Author Archives: Guest writer

Today I am going to debunk a few investment myths. You will know ‘why individual investors are failing miserably and how you can avoid being one of them’.

I am too young to plan for retirement

Have you started planning for your retirement? You may be saying ‘who me? I am too young to be thinking about retirement”. It is not so! Rethink. You should have started thinking about it yesterday. Because time flies quickly.

If you were smart, and planned for retirement when you are young, your retirement years will be really those “Golden years”. If not you need to compromise and you need to work longer and retire later than others.

East or west FDs are safe and best

Nothing wrong in investing in FDs. FDs are really safe and it gives us fixed return. But there is no meaning in investing all your money in FD. The post tax return of an FD will hardly beat inflation. If your investments are not beating inflation, then your money is losing its purchasing power. FDs are safe but not always the best option.

I can never be as good as Warren Buffet or Rakesh Jhunjhunwala so why try?

In the words of Warren Buffet “Success in investing doesn’t correlate with IQ once you’re above the level of 125. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.” You don’t need a super brain for making investment decisions. You only need common sense and discipline. If you don’t have enough time and expertise, then you can get assistance from professional financial planners.

Stock markets can earn me quick bucks

This is a common myth among investors. Stock market will reward the long term investors. Stock market is a system which transfers money from investors who are fearful and greedy to the investors who are balanced and rational.

You need to be calm, patient, disciplined, and rational. You don’t have to be smarter than the rest; you have to be more disciplined than the rest.

Timing the market is important

Investors often spend a lot of their time in trying to identify when the market is very low or high, and timing the purchase and sale of investments accordingly.

In other words, they want to time their exit when the market has reached its top and to time their entry when the market has reached a bottom. This not a practical idea because there are so many influencing factors to the stock market. Predicting all the factors and making investments is practically not possible.  Instead of that stagger your investments through SIP, STP and stay invested for long term.

There is no such thing as too much diversification

Diversification is needed. A well diversified portfolio can be created with 10 stocks or 3 mutual funds. Having more than 20 stocks or 6 mutual funds can dilute your returns. The reason is you are not only investing in best stocks and funds, you are investing in above average and average stocks and funds. So your returns will come down. Instead of over diversification, you need to concentrate on a few stocks. It is possible to achieve the required diversification with a few stocks or funds.

The best way to make money is investing in what is hot

If you are investing in what is hot, then you are following the crowd. If you follow the crowd, you will get what others are getting. You will not get anything more. You need to be fearful when others are greedy and you need to be greedy when others are fearful. So don’t go by the market trend or the hot pick of the month. Think like a contrarian and follow value investing.

Saving tax is the only objective for me to Invest

Which group you are in? There is a group of people who invest just to save taxes. They will not bother to invest anything more than that. They will meet their objective of saving tax. There is another group which invests to save tax as well as to save for their other life goals like retirement, children’s future. They will meet the objective of saving tax and achieving other life goals. Kindly check you belong to which group.

You can be an assured successful investor if you could avoid these investment myths.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in

Episode 1

In the last 12 months everything had changed for Vinodh – in fact turned turtle. His promotion got stalled his pet project got delayed, his job was about to me made redundant. His 6 year old son couldn’t get admission into the school of choice. His wife kept intermittently ill.  As if all this was not enough, his parents met with an accident, though not fatal, but it caused a severe emotional, physical and financial damage. In short – life was at its lowest ebb.

‘When the going gets tough, it’s God that needs to get going.’ Vinodh Kumar lamented to his wife Sarayu.

Just then the lights went out. It was pitch dark in the room. A distant chortle of a few children playing floated into the room.

‘Darn another power cut! Just like our lives – dark and no where to go’

‘You know what, He doesn’t show Himself when He is most needed. It’s when you want Him the most He’s not there. What’s the point in continuing to keep the faith?’ Vinodh was distraught.

She looked at him as if to say don’t give up hope, but the words somehow got lost in the deep trenches of memories. After all it wasn’t too long back when she had said     ‘keep the faith in Him.’

Suddenly the lights came back and the television switched on.

‘When your back is against the wall, it’s a good thing’ a creaky voice spoke out of idiot box.

Vinodh went through three emotions at once – rage, remorse and resignation. There was a pregnant silence in the room.

