Renewable Energy on Demand

Want happiness? Buy it online!

Couple of months ago, I had read that Mantra (Hymns) from Rigveda when recited, emit many positive radiations in the form of electromagnetic waves. And a friend of mine had told me that priests avoid reciting these shloka after losing out their teeth as they don’t get the sounds right and if not done properly, it will have a bad effect on them. At that time, I had a feeling that these two are somehow connected but did not get much into it further.

Yesterday, I came across a blog post (it is in Kannada; Link: http://princessoftheocean.blogspot.in/), which explains the scientific angle of some our practices, like using a lemon and chilly to get rid of ‘bad eye’ or ‘evil effect’. It puts forward a view that these objects can absorb infrared radiations which generally have a negative effect on us. Reading it helped me put together missing links in my thinking.

Today, I came across this article on Business World (http://www.businessworld.in/news/science-and-technology/tech-talk/technology-&-apps-to-make-you-happy/1840399/page-1.html) which says how tech can be used to reproduce the brain waves which help us get rid of anxiety or get better sleep or feel like a Monk by listening to the music which tunes your mind to the requirement. It provided couple of links of those who have made it a business already. So I got into the site - https://www.binauralbeatsmeditation.com/. On this site, you can listen to sample audio. I tried and felt it works. I was amazed with this research work.

BW article provides many more links worth exploring (like http://www.happify.com/). I have a strong sense that this business of happiness can grow to a considerable size with so many people around us searching for happiness. 

GST: Growth hopes are overstated

After 15 years of initiating the discussions, Goods and Service Tax (GST) is finally seeing the light of the day. If rolled out from next financial year, it will subsume many of the taxes collected by state Govt.’s with a single tax to bring in uniformity across the states. It is a great reform in Tax Accounting. But will it prop up economy? Likely not, here is why.

Firstly, GST excludes few items such as liquor, petroleum, stamp duties on property etc. States will continue to have their say on these high tax revenue items. So liquor may continue to cost less in Goa and Petrol costlier in Karnataka than in Delhi and so on so forth despite the implementation of GST. Some of the non-uniformity is not going to disappear.

Looking at the benefits of GST, it is one tax to pay instead of multiple taxes currently levied at multiple stages of production or supply chain. Does it mean less tax to pay or one equivalent tax to be paid instead of small multiple taxes? If the taxes are going to be less, and if that benefit is passed on to consumer, it would surely help to boost consumption. But why Govt. will settle for lesser tax collection? How will they meet their fiscal deficit target, if their tax revenue takes a hit? Do you remember the last budget? Was there any tax relief offered to consumers? Why do you think State Govt.'s will settle down for lesser share in the taxes which Central Govt. will collect for them? When tax burden does not come down, why will the consumer demand go up or take up GDP growth rates higher?

So when the tax paid does not change, will the pricing of goods and services remain same? It depends on the current tax rates in the states and the replacement GST rate. Few low taxed items in certain states may see an uptick in their prices and those taxed in in higher rates than the GST rate which comes into effect will see their prices coming down. Overall, they regress to mean.

For corporate, this reform would mean ease of doing business. There will be less paperwork for tax accountants and it reduces compliance issues too. But unless the prices come down (due to lower taxes), expecting that GDP will see a boost is a false hope. The GST rate is still not yet decided but the panel is likely to drift towards neutral net tax. And what if Govt. wants to boost their earnings with a slightly higher rate than the net neutral rate? Taxes can go up or down depending on the policy and objectives of the Govt.

It might be clear now that this reform is definitely a welcome move but hoping that it will accelerate economic growth might just remain a hope.

Book Review: The Sunset Club by Khushwant Singh

Three people, all in their late eighties meet every day in Lodhi Gardens of Delhi at sunset and they occupy a bench called Boorha Binch (old men’s bench). They are the members of ‘Sunset Club’. They were introduced to each other in the same garden during their regular visits in the garden with occasional greetings slowly turning into lasting friendship.

They represent major religions of India. One of them is Pandit Sharma, second is Nawab Dehlavi and the third is Boota Singh. They have served in highest positions in their roles during their socially active life which has given them immense understanding of India.

This novel begins on January 26, 2009 (Republic Day of India) and ends on January 26, 2010. Each chapter in the novel covers one month of the year. And the thirteenth chapter concludes the novel. Apart from capturing the discussions of Sunset Club, each chapter records the transitions in the seasons and how Delhi reacts or adjusts to it.

All three members of this club are rich in their material possessions and rich in intellectual knowledge too. They discuss everything under the sun. Their personal lives, fantasies, sexual adventures, current affairs are all discussed. Religion and politics are often the central themes of their discussions. They disagreed on many subjects but they respected each other’s opinions, and longed to meet every evening to seek each other’s differing views on any subject, so the unity of Sunset Club remained unquestioned for 40 years.

They are bored with their routine lives. Sunset meetings are the major things in their daily life and they carry their discussions to their homes too to share with their family. They are in sunset years of their lives and know there is not much life left ahead for them. It is Nawab who bids goodbye to life first and the remaining two friends attend his funeral. They find it difficult to cope with the loss. And in few more days, Sharma too joins the dead friend. Sardar sahib (Boota Singh) alone returns to Boorha Binch of Lodhi Gardens.

Khushwant Singh wrote this novel at the age of 95. His objective was to record memories of his dead friends. Mixing facts with fantasy resulted into this novel ‘The Sunset Club’. He was not sure if he would be able to finish it. (But he went on to produce three more works after it). He was one author who brought life into every page of the book. The character of Sardar in this novel is partly reflection of himself. Reading this book may mentally prepare the readers toward their sunset years.

Nature always has the last word

Mother Nature is a great nurse and an ultimate destroyer. She provides all the resources for a life to survive and when she is angry, all could be gone in a flash. Be it Earthquake or a Tsunami (and sometimes both).

The Himalayan disaster has proved it again. An article on ToI reports that “Power of Nepal earthquake was equivalent to 20 huge atomic bombs” (Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Power-of-Nepal-earthquake-was-equivalent-to-20-huge-atomic-bombs/articleshow/47067048.cms)

That would make the destroying power created by nuclear scientists look insignificant in front of Mother Nature. And the ghost of Hitler would realize he is no match for Nature’s prowess and suddenness in killing defenseless people.

There is a principle in Ecology that nature always has the last word. There have been five mass extinctions in Earth's history. We tend to forget them. It is common tendency for an individual to think it would not happen in his times or to him. (What else can we do?) Few of us are rebels too. We dig up earth aggressively for its minerals, change the path of rivers, and fight with nature to make it easy for us. But the success may not last forever. Geological changes are difficult to time, being ignorant or complacent with nature will collect its toll. When the disaster strikes which we cannot control, the damage is accelerated for the man-made reasons. Many lives will be lost under unsafe buildings, encroached river shores and the filled lake beds.

We human beings can think, understand, plan and use the resources the nature offers while other animal species seem to govern the laws of nature, go with it rather than change the rules. We are civilized and transformed over thousands of years; we can’t live like wild animals. However it does not mean we can disrespect nature. When the systems we created are put to test, we lost lives. Floods in Kedarnath and Kashmir took away many lives as the rain drains were encroached. Thousands died in Nepal in their own poorly constructed homes.

It looks like all other species are praying for disappearance of humanity (or their supremacy), so they can thrive. And the nature seems to be working on that request. It always has the last word, no matter what human’s arguments are.