What a Bounty ...

Clean Energy, what more can we ask for ..

India should integrate itself with friendly neighbors to counter the China Pakistan combo ...
Clean bundles of hydroelectricity from Nepal, and Gas grid enabled energy from Myanmar via Bangladesh..
Not to mention, these Himalayan rivers are a lifeline for the northern plains of India (and Pakistan).

"All Nepal’s rivers, if tapped, could feasibly produce about 40GW of clean energy"

Simply WOW...

South Asia’s hydro-politics: Water in them hills

Debt ... the Macro view

'Debt'.
I think it is justified in only 2 scenarios:

a. When debt allows an entity to acquire an asset which increases productivity in the long run; this can even be investment in an intangible asset, like 'skill set' or 'health'.

b. When debt is able to prevent a breakdown; of institutions, countries, corporations, or household.

In general, any requirement for debt, should be matched against a simple thumb rule; is this driven by a genuine need, or is an aspirational desire fueled initiative.

Also, acquiring debt for high risk investment is an all time NO ...

Fantastic article noting how debt/credit flows from country to country, private to public sector and so on ...

Credit - How it moves

Effectively, Debt is almost like energy .. it can neither be created nor destroyed.. if not serviced through innovation and structural mechanisms for quick re-allotment of capital and risk in economy, debt can only be 'transformed', not destroyed.

Aakhir.. Sach me ho na paaya

And then, it fell sideways.. yet again.

Just watch this clip... This cult movie keeps on bringing something new to the table every time you revisit it.
That scene from DCH (Respect)

The idea has been in perpetual reckoning.. as long back as I can remember.

We have to meet.. Lets get together..

When the group to plan the meet was ironically named "Ho Na Payega", I had silently said to myself..

"Dude.. Not this time..."

Not to bitch about WHY it fell apart this time, because the reasons were valid. Sadly, they have been valid for quite a while now. I am writing about something else (And I am writing after a really long time)

I don't know about others, but I know WHY I want to meet..

I miss the camaraderie.

Feel like I am getting into a bit of 'Drama Queen' mode. Let me get real. Neither me nor anyone in my group has never really 'talked' about shit. Not consciously, anyways. I don't think boys anywhere are in the habit of doing so. So, let us take a step back and examine the context of today's communication landscape.

I strongly feel in today's lives of constant connectivity, we have lost the art of real communication. Just try engaging face to face a stranger in a light conversation. I am not bad at it, but I know i still feel that tinge in stomach before I begin...

This era of constant connectivity ensures that we share content (mostly articles and jokes). We even discuss ideas and events; politics and sports and economics.

We talk about what is happening around us.. We don't really talk about "Whats happening in our lives", unless to give out tidbits of information... I bought this, I went there.. Or else, to share extreme short "Nuggets of wisdom".

It has big plus, constant contact. But it can never take the place of a real meet....

In the midst of this mind numbing constant access to each other, the non sense doesn't get talked out. We cant share the impromptu chuckle, or the sound of a soul-filling curse thrown at a friend... 

We can't watch an episode of Breaking Bad together, or can't discuss the Politics from House of Cards or engage in long wound discussions about the warring houses in Game of Thrones. We can't share a drink together... To sum it all up,
" We can't be stupid together.."

So why is this non sense important? As said before in the post, we as friends never talk important shit per se.. We talk non sense, and then we somehow make sense of that non sense in each other's talk. In moments within that stupid discussion, something profound and meaningful gets said and discussed, sometimes openly sometimes in guise..

I stumbled upon an idea recently.. I tend to presume that when someone has something to say, the person will, so why bother...

And there lies the catch.. those are the very things, peculiar in nature, that need prodding...

I can't imagine me doing it, ever. Because at some level I realize, that this is against my core belief, to leave someone alone if they don't ask for help.

This again reinforces the fact: non nonsensical peripheral babbling is important during a face to face get together.

I recently went on a WhatsApp sabbatical for about 10 days from our group. And then I got through the days, another thought, bit by bit, came to me.. Especially when I was going through the truckload of messages of previous conversations before jumping back in...

People have to try and give it a try.. A push to make the real meet happen. WE have to prioritize it; make time for it, because there will always be other things.

And maybe at some level, stop pretending to ourselves that we want to do something, when perhaps deep inside, we may not really want to..

Now look at the pic below and think..

Do you not want to live this moment every once in a while?

Do you not deserve this?

Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr