what am I reading and watching

What am I reading since last week (diwali)

Hot commodities - completed
Adventure capitalist - currently reading
Revolution 2020 - Completed
Norwegian Woods - Currently reading
The Great Gatsby - Have to start

Which movies I saw
Shaitan
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan

It seems that I am relaxing too much. Not working at all and indulging in books and movies...

Cheshire Cat quotes which I like

Cheshire Cat "`Cheshire Puss,' [Alice] began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. `Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. `Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
`I don't much care where--' said Alice.
`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
`--so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.
`Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough.'"

"`But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
`Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'
`How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.
`You must be,' said the Cat, `or you wouldn't have come here.'
Alice didn't think that proved it at all; however, she went on `And how do you know that you're mad?'
`To begin with,' said the Cat, `a dog's not mad. You grant that?'
`I suppose so,' said Alice.
`Well, then,' the Cat went on, `you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad.'"

Source: http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/school/cheshire-cat.html

How to value company with negative cash flows:

First of all why would you like to select the company having negative cash flows consistently (here I am assuming consistently means for duration of 3-5 years). It’s better to ignore them.

However, we can segregate them in 2 categories:

The newly established companies like Linked in, which does not have positive cash flows

The perennial loss making company like MTNL which has negative cash flows due to high fixed cost and are unable to recover them

Valuation will differ depending on the above types:

For the first type of company, ideally DCF should be used, but it is difficult to look in the future. Another thing which can be done is you estimate eps for next few years and multiply it by PE (general estimate), and then you discount the price by the discounting rate (a hurdle rate).

Other option is just valuing the company on tangible assets

2nd type of company:

No point of valuing it :) I wouldn’t. However if you want, you can value it on basis of liquidation value

It requires tremendous patience to get the correct appraisal from the market for these companies

Running away

I want to run away from myself....Why??? To find myself!

Good morning mumbai dialogue. Lage Raho Munnabhai (Vidya Balan)

Shaher ki is daud me daud ke karna kya hai?
Jab yehi jeena hai dosto to phir marna kya hai?
Paheli barish me train late hone ki fikr hai
Bhul gaye bhigte hue tahelna kya hai?
Serials ke kirdaaro ka saara haal hai malum
par maa ka haal puchhne ki fursat kaha hai?
Ab ret pe nange pao tahelte kyu nahi?
108 hai chanel phir dil bahelte kyu nahi?
Internet se duniya ke to touch me hai,
lekin pados me kon raheta hai jaante tak nahi.
Mobile, Landline sab ki bharmaar hai,
Lekin jigri dost tak pahuche aise taar kaha hai?
Kab dubte hue suraj ko dekha tha, yaad hai?
Kab jaana tha shaam ka guzarna kya hai?
To Dosto Shaher ki is daud me daud ke karna kya hai
Jab yahi jeena hai to phir Marna kya hai?

Har Ek "Facebook" Friend Zaroori Hota Hai?

Bharti Airtel has come up with an advt. with tag line “Hare ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai”. It’s a really good ad. And has a nice jingle around it. However this ad. made me think of what is friendship. It has described various kinds of friends. Out of which, one type could be Facebook friends. I have seen many of my friends having 500-700 facebook friends. (Mine is just ~150 :().

This can tell you one thing:
1.The person having large number of facebook friends is highly social, and could be mostly very outgoing. Here one really has to know what is the definition of facebook friend from him.

2.It could be other way round as well –
the one with limited friends is very choosy, doesn’t have time to be on facebook often, has opened the account due to peer pressure, or he is least bothered with new things happening in other person’s life.

I wonder where do I fit in (yeah in the second point – first point is out of scope for me)

In the Bazaars of Raviwar Peth…

“Where do you stay?” I reply “Pune City Area – Raviwar Peth”….Never heard of this place before…most of my colleagues reply. “Tu Gavat Rahato” I feel offended :).

Is city a village? Majority of my colleagues stay at outskirts of the main city – most of them are plush locations of Aundh, Baner, Kalyani Nagar, Kondhwa, and Koregaon Park which are predominantly residential areas. However, my (sorry my ancestors!) 5-storeyed house stands tall in the wholesale hub of Pune. Now, this wholesale market sells everything from safety pins to software, but yeah it is still a village! Let’s compare the property rates here – 30000 per sq feet at Raviwar Peth vs. 8000 per sq. feet at Aundh / Baner, little high for other areas mentioned above, but not at par at Raviwar Peth; but yes it is still a village…

However, a person who has spent its childhood in Raviwar Peth would be able to live in the bazaars of Raviwar Peth – bazaars where there is constant honking (by 2 wheelers, 4 wheelers would make traffic jam, and everyone would curse them for bringing them in this locality). So that’s the reason of not owning a car (:), though I still don’t know how to ride a bike too).

So what do I like about Raviwar Peth – area with narrow lanes and only commercial space that I am writing a blog about. I can spend countless hours looking at people. Families of four come on 2 wheelers and buy groceries, toys, birthday gifts, cosmetics, and clothes. Seasonality bring true colors to this place – Buying lights for Diwali, Small thermocol temple and thrones for Ganesh Chaturthi, Rakhi for Rakshabandhan, and of course colours for Holi. I enjoy looking at them, their purchase habits, their haggling nature, and poor husbands and boyfriends who totally seem out of place. But yes, they get the goods cheaper than “Big Bazaars”, and they seem happy about it.

All this viewed from balcony; where there is really cool breeze blowing on your face. Two – three hours are nothing when you enjoy this stuff. Though there are some disturbances from my mom who thinks I am wasting time. So after my office hours I usually stand in my balcony to catch the glimpses of the market – (also helps to know which festival is around and how one can plan out leaves!!!). “Why are you lazing around” mom remarked breaking my reverie.
“Lazing around” who said so?
“No one said, I can see”
“I am learning psychology in practical way” I say giving intelligent looks
“Which psychology?”
“Consumer psychology” She doesn’t say anything then. Sometimes I do win in the arguments…