Sarayu turned around to find the television flickering with some religious documentary on the NAT Geo channel. The sage on the banks of Ganges spoke to the reporter with a mystical look on his face.

Vinodh too turned around to listen closely.

The sage continued – ‘you see when your back is against the wall, the only way is moving forward, isn’t it?’  The reporter nodded, so did Sarayu zooming out of the television and zooming into Viodh’s eyes.

She had found a renewed vocabulary for hope.

‘You must go to Tirupati – Lord Balaji will solve all our problems’ she asserted.

‘These are signs Vinodh’

‘It’s just a stupid documentary Sarayu’ snapped Vinodh.

When a woman means business her eyes do the talking.

Sarayu looked deep into his eyes, held his hands and mustered up all the courage she had left in her and convinced Vinodh to give it one more shot.

‘Vinodh just give belief one more chance!’ she pleaded.

A myriad of emotions went through Vinodh’s mind. Conflicts, hopelessness and melancholy fought with each other. Finally indifference took center stage.

‘Whatever,I’ll go besides I think I just need a break !’

With that Vinodh set out for Tirupati.

Episode 2

Logic, science and reasoning kept challenging him right through the 12 hour train journey. He blocked them out, reasoning that all logic and calculations had failed, this time he was just going with an escapist state of mind.

Deep down he knew this fatalistic approach to life could back fire so badly that it could send him to a point of no return.

He had taken off from work without letting his peers nor his boss know. His boss had sent out a message a few days back that they needed to have the “talk”.

He knew once he returned back to work it could potentially be the end of the road for him. As the train rocked along he fell asleep with a thousand thoughts in his mind slowly losing voice.

When he opened his eyes next it was Tirupati junction.

The darkness cloaked the crimson skies. The birds chirped their way distantly and the temple bells rang in his mind. He looked up to see the tip of the shrine shimmering in the reflection of the golden sun.

Vinodh had decided to walk up the hills – precisely 2388 steps to reach Tirumala where the central deity resided.

Going to Tirupati without adequate planning, buying a ticket for a “Darshan” is an ill advised proposition right through out the year. Yet Vinodh went ahead, some part in ignorance and some part hoping for a miracle.

The steps looked fairly simple at the start, till he reached about the 500^th step mark, first signs of fatigue set in. Every 100 meters there were replenishments for the body but none for the soul. Cramps in his calf muscles made it even harder to take the next step.

By the 1500^th step, Vinodh had drained out every ounce of energy, will or zeal to keep going. He decided to branch out to the road, hail a taxi and go back, down to Tirupati town.

Just then, a security guard shouted from a make-shift desk near a bend.

‘Your free-ticket can be collected from here’.

Vinodh was startled.

He struggled his way to a few more steps to reach the security guard.

‘Why free tickets?’

‘This is normal sir, for all those walking up to Tirumala we give a free

“darshan” ticket.’

Sarayu’s words drifted into to his mind…keep the faith…

He took the free ticket ,sat down besides the steps and decided to give another push at reaching the top.

Episode 3

Vinodh was exhausted climbing up the stairs, walking barefoot and reaching the main entrance. As a reward he had at least got a free ticket.

Friends had advised him to buy Special darshan tickets which generally cost a bit more but ensured a quicker darshan. He headed over to the Vijaya bank ticket counter and stood in the long queue. By the time he reached the booking window, the counter shut down.

The moment was intense. Vinodh struggled to keep his emotions in check. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

An old man came rushing from behind and banged the window –

‘open up I need to cancel my ticket!’

He got the last available special darshan ticket. Felt a bit relived that at least he won’t go back without a darshan.

Vinodh thanked the old man and felt some excitement for the first time.On one hand he clutched the special darshan ticket and on the other the free darshan ticket.

Vinodh was tired and wanted to rest for some time, but with this sudden development, he thought about maximizing this opportunity.

‘Let me take a chance and see if I can get two viewings, today and tomorrow. If the queue is too long I can always exit and come back tomorrow for special darshan’  -Vinodh reasoned.

As he entered the free darshan queue, his resolve got tested.

