CommonSenz

Most of us are familiar with ‘ The Great Dictator ’ a classic movie starring the legendary Charlie Chaplin made in the year 1940. It made a statement, a visionary satire on the unfolding events, which etched itself indelibly in world history. The film per se, may be about 70 years old but remains as relevant today as it was then. It was recently that I came across the full text version of the speech given by the barber (Charlie) who was mistaken for the tyrannical dictator, in the movie. I was surprised by the magnanimity of the speech, which perhaps had not dawned on me when I had seen the movie during my college days’ years ago. Every word and line seemed to stand out from the speech. The protagonists may have changed, but characters like that of the barber, in the film, will be adored forever because they personify sanity and can stand up to deliver common sense in such succinct terms. The tentacles of terrorism are reaching out to engulf democracy. The democratic order is...

It was around five years back. I was staying on my own in New Delhi and had gone to visit my cousin sister. Her only daughter, Tiya, was sick and as parents they were naturally worried. Both my sister and brother-in-law followed a punishing routine, leaving for work early in the morning and returning late. Their daughter’s illness had upset their routine and temperament. I found Tiya lying on her bed, eyes closed and in palpable discomfort. She was running moderately high fever. Later, she sat up on her bed and tried to look as cheerful as possible under the circumstances.   My sister kept telling me that she had requested her mother-in-law to come from Kolkata and stay with them for a few days but she had refused. I knew, that the arrangement that she was looking for, was one, she was actually not comfortable with. She had always strongly advocated the nuclear family set up. I was wondering if after all she was starting to relent, however grudgingly it might be, ab...

The festive season is upon us in India. Mother Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth, is out blessing households. People earnestly pray for everlasting financial prosperity and try to invoke god’s Midas touch in all financial dealings that they wish to undertake in the days to come, during this fortnight. While their fervent prayers and offerings may please god and bring them bounties in the short run, it is knowledge and common sense that will ensure long lasting financial stability and prosperity. On this festive occasion let us pray that the mighty goddess bestow us with some knowledge which will help perfect our financial decision-making process. Here we go.. Learning is a continuous process. Each day we enrich our experience and knowledge by coming across new events and various interactions. Investors relentlessly strive to get their decisions right. Clinical precision is what they seek, some like Warren Buffet succeed, some other wannabe ‘Buf...