Deep Impressions

    ( Hindi Day Special)     1930s :  Govt’s incorporates a law for compulsory teaching of Hindi language in schools in Madras Presidency. A major public uproar in Madras (Chennai).   1960s :  Discussions begin in Delhi on making Hindi as the only official language. Anti-Hindi protests across South.   Most of the readers would not have witnessed the above.   However, a few would have witnessed the ban on Hindi films and the defacing of Devnagari banners and hoardings across Tamilnadu (TN) during 1980s. During the same time, one of my  friends from south was so passionate about cricket that he could not afford to miss a single minute of update. However, on radio, Hindi commentary every 15 minute became an impediment. He found a solution He learnt only the Hindi numbers (1 to 500) but avoided learning the language. This way he could get a continuous update on cricket score but by not learning Hindi he also was able to  showcase his angst towards the language. It is this kind of angst tha

  ( हिन्दी- दिवस विशेष)     193 7  : मद्रास प्रेसीडेंसी के स्कूलों में हिंदी भाषा अनिवार्य  …..  सरकार के इस फ़ैसले से काफ़ी सुगबुगाहट।   1963 : दिल्ली में हिन्दी को एकमात्र राज भाषा बनाने पर चर्चा  ….. दक्षिण भारत  में   हिन्दी विरोधी हिंसा एवं धरना।     आज के कई युवा इन घटनाओं से शायद ही अवगत होंगे। कुछ वाक़िफ़ भी होंगे तो शायद  1980 के दशक में तमिलनाडु में हिन्दी फ़िल्मों पर प्रतिबंध और हिंदी होर्डिंग और बैनर पर  लगी  कालिख से।   पर सभी पाठकों को  मेरे  क्रिकेट -प्रेमी मित्र का क़िस्सा उस समय के हालात से रू-ब-रू  करवाएगा । 1980 के दशक में क्रिकेट की कमेंटरी सुनना, क्रिकेट प्रेमियों की दीवानगी या शग़ल था। रेडियो पर कमेंटरी का आधा हिस्सा  हिन्दी में प्रसारित किया जाता था। और यह दक्षिण के मेरे इस मित्र के क्रिकेट-प्रेम के आड़े आता था। उस समस्या को दूर करने के लिए मेरे मित्र ने  सिर्फ़ 1 से 500 तक हिन्दी के अंकों को जान लिया ताकि उसे स्कोर की जानकारी तो मिलते रहे पर हिन्दी ना सीख कर उसका हिन्दी के प्रति उसका रोष भी बना रहे। जनता   के  इस रोष से ‘हिन्दी-विरोध’ कई वर्षों तक एक चुनावी मुद्

  Why no one is now talking about Affordable Housing ? During 2010, every other media articles in real estate would talk of the need to push Affordable Housing. Suddenly that noise is conspicuous by its absence.                                                                     -------     -------     -------   -------     -------            Here are two news items from NCR real estate …   ·        In just 72 hours, DLF sells 1100 luxury apartments priced at an average Rs 7 cr    ·        At about one-tenth of this prices, Affordable Housing units of    DDA struggle to find buyers.        Interestingly, other sectors too are showing a similar trend :        Mercedes Benz sees an all time high sales in 2023 and entry-level cars are seeing negative growth         An “almost nil” growth in entry-level smartphone, while premium smartphone sales are seeing  50%                 plus    growth.     Across many consumer markets, the marketers are increasingly seeing far more growth in the pre

    Do Owner managed real estate companies  have a high inherent risk ?     Owners provide bandwidth and long term commitment. Professional CEOs provide risk mitigation. Where does the balance lie? Can the same be achieved in Real Estate business ?                                         = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =      Last week in Italy, the owner and CEO of a large listed Indian Real Estate Development company met with a major car accident. The video showed the high level of intensity of the accident.   This incident has put a new thought in minds of some of the institutional investors who have invested in Real Estate Companies - Do owner managed real estate companies have a high inherent risk ?    One might immediately counter - why limit this question only to real estate business ? The answer is simple…. more than 95% of the real estate companies are managed by the owners.    Now, before we move forward, it would be important to understand the structural reason