The queue was almost a mile long. It was nearing 11 PM by the time Vinodh stepped into the long winding corridors of the temple. He was hungry, tired and low on energy. Nothing much to eat other than a little boy selling pop corn along the queue.

He had already spent 2 hours being absolutely stationery in the queue.

Vinodh overheard someone say it would take at least 5 to 6 hours more, to get to the main deity residing in the inner sanctum.

‘Maybe I should not push myself so hard – let me come back tomorrow morning, special darshan should get me a quicker darshan after all, why wait and stress out?’

This time logic was overwhelming. He slowly waded through the crowd towards the exit gate only to be stopped by the pesky popcorn boy.

‘Anna – please have some popcorn’ His big black eyes had an earnest look. His dark dry skin bore testimony of his everyday struggle and malnourishment.

‘No thank you’ Vinodh brushed him away and moved forward.

‘Anna this magic popcorn will help you wait a little longer’. Lord will call you just now, wait and watch’.

Vinodh froze for a moment. Goosebumps appeared in a cluster.

He took the popcorn and went back into the queue.

4 hours passed by and the queue had moved only about 100mts. Yet again it looked like an ordeal to stand so long. Vinodh kept thinking about the popcorn seller who had since mysteriously disappeared.

But that excitement/bewilderment quotient was dying with every passing hour.

Finally after waiting for some more time he decided to quit.

Vinodh decided to finally exit the queue. He just couldn’t pull anymore.

‘Lord it’s not that I am trying to escape, it’s just that I am too fatigued to stand in the queue for another 3 hours. I will come back tomorrow morning and wait as long as it takes – so please forgive me for exiting the queue’ Vinodh murmured silently.

This time he just ran past the gate lest some other popcorn seller or vendor or anyone stop him. As he exited one corridor after the other, he realized he had actually covered a lot of ground while feeling stationery. But there was no turning back. He was a determined man albeit a tired one.

Vinodh reached the final gate, which was the first gate a few hours back. Security was always tight in Tirupati. All gates were manned 24/7.

‘What happened swami?’ one security guard asked.

‘errm I’m not feeling too well, I want to exit the queue and will come back tomorrow’

‘Aarey no saar, I just got a message on the intercom, we are opening the inner gates, please rush inside, you will get darshan within the hour’

Not again Vinodh thought.

‘No you don’t realize, I’ve been walking since 6PM this evening and it is 2AM now. I can’t go on anymore, I will come back tomorrow.’

‘No saar we are opening the gates please go back, besides you cannot exit from the entry gate, you have exit from the exit gate na?!

Vinodh closed his eyes and realized someone wanted to see him today. He turned back yet again.

By the time darshan got over , it was nearly 3.30AM. Vinodh had never seen such a beautiful darshan before. The Lord induced a sense of calmness and positivity in him.

Vinodh sat in his hotel room in Tirumala and recalled what an extraordinary journey he had been through. However, it wasn’t until 8 o clock in the morning that he realized what a divine intervention he had.

A notice board outside the main Temple entrance read

“All special darshan cancelled for today due to VVIP visit.’

Gyanban Thoughts – We always hear, seeing is believing. However sometimes in life you need to believe it to see it. Keeping the faith in the most testing times is just one part of believing, the other parts are when you have alternatives or are doing well. That’s a true test of one’s faith. So the next time you call upon the Lord when in trouble, remember there will come a time when there is no trouble so don’t forget to remember Him even then.

I am guessing if you have read through the story some of you are thinking – this is a complete fiction and some are thinking it sounded like a true story.

Well all I can say dear readers, is keep the faith. Believe what you must, and you will see what you should.

Rahul is working for a mutual fund house. They have recently came out with an NFO (new fund offer). The day, on which the fund house announced its maiden NAV (net asset value), he received lot of calls from investors asking why the NAV is at below par. They thought something was wrong.

Then Rahul went on clarifying them that though both an equity fund and a stock extend market-related returns, there are some key differences between the two. If you have similar misconceptions about equity funds and stocks, this article will demystify all those misconceptions.

New Fund Offerings:

A new fund offer is not likely to generate amazing returns as can be the case with an initial public offering from a company.

This is because the NAV reflects the market value of the stocks held by the fund on any day. Because a fund holds several stocks in its portfolio, the NAV can only reflect the combined returns on the portfolio between the NFO date and the date of first NAV.

