Flash

Hello readers

I hope you all are doing well.

It's been quite some time since I wrote. I have been a little busy, but glad I could find the time to blog today.

Each day we pass, we become wise is an old proverb I used to hear from my teachers in school.

Do days shine?

Yes, they do; like people say, " this was such a dull day" similarly, there are days with a glow.

Shining days are one of the most brilliant experiences I have had in my life.

A shining day - my experience

It happened a few years ago in my career;

The day started dull, I missed the bus to work, so I had to wait another hour before I could get the next one and I reached work late.

It was a busy day in the office as we had many deliverables pending. Unfortunately, the absentees were also more than a typical day, so we had to do a multirole to finish the job.

With few people to support each other, we all worked as a team and could deliver all on time.

There was a surge of synergy evident, and we all sank at the moment.

I was delighted that I  got a boost of self-confidence and a check on my ability and how I handle stress.

On my way home, I chose public transport rather than office transport so that I could blog on my way back home it took two hours  to reach my place.

I got down at the bus stop, and started walking towards my home, on the way, ate some street food, and fed a few stray dogs.

Finally reached home late, only to see my dog jumping with joy to see me!

 I realized a crux that day. I think it is all about how we look at life; days are the same. It depends on whether you want to make them shine; I  felt as if that day should not have ended.

The day was stressful with a little workforce to work; I missed my regular shuttle and reached the office late.

If you smile at life, it smiles back at you, there is a smile in all sorrows, and there is sorrow in all smiles, but what do we want to feel? It depends on what you choose.

I would say choose the smile, enjoy the situation, and that will be your first "Shining day."

Thanks for your time.

Have a great week ahead.

Helios

A Radical change

 Hello Readers

 I hope this blog finds you well.

 Transformation literally means going beyond your form.

Wayne Dyer

 This blog is quite unique for me as I have taken the longest time to add many things before, I could publish it.

 It started nine years ago when I was fresh out of college and started a job in one of the world's most powerful investment banking firms.

 That is when I started blogging as well.

 So, since I entered the world of business away from college, I have been learning many things, especially looking at things in between things!

 Looking at things in between them?

 Yes, when we look at a gadget, software, or a utility, we can just look at it on the top, use it and move on or try to think about it.

 The transformation from a new bee to an experienced employee is a metamorphosis.

 You become an all-new person altogether.

 The eye-openers

 When you join a workplace, your body tries to adjust to a whole new world physically and mentally.

 You understand the realities of life; what do they mean when they say to meet a deadline, a sign-off, and a closure!

 After seeing the above deadlines, you will feel your college professors were kind to you.

 Each day you travel to the workspace, you get a revelation of all the other things you could have done and chosen as a career and start the comparison process.

 You will start defining or judging your job as good or bad!

 You speak to your friends and understand how it is working at their end and feel happy atleast they are enjoying it!

 Your family now looks at you in a new way with respect and a sense of pride, which you had not  experienced before.

 The first thrills and happiness of buying your loved ones from your paycheck.

 Bidding goodbye to your first job and then stepping into the next one, building your corporate career.

 That first promotion and appreciation which you will never forget!

 The most important one respecting businesses and leaders who have built them and understanding how each penny is earned.

 Phase one of transformation is now complete!

 One day when I was traveling to work, I saw a small boy trying to sell unusually long pens; somehow, it motivated me to buy one,

I started using that pen; surprisingly, it wrote for a long time.

 Being a freethinker all the time, I started thinking of this whole incident as a business model. This company manufactures pens but can't find the right channel to promote them; their sellers are poor and downtrodden, so that is an example of cost-cutting, or they could not afford facilities for marketing and sales to stack this product; in a stationary market or distribute it!

 When I was in college, I never thought that clear because I was inside a curtain of just bookish knowledge, and no practical experience is what I figure.

 After spending quite some time in the industry, I feel each business is a temple of ideas, motivation, a group that is determined to achieve its goals, a symbol of synergy, and a few brilliant minds who had a vision and sketched on a drawing board and built corporations and created intelligent products and services and generated employment.

 As it is said in one of my favorite books, "Rich dad poor dad,” “If you're the kind of person who has no guts, you just give up every time life pushes you."

 I think that is the root of what a business means.

 So, we can choose to be transformed from a novice to a pro and finally think about starting something on our own; that is the moment you can call yourself an entrepreneur.

Believe me, you have skills; you just must start believing that and put them to action.

 I dedicate this one to all the great entrepreneurs worldwide for their grits and daredevils.

 Their determination to build something and stand away from the crowd, their patience, and the pain they took to make their dream and protect it.

Thanks a lot for your time, have a great week ahead.

 Helios.

Person

 Hello Readers

 I hope this blog finds you well; it's been a while since I blogged.

 

Be a good person , but don try yo prove it.

-Unknown

 

What I wanted to discuss today came out during a conversation with my friend.

 

We were trying to define who is a "person."

 

I know it sounds simple; you define a person by their looks, gender, character, profession, etc.

 

 That is the simplest way of defining a person, but let's discuss there are more ways to this.

 

There is this famous statement that most of us would have heard. It goes like this " Birth defines a person's future and the possibilities of what they can become in life."

 

It is true, but there are some conditions and exceptions.

 

Let's measure it with the Maslow's need hierarchy index; for people who don't know what it is, I have shared this image below.

courtesy Wikipedia

  

Suppose the individual is born with a silver spoon. His possibilities are unlimited, he can be a damn successful person and basically become what he wants to be, so here you get five on five on the index.

 

If someone is born in a family, say a three or four on the index, they still can achieve what they want, but not as easy as the first category.

 

What if a person's life falls between one and two of the index? What happens to their life? Should we consider them not privileged? Can they achieve something in life, or would they be just trying to firefight their life and try to fill basic needs only?

 

So, my last para is actually a prelude to the other part of this discussion, "support systems."

 

Suppose you were fortunate enough to be born in a great support system even though it may be ideologically and monetarily weak. However, the support system's efforts are still pure and determined, and the only goal is the success of the "person." Mr. Abrasham Maslow's theory has an exception.

 

Can we question such a theory that is accepted worldwide in the world?

 

Of course not, but I can comprehend by saying the times have changed slightly. The caretakers are taking steps in the right direction at the cost of their own lives and being selfless to see the success in their offspring.

 

On the flip side, you were born in one of the wealthiest support systems. Still, they are very naïve and let you enjoy your royal life; maybe the true potential would be suppressed from day one!

 

These two examples should give you a clearer idea.

Example One: A wealthy man's children who get all the privileges just get into a typical career.

 

Example two: A poor father who just makes ends meet daily, saves all his little finances and helps his son achieve his goal. The result is that his son cracks the topmost government exam and becomes a responsible bureaucrat. 

 

When the support system is brilliant in all aspects, but the aspirant doesn't use the utmost use of it, then there is an imbalance there, but on the other hand if the efforts are going in sync, then the results will be brilliant.

courtesy Google images

 

Success stories of all the great and accomplished people in the world are like a unicycle of balance within them and the people around them.

 

So let us try to define a "person" now:  They are a consequence of their past and present situation in life, their birth even though determines a lot, still if the individual has a holistic mind, maturity above all and a support system which thinks only about their growth and prosperity with selfless thinking, the person can become a success in whatever they aspire to be, the possibilities are limitless.

 

I think that is how we should define a person before judging them by their success or failures.

 

God speed to all the determined and working on their goals and selfless support systems; that is the energy and positivity we all should get to.

 

Thanks a lot for your time, have a great week ahead.

Helios.

Earth Tremor

Hello Readers

 Hope you all are doing well.

 Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their true image.

-Johann Wolfgang Von Gothe - Poet

 In my previous blog, I tried my best to get you some light on what is now called the "co-location" scam of one of the most enormous derivatives exchanges globally: the national stock exchange, India.

 Received good feedback for that. A big thanks to my readers.

 I thought about a new one today, away from all the current affairs and the nexus.

 Earthquakes are destructive and disruptive, and the place when it happens, it takes time to become normal again.

 Actually, this phenomenon of nature is giving out a message. A vital message to be precise.

