Hey, Soul Sister!

 “If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.”  -Linda Sunshine

I know what the writer means by that for it’s something I experience on a regular basis.

When she eats the leftover chocolate mousse that I saved in a corner of the fridge. When she borrows my favourite bag and spills coffee on it. When she almost burns my hair while curling them. When she says that she’s mom’s favourite child. That’s when I  hate her.

And then, sometimes she gets me a chilled lemonade when my head is aching. And she explains what Aioli means by making it for me. And her blueberry pancakes are a piece of heaven I tell you (Yea, my sister loves to cook)! She tells me what makes me look fat (who does that, right?). She made me a “My sister best-est” mug when she learnt pottery. She lets me borrow her sunglasses. She is a solid leaning shoulder when I cry for the girl in Afghanistan in the Time Magazine. She listens to my non-stop chatter about herbal teas or any such thing for that matter without complaints (Ok no, not without protesting, but at least she listens while my mother chooses to completely ignore me). See, now that’s the part I love.

She’s a Capricorn, and like all goats, she is stubborn as hell. I’m the opposite. She is also snobbish and a bit too ambitious. And again, I’m not quite. But yes, she is wise (Capricorns live the other way around- wise as children and wild as adults) and quite stable. And me being a typical Libran, I’m not quite. But we manage rather well. She deals with my laziness (she has no choice actually). She gets irritated beyond measure with my indecisiveness but helps me out (we flip a coin mostly). And “takes my side” when mom is scolding me for being such a procrastinator and then later, makes me feel so guilty about shirking work yet another time.

To my every “there’s a rainbow around the bend” and “every cloud has a silver lining”, she’ll respond with “ok, let’s not get too carried away here”. It’s what sisters are for. While I manage to quietly tint her seriousness with pink coloured bubbles of hope, she helps me get around with my dances of indecision.

To my friend and soul mate – Salute!

Harleen A.

Can't Decide

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost

I don’t remember when I first read this poem, an outstanding piece of literature if you ask me. And the impact, needless to say was profound. I am always reminded of it whenever life brings me to a crossroad, and that does happen quite often.

I’m a Libran. In other words, I am literally in hell whenever I have to decide anything, even choosing between pasta and pizza at the neighbourhood Pizza Hut. Yup, that bad. You can imagine what I must have gone through when I had to decide the subjects I had to take up in grade 11 (in India, we have to choose a stream after grade ten- commerce, science and art). And being true to my stars, I first thought of commerce and the day of submission, convinced by my father, chose science. And my poor mother then had to bear the brunt of my indecisiveness and my father’s quick input and deal with the school bureaucracies and shift me from science to commerce. Then, in university, I was first in the Mathematics program as I have always believed it to be my first love ( Don’t raise your eyebrows, I’m an Indian!). But then as my restless brain’s bickering with me lead me to check the job market in the field; I decided it was time to make a switch. And so, my undergraduate degree now is Business Administration or in the U of T jargon, Management. But can I ever rest in peace, No!!!!! I had to choose a specialist field within Management. Damn! At the crossroads I was beckoned again. The journey from here on is pretty interesting as well. I was first in Accounting as my father thought it was one recession-proof field and companies always needed nerdy accountants or puppets with no life. (No offence intended, it is my personal opinion as it made me absolutely miserable). But then unable to handle the blood-sucking balance sheets and cash flow statements, I decided it was time to choose another stream. Enter Human Resources. I absolutely loved intro HR class, Organizational Behaviour, loved everything about it. And so, not knowing how much difference the teaching style of a professor can make, I made my pick. Then as I took some more courses in it, I decided I could not live a life of boredom. And switched again- this time to Marketing. And what brought on this? Advertising. I took a course on advertising and the relaxed atmosphere of this class, the funny videos we watched and the cool teaching style of my professor lead me to my umpteenth switch. Wait! It’s not over yet. I am now in Finance and have taken enough courses in it so technically, it’s too late to switch if I want to graduate on time. So, I have decided to stay. Finally! Phew. Not that I never get tempted by International Business and Strategic Management. I do, as being indecisive is what I am unfortunately best at.