The first NAV declared by a fund can, at times, be lower than the par value of investment. A lower NAV does not mean a cheaper fund: Just because a New Fund is issued at Rs 10, it does not mean it has a chance of giving better returns than an existing fund that has a higher NAV.

Whether the scheme in which you are planning to invest has an NAV of Rs.15 or Rs.150 does not matter at all.

There is a difference between the price of a listed security and the NAV of a mutual fund scheme. Listed security has a price, determined by the demand and supply of the security. Whereas the unit’s NAV of the scheme has a value determined mathematically, by the prices of the securities in the portfolio. If the portfolio appreciates by 10% Rs.15 NAV will become RS.16.5 and Rs.150 AV will become Rs.165. So in whatever the NAV you invest your investment will fetch you 10% return.

So instead of concentrating on LOW NAV and more number of units, it is worthwhile to consider other factors (performance track record, fund management, volatility) that determine the portfolio return.

A fund with higher NAV may give higher returns than a lower NAV fund, if its stocks did better in the markets.

Funds Vs Stocks

Dividends are not extra returns:

Immediately, after the dividend payment of dividend the NAV of the fund will fall to the extent of the dividend payment. Let us illustrate.

Fund’s cum dividend NAV is Rs.25. Proposed dividend is 50%. You are investing Rs.1 Lac and you will not get Rs.50000 as dividend. It is only Rs.20000 (50% on the face value Rs.10 is Rs.5 per unit) as the unit price is Rs.25 you will get 4000 units. Rs.5 dividend * 4000 units=Rs.20000.

And this dividend is not an additional gain or income. After payment of dividend the NAV of the scheme will fall to the extent of the payment and distribution taxes (if applicable). Now your nav will become Rs.20 and your investment value will be Rs.80000 (4000 units * Rs.20 NAV).

In a nutshell,

Investment amount   Rs.1,00,000

Dividend amount     Rs.  20,000

Present Value      Rs.  80,000

It is nothing but investing Rs.80000 after dividend distribution at NAV Rs.20.

So investing in a scheme because it is declaring dividend in the near future is meaningless.

Usually a company with a liberal dividend policy may enjoy greater investor interest in the stock market. The same is not applicable to an equity-oriented mutual fund.

Investing more number of funds is not actual diversification. It may reduce your return.

Owning several mutual funds doesn’t necessarily broaden your holdings. It will be a mistake to buy the same securities over and over again in different funds with different names. You tend to believe they’re diversified. But it is not real diversification.

There are only very few funds which are performing consistently. Instead of investing in few funds, if someone chooses to invest in more number of funds (because he intends to diversify) he may be forced to choose some average performing schemes also. As a result his returns will be diluted. The step taken by the investor to diversify his investment is not leading to diversification but to dilution of return.

Thus ideally your portfolio should not have more than four-five funds.

NO tax for churning:

When we buy shares and sell them within a year we are accountable for short term capital gain tax at the rate of 15%.

But mutual funds provide the benefit of churning of stocks with no tax implications. A fund which churns its portfolio within a year is exempt from tax because it only redistributes these profits to investors.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in

The question is: Do you like the ubiquitous ‘like’? The facebook ‘like’ button has revolutionized the way we like all and sundry things. ‘Thumbs up’ seems to be the new thumb rule. It’s one thing to genuinely like something and want to establish a connection, it’s quite another to prove your love with a blithe click of a button. The ‘like’ phenomenon has thrown up interesting aspects about human nature; the end is often more important than the means. We like to like ends that can justify (nullify) the means and choose not to like the means that are a far cry from what we like but take us to the end we like, notwithstanding.

It brings me back to the question in question: How many of us have actually liked the ‘like’ button on facebook? Is it turning out to be a necessary evil? If popularity is anything to go by (it sure is!), the like button that enables us like various things has actually been liked fewer times than we would really have liked to like it. The realization may not have dawned or the fact that we don’t have to like something to use it frequently, has cast its imperious shadow.