 We all go through this almost every day in our life.

 The geographical earthquake is not the only type of quake in this world.

 The common man fights a lot every day; we are constantly in agreements and disagreements with the folks we interact with.

 These conversations stir up our minds again; it would take time to settle.

 So there is this constant process in your mind and actions, which sometimes have unintended consequences on people you interact with.

Courtesy google images

 Also, we have to be aware that we cannot start an argument with someone and hurt them and suddenly feel the world is normal and expect them to cope soon, it is a process, and it will take time to settle again.

 Your actions always will have an impact, and it will take time to settle down; we shouldn't start an earthquake with anyone in this world; as Bruce lee Said, "Be water, my friend." we need to flow and not create barriers with people.

 We have to be mindful, let us not shake matters up with people or behave in a way that has a long-term impact on your life and those around you.

 Keep it simple and smile!

 Thanks for your time, have a lovely week ahead.

 Helios

Market Yogi!

Hello Readers

 

I hope you all are doing well.

  

Good morning! It's good to be blogging after some time, 

 

Today I want to discuss with all of you something important.

 

You know, I like to follow the capital markets and am a market enthusiast.

 

So, for people like us, we always look up to some top brass in the industry; what I mean is suppose we want to invest in the capital market product, I look up to Mr. Warren buffet or in India the big bull Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.

 

We would also trust the organizations who help us in the investment banking world. So, for example, the NASDAQ, NYSE, DOW JONES, at a global and local level, we have the National stock exchange (NSE) and the Bombay stock exchange (BSE).

 

NSE, which was incorporated some 30 years ago, and s a matter of fact, was the world's largest derivatives exchange in 2021 by several contracts traded based on the data by the future industry association (FIA), a derivatives trading body.

 

The trading experience is good; it can earn an extra buck or even turn into a business.

 

But off late, NSE has been in the news for some wrong reasons.

 

I am sure many of you already know about it; one of the founding members of NSE, Miss Chitra Ramakrishna, is accused of violation of key governance policies of NSE, which is now identified by SEBI (Securities exchange board of India) the market regulator in India.

 

This is what happened: Report from money control.com.

 

In the NSE drama that is being staged, there are various actors.

Just so that you don't lose track of them, here's a quick reference on the dramatis personae–the accused and the acquitted, and then there were those under fire for not doing a good job.

 

Here's one curious fact before you start reading. The firm hired to do the secretarial audit of NSE and who raised the matter of the irregular hiring–of former Group Operating Officer (COO) Anand Subramanian–is named SN Anantha Subramanian & Co.

 

So, the investigator and the investigated shared highly similar names—just another absurdity in this string of absurdities. 

 

Chitra Ramakrishna

 

She was praised and awarded for being the first woman to lead a stock exchange and being part of NSE's founding team. 

 

That was three decades ago. Today, she stands accused of corporate misgovernance for allowing an outsider to run the exchange by proxy and making an inexplicable hire for a senior management post, paying a salary disproportionate to his experience. 

 

These were revealed when the regulator was investigating the co-location scam, in which the NSE was accused of giving some brokers preferential access to price feeds. As a result, the former MD and CEO of the NSE resigned in 2016 and has been fined Rs 4 crore in all. 

 

Ravi Narain

 

The former vice-chairman of the exchange had been feted in the early years too, much like Ramakrishna, for founding NSE. However, in June 2017, he stepped down from his VC position after the co-location investigations.

 

 As early as October 2016, he had been made aware of the email exchanges between Ramakrishna and the yogi. But SEBI's order noted that he didn't oppose the serious governance lapses and didn't record this in the meeting minutes held on November 29, 2016, citing confidentiality. 

 

He has also been accused of making incorrect and misleading submissions to SEBI regarding the appointment of former Group Operating Officer Anand Subramanian and faulted for allowing Ramakrishna an honorable exit, even recording an appreciation for her in a Board meeting held on December 2, 2016. As a result, the regulator has fined him Rs 2 crore. 

