*”Let’s Learn English – Correct usage of the word – INTEREST”:*
🙏Ramu🙏25/5/24

Disclaimer : I have developed the following rules on my own and thus there must be a high probability of I am going wrong.

*If so, each one of you can take full liberty to correct me please….*

*Usage of the word INTEREST:*

I always get confused with the usage of a verb – INTEREST, ….

…….whether INTEREST should be used in *PASSIVE VOICE* or in *ACTIVE VOICE”*.

I have developed myself the following rules about how to use “interest”.

*Rule 1: If I use the proper nouns (human beings) as subject, then “interest” should be used in “PASSIVE VOICE”.*

For example, *”I am interested in listening to music”.*

*She is interested in art.*

If I use “I am interesting to listen to music”, then it’s a wrong usage.

*Rule 2: If I use other than proper nouns as subject, then “interest” should be used in “ACTIVE VOICE”.*

For example, *”Music is interesting to me”.*

If I use, “Music is not interested to me”, then it’s a wrong usage.

To simply put it:

(1) *Active voice usage :*

(Something) INTERESTS me.

(2) *Passive voice usage:*

I am INTERESTED in (something).

*Actively / Passively yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏

*Know yourself:* – Part 1
🙏Ramu🙏15/5/2024

Let us suppose that the flash news reading as….

…… great empire of China was suddenly swallowed by the earthquake and thousands of families had turned out as victims for the same.

*How do you react?*

We all of us may make the right noises / murmurs (chu..chu..chu..) and right facial expressions….

With in a moment or parallelly , if your son flashed his 10th score card that read…492 / 500, school first….

*How do you react?*

Our pleasure in our son’s achievement will not be diminished a whit by the thousands dead in China, all the families of the missing, desparate to find their loved one’s, etc, etc…

Or parallelly you got a medical report saying that your left little finger is to be amputated tomorrow…

*How do you react?*

China earthquake would be completely obliterated from your mind at all….

*Know yourself:*

*Our ability to feel the pain of others is ever so, so, so much smaller than our ability to feel our own pain.*

*We are grotesquely or disgutingly Self-Interested.*

(People are fundamentally self-intersted – not selfish though)

Self-interested and selfish are not same.

If we are all self-interested, why shall our neighbors help us out providing the goods I most wanted?

*My neighbor will help me if there’s something in it for my neighbor.*

*It is not from the benevolence of the butcher or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.*

*Know ourselves: Gist*

We address ourselves, not to their humanity, but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.

*Self-interestingly yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏

*Some thought provoking questions to ponder over:*
🙏Ramu🙏 14/5/2024

*What is good life?*

Does it mean being happy?

Or is it about wealth and professional success?

What role virtues play? Does the good life mean being good?

Does it mean helping others and making the world a better place?

Why people can act with decency and virtue even when it conflicts with their own self-interest?

Even though people can be pretty selfish, why do they  care about other people’s happiness.

*Why Michael Jackson, actress Sri Devi, Selvi Jayalalitha, etc..  were so unhappy and still why their death made so many people sad?*

Why talking to strangers about your troubles can calm the soul?

Why people can think monstrous thoughts but rarely act upon them?

*Why people adore politicians / cinema stars / sports persons?*

*Contemplatingly yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏

The readers and close friends who have been apprceciating me whenever I could express new perspectives about life or business, the same readers are getting disappointed with me when I do the same on “politics”.

It seems, most of the people have been trapped into the “confirmation bias” when it comes to political ideology and religious beliefs and safeguard themselves by not allowing any new perspectives into these both areas.

So, I decided to abstain myself from political postings to keep my readers intact, though few.

However, one shall miss out various aspects and plethora of life learnings if one has kept himself away from politics and sports.

Politics and Sports are those two fields have been adapting to all sorts of cutting edge technologies, razor sharp brilliance, thousands years of human psychology, and evolving and reinventing themselves every moments since it’s not a WIN-WIN game like business or commerce, but it’s a WIN-LOSE game, involving humangous rewards for winners and thus it becomes “too much stakes to afford” results in one shouldn’t even hesitate to slit another’s throat to emerge as a WINNER.

So, one should be kept his mind open to politics and sports, if he’s interested in learning new perspectives about life.

Now, let’s come to the topic:

The way, Indian Elections had gone so far about 3 phase, general consensus is slowly emerging from various quarters that it’s not a CAKE-WALK for BJP… as we most of us presumed before Elections started or during April 2024.

My prediction is BJP may win 250 +/- 10 seats as per the present scenario, shall emerge as the single largest party and obtaining absolute majority, seems to be a difficult task.

