear it for something new..!

I would never date...

1. Someone who wears skinny Jeans: These are gods gift to WOMEN, not men. I can’t be with a guy who has the same jeans as me.
2. Someone who pays more attention to his hair than me: Tresses are important but hair narcissism is something I cannot condone.
3. Someone whose vocabulary comprises only “cool” and “rocking”:Kindergarten got over 2 decades ago.
4. Someone who has more shoes than me: The concept of Metrosexual man may be endearing in magazines but when it comes to shoes-I’d like to boast of a bigger collection please.
5. Someone who believes that empty roads are Gods way of telling him to drive at 200 kmph :I agree testosterone makes men trigger-happy** but I am not risking my life for a dim-witted display of bravado.
6. Someone who behaves like a Page-3 socialite when in reality he owns a grocery store :If you can’t respect your life I can’t respect you. Capisce?
7. Someone who is fussy about food: I have known guys to eat anything and everything. I’d like to hold that thought please.
8. Someone whose life revolves around alcohol: There are better elixirs in life. Period.
9. Someone who wears jewellery: Shallow as it may be, if the guy wears more jewellery than me, I think I will probably get confused and think he is me.
10. Someone who thinks that dating a woman is like wielding a high tech gadget: Have you heard of Women’s Liberation my love? If you want a show dog, I know some nice pet-shops.

**- I owe the usage of this word to Mrinal “trigger-happy” Yadava. Gracias ☺

Travel Travails

Madrid

Whoever said that traveling is always fun, enlightening and brimming with heart-warming experiences clearly didn’t travel in Europe during Christmas break. The world becomes a different place altogether during this inferno of Santa and Snow. It’s not that Narnia of magic and smooth transitions but a vortex of delays, missed flights and flight diversions.
So, having finished my final submissions for the semester and having bid happy holidays to all my friends in Madrid I set off for Barajas Airport in Madrid amidst fresh snowfall. Of course, at that time my naïveté, had me thinking of how beautiful everything looked and not of impending delays.
So even when I saw serpentine queues at the KLM check in counter at the airport and the sign “Delayed” flash next to my flight to Amsterdam, I still thought everything would come around. But after having stood in the queue for more an hour, my enthusiasm started to dwindle akin to the effects of Prozac on a patient ,and I didn’t feel so optimistic anymore. I grabbed a croissant and started the mile long walk towards the boarding gate-what surprised me was that even though the flight status said delayed and the check-in lady affirmed to bad weather conditions, why were we still required to board.
I was one of the last few people to enter the aircraft-and how I hate this, on two counts. Firstly, I never get space for my carry on baggage if I enter late. Secondly, since people have nothing better to do like read, sleep etc, they all stare at the late arrival like he/she is an actor in a low budget drama. Thousand staring eyes spells unnerved me like no other. But even though this logic had me anticipating the worst I was able to rest my bags comfortably in a semi-empty overhead compartment with the help of a generous gentleman and I don’t particularly remember anyone’s piercing gaze.
Then long wait in the aircraft began-the snow had to be cleared, the weather had to ameliorate, and the planets had to align. When did that happen, I don’t exactly remember, because I was fast asleep.

Amsterdam.

The aircraft circles the snow covered land mass, which contrasts sharply with the blue of the seas. As the plane lands in Amsterdam in the morning, I am craving a hot breakfast, which I finally have to take to- go from Burger King due to paucity of time. The boarding announcement for the flight to New Delhi flashes every five minutes, prompting me to walk faster and not indulge in duty-free shopping. I reach the boarding gates and have a sigh of relief only to wait there for another hour - squatting on the floor on my jacket.

New Delhi

Flight is an hour delayed ofcourse, and the immigration queue I end up in is crawling, I am not complaining though. I am home and loving it.
So the weather conditions aren’t ideal and exactly conducive to air travel around Christmas time, but everyone wants to be home at this time of the year, and would go through any thing to make sure they do. All the delays and running from one gate to another, standing in queues and sitting on floors seems so trivial when you compare it to where it takes you-Home.
I’d love to be in this inferno of Santa and Snow year after year ;)

Year roundup

The impending economics final exam tomorrow has me probably in a thought frenzy making my verbosity come to life in this form, or has indeed rendered me foolish for instead of reading for tomorrow I am here, intending to write on matters of existential relevance and economic irrelevance. However, feeling Christmassy a tad, I want to spare you the clichéd thoughts running through my head about the alacrity of time and the onset of quarter life crisis.
So late, on this Monday night as temperatures crawl towards the sub zero range, ushering in a feeling of glee at the prospect of impending snow, I realise that the year is indeed about to come to an end. Well, silly me for having ignored that realization so far, but when you have intriguing papers on platform markets to devour, who cares about such trivialities right?
So, the customary favourites for 2009 have to be listed without further ado and here they are- The overrated-only-appreciated-by-me Award nominees

