Return of the King

May 20, 2026 Bombay Badshah 5 Comments filed under Bombay Badshah

The king returns from his vanvaas, refreshed and with a mind filled with clarity.

Before my self-imposed exile X.T.M said something which I have pondered upon during my time away.

Pakistan has anyway lost to India alas; thus the Pakistanis have to constantly deprecate India and everything she stands for.

I don’t need to be getting into mud fights in the comments sections writing essays.

The victor doesn’t need to proclaim his victory. The defeated know.

And as the winner, I possess an asymmetric array of “tools” to do my “Dhurandharing”. Far more civil and high-signal and in a way, more wounding.

Of course, that does not mean I won’t participate in the comments, but it will be in a more “support” role. There are many Dhurandhars here with some springing up in my absence so I need not play as active a role.

I have also changed my profile picture to reflect that change. While my earlier picture was from when Hamza was actively involved in street fights, my current one is from the later part of the movie where he takes a bit of a back seat to co-ordinate other guys. Of course just like in the movie, I won’t hesitate to personally participate if necessary.

Kabir Oral Traditions in the Indian Subcontinent

May 20, 2026 Kabir 5 Comments filed under Kabir

Since there has been a lot of discussion on Bhagat Kabir, I am sharing this essay I wrote on Kabir Oral Traditions in the Indian Subcontinent. This essay was originally submitted as part of my M.Mus coursework in Ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London.

Here is a link to a Kabir bhajan called “Mo ko Kahan Dhunday Banday” which I recorded. The composition is by Ustad Hamid Hossain and is set in Raga Bhairavi.

Bhagat Kabir (c. 1440-c. 1518) is considered one of the major poet-saints of the Bhakti movement—a social reform movement arising in North India around the fifteenth century. Characterized by an emphasis on the individual believer and a disregard for caste and gender taboos, the movement often rejected Vedic rituals and focused on the individual’s loving relationship with a personally defined god. This emphasis on love has clear parallels with Sufism, often seen as the mystical branch of Islam. It also later influenced Sikhism.

In contrast to other Bhakti poets such as Surdas and Meerabai—whose works can be placed squarely within the Hindu fold, often addressed to particular gods such as Krishna—Kabir’s poetry cannot be so neatly demarcated. He questioned the rituals of both Islam and Hinduism and was devoted to a nirgun (formless) deity, often addressed as “Ram”. According to Professor Harbans Mukhia: “In place of Allah and Ishwar he conceptualized a single universal God; in place of denominational religions he conceptualized a universal religiosity” (Mukhia 2018). This distance from the orthodoxy of both traditions perhaps explains why Kabir is revered by Hindus and Muslims across the Indian subcontinent. Some of his poetry is even included in the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism’s holiest scripture. In an era in which South Asia has experienced increasing polarization along sectarian lines, it is instructive to more closely examine this unique figure who served as a bridge between communities. Continue reading Kabir Oral Traditions in the Indian Subcontinent

7 Steps to Financial Freedom: My First Book

May 20, 2026 Maneesh Taneja 4 Comments filed under Maneesh Taneja, Uncategorized

India’s GDP grew at 7.6% in the financial year 2024-2025 making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

It is also home to a vibrant capital market. The market capitalization of its listed companies at the end of 2025 stood at 4.75 trillion US Dollars.

India is also a young country. 65% of its population of 1.4 billion is below the age of 35.

The trifecta of economic growth, world class capital markets and a young population with access to technology has enabled breakneck growth, in the number of Indians investing in Indian equity markets via mutual funds and stock purchases.

The number of mutual fund investors in India was 2.08 crores at the end of year 2020. This number stood at 5.9 crores at the end of year 2025.

The number of Demat accounts in India stood at 4.98 crores at the end of year 2020 this number had grown to 21.59 crores by the end of year 2025.

In April 2026, Indians invested Rs 38.4 thousand crores in Indian equity markets through mutual funds.

I have been an investment adviser to individuals and institutional investors for almost 17 years now and have had front row seats as this growth has played out.

I have also had the chance to interact with investors in tier 2, tier 3 towns in India and I am also witness to the phenomenon of ‘fin-influencers’.

Fin-influencers are freelance financial advisers offering easy money schemes and ways of attaining Financial Independence and Retiring Early (FIRE) through their YouTube channels and Instagram handles.

Their channels have millions of subscribers and their videos and reels get tens of millions of views.

Viewers of these channels take home answers to the holy grail of all questions -How much money is enough to retire?

How much is enough for you to leave your job, move to a small town and spend your time tendering to your kitchen garden?

How much money do you need for you to leave your job, pack your bags and open a cafe in Dharmashala/Goa/Cochin or Tuticorin?

If you don’t like the figure, help is at hand. Viewers are given formulas to arrive at their own answers.

I have no data to prove how successful or unsuccessful fin-influencers have been in helping people achieve FIRE.

However we do have data on how Indians are investing in the derivative segment of Indian stock markets faring!

Derivative instruments are used by investors to manage risk and by speculators to make quick money.

If I want to run a cafe in Dehradun before I turn forty, my salaried job wouldn’t do.

I need to make money fast.

Enter a digital stack that lets me do derivative trades as easily as ordering a pizza online, an oversupply of ‘trade strategies’ and access to cheapest cellular data in the world.

I can now watch YouTube videos all day and ‘hone my trading skills’.

SEBI, regulator of capital markets in India, conducted a study and published a note in 2024.

The study revealed 93% of individual traders incurred losses in equity derivatives between financial years 2022 and 2024.

The aggregate losses of these traders for this three year period exceeded Rs 1.8 lakh crores.

To put the figure in perspective, the Government of India’s budgetary allocation to its Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in FY 2024 was Rs 80.5 thousand crores.

As part of my job, I am often asked- what is the rate of return one should expect from a growth oriented portfolio? My answer invariably disappoints because it does not augment dreams of early retirement.

I learnt, from some of the best investors and fund managers-investing is like watching paint dry.

My job and my experience of investing my own money have convinced me that is the only way.

There are no short cuts to financial freedom.

This book is my attempt at conveying a framework that has stood the test of time and helped people live better.

The book has no magic formulas and final figures.

No silver bullets that will ease the path to a cake and coffee shop in Almora.

If the world is watching YouTube, why write a book ?

I believe a reader gets more out of the content than a viewer.

Physical and financial health are keys to our sense of well being and confidence. They make our world go around. The book is my attempt at making investing accessible and relatable.

If you end up reading the book, please let me know if I got it right.

The book is now available on Amazon and Kindle

Open thread Indian scenes

May 20, 2026 k jayas