(Note : My prediction may go wrong as usual and thus BJP fans need not frown their face. I would like to remind all of you again as it’s not a political post, but a “Personal Growth” post.)

If my prediction prevails, let’s analyze, where have BJP THINK TANKS gone wrong?

Or what are all the strategies might have misfired or back fired them?
In my view, I can point out only two areas as I have confined myself not to make this post political but personal growth by not discussing about personalities and thus I may not make my friends’ face frown.

Let’s discuss those two in the next part in details:

(1) 7 phase elections stretched to 45+ days.

(2) Starting the initial phases from Tamilnadu and Kerala.

Part 2:

1: 7 phase elections stretched beyond people’s emotional threshold:

India is a growing and emerging economy. In any emerging economy, people’s aspirations used to travel faster than the actual growth of the economy.

Even if you have done (governed the country) so well in every aspects, people would never be happy or satisfied in growing economies and they want more and more.

That too, BJP is seeking mandate for the 3rd term. Generally, winning 3rd term is a herculean task for any country or any tallest leader.

So, obviously anti-incumbancy sets automatically in terms of unemployment, inflation, etc…

If you allow the people to come to the polling booth with healthy frame of mind, they vote based on LOGIC – unemployment, inflation, etc.

So, if any party has to win the 3rd term beyond the anti-incumbancy factor, then one has to play with people’s emotions and not with people’s logic.

When it comes to “Stock Markets”, Warren Buffett used to describe it as :

Stock market behaves like “VOTING MACHINE” during short-term, but behaves like a “WEIGHING MACHINE” during long-term.

What WB conveys is: Stock markets are driven by “People’s emotions” during short-term perspective, but eventually “LOGIC / FACTS” prevails during long-term.

It means, the shorter the time, emotions takeover logic. Heart is at work and brain goes for holiday.

BJP might have conceived “Inaguration of Ram Temple” – solution for century old problem – before Elections might have been a huge game-changer and calculated that people’s emotions and thus people’s heart will be in front of voting machine rather than logic. Of course. Nothing wrong in this strategy.

Indira Gandhi did it the same after having won the Bangladesh war and announced early Elections so that people’s heart could be at play while voting and brain or logic might have gone for holidays.

Rajiv Gandhi did the same after Indira Gandhi’s assasination so that people’s heart could prevail over logic.

Even Vajpayee did it by blasting nuclear test @ Pokran before Elections.

What BJP thinktanks miscalculated was, this Ram Mandir emotions shall prevail for long in people’s mind.

Unfortunately they had miscalculated or failed to understand that every emotions whether pleasant or sad, all of them are fleeting ones, stays in people’s heart only for very short duration.

By stretching the election time for long duration, BJP has allowed people’s brain to take over instead of heart should be at play in front of voting machine.

(Prevailing wisdom is, there have been every chance that BJP might have influenced ECI for 7 phases as the star campaigner, the PM himself have to campaign in all constituencies.)

Ram Mandir Inaguration have been obliterated – people’s heart have been on holidays – and anti-incumbancy occupied people’s mind while standing in front of voting machine.

BJP think tanks have failed to capture the emotional moments of the people – solution for century age old problem – by stretching the elections beyond the people’s threshold.

2: Starting the initial phases from TN & Kerala:

In my view, this is the absolute Himalayan blunder.

Let’s discuss it in details:

I could (even now) vividly hear the reverberating “examination tips” used to offer not only to me during school days from 5th standard onwards by my tuition teacher, school teachers, my parents, my grandparents, but also the same “examination tips” I offered to my daughter and my grandson the same and repeatedly for all examination especially for Mathematics is as follows:

“Start with the easily solvable problems. Soving the first problem neat and tidy shall boost not only your confidence to solve tough problems later, but also create the good impression about you with examiner. “

“Don’t strike off or experiment with first few questions.”

“Well begun is half-done”

“Success breeds Success. Initial winning creates momentum for the rest of the journey. “

“Initial victories how small may be, can boost confidence and readiness to face tougher challenges.”

“Every journey Begins with single winning step.”

The above adages have been used since time immemorial, and I wonder how the BJP strategists and think tanks had missed out the basic commonsense.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry know that out of 28 states and few Union Territories in India, TN and Kerala are those which have been the weakest bastion for BJP.

Very longback, TN – INDIA alliance cemented their alliance with their long-term coalition partners withoutany hassels. Since beginning EPS of AIADMK had categorically conveyed that he’d go alone.

So was the Kerala.

It’s always well-known fact that “Ram Mandir” achievement shall never be matter to South India, especially for TN and Kerala.