While supporting the cause of infusing endorsements into the mainstream that’s up for grabs, the ‘like’ button has taken on a sense of ‘pro‘ness for community pages, eating into the shelves of a healthy consumerism. In some cases, indiscretion marries impertinence leading to sore encounters. The contention that a generally accepted bad thing can also be likeable goes to show that every single entity is put to the popularity test and stands a fair chance. Everything is likeable until proven otherwise through a report (facebook) and due action taken.

It allows us grow in magnanimity of free-will as we learn to commend the real value of the virtual world and wield our lovable clicks to spread some love. .It implicitly tells us that the extent of our love may vary but if you like something to even the least degree on your scale of ‘like-worthiness’, you might as well choose to like it. Upon which, you might be influenced to like it even more than you already like it (no, this doesn’t transform into virtual ‘love’) or hate the like that generated the hatred and ‘unlike’ it, as the case may be.

‘Likes’ have the potential of foisting on us a wide range of motley issues that keep us in the loop. It’s a propagation that pandemically creates and defines the bubble we concede to live in, as we rise up to the surface, engulfing the view we’ve established and in cases this bubble goes out of shape and finally bursts. This happens either because the spectrum of change has more combinations of colours than actually exist or simply due to the fact that the conscience of the bubble was pricked. If it’s human and discretionary to like, isn’t it by the same reasoning natural to dislike?

What could be the reasons indeed behind not having a standard button to dislike? There are some things we view with distaste for which we are entitled to express our earnest opinions, no? Like to dislike? There’s nothing much you can do about it, if only ironically ‘like’ the dislike button and hope to ring in a change to dislike!

Dislike to like? Passing a comment to express disapproval is permitted but creating a bubble of negativity that could be hazardous if and when it bursts is like setting the ball rolling and then losing control of the speed of change inflicted. It’s all very well to dislike a comment or status message that we deem unworthy of existing ,let alone being liked, but imagine the ramifications if it were applied to community pages or websites? It’s a different matter that ‘hate’ pages have been added as a way of liking to dislike something. A negative rating going through the floor ,for a ‘pro‘ page is the last thing owners would desire, even if it were the stark truth. When negative emotions are running high, keeping everyone’s best interests in mind, it was deemed necessary to sagaciously curb one’s urge to surge.

While likes have added fuel to the motor of our virtual life, we begin disliking the fact that despite liking some things to a greater degree than others, this isn’t reflected by the potent ‘like’. ‘Likes’ tell the world where our ‘interests’ lie (pun intended).It might not provide the complete picture without ‘dislikes’ and in some instances could be totally off the main course (and is best taken with a pinch of salt!) for inexplicable reasons. Like it or like the fact that you/someone else like(s) it? The former has a button that is nonchalantly hit; the latter doesn’t and needs to be consumed.

About the author:

Vishwas Anand of Bangalore is a poet and a writer. His poems have featured in online websites like One Shot Poetry, Jingle Poetry, four and twenty. He is also an Ezine Articles expert author. To visit Vishwas’s blog click HERE

Want to write guest article in GingerChai? Read our submission guidelines and CONTACT US.

If you have not yet “liked” us, Why not like “us” in FB? Click Here

“Modern man drives a mortgaged car over a bond-financed highway on credit-card petrol.”

Taking control of your cash inflow and outflow is the base for financial planning. Budgeting is important to gain control over your financial life, be prepared and avoid surprises, save for a major purchase, get out of debt and stay out of debt, expand your lifestyle, and to retire early.

Thiruvalluvar, a much celebrated Tamil poet emphasizes budgeting through his following lines:

Incomings may be scant; but yet, no failure there,
If in expenditure you rightly learn to spare. (Kural: 478)

Who prosperous lives and of enjoyment knows no bound,
His seeming wealth, departing, nowhere shall be found. (Kural: 479)

Most of us hesitate to make a budget because we think it is about cutting all the fun in life. Budgeting is not about cutting all the fun; it is about conscious allocation of funds. Once we start spending consciously, our mind will find out a whole new way of having fun within the budget.

Making Budget: A step by step guide

There is a saying, “God is in the details”. Detail every bit of your financials while creating a budget.

1)    Check your financial statements:

It could be your utility bills, d’mat account statement, other investment receipts, ITR, Form 16A, Form 16, bank statement, credit card statement etc. The idea is to make out the monthly average of income and expenses. Therefore the more details you can get the more relevant and accurate will the budget be.

