IPO mania

The flurry of IPOs hitting the market makes one really ponder.Whether these companies are flooding the market for resouces or they are simply tapping the market flooded with resources???A decade back some of these companies offer documents would'nt have even warranted a look from the investor. Check out some issues from the past year:

Ramsarup Industries
Radha Madhav Corporation Ltd
Shri Ramruprai balaji Steels Ltd
Era Constructions IndiaLtd
Saksoft Ltd
Ramksrishns Forgings Ltd
Surya Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Today, the ever discerning, IPO crazy Indian Investor would go to the extent of covertly opening 50,000 Demat Accounts to win a better lottery in the allotment of the quota for retail investors. Some of the companies came out with measly issue sizes , like Saksoft for Rs. 7.5 Crores. If you doubt whether these issues were fully subscribed, you will be surprised by how many times...

Any layperson can tell you that equity entails and contributes to high cost of capital, that too at a time when interest rates are going down the hill. So why are these corporates going the equity route??? At the macro level, the poverty level in India has come down steeply to 26%..Economy is booming, and then the market is flush with funds from increased salaries and profits with limited investment options. At the micro level the burgeoning SINK & DINK households, are wondering where to invest money, earn high returns and pay paltry tax...Enter the stock market..through the primary doors of IPO. FDs interests have fallen and so the interest in FD. Plethora of mutual funds confuse their simple minds.Hence IPO. Gone are the days of filling those long application forms, running to the nearest collecting center, getting turned away because the of broker code! Now, your DP service provider entices you with sms of the upcoming offers and that your IPO application is just a CLICK away(so is your passbookdebit!)

These hitherto unknown companies have sensed the pulse of restless Investor who is desperate to jump into the swelling stock market and share a pie. Moreover getting a bank loan involves much more formalities than IPO( specially after the exit of CCI)! But investors much excercise due caution/diligence before putting their hard-earned money into companies. Every bubble must burst.

By the way, I enjoyed a Parody on IPOs in DNA Newspaper:

Beggars jump on the IPO bandwagon

Harshal A Shah

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 19:50 IST

Rajdhani

Last week I was on a 2-day whirlwind work trip to Delhi(or Daheli for the northerners). To begin with ,I chose the Sarkari carriers to transport me to the Rajdhani( whatever was wrong with me!) The flight scheduled for 9 am actually took off at 10 am as the inflight captain incharge pleaded "due to technical problems with the toilets at the rear end....our engineers are attending..we regret the delay."

On air there was a foul smell emanating from the rear end and no one complained( probably being used to this).My seat being only third from the rear, I was squirming with discomfort and cursing those engineers. Anyways engineers are not trained to be janitors!

I was famished but didnt feel like touching the breakfast or anything coming from the rear end. The cabin temperature was appropriately set lower than usual to cool our tempers! Just when I was hoping for a cup of hot beverage to soothe my throat and defreeze my fingers,our good-old captain incharge PAed "due to technical problems no coffee/tea will be served in this flight...we regret.." and left me pondering:

Are coffee/tea made in toilets? How are they related?
Do coffee/tea come under any technical discipline?
Did the toilet engineers drink all the coffee/tea?
Was the coffee/tea maker out of order?If so will it be the Janitor who shall attend to it as a return favor?
Will I get a free beverage at the airport inlieu?

While I was searching for answers the flight landed at IGI airport in Daheli. Soon I was scrambling towards the same rear-end.......to EXIT ASAP and while I was at it, I saw the suggestion box very cleverly placed .................at the Rear End!!!!

Cardinal BottomLine: A change in logo cannot bring a change in service!

Mumbai Festival

Mumbai Festival is on..there are stalls eveywhere selling everything from a safety pin to ur dream holiday!
This city is never short of shopping holes. Almost every third day you have a new exposition/exhibition/utsav/ fair being held in some corner of the city sprucing up hitherto abandoned grounds to airconditioned Free Market domes. To catch hold of the kiddies you have fun zones and food courts. To couple that you have sarkar sponsored handicrafts exhibitions where you can find wares from plastic(!) to metal((!!)The previous year just passed leading up the shopping mania to the pinnacle. Now when it just seemed that the wallets felt a bit relaxed and safe, Mumbai Festival takes over.

I really dont know how different it is from any of the usual exhibitions except for the extensive press coverage. The organisers have even managed to rope in some artists for stage/culture shows..Like a mumbaikar cares! Mumbai and culture? Although it might do some good to new artists wanting to catch some attention

Ok after all said and one, if you still be a part of this festival, BE MY GUEST! (PG ofcourse!. Like I said, Mumbai and culture?)

The Picture of Dorian Gray

If you have watched the movie " The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" you can instantly recall the titled character "Dorian Gray" potrayed by Irish Actor Stuart Townsend. While each person in the league possessed unique and singular skills (Aceshooting,Immortality, scientific wisdom, vampirical, Split personality,invisibility..etc) I was puzzled by the inclusion of the vain and corrupt Dorian Gray, who apparently did'nt seem to possess any special area of expertise..

Only as the plot progresses we get to liken the character to the protagonist of Oscar Wilde's Gothic Novel " The Picture of Dorian Gray". In fact all the league members are literary charactersfrom the 19th Century. In " The Picture of Dorian Gray", his friend Basil paints a beautiful portrait of Dorian. When Dorian sees the finished portrait he exults"...I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June.... If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that — for that — I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!"