(As per TN & Kerala psephologists’ prediction, BJP may wash out in both states, and this prediction is not just after the elections, but even before Elections were started in TN. Hopefully, they are right, or the most optimistic views for the both states may be maximum of 2+2)

When BJP has been determined to complete the construction of Ram Mandir before Elections, and BJP and Modi enthusiasts believe it’s the solution found by it’s tallest leader, who’s none other than Modiji himself,….

Shouldn’t they have started elections from the states where it’s most matter…?

And thus they could have created winning momentum, that momentum could have boosted confidence not only to its leaders, but also to the caders of weak bastions too?

I believe based on my limited knowledge on psychological framework, starting the initial phases of elections from TN and Kerala whete the BJP think tanks and strategists could have gone wrong.

Thank you my dear friends. All my BJP and Modiji fans’ mind voice I’d hear “Wait for June 4th and you’ll come to know that you have wasted your precious time and we shall definitely win 300 + and 5+ in TN alone.

Wishing them as well. My analysis is just academic oriented and I don’t have any vested interests on any parties.

Once again Thank you for reading all the 3 posts.

Strategically yours,
🙏Ramu🙏

Part 3: #2: Starting the initial phases of elections from TN & Kerala – Himalayan blunder in my view:
🙏Ramu🙏9/5/2024

I could (even now) vividly hear the reverberating “examination tips” used to offer not only to me during school days from 5th standard onwards by my tuition teacher, school teachers, my parents, my grandparents, but also the same “examination tips” I offered to my daughter and my grandson the same and repeatedly for all examination especially for Mathematics is as follows:

“Start with the easily solvable problems. Soving the first problem neat and tidy shall boost not only your confidence to solve tough problems later, but also create the good impression about you with examiner. “

“Don’t strike off or experiment with first few questions.”

“Well begun is half-done”

“Success breeds Success. Initial winning creates momentum for the rest of the journey. “

“Initial victories how small may be, can boost confidence and readiness to face tougher challenges.”

“Every journey Begins with single winning step.”

The above adages have been used since time immemorial, and I wonder how the BJP strategists and think tanks had missed out the basic commonsense.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry know that out of 28 states and few Union Territories in India, TN and Kerala are those which have been the weakest bastion for BJP.

Very longback, TN – INDIA alliance cemented their alliance with their long-term coalition partners withoutany hassels. Since beginning EPS of AIADMK had categorically conveyed that he’d go alone.

So was the Kerala.

It’s always well-known fact that “Ram Mandir” achievement shall never be matter to South India, especially for TN and Kerala.

(As per TN & Kerala psephologists’ prediction, BJP may wash out in both states, and this prediction is not just after the elections, but even before Elections were started in TN. Hopefully, they are right, or the most optimistic views for the both states may be maximum of 2+2)

When BJP has been determined to complete the construction of Ram Mandir before Elections, and BJP and Modi enthusiasts believe it’s the solution found by it’s tallest leader, who’s none other than Modiji himself,….

Shouldn’t they have started elections from the states where it’s most matter…?

And thus they could have created winning momentum, that momentum could have boosted confidence not only to its leaders, but also to the caders of weak bastions too?

I believe based on my limited knowledge on psychological framework, starting the initial phases of elections from TN and Kerala whete the BJP think tanks and strategists could have gone wrong.

Thank you my dear friends. All my BJP and Modiji fans’ mind voice I’d hear “Wait for June 4th and you’ll come to know that you have wasted your precious time and we shall definitely win 300 + and 5+ in TN alone.

Wishing them as well. My analysis is just academic oriented and I don’t have any vested interests on any parties.

Once again Thank you for reading all the 3 posts.

not well begun…yours,
🙏Ramu🙏

*400 to 250 +/- 10 : not a political post but Personal Growth :* Part -2
🙏Ramu🙏8/5/2024

#1: *7 phase elections stretched beyond people’s emotional threshold:*

India is a growing and emerging economy. In any emerging economy, people’s aspirations used to travel faster than the actual growth of the economy.

Even if you have done (governed the country) so well in every aspects, people would never be happy or satisfied in growing economies and they want more and more.

That too, BJP is seeking mandate for the 3rd term. Generally, winning 3rd term is a herculean task for any country or any tallest leader.

So, obviously anti-incumbancy sets automatically in terms of unemployment, inflation, etc…

If you allow the people to come to the polling booth with healthy frame of mind, they vote based on LOGIC – unemployment, inflation, etc.