Song of the Year 2009
1.Who will save your soul-Jewel
2. If you could only see-Tonic
3. Lost-Coldplay
4. Lucky Man-The Verve
5.Cowboy Take me away-Dixie Chics

Book of the year 2009
1. Power of Now-Eckhart Tolle
2. The Secret- Rhonda Byrne
3. Many Lives Many masters- Dr. Brian Weiss
4. A New Earth-Eckhart Tolle
5. Eat, pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert

City of the Year 2009
1. Mumbai, India
2. Madrid, Spain
3. San Sebastian, Spain
4. New Delhi, India
5. Guangzhou, China

Movie of the Year 2009
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
2. Garden State
3. Sweet November
4. Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels
5. Rock and Rolla

Event of the year 2009
1. Cooking Chicken Tikka Masala
2. Watching the first snowfall of my life
3. Learning SPSS
4. Cycling through San Sebastian
5. Watching Real at Santiago Bernabeu

Winners to be declared soon..although this is a purely discretionary award, votes are welcome :)

Scribbled on Page 179 of Milgrom ROberts-Chapter on Moral Hazards and Performance Incentives

A cold winter morn,
full of eager yearn,
foggy from yesterday,
tumbles through the grey.

brrrr.

Back to Business.

10 Things I've learnt in Madrid ( which I have taken upon myself to pass on to the world)

1. Do not put a baguette in a bag full of other groceries. This would cause the said baguette to split into two and fall on the ground mid-way between the grocery store and your apartment.
-First Occurrence: Day 2 of stay
-Frequency of baguette drops till date: 3

2. Do not leave the house with promises of returning early. This almost never happens.
-First Occurrence: Day 1 of Stay
-Frequency of broken promises till date: 3456

3. Ask for directions and prepared to be surprised. Every time. For the uninitiated, the warmth with which the Spanish people direct you to your destination is just short of a hug.:)
-First Occurrence: Day 1 of Stay
-Frequency of being directed by happy passersby till date: 50

4.Do not say no to Sangria. That's Sacrilege.( Not for cultural reasons , but you'd be a fool not to have it)
-First Occurrence: Day 7 of stay
-Frequency of saying no to sangria till date: 3

5. Do not venture out to look for a Ferreteria ( Hardware Store) on a Saturday afternoon at 2 pm. You'd find it but it would be shut. (The same can be generalised for other small specialised stores)
-First Occurence: Month 2 of Stay
-Frequency of failed ferreteria searches till date: 1

6.Jaywalking works.
-First occurrence (involuntary): Day 3 of stay
-Frequency of jaywalking incidents till date: 500

7. Tapas is not Dinner and will never be. Do not confuse Tapas with a full meal. It isn't. I've learnt the hard way, so I suggest plan a meal before or after Tapas in order to satiate those hunger pangs.
-First occurrence: Week 1 of stay
-Frequency of feeling hungry after tapas outings till date: 10

8. Talking to taxi drivers is fun. Particularly in your limited Spanish.
-First occurrence: Hour 1 of Stay
-Frequency of fun conversations till date: 12

9. The sun never sets in Madrid. Not so much literally, but the parties start at 2 am and end at 7 am or even later..(unfortunately I haven't been around to usher in the end of the dancing). Dinner starts at 10 pm. You have 24 hours for everything, except sleeping.
-First Occurrence: Day 1 of stay
-Frequency of late days till date: 70

10. Dogs are everywhere. In streets, in shops, in restaurants. For someone who is petrified of dogs ( although I must admit my neighbors dog Laila has begun to grow on me)that is NOT good news.
-First occurrence: Day 1 of Stay
-Frequency of encounters till date: 88

Notes on Mortality

Commercial Pursuits seem to be in vain really. Mortality being imminent, why on earth do we need to go on and engage in these apparently officious and ostentatious activities that seem to do no-one any good really. Of course, I’m saying assuming everyone engages in commercial pursuits that have the sole objective of enhancing and aiding their hedonistic desires.
Do we need to live life in such a way that we make lives of other people better? Other people who are significantly worse off than we are, and there are a lot of those in this world. Or do we just go about our own lives, trying to achieve the best for us, monetarily, socially, emotionally, spiritually? Of course, if we are to become apostles of the school of thought that says “yes” to question number two, then the normal construct of the society and commerce is adhered to. However when I am inclined to swing to question number one, I feel, that if everyone had the same thought, there would be a total breakdown of the system and of course, that would be really really bad. So I guess, being pragmatic is not ideal if I want to live in the affirmative with respect to question number one.
Having rambled on so far, the lessons to be learnt from the imminent mortality briefly mentioned above, should certainly be highlighted now. The years given to us are finite, but rather than count the number of moments that life gives to us, we need to look at the number of moments we give life to. Hell, do what we must-commerce, charity, travel, …name it. But do it right.
This was so not what I intended to get to when I started writing, but writing is like traveling into the unknown. You know where you start, but you never known where you end. -Amen