Right now as I am currently immersed in Financial Economics and Money and banking, I do smell the irresistible smell of Interior Decorating (I think it’s my dream job, but I really can’t trust myself for obvious reasons). Oh yeah that’s a whole other topic, which I’ll tell you about later.

Back to my books now,

Harleen A.

To Dilli

“People who love only once in their lives are...shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination.” – Oscar Wilde

When I told my mother that I am writing a blog on Delhi as I feel I am being disloyal to my hometown when I titled my blog “The Chit-chatting Torontonian”, she quoted the above to me. Lack of imagination? Lethargy? Ouch.

They say- Dilli Dilwalon Ki, which loosely translated means the city of Delhi belongs to generous, large hearted people. It sounds very poetic but there is history behind this term. Delhi is the oldest place in India which has been invaded by several kingdoms from Kurukshethra to Sultans, Mughals, the East India Company and the present seat of government and it has embraced or accepted all of them and their people with open arms.

What is Dilli?

Dilli is  a game of politics and power and somewhere down the lane, there is helplessness too.

Dilli is Lassi and idli in one meal.

Dilli is sufi and rock in one concert.

Dilli is a beautiful home to mandirs and masjids.

Dilli is Janpath and Emporio mall.

Dilli is the hometown of a Gujrati and a Bengali, a Punjabi and a Tamil.

Dilli, though a city of great contrast, is a monument of love, of devotion, of respect and honour.

Quoting the great Amir Khusrau-

 “Delhi, the refuge of faith and equity. Delhi is the garden of paradise. May its prosperity be long lived. If Mecca happens to learn about this garden, it may circumambulate around Hindustan.”

Born and brought up in the capital of India, a place with an ample summer, a winter too short and breathtaking spring and autumn, I never knew I’d miss it so much once I moved. It is the most interesting city. On one end there will be slums with no water and electricity and on the other, a man in an Armani suit will roll up in his chauffer driven Bentley. You will see extraordinarily beautiful malls and the incredibly colourful street markets. A city of contradictions, a city of rich history, a colourful palette with people from all over the country.

Many books have been written on it, but none can do justice to its vibrancy, its warmth and its grandeur. This blog is my dedication to a city of love, life, laughter. A city that makes me smile and tear up at the same time.

A toast.

Harleen A.

Deeply involved in soccer, has eight legs, yet hasn’t kicked any balls?

After hearing about it all soccer season long, I finally Googled it. What exactly is Paul the octopus? It’s an octopus that predicts the outcome of soccer matches!!! Wow, I mean, what has the world (or should I say soccer fans) come to? This is pretty bizarre, don’t you think?

Yesterday, just as Paul the Oracle Octopus predicted with his arbitrary clam picking, Spain beat Germany 1-0 to proceed to their first World Cup final. That makes Paul six for six in picking the outcome of Germany's matches. Before the match, nervous Germans, doubting Paul’s genius physic held up signs of "Also octopus can be wrong.” As it turned out, nope, it cannot.
The tentacled oracle, who resides at the Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhauser, Germany, broke the hearts of his countrymen. Paul has been correctly predicting results since 2008, but he has made one mistake. He selected Germany to beat Spain in that final, which the Spaniards won 1-0.
Apparently his owner has received death threats and even recipe suggestions from football supporters who have found their teams on the wrong side of his predictive powers.
The internet these days is overflowing with comments, especially now that Paul is to predict the final result - the first time he'll prophesy about a match not featuring Germany. Google him and you get as many as 2,630,000 results.
Will doubting his powers lead him to liquefy your intestines and blow bubbles while he does it. Because blowing bubbles is the closest thing to laughing maniacally an octopus can do. Or will he now appear on the specials of the German soccer team’s menu?


Harleen A. 

Historic commitment: G20

An institution that has met only four times, created enough drama around the world esp. in Toronto, with leader from countries as as disparate as Germany and India, is now astonishingly close to achieving its objective of rebalancing the global economy. Kudos!