2)    Listing out income from all sources:

It is very easy for us to list down the income from employment or self employment. Normally we will lose track of income from investments, rental income and other miscellaneous income. Also check is there any annual income. Don’t forget to record the incomes received by way of cash equivalents like meal voucher and credit card reward points.

3)    Finding out your total expenses:

We can easily list down the major expenses. But listing out the miscellaneous and petty expenses would be difficult. This is where the collected financial statements would help. Don’t forget the annual expenses like car insurance and property tax. Once you have recorded all the expenses then split them into fixed expenses and variable expenses. This classification will provide much more clarity.

Most people are surprised to learn that it may go for things that we do not need at all. Writing your expenditures down provides us with the unique opportunity to visualize and find out if any money goes for things that we do not need or want.

4)    Are you saving or over spending?

Now you have your total income as well as total expenses. Deduct the total expenses from the total income. You will know whether you are saving some money or doing over spending. If you are saving some money channelize that money into the priority areas such as clearing your credit card outstanding or any other loan to become debt free or retirement savings or children’s future plan. If you are on over spending, then you need to make some adjustments to expenses.

5)    Review your spending pattern:

On your expenses list, pay close attention to the variable expenses. This is where you can cut short a few expenses.

Every month we need to keep aside appropriate amount for the proportionate annual expenses.

You can find out the reasons for over spending. Most of the cases it would be emotional buying or unplanned shopping. Once you have pointed out the reasons for overspending, then find out the steps or precautions to be taken to rectify the same.

6)    Are you on the track? Check monthly:

Every month set aside an hour to compare the actual expenses with the budgeted expenses. If there is a negative deviation, find out the measures to control them.

Why your earlier budgeting attempts failed?

Budgeting is not a onetime activity. It is a continuous process. Normally we start budgeting with a genuine motive. But after a few months it may get off-tracked like our attempts on dieting or exercising. Therefore one needs to understand the behavioural aspects of budgeting.

1)    Positive Approach:

Never focus on the negative aspects. Focus on the benefits of successful budgeting. What will you accomplish by creating a budget? It could be becoming debt free, some money for vacation, planning for retirement or children’s future.

2)    Keep your enthusiasm alive:

Budgeting may over a period of time become routine and hence boring. Set a few short term goals like trying to repay the personal loan in 18 months instead of 36 months. If you achieve it reward yourself. Recognition could be a good motivating factor. Inform all your family members, friends and well wishers about your progress on budgeting. You can also join in some of the forums related to money management.

3)    Have a realistic expectation:

One needs to keep realistic expectation on the outcome of the budget. Over expectation may demotivate you. Budgeting is not a magic. It is an art like singing and dancing. You will be able to progress it only over a period of time with constant practice.

If you have not done budgeting for yourself and family so far, then now is the right time to take action. The fact that you are reading this article shows you have decided to stop procrastinating, and have answered the ancient question, “If not now, when?” with “NOW!”.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in

iCon: Steve Jobs

- The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business

A ringmaster who can direct every move of his fellowmen, inspire them like crazy and at times work them into a frenzy, where no soul is untouched by his aura and yet make them realize where to draw the line, Steve Jobs clearly is the genius we are seeing and still experiencing! One of the best books I have read recently, which is so riveting till the end and makes you wonder if one human being can do all that. How do you explain being an icon in three major fields of Computing, Music and Animation?

Each of his legions waiting for the story to unfold, are proudly considering their part in this mania. Exuding charisma and preternaturally excellent, he raises the bar for what the leaders of today are made of. For those who just see the bling and success surrounding him, its an eye-opener to announce, he is molded through a tiresome process. Even today he stands for what he stood as a teenager. Mellowed down, maybe, still he manages to pull out the rabbit every time out of the hat- every magician’s dream.

The book is an excellent read and a better stamp of The Google Story genre. The nitty gritties of the geeky world is carefully woven and it does not painfully teach you to code or create the graphics, it leisurely and unknowingly takes you into the environs of the modern tech era, with so little effort that in the end you can clearly distinguish as what goes into Mac and Windows. Geez! I actually read through the entire Apple license document to see the craftsmanship that goes into their product. Yes, it runs for pages and never had I ventured into such amusements before!! It made me watch the Toy Story all over again and Woody and Buzz emerged even livelier. It’s a different feeling to see, hear or read when you know what goes into the making. Nothing comes just suddenly out of the wilderness.