By saying that Dorian sells his soul and his yearning for eternal youth soon comes true and the picture ages instead of him. This boon corrupts him and turns him into a vile, wicked and treacherous human being. All his crimes and sins are reflected by the aging and hideous visage of the potrait, which he dare not look at. In the book, towards the end, he seeks redemption for all his sins which he achieves (supposedly) after attaining Death by looking at his own painting.

Although there was a twist in the potrayal of Dorian Gray in the movie (He was actually forced to look at his own portrait), it suited well with the plot , as he was the traitor in the league! Im not sure whether he sought immortality more than endless charm!

Our Vast English and Indian Literature have numerous examples of Vanity of the woman..the female form priding on its female form.. I guess Dorian Gray was created to bring some pride to Male form ?!?

BTW Stuart Townsend played the part with exceptional style and panache! Watch out for his witty oneliners and repartees !

A Promise Kept- Wedding Crashers

Well, I made a promise and I kept it...I promised myself I'll watch " Wedding Crashers" and did catch it, albeit the second day first show(small lapse). This friend of mine got free passes to the show and I was thrilled beyond words..Then when I actually went to the theater we both made 20% of the total crowd..you do the math..So much for free passes!

But the movie was really enjoyable..very hilarious throughout . The performances from Vince Vaughn(Jeremy) & Owen Wilson(John) trying to potray ladykillers after crasing into weddings were a laugh riot!! Except for some risque /smutty dialogues,the screenplay was generally good. Christopher Walker maintained the whacky persona as always. All the chracters of his disfunctional family were well cast! Towards the end, he supporting his daughter's wishes to choose "John" with his dubious background over the mighty/obsessive fiance "Zack" was convincing! Vince &Owen make a really good team and share excellent on-screen chemistry. The audience was in splits watching their frequent arguments over the "Cardinal rules of crashers".

Watch out for the scene where Owen reverently lauds the funeral crasher as "Innovator" !!

We could really learn a tip or two to crash into weddings!

Vince Vaughn can add one more to his fan list!
Im waiting to catch him on "Be cool"!!

Cheerio

Monkey See Monkey Do

Its no news that I am a big Kurt Cobain fan. But why I wrote that title line was not just to allude to his famous track but to really mean it " STAY AWAAAAAY"!!! from that Ape movie of the year...KING KONG.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360717/

Worst, I wacthed it with a Peter Jackson (PJ) Freak who shivers even at the sight of a roachling. PJ, the creator of the oscar winning Lord of the Rings Trilogy has come back after years of sabbatical (and aerobics!) with the remake of the ever popular KING KONG. Most of us remember the earlier one starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange in supporting roles( ;-).

Now the point is, when a LOTR buff like me, goes on to watch a much hyped PJ movie with great expectations and then comes home crying.. its not out of fright or sadness but for unwarranted waste or 3 precious hours of your life( sleep if u were stupid enough to watch the night show). The KONG actually graces the screen only after first-half .Till then you are not even sure whether you are in the right theater.

Most of the snares are predictable. Most of the backgrounds looked so run of the mill ( as if lifted straight from LOTR)! The actions of Ape looked really made-up..Despite several fight sequences between strange, weild looking CG creatures( Dynos, Goblins, Pods, Creepy Crawlies..you imagine it, they got it) , there was no "shrill" factor"..Not a drop of blood, for that matter!

BUT, Jack Black and Adrien Brody saved the grace by bringing in their best! and the panoramic view from on top of the Empire States Bldg was good.. The natives of the forbidden Skull Island looked really disgusting!

Watch at your Own Risk or Just Stay Away !

Sad But True

I had nothing(absolutely) to do the last two days and so watched a lot of TV. VH1 aired "Big in 05" - a taped event showcasing the top acts in Music in 2005. What struck me was one of the live performances was of "Def Leppard" doing "Pour some sugar on me"...What is it???1985? Scott Weiland ( Ex STP, now GNR, future???) was a presenter and looked awful. It was all Rap/R&B/Funk that took centre stage. Could have played some Rock, for crying out loud or may be Nirvana-Unplugged!

I switched to HBO and watched LOTR-"Chapter-1" for the n+1th time. Old Habits die hard..So despite irritating adverts, patience got the better of me and I watched the movie till near end( I have no heart to watch after Boromir's death). "Freak!!!!" my dad called me after getting no response when he asked Why I owned DVD of the movie and still watched the movie on HBO in between the adverts!!
The decision is "Mine!, My Own!!!, My Precioussss!!!"

My cousin(a.k.a Gollum) went a step ahead and watched LOTR-"Chapter-2" on HBO that aired soon after LOTR-1, and watched the very same on DVD with a friend in the following morning and Iam called a FREAK???? When you are crazy, you abandon reasoning...like Saruman!

I also got to see "Equilibrium" on SM and it was gripping..Kudos to Christian Bale. His transition from a cold human exterminator to an emotional friend was compelling and mindblowing. Its plot was Matrix Superlative! WB Yeats' poem recital by Sean Bean was poignant and excellent.

Last few months I was praying for "Wedding Crashers" to release in Mumbai and looks some somebody listened!
It opens on Jan 6 and I'll be there FDFS.

Will be back with reviews..
HNY

Ps: Im looking for
1) some cool recommendations in Alternative/Grunge music..Suggestions/Links welcome.
2) "Posies"Music, specially "start a life"