By contributing to the strengthening of the international financial architecture and providing opportunities for dialogue on national policies, international co-operation, and international financial institutions, the G-20 helps to support growth and development across the globe. In the recent summit that took place in Toronto, Canada, countries have promised to explain in some detail how their domestic policies are helping to achieve the G20’s goal of reducing the excessive mismatches in spending and saving that exacerbated the financial crisis. With the help of the IMF, members can access whether each partner is doing enough.

Trust, credibility and transparency increase as the leaders put their cards on the table and peer review each other’s economic policy. Since the review remains a voluntary exercise without penalties, success will depend on G20 members taking the process seriously, both by submitting credible policies and showing the courage to offer tough, but fair, criticism. Given how these countries allowed the global economy to get out of control in the first place, there is reason to be doubtful of their capability to improve the shape of the economy.

In Pittsburgh, the G20 acknowledged that self-interested policy making had fashioned the conditions for the global recession that was sparked by the 2008 credit crisis. In was unclear whether the G20 was fully committed to create a forum in which they would shape their domestic policies in way that would ensure “strong, sustainable and balanced” global economic growth.

As we know, uninhibited spending and borrowing led to the recent recession which was happily exploited by the major exporters all around the world. China underwrote the spending as it purchased US debt and hence kept its currency low against the dollar. This in turn lowered the American interest rates. Instead of investing in their domestic economy, oil exporters bought US bonds. Continental European countries refrained from confronting rigid labour markets that inhibited investment and productivity.

Previous failures led economists and policy makers to doubt the success of sovereign nations to tailor domestic policies for the sake of the greater good. Going into Toronto, some countries, including China, were reluctant to accept country-level reviews under the framework, saying instead that G20 members should be divided as surplus countries and deficit countries.

A noted economist remarked that the framework introduced at the Pittsburgh summit would only be a passing phase, a temporary political convenience that will help leaders’ intentions to unite at a time of global crisis.

The confidence in the summit increased as the IMF and World Bank submitted studies that showed the G20 could generate GDP of $4-trillion, create tens of millions of jobs and lift even more out of poverty if countries actually made the changes necessary to achieve more balanced growth.

Any boost in credibility the G20 gets from embracing country-by-country peer review will be lost if the promises the process accepts lack ambition or commitment.

PS- This is a summary I made for a course in International Business about the G20 summit. Hopefully it will give a good idea about the most talked about issue of the year.

Harleen A.


References:
http://www.g20.org/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Fountainhead

“I often think that he’s the only one of us who’s achieved immortality. I don’t mean in the sense of fame and I don’t mean that he won’t die some day. But he’s living it. I think he is what the conception really means. You know how people long to be eternal. But they die with every day that passes. When you meet them, they’re not what you met last. In any given hour, they kill some part of themselves. They change, they deny, they contradict–and they call it growth. At the end there’s nothing left, nothing unrevered or unbetrayed; as if there had never been any entity, only a succession of adjectives fading in and out on an unformed mass. How do they expect a permanence which they have never held for a single moment? But Howard–one can imagine him existing forever.”

This is a quote from The Fountainhead, a book that changed my life when I first read it at the age of 15. I’m not really a philosophical person, rather quite the opposite. Since most family dinner conversations tend to be fairly philosophical, and that is all I have had as my side dish for years, I have unconsciously developed a dislike to them. They are thought provoking, screw with my ignorance (they say ignorance is bliss- and I vehemently agree) and make me lose my precious sleep. So maybe not unconsciously, but I have developed an allergy to philosophy. But sometimes I come across something which I can personally relate to, that has to power to change me, to shake me up, to leave a permanent scar, and so I let it burst the pink bubble I usually tend to live in. This is one such example.

This quote has more depth to it than I had at first imagined. Peter Keating says this about Howard Roark, the protagonist of the novel, two architects completely different from each other.