Today I hold the iPod and it feels ever so magical. Who else can give that clean touch and feeling?! I mean here is a guy who is so adamantly confident and has the power to make it into reality. Not all his products are runaway hits, but those which are, are of a totally different clan. It’s a difficult task to even start describing him and that’s the best part of this book- a Biography with a difference. ‘The best of engineers does not fit into any mold’. Even today he looks very much the part and he is not done yet!

In the small village of Gorur, located in the interiors of Karnataka, the headmaster asked a bunch of school kids if they were interested to write a competitive administration exam for a novel military training school called Sainik School. An 11 year old boy raised his hand, even though he did not know the real meaning of ‘military’, or had any idea of what he would be doing there. He only had a dream of stepping out to the unknown. It was this adventurous trait that would go on to define him in the future. The boy was G.R.Gopinath, the father of low cost airlines in India. Simply Fly is a remarkable story of a village boy’s journey through life, the challenges he faced, the ups and downs he experienced and the unbridled optimism with which he approached every event of his life.

The early parts of the book talk about his childhood, the time he spent in his native village of Gorur, his move to the Sainik School in Bijapur and finally his experiences in the National Defence Academy (NDA) (some of them are quite humorous!). Further, he describes his stint in the Indian Army, where he fought the Bangladesh liberation war. After the war he was posted to some challenging locations, one among them a picket called 4752, where the maximum summer temperature hovered around minus two degree Celsius!

Though Army life had been wonderful for him, it was, in his own words, “too regimented and predictable” for his liking. He was not enjoying his stint in the Army and thus one fine day he quit and came back to his village.

Though Gopinath quit the Army, he had no idea what he would do for a living. At the same time the government was building a dam on the Hemavathy river which would submerge his ancestral land. As compensation, the government had provided 10 acres of land each to his father and his three brothers. The land was largely barren, with patches of jungle and scrub forest and without any proper access route. That is why when the Captain declared that he would start living there and set up his farm, his father could only utter two words, “Ningenu Huccha?” (Are you mad?) Almost everybody tried to dissuade him from taking to farming, but the Captain was adamant. He had a vision for the farm and he would not stop until he achieved it.

His struggles to set up the farm are some of the most inspirational parts of the book (along with his setting up of Deccan Aviation). To begin with, he only had Rs 6000 with him and needed capital to set up the farm. But the bankers to whom he approached for loan were rude, apathetic and indifferent. On top of that he also had to face the hostility of the nearby villagers who were not too happy with his arrival as they were using the land earlier for grazing their cattle. There were innumerable other roadblocks like lack of electricity, floods and drought But Captain Gopinath, through sheer grit and determination and single minded focus on the goal, was able to cross each one of these hurdles and went on to set up the farm successfully. He was eventually awarded the Rolex award for Enterprise for employing eco-friendly ways of farming. Along with the farm he also dabbled in other businesses like motorcycle dealership, opening a hotel business, working as a stock broker and setting up an Agricultural consultancy!

Soon thereafter, Captain Gopinath took a plunge in politics and stood for elections on the ticket of BJP. His “can-do” spirit is further evident here as he faced a lot of challenges on account of him being a first-timer and also because BJP was pretty much unknown in the state at that time. Particularly interesting is his duel with Deve Gowda, one of the strongest leaders of the state, where Gowda had to eventually retreat! Though he lost the elections, it did not sadden him. As he writes, “Yes, there was disappointment, but there was also a curios sense of exultation. I had discovered a strange power within me”.

Gopinath soon shifted to Bangalore where he began socializing with his old Army friends. One of them was Captain K.J Samuel. He was a freelance pilot, flying helicopters all over India. One day he suggested to Captain Gopinath, “Why can’t we do something with the helicopters?”  The seed of Deccan aviation was planted on this day. Sometime later, with Samuel’s words in his mind and inspired by the newspaper report of a Vietnamese girl who flew investors and aid workers in a helicopter over Vietnam as the infrastructure in the country was totally devastated due to the war, Gopinath thought, “If helicopters can work in Vietnam, so can they in India, where the infrastructure is as bad!”. He decided that he will start a helicopter company and Deccan Aviation was born.