*So, if any party has to win the 3rd term beyond the anti-incumbancy factor, then one has to play with people’s emotions and not with people’s logic.*

When it comes to “Stock Markets”, Warren Buffett used to describe it as :

*Stock market behaves like “VOTING MACHINE” during short-term, but behaves like a “WEIGHING MACHINE” during long-term.*

What WB conveys is: Stock markets are driven by “People’s emotions” during short-term perspective, but eventually “LOGIC / FACTS” prevails during long-term.

It means, the shorter the time, emotions takeover logic. Heart is at work and brain goes for holiday.

*BJP might have conceived “Inaguration of Ram Temple” – solution for century old problem – before Elections might have been a huge game-changer and calculated that people’s emotions and thus people’s heart will be in front of voting machine rather than logic. Of course. Nothing wrong in this strategy.*

Indira Gandhi did it the same after having won the Bangladesh war and announced early Elections so that people’s heart could be at play while voting and brain or logic might have gone for holidays.

Rajiv Gandhi did the same after Indira Gandhi’s assasination so that people’s heart could prevail over logic.

Even Vajpayee did it by blasting nuclear test @ Pokran before Elections.

*What BJP thinktanks miscalculated was, this Ram Mandir emotions shall prevail for long in people’s mind.*

*Unfortunately they had miscalculated or failed to understand that every emotions whether pleasant  or sad, all of them are fleeting ones, stays in people’s heart only for very short duration.*

*By stretching the election time for long duration, BJP has allowed people’s brain to take over instead of heart should be at play in front of voting machine.*

(Prevailing wisdom is, there have been every chance that BJP might have influenced ECI for 7 phases as the star campaigner, the PM himself have to campaign in all constituencies.)

*Ram Mandir Inaguration have been obliterated – people’s heart have been on holidays – and anti-incumbancy occupied people’s mind while standing in front of voting machine.*

*BJP think tanks have failed to capture the emotional moments of the people – solution for century age old problem –  by stretching the elections beyond the people’s threshold.*

#2: *Starting the initial phases from TN & Kerala:*

In my view, this is the absolute Himalayan blunder.

Let’s discuss it in next part….

*Emotionally yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏

*400 seats to 250 +/- 10…??? : Absolutely, it’s not a political post but Personal Growth:*
🙏Ramu🙏8/5/2024

The readers and close friends who have been apprceciating me whenever I could express new perspectives about life or business, the same readers are getting disappointed with me when I do the same on “politics”.

It seems, most of the people have been trapped into the “confirmation bias” when it comes to political ideology and religious beliefs and safeguard themselves by not allowing any new perspectives into these both areas.

So, I decided to abstain myself from political postings to keep my readers intact, though few.

However, one shall miss out various aspects and plethora of life learnings if one has kept himself away from politics and sports.

Politics and Sports are those two fields have been adapting to all sorts of cutting edge technologies, razor sharp brilliance, thousands years of human psychology, and evolving and reinventing themselves every moments since it’s not a WIN-WIN game like business or commerce, but it’s a WIN-LOSE game, involving humangous rewards for winners and  thus it becomes “too much stakes to afford” results in one shouldn’t even hesitate  to slit another’s throat to emerge as a WINNER.

So, one should be kept his mind open to politics and sports, if he’s interested in learning new perspectives about life.

*Now, let’s come to the topic:*

The way, Indian Elections had gone so far about 3 phase, general consensus is slowly emerging from various quarters that it’s not a CAKE-WALK for BJP… as we most of us presumed before Elections started or during April 2024.

My prediction is BJP may win 250 +/- 10 seats as per the present scenario, shall emerge as the single largest party and obtaining absolute majority, seems to be a difficult task.

*(Note : My prediction may go wrong as usual and thus BJP fans need not frown their face. I would like to remind all of you again as it’s not a political post, but a “Personal Growth” post.)*

*If my prediction prevails, let’s analyze, where have BJP THINK TANKS gone wrong?*

*Or what are all the strategies might have misfired or back fired them?*
In my view, I can point out only two areas as I have confined myself not to make this post political but personal growth by not discussing about personalities and thus I may not make my friends’ face frown.

Let’s discuss those two in the next part….

(1) *7 phase elections stretched to 45+ days.*

(2) *Starting the initial  phases from Tamilnadu and Kerala.*

*Strategically yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏

*What does anyone finally get or achieve by “Reading Books”?*
🙏Ramu🙏5/5/2024

The above title – question used to be frequently, so often thrown at me not only by my wife, or by my close friends, but also by myself….

Frankly speaking, *What do I get at the end of the day after reading books about Indian History or World War or French Revolution or Evolutionary Biology or any other damn books by abstaining from so many so called other worldly pleasure?*

Whether I could feel any tangible difference or gaining an edge over my peers or my friends who’d never done it?

For all the above perplexing riddles that have been haunting me so far have been wonderfully expressed by Geroge Mallory in his book Mount Everst as follows:

When Mallory shared his reply to the question asked by the journalist about…

*What’s he finally getting by risking his life to attempt to reach daunting Mt. Everest?*

Mallory replied, *”People ask me, “What’s the use of climbing Mount Everest?”*…

…. and my answer must once be *’It’s of no use.’ There’s not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever.”*

*”We shall not bring back single bit of gold or silver, not a gem or a coal or iron…”*

“If you cannot understand there’s something in man which responds to challenge  of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go.”

*”What we get from this adventure is just SHEER JOY.”*

*”And JOY is, after all the end of LIFE.”*

*”We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to LIVE.”*

*”That’s what life means and what life is for.”*

Yes. For Mallory, there was no tangible gain and nothing material to be won from reaching the summit of the world’s highest peak.

Yet for him, the allure of Everest was a quest for JOY, for pushing human limits, a pursuit of something intrinsically rewarding.

*So are for book readers!*

*Joyfully yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏

*Amazing Economics Concept : Paper Clip to Pen to Door Knob to Camp stove to…. House:*
🙏Ramu🙏28/4/2024

Canadian Blogger Kyle MacDonald combined the two economic principles viz…*”Consumer Surplus*” and *”Producer Surplus”*, he just converted the first trade of *Paper Clip* into a *small house* at his fourteenth trade.

This is how it is:

*Consumer Surplus:*

If you can trade any items for far less than the market value, then the difference is called “consumer surplus”.

For example, if someone who possess the certain item, not knowing it’s exact market value, that he desperately wants to get rid off with that item as soon as possible, one can get the item for a “throw away price.”

That difference between actual market price and his purchase price is called “Consumer Surplus.”

*Producer Surplus:*

Similarly, if you can sell any item to an exorbitant price which is far more than the market price, then that difference is called “Producer Surplus”.

For example, if you have any rare items or you can find a buyer who has a desparate need for that item, you can sell it for far higher price than it’s actual market price.

That difference between your selling price and the market price is called *”Producer Surplus”*.

Kyle MacDonald had brilliantly understood the above mentioned both the economic concepts, and implemented as follows.

First, he traded his paperclip for a fish-shaped pen. Then he traded the pen for a hand-sculpted doorknob. Then he traded the doorknob for a camp stove.

*This went on until his fourteenth final trade: swapping a movie role for a small house.*

*At each step, MacDonald valued the new item more highly than the old item – but he traded with someone who valued the old item more than the new.*

This he did it during 2005, when the US economy had recovered from the tech crisis and housing boom was underway.

*Surplusly yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏

*Important Revelations About Indian History – Freedom@Midnight:* – Part 2
🙏Ramu🙏21/4/2024

*Let’s deal with Kashmir issue:*

It’s not only Indians, but Pakistanis too till date have been blaming Lord Mountbatten for Kashmir to join the Indian dominion rather than Pakistan.

*The above both sides’ accusations are, in fact, unfair and untrue.*

On the contrary, Mountbatten probably came closer than anyone has since to effecting a peaceful solution to the problem.

With considerable difficult, he extracted from India’s tall political leaders Patel and Nehru a pledge to accept a decision by Kashmir’s Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh to join his state to Pakistan.

Armed with that agreement, Mountbatten flew to Srinagar shortly before August 15, determined to convince Singh to join his state to Pakistan.

Singh refused. He told Mountbatten he wanted to become the head of an independent nation.

The Viceroy replied Singh, “a  bloody fool. You can’t be independent. You’re a landlocked country. You’re oversized and underpopulated. You’re going to have two countries at daggers and you’ll end up becoming a battlefield. Ultimately you’ll lose your throne and your life too.”

Singh persisted however and refused to meet Mountbatten again during his next visit.

*When tribesmen organized and armed by Pakistan descended on his capital, Srinagar, Singh sent out an SOS help to New Delhi.*

*At that point, it is true, Mountbatten, now Governor General told Nehru that he couldn’t legally order Indian troops into Kashmir unless Maharaja signed a formal act acceeding to India.*

*An emissary was dispatched to Srinagar with an act of accession. Singh signed it in great haste and Indian troops were airlifted to Kashmir.*

They are still there today, and the problem born that autumn day continues to poison relations between the two nations.

*(Ramu’s Note : Even look through our eyes may mislead us; even listen through our own ears may mislead us. Only honest and open minded analysis may lead us closer to the truth.)*

*Revealingly yours,*
🙏Ramu🙏