The characters in the novel struggle to act independently from society and their desire to assert themselves becomes the single greatest virtue each of them possesses. The novel ends triumphantly not because Roark defeats or converts his enemies, but because he wins the right to act according to his own principles. The thesis at the heart of The Fountainhead is that society has a herd mentality, and individuals must act selfishly in order to be free. He has in a way achieved immortality as he has risen above the bounds of emotions and societal pressure which cage us and stunt our growth.

The frivolities we live in, the emotional appeals over logical agreements and sentimentalism which I believe to be like quicksand confuse the mind and compromise individualism.

In a battle between emotions and logic, one that wins determines our growth. Our destiny, our mortality is in our hands.

Harleen A.

PS- If you haven’t had the chance to read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, the next thing you should do is visit Amazon and order it. It is bound to leave a mark on you (the impact it had on me was so profound that it was all I could talk about for months, and hence resulted in me being nicknamed “the fountainhead” by friends.)

Toronto: A charming city and a Benetton Ad

The day my dad decided to move to Toronto, I took an oath to hate it for eternity. And have stuck by it ever since...until now. It’s just you can’t escape the charm of this city, its enthusiasm for ice hockey, an absolute addiction to Tim Horton’s and pride for being the most multi-cultural city in the world. It’s a colourful tossed salad quite with people from all walks of life!

Actually, multiculturalism is a laughing matter in Toronto as ‘Toronto Life’ put it. A major share of the credit for this goes to stand-up comedian Russell Peters! His jokes comprise of wry observations on the Toronto’s favourite subject of race and culture to illuminate our human shortcomings with laser sharp accuracy. His mimicry allows him to create characters of all races and cultures and forge a bond with his audiences, which are as colourful and varied as his comedy. He teases just about anyone he lays eyes on: white, Mexican, Jewish, Jamaican, Chinese and of course Indian!

Another trophy in hall of fame of Toronto is its support to same sex marriages, and did you know over 5500 same sex couples have got married here? It’s pretty amazing! I believe Toronto to be gay rights beacon, especially to Americans weary of their country’s patchwork of indecency laws.

Our flourishing Bay Street, our safe and solvent banks, our Jay’s are off to a winning start, the amazing CN Tower, the St. Lawrence market (those who do not agree on this one, try the scrumptious sandwiches and the super cheesy poutine there), the Art Gallery of Ontario and oh, did I mention, University of Toronto?

To new favourite cities and old,

Harleen A.

PS: If you don’t know what Benetton is, as I think most Canadians don’t, just Google “United Colors of Benetton” and you’ll see what I mean!

Free Lunch

My horoscope this morning:

LIBRA (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Someone has taken a shine to you and wants to help you make the most of your talents. That’s all very nice but make sure you know what it is they expect from you in return. There’s always something. Nothing is ever truly for free.

My first day at The University of Toronto, Professor Mike Krashinsky shared with us the thumb rule in economics- “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

There is more truth to that statement than anything else I was taught subsequently. Really, we always like to think that we can surely get something for free or for a lesser price. Or take from someone without giving back. Almost never happens.

To get that laptop for less on Boxing Day, you probably sacrifice a night’s sleep and before that, some time checking out the deals at various stores.

To get your parents to pay for your university education, you abide by their rules and cut down on the wild partying and careless drinking.

To get a free hotdog at a school barbeque, you stand in line for an hour, listening to the stories of french manicures, of the new Jordans, or what rating the hot phychology prof has on ratemyprofessors. 

To make a profit in the stock market, I have seen my father lose his sleep debating whether to short sell a certain stock or not.

So is there ever a free lunch? I really don’t think so. If there is, probably the entire field of economics will collapse and so will our way of making market (or other) transactions.

So, as I was religiously reading my horoscope today, I was reminded of the golden words of wisdom my professor kindly shared with us, something on which our relationships are also based. It’s always a two way road we drive on. One way increases the risk of accidents, doesn’t it?

Till my next blog,

Harleen A.

