Senseless Politics! Interpretation of Abhishek Manu Singhvi's Interpretation of Jizya

The political and commercial morals of the United States are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet.
- Autobiographical dictation, 30 June 1907. Published in Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2 (University of California Press, 2013) Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/Politics.html

Starting this blog, I am occasionally going to try and blog my interpretation of daily senselessness in our lives. It's getting too often, and chronicling that is a good way to channelise thoughts. 

The Journalist of Courage today reported Abhishek Manu Singhvi calling service tax on chopper rides to Vasihno Devi jizya. Here's what I made of it:

1. Jizya was imposed by Aurangzeb, a Moghul ruler on Hindus.  BJP-RSS now according to Mr. Singhvi therefore has muslim leanings. Makes sense! (sic!)
2. Chopper rides are pilgrimages, not a service and therefore should not be under the purview of service tax. Makes sense! (sic!)
3. Railways is a utility but still has service tax applicable, but choppers to Vaishno Devi should be counted as a pilgrimage and therefore should not be under the purview of service tax. Makes sense! (sic!).

Thank you, Mr. Singhvi, I had a nice morning today reading this article.

p.s. Neither this article, nor I have any specific political leaning towards any party in power or in opposition.

What Champions are About!

After a long time yesterday, saw The Doctor, aka Valentino Rossi in action. Switched on the TV to see the live telecast of the wet and action-filled Silverstone MotoGP.

Descriptions of his racing style included the adverb, metronomic perfection.  Following him through the 20 laps at Silverstone was exactly that and nothing lesser. Turn after turn, the same rhythm. Similar to what Mika Häkkinen was known for, especially in his McLaren Mercedes days.

And, the post-win gesticulations, greetings, energy and the interview, showed an excitement as though it was his first win. And that's what the commentator commented, it appeared as though this was his first win.

That is what champions are made of. This is what I believe champions do:

1. They are thrilled by their victories, each time! It's like getting laid for the first time, every time. Yes, that's the kind of joy that each victory gets.
2. They work harder, each time! They don't take their place for granted! Their are always others changing the coveted top-spot.
3. They are consistent, each time! At the cost of redundancy, perfection is made into a habit by them.
4. They value competition, each time! Marc Marquez and Danilo Petrucci were hot in pursuit. And, how Rossi warmed up to Petrucci at the end, motivating him. That's what champions are.

That's what a MOTO GP seen after almost 15 years does to me. That's when Rossi stormed into the MotoGP arena and that's how he took it on! 

Spring Equinox and the Chaitra Month

Beginning of Chaitra Navratri, Gudi Padwa, Cheti Chand. Spring Equinox. This year they happened to be on the same day. Is the Hindu lunar calendar actually in sync the Spring Equinox every year?

Malls and Multiplexes - Is this Financial Discipline? I am not Sure.

Malls, multiplexes that I have observed in Baroda (don't know about other cities) maintain a practice of taking back the parking ticket while exiting the mall. This also effectively can mean no evidence of collecting parking fees for the coupons taken back. :-)

Assume, a mall has an average daily parking of 500 cars and 1000 two wheeler; on weekends, given the queues, estimate that the number of vehicles conservatively multiplies by 3. With the discipline that parking tickets are collected back, assume a bare minimum 80% tickets are taken back. Rs. 20 per parking is charged for four wheelers and Rs. 10 per parking ticket for two wheelers.

• Weekday collections where tickets taken back are = {(500 * 20) + (1000 * 10)}*80% * 5 week days = Rs. 80,000 collected in five days where receipt taken back.
• On Weekends = Rs. 16,000 per week day * 3 times expected traffic * 2 (Saturday / Sunday) = Rs. 96,000.

So, in a week, Rs. 1,76,000 is collected in a manner where receipts are taken back. 52 weeks in a year, assuming the same average traffic = Rs. 91,52,000 in a year. 

I have seen this in Inorbit Baroda and Inox Baroda at the least and don't see any logical reason why this would be done. If they are worried about reuse of tickets, punching is an easier way, the discipline of collecting back tickets is eerie to say the least.

A petty matter for some but is this just Financial Discipline to ensure no one reuses tickets...I am not sure.

2paise on the Current AAP Crisis

Dissent is central to any democracy. - Harry Belafonte

 Some would ask, what would a musician know about politics? I much lesser! But still, an opinion matters. And I believe, what is happening in AAP is Good! Good for politics, good for India. Dissent, factionalism.... most importantly people airing their views. This is good. And, their working for resolution is better still. For what would be a democracy, if everyone held the same view. I see maturing of the Republic of India and am happy.

Long live, India. Long live, Democracy.