Are you crazy enough?

What does it require to make it big in life? I have pondered over this question for some time and have come up with two answers...

1. You have to be blessed with something by birth. People with inborn talent invariably leave a mark on this world. Take the case of a Lata Mangeshkar; if you are not a crooner by birth, forget about stretching those vocal chords.
2. If you are not lucky to be in the first category, don't worry. You can make it big by being crazy. Yes that's right; if people around you think that you are a weirdo, statistically chances are that you can make it big and people in future generations will remember and revere you.
   

You ask me why I say so... Take a case of the Wright brothers. When they were hallucinating about making man fly I am sure the "normal" people around them would have laughed at the whole idea. Or for that matter Gandhi, fighting without physically hurting anyone sounds like a crazy enough idea.

All these people share some other common traits

• Great belief in their own abilities
• They are all nonconformist
• They see beyond a normal man's reach
• They like challenges

So if you meet someone weird, don't forget to take a snap, you might have just met the next Person of the Century ;)

Taking stock...

The stock market has always been a mystery to me. Mention the word, and it conjures images of loads of people packed in a room, shouting and frantically making gestures, as if summoning some invisible beast. The giant screens, the arcane symbols and numbers scrolling across them, the entire environment seems intimidating to a novice like me.

Add to that the stock market lingo. Yes this place has its own language, and you will be considered a buffoon if you are not conversant. "The Sensex was up today by 40 points..." sounds funny, until it dawns upon you that it has nothing to do with the act of procreation. Switch to any financial channel today, and you will find experts talking in incomprehensible language, expecting flabbergasted audiences like me to follow what they are talking about. I would love to vomit these sentences the next time I want to impress someone with my financial ignorance!!!

Some other peculiarities of this place

• This place is inhabited by bears and bulls...
• The indices have fancy names (Sensex, NIFTY, Standard & Poor's) and a character of their own...
• These places are extremely sensitive to events and changes occurring around them
  

However, recently I have decided to change things; partly because of having "stocky" people around me and partly being ashamed of my own ignorance; I have decided to take stock (of my financial life...). I have opened an online trading account and you will find my "portfolio" (already starting to use the jargon) burgeoning.

So expect some financial gyan the next time you see me...

Scripted chemistry?

Its been six months now since I have been out of Mumbai, and the only thing that I seem to miss the most (apart from vadapav, of-course) is listening to Jaggu and Tarana. For the uninitiated Jaggu and Tarana are the RJs of "Good Morning Mumbai", a show on an FM channel in Mumbai. Yes, these are the same people, who convinced me to buy the hideous 2300 Nokia, because at that time it was the only model with a radio that could fit into my pockets both literally and metaphorically. I quit taking the railway and opted for the BEST, as my daily mode of transport, just to listen to these guys for some time longer.

The show is lively, colourful and actually funny. On numerous occasions, I have found myself laughing aloud on the BEST bus, just to realise that people are staring at me. I don't know how they manage it, but I would be surprised and dejected if this chemistry is scripted or pre-rehearsed. I am a firm believer that all things good are spontaneous and to the moment and no amount of planning can achieve the same magic.

So for the sake of heavens above and the earth below... I hope that the show is and remains spontaneous…