Business Lessons taught by FIFA

Business Lessons taught by FIFA

1. The importance of a competitive stance

As we all know, Brazil defeat North Korea 2-1. Don’t you think it’s shocking for such legendary football-playing country (#1 FIFA world ranking) to win by a minimal margin against the Korea DPR team, #105 in FIFA world ranking.

Starting and running a business, regardless of how difficult they are, are even more challenging today. More established countries – business-wise, such as the United States shouldn’t overlook how China and the rest of the world are catching up to grab their share of pie in global business.

2. Manage your ego, look for a collaboration to make your business stand out

Strong football countries such as England and France, consisting of outstanding and probably the world’s best players that often come with ‘better than thou’ ego. To get the players to play as a team is a real challenge. Players from weaker football countries, such as New Zealand, are most likely to be more than willing to put their ego aside and think team-working above anything else. From what I’ve seen so far, teamwork does beat talent.

This lesson applies to the young entrepreneurs who even though have the energy and zeal to win the world by themselves, should make use of everything and anything which the globalized world makes available to them and to all those who think they can do it themselves!

3. Your business might be small, yet its impact can be huge

New Zealand might be a ‘weak’ at football, but the team performance inspires others – the small guys CAN do something big in the biggest stage of global football.

Owning a small business is probably the coolest thing on the planet. In whichever part of the world you are living right now, you – a small business owner – are one of the agents of change – you, along with the other small business owners, are the real driving force of your region’s economy – you create jobs; you better your local community; all in all, you add value to the community.

India to become a NSG member?

Hot topic of discussion in India is the proposed China-Pakistan nuclear deal which could spell trouble for India's own membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, severely upsetting the calculations of the government here.

India had hoped that the New Zealand plenary meeting might move the process along for India to be eventually recognized as a formal member of the group. It's about time it should!

There is a growing anger, albeit impotent, within the NSG as they confront a virtual fait accompli by China "informing" them of its decision to build two new nuclear reactors for Pakistan, a proliferation rogue. But such is the growing clout of China internationally that there is a lot of grumbling, but little outright opposition as there should have been.

The US so far is the only country to openly oppose the proposed arrangement, but that too happened after the Iran sanctions vote in the UN Security Council, where China's cooperation was crucial.

China is unlikely to ask for a full waiver for Pakistan from the NSG, along the lines of the India deal. That would require a huge amount of political investment of the kind the US made for India. Instead, China is likely to push these two reactors through under a kind of diplomatic amnesia because there is a paper trail that says only two reactors in Pakistan had been "grandfathered" by China.

With China becoming stronger by the day in international politics, this kind of a "thin-end-of-the-wedge" kind of deal might just go through. Fingers are crossed that it does not.

Source of news- TOI

And Google scores with the "Parisian Love Story"

This year this commercial was aired during the Super Bowl and is my favorite advertisement till date. I consider advertisements to be a piece of art, just there is more at stake here than other forms of art. In an economy coping with the recent financial crunch, there is no room for a bad bet.

This commercial is a thoroughly entertaining medium to convey Google's simple message of the difference it makes in our lives through its search engine and to me a fine piece of art.
This ad definitely has a chance at to win the Cannes Lions, atleast my vote definitely goes out for it!!!
What makes it a riskier bet and hence deserving of the bigger return is that it is not even faintly related to football or technology/IT but is a heart-melting love story instead. It tells the story of a romance helped along by a series of Google searches conducted by (one is left to imagine) a young man who finds love after a simple plan to study abroad in Paris turns into love, marriage and a need to know how to assemble a crib.

It made our entire advertising class break into an "AWWW"

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Birds

Birds

Them thousands smiled at me in glee

Luster and light, they filled my day with

From lowlands to mountains and sea

Fair and tender, they are my kith

With charm of love they make me bait

All praise for their beauty would not be great

With beauty so pure they ornate

The world so poor has a changing fate

Golden time then lost its prime

The rustling leaving become a tomb

Their bliss with them was lost in time

Deprived of happiness, loomed the gloom

The spring shall return and summer will come

Voices so sweet shall perish the glum.

-Harleen A.