The Economics of Being "Nice"

If utopia were something that existed, it would probably be a situation where blogs with titles like these ceased to exist, for people wouldn’t really want an answer to this question. That, however, would not bode too well for me, because then either no one would read this (assuming some readership now) for my writing would be regarded hyperbole and ergo not warrant any flicker of interest. On second thought, utopia would probably deter me from harbouring such ideas in the first place, so the very reason this (this being the words that I am writing now) exists, is the inherent absence of utopia.
At several points in my life I have succumbed to decadent thoughts, those which propel me to wonder-“ Is being ‘nice’ the right strategy?”. I use the word strategy here because I am a fledgling in the world of game theory and having been recently enamoured by Nash Equilibrium, and seduced by the world of strategies and concepts of the like, I feel this propelling urge to appease my narcissistic side. Having managed to successfully drift away from the topic I promised to dive into at the very inception of this endeavour, I think any further procrastination albeit comic relief attempts might warrant a change in the title.
Let us assume that being “nice” or “not nice” are the two strategies that two individuals have.
Let the names of these individuals/players be “ Phelangie” and “Phoebe”

Whereby in (x,y) we have payoffs of Phleangie (x) and Phoebe (y).The payoffs are written so assuming that when a player plays a nice strategy and in turn gets a not nice strategy he gives all the benefit to the player receiving the “nice” behaviour award. Also, when both players choose “not nice” strategies, then the payoff is in negative as the society as a whole also suffers from the absence of “nice” behaviour.
Assuming this is a one shot game and both the players act simultaneously, we can elaborate as follows:
If Phoebe plays nice, Phelangie would chose strategy not nice so as to get a payoff of 20.
If Phoebe plays not nice, Phelangie would play strategy nice to get a pay off of 0.
If Phelangie plays Nice, Phoebe would play strategy Not Nice to get a pay off of 20.
If Phelangie plays Not Nice, Phoebe would play a strategy of nice get a payoff of 0.
We get 2 Nash Equilbriums stating that Phelangie and Phoebe would play the following Strategies:
Phoebe-Nice, Phelangie-Not Nice (20,0)
Phoebe-Not Nice, Phelangie-Nice (0,20)
So economics clearly states that there is NO rationale for people to be nice to each other simultaneously.
Maybe this is what explains when on any given day, a stranger smiles at you, the lady in the bus gives you her seat, your friends bring over flowers when you are feeling unwell, and someone says something nice to you while you have nothing to offer except a frown.
Converse: Stop wondering why others aren’t exhibiting the “nice” behaviour you dish out their way. :P

PS: I am new to this. Corrections are welcome. However, I must warn you, a correction may prompt me to ask you for help with economics homework.

Life in Fast Forward-I

Absence of words in my life make me feel defunct and non-existent, but it’s written words I am talking about and not spoken ones. There is no dearth of conversations out here. The conversations in my head however seem to have been given a horse tranquilizer, after which they were last spotted with a backpack on the periphery of my head, waving goodbyes without much promise of a prompt return. Now that scares me-horse tranquilizer and travel plans don’t seem to be congruous, but then again when did you ever hear about personified thoughts doing inane things?
While I construct these inane sentences, I realize that the past month has been a blur of activity. Perhaps since the day I left New Delhi, I haven’t really had the time to sit down and just be by myself without some task at hand or some conversation to indulge in. As the clouds of the inertia start to dissipate, I realize that the travel to Spain was indeed quite flawless and brought with it some people that I will probably not be able to forget so easily. Not that they were grandiose in their gestures or anything out of the ordinary, but just that they were there at the right time..kind of wizarding* my journey into one that can not be forgotten so easily. I guess I owe a thank you to: the lady at the check in counter, at IGI Airport, New Delhi the genteel male steward aboard the BA flight to London, the gentleman on the seat next to mine, Janet in the BA flight to Madrid and the taxi driver who drove me to my hotel in Madrid.
Travel is a word that engenders mixed feelings among people. By Travel here I am referring to the passage of time in moving from one airport to another. From the euphoric enthusiast to the pessimistic business travelers, the feeling varies like day and night. Airport Travel can be particularly fun, and even a way to be present intensely in the now (Reference: The Power of Now and the New Earth by Eckhart Tolle). Here are a few ideas (picked up from personal experience) to enjoy those dreaded fifteen (ten?) hours or more of travel and transit time:

1. Always be nice to the personnel checking in your luggage, immigration officers and security check officers. Smile, talk, exchange cordial words and some inane information. This makes them happy and will make you happy as well.
2. Always set aside some space in your hand bag so you can store some duty free shopping product in it. While not necessary, duty free shopping is useful in killing the long transit hours in the wee hours of the morning. Even if you buy only a bar of chocolate, the thrill of browsing the aisles in these shops is something that can make the most insipid of journeys a little interesting.
3. Perch yourself on a table in one of the many cafes at the airport with a coffee and a magazine or a book and just observe the people ambling by. It can be quite an engaging experience to try and figure out the nationalities and destinations of people from the way they are dressed.
4. Loading your mp3 player with music containing idyllic lyrics can actually soothe your nerves and perhaps transport you to your destination whilst you are waiting to board the aircraft even.
5. In long haul flights, a mix of books like an engaging paperback novel (I recommend Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert), collection of poems, and some periodicals can keep you nicely occupied, intermittently with bouts of sleep.
6. Talk. To your co-passengers in the aircraft, the man behind you in the queue, or the friendly kids on the next table. You don’t need to exchange personal information to share a few laughs and conversations and the best part is that there is a mutual understanding that the conversation would truncate at the cessation of the journey or the end of transit. Cute deal that.
7. Try and orient yourself with the airport prior to departure. On arriving at the airport you’d feel like you are trying to piece together a giant jigsaw puzzle when trying to maneuver the ways.


* Wizarding: A word coined mid-conversation by Janet Kagan and myself aboard the British Airways Flight from London to Madrid to denote an infusion of that unquantifiable extra variable into something banal and routine.
Going Further I would like to use the symbol *w to indicate the wizarding variable. This variable would have to be used with different constants depending upon its usage in different contexts. In the Luxury Hospitality Sector for instance *wH can be a measure of how well the Hotel/Resort can enhance the customers experience over and above the expected outcome.

Order/Chaos

The area outside the arrivals terminal at the IGI Airport is a traffic nightmare today with cars strewn across everywhere, and add to that the flurry of passengers who are running late, trying to dodge the cars and the trolleys, an innocent passerby would probably flip at the pandemonium that is probably breaking out before his eyes.

But then again, it’s a sordid dance of sorts, this chaos isn’t it? Order in Chaos some wise men call it, and Delhi is quintessentially that. So it is no surprise when my car manages to bumper-graze another car. It isn’t even worth a frown.

As the driver eases the humble hatchback out on to the road, we are accosted by a recalcitrant man, ordering our driver out of our vehicle. I am shaken from my reverie by the commotion and realize it would be prudent to step out for a reconnaissance. Turns out, the car whose bumper has been so grossly grazed and thus violated, is a BMW. My shiny hatchback looks green with envy inspite of its metallic tinge, but I see some shade of pride too, since it has very conveniently manage to leave it’s mark on the ever so spiffy bimmer.

I stoop low to inspect the damage and see nothing at first glance. I adjust my thick glasses and there in front of me is a scratch all of 1mm staring at me right in the face. The chauffeur of the BMW seems to be in a frenzy of sorts, reiterating the fact that the car is indeed a BMW and his company would not be pleased to know of the damage. A police patrol car pulls in, and two cops step out and continue to lurk in the background. The driver of the hatchback clearly believes in quid pro quo and is on the defensive, rebuffing all accusations being thrown his way and throwing in his own conjured accusations for good measure. I am a little melancholy from the events the day has managed to transpire, and maybe that attenuates my inclination to launch a full-blown offensive. The cops seem to have had a look at the “scratch” and I can see them muster a quite laugh from the corner of my eye-this makes me feel resplendent. I bring up the topic of chaotic Delhi roads and how a car in Delhi cannot operate on the roads until it has bumped at least one car a day-somewhat like a right of passage. Pun intended. I look at the cops, and they seem to be nodding in approval. Bless them I think.

A call to the chauffer’s superior, a quick tête-à-tête, and it seems that I’ve managed to convince him that neither his driver nor mine is to blame. “It’s the chaos sir”, I tell him. And it is.

The story ends with the chauffer thanking me with a toothy grin, me thanking the cops for their patience and laughter and all three parties returning to their vehicles with a sigh of relief, thankful for the order that was ushered in by the chaos.