 

VR Narasimhan

 

The former Chief Regulatory Officer and Compliance Officer has been fined Rs 6 lakhs for furnishing incorrect and misleading submissions before SEBI. He had claimed there had been no violation of SECC Regulations, 2012, in the appointment of Subramanian. But under regulations, Subramanian's role would fall under the Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) function since he had department heads reporting to him, which required his hiring to be cleared by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) and the Board. Narasimhan was found wanting to exercise due diligence in the performance of his duties. 

 

Anand Subramanian

 

According to the regulator's order, the former GOO of NSE misled SEBI about his recruitment appointment. During the investigation, he had claimed that he had applied for the job through an HR consultant, but that was found to be false when set against testimonies from Ramakrishna and Chief People Officer at NSE, Chandrasekhar Mukherjee. The SEBI also found him guilty of deliberately downplaying his position to avoid the scrutiny of the Board and NRC; and conniving with the 'yogi' to manipulate Ramakrishna. As a result, he has been fined Rs 2 crore. 

 

J Ravichandran

The Group President of NSE and Company Secretary was accused of ignoring alarms repeatedly raised by the secretarial auditor regarding the appointment of Subramanian. The auditor had said that the hiring should get the NRC and the board's clearance. 

 

But the SEBI order found that the accusations against Ravichandran did not hold because he had forwarded the concerns to Ramakrishna and Mukherjee and had passed on Mukherjee's replies to the auditor. 

 

Mukherjee had replied that Subramanian is a consultant, not on the roles of the NSE, and therefore is not holding a Key Management Personnel function, which would require the NRC/Board approval. 

 

The SEBI also found Ravichandran fault-free because the hiring of Subramanian had been raised at the Board meeting after the red flag was raised. 

 

Public Interest Directors

The SEBI appoints Public Interest Directors (PIDs), who act as Independent Directors, to ensure that the company's actions do not compromise the interests of the investors in the securities market. 

 

 The SEBI noted that none of the NSE's PIDs informed the regulator when the NSE Board failed to act with integrity and put the reputation of the stock exchange in jeopardy.

 

The following were the PIDs who had been informed–from Board meetings held on October 21, 2016, and on November 29, 2016–about Subramanian's irregular hiring and Ramakrishna emailing the 'yogi' and sharing confidential information with this unknown person. 

 

*Mohandas Pai is a Padma Shri Awardee and former Board Member of Infosys. According to an annual report of NSE from 2020, he was given a yearly compensation of Rs 23,50,000 for attending board and committee meetings.

 

*Naved Masood is the former secretary at the ministry of corporate affairs. The annual report drew a yearly compensation of Rs 30,25,000 for attending board and committee meetings. 

 

*Dinesh Kanabar is KPMG India's former Deputy CEO and CEO of Dhruva Advisors. The report says that he was given an annual compensation of 28,75,000 for attending the meetings.

 

This is just one of the articles. After doing some deep research, I thought I would share it with you.

courtesy Google images

 

The most disappointing part in all of this and the fundamental question that I get is:

 

The SEBI expects the commoner, the Aam aadmi of this country, in this case, let us fix our premise to a investor, to be transparent to a level that you can see through him, but doesn't return you the favor? And it is so opaque and takes from 2016 till 2022 to finish an inquiry and finally decides to go public on it?

 

Imagine the mind of a young person in India who is just amazed about the stock market and just started investing or trading in 2022, even though his family is unsure. They are reluctant to allow their children to enter the markets as the ghost of Mr. Harshad Mehta, the Robinhood of the stock market still haunts the minds of our parents as they saw it as it was happening.

 

Now, this happens what would be this person's confidence, think.

 

Think, why did the policymakers did not hire competent people for a responsible job?

 

A capital market's momentous decision, dictated by a Yogi? What next?

 

I am hoping to see the light at the end of this tunnel.

Courtesy -  google images

 but I would urge all my readers to share this piece with as many people as it is essential to all of us and your great country.

 

Do not lose hope; keep investing and trading; let us make this a market is driven by values steered by intellect and discipline.

 

Foreign institutional investors drive the Indian stock market (FIIs'); let us make it domestic investors. 

 

Have a nice day.

 

Helios.