As Captain has mentioned in the book, setting up the new venture was similar to setting up his farm; only that this was at a much bigger scale and the challenges much tougher. His ordeals with the bureaucracy and his successful way past the labyrinth makes for a very inspiring read. Like the instance where just to get a NOC from the government for the new company, he had to toil hard for two long years! Gopinath’s experiences convince you that if you have the will, have decided in your mind that no matter what, the goal has to be achieved, then no one can stop you from achieving it. After years of relentless pursuit, hard work and sacrifices the helicopter business was firmly established. It’s a tribute to his vision and courage that starting off with such meager resources, he was able to establish the business in a capital intensive industry like aviation.

Upon the success of Deccan Aviation, Gopinath decided to enter the airline industry – by starting a low cost airline, Air Deccan. If anything, this was a much bigger risk. For all its challenges, one thing in his favor when he started Deccan Aviation was that there was very little competition; but here there were established players and the sector was notorious for its cut throat competition. There were also suggestions that the low cost model will not work in India. But the Captain had complete conviction in his business model and had a novel dream – to make the common man fly. The airline experienced exponential growth and within a very short time it even overtook the national carrier.

However, new challenges emerged which throttled the growth of Air Deccan. The challenges, among others, included poaching of its pilots and engineers by the rival airlines and the collapse of its IT system. Gopinath had no choice but to seek external funding, even if it meant ceding control of his say in day-to-day running of the company. Eventually the company had to be merged to Kingfisher airlines. The last chapter talks about his new venture – Deccan360 – which he funded by mortgaging everything he had, his house, his shares and his stocks. He started all over again!

A couple of the things that stand out from the book are Captain Gopinath’s unflinching optimism and his courage to follow his dreams, even though they may look implausible and impractical at first. Couple of years ago, I read the popular book The Alchemist. If I call Simply Fly the non-fictional counterpart of The Alchemist, it would not be wrong.

Simply Fly is a must read. It motivates you to flap your wings and take the flight to the unknown island of your dreams.

INGREDIENTS:

For marinating:

• Silver Pomfret (2-3)
• 4 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp red Chilly Powder
• 2 tsp turmeric Powder
• 2 tsp ginger –garlic paste
• 1 tsp rice flour
• Pinch of asafoetida
• Salt to taste
• 3-4 tsp of water
• Oil for frying

For garnish:

• Onions
• Carrots
• Curry leaves
• 2-3 green chillies
• Lemon wedges
• Mint leaves or coriander leaves

METHOD OF PREPARATION

• Wash and clean the fish by making a slit at the side. Wash with salt and 1tsp of lemon juice. Make 3 – 4 slits on both sides of the fish.

• Mix chilli powder, turmeric powder, rice flour, ginger-garlic paste, remaining lemon juice, salt, asafoetida and water to form a smooth paste. Apply the paste evenly on both sides of the fish and allow to marinate for 30-40 mins in the refrigerator so that the marinade seeps through the slits.

• Heat oil in a shallow pan. When the pan is hot, gently place the marinated fish and fry on a medium heat until the fish is cooked (usually it takes about 10-15mins).  Make sure both the sides are fried by gently turning the fish every few seconds without breaking.

• Once the fishes are fried, fry the finely chopped onions, curry leaves and green chillies in the same pan. This can be used for garnishing.

Silver pomfret fry is ready to be served.

What if today its dark;

Tomorrow will bring new light.

Life is moving, changing;

What if I change?

If I change for myself and not for you;

How does it affect you anyway.

You have been  tougher than rock;

That’s  why you always rock.

I am the one who has been changing all the way.

To see the hopeful ray.

You never ever saw the mirror,

I was the one watching reflections.

Never accepted the reality.

Lived in dreams and ecstasy.

.

She could feel her heart beating faster,

The pangs of separation had begun to rise within,

When she felt its effect on her,

She let herself free to get immersed in what gave her pleasure like love of her lover would,

It was pitter patter of raindrops that soaked her skin and touched her soul!

Written in 55 Fiction format.

For more about 55 fiction click here