The Minimalists

Hello Readers

 I hope you guys are doing great!

 Love people, not things; use things not people.

-Spencer W. Kimball

 When did you buy your last phone, laptop, or any gismo?

 But did you want it? Or did you buy it because you were bored with what you already had?

Last week I was searching to watch some documentaries, by the way, I am a huge documentary buff!

 I came to cross this one: The minimalists: less is now. I liked the concept and got hooked on it.

It's about the real-life stories of two people, Joshua Fields Millburn, and Ryan Nicodemus.

 They were living their everyday lives in America, but something was not going well. They were not feeling happy.

 The documentary starts with an interview with Ryan, where he says he had this craving of buying things, and he had filled his place with lots of stuff and felt he would feel happy by having these material things.

 But for some reason, both the friends never felt that real happiness in life.

 Then something hit their mind; they started living with only what they wanted and gave away all the extra stuff.

 So, they called it minimalism, started making road trips across the USA, and started giving out this message.

 Many people got influenced by this and started feeling the happiness of things just enough to survive. They even started living in minimized houses.

 So, they conclude by showing us having less okay, and we all should be away from the delusion of consumerism!

 Being an Indian, the thing hit me the moment i saw this piece; in our scriptures, they have permanently imbibed the model of "having less is fine."

 The Indian scriptures have always believed in knowledge and the other great principles of materialism at the end of the chain.

Courtesy Google images

 Incredibly, I started writing this blog, and my first topic was about materialism; here I am, 280 blogs later writing about it.

 I hope we all stay away from consumerism and think of giving our surplus to the less fortunate.

 Thanks for your valuable time.

 Enjoy the rest of your day!

 Helios.

Roots and Blooms

 Hello readers!

 True teachers are those who help us think for ourselves.

-Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

 Happy new year to all, good to be blogging after a while.

 No cough, fever, can taste food, and Spo2 is above 96%; these are considered happiness these days; this is a meme making the rounds in social media.

 Looking at it a little seriously, I feel it is true; maybe staying healthy is only happiness. But, yeah, it is evident we are in the middle of bio war.

 I couldn't write for almost a month as I was caught up with a few things. Still, thanks to my readers who keep asking me if I was okay and why I did not publish these days, it makes me even more eager to create new blogs!

 I have written about teachers before, but I got a new perspective about it a few days back, so this one reflects those thoughts.

 Teachers are the first leaders and motivators in life because it's hard to guide young people without these qualities.

 Then what is that one niche quality of a teacher? It is selflessness.

I will talk more about selflessness a little later.

 What I admire about teachers is that they feel happy about our success. Do you think is that a big deal?

 Yes, it is a huge deal. But, in this world of comparison and jealousy, a person feeling happy by seeing someone else succeed and moving ahead is indeed a sacred act.

 The word teacher is something very different. We all get an image in front of our minds when we say the word teacher. It may be your favorite teacher in your school or college, or it may be an experience that taught you something.

 So, it is just not a person; it is life, actually! So yes, life is one of the best teachers available for us free of cost.

 Scientists refer to life as a semi-living thing because it involves both living and non-living things; of course, in this era of artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid robots, we learn from machines too and vice-versa.

 For a society, teachers become an integral part.

 Sometimes I feel our societies are not well informed due to a lack of primary education. But, on the other hand, there were enough opportunities and desires where some people wanted to become teachers but could not because of societal problems.

 They say the best teacher-student relationship was seen in the Indian Vedic schools in ancient times, which is still considered the summit of value education.

 Next comes the Chinese martial arts teacher and student an equation of accuracy and precision.

 Being a teacher in life is an opportunity, the best you can give back to society. So try to blossom the future of a few children who have the fragrance of intelligence just waiting for your watering to the roots, and they bloom!

Courtesy google images

 It is okay if we are not teachers by profession; let us guide people who seek our help and make them smile.

 My respect to all the people in my life who have helped me become the person I am today, who taught me lessons with their good guidance or made me learn the hard way.

 Finally, I bow to my experience, which has always been a loyal teacher!

 Thanks a lot for your team; 2022, more blogs coming up!

 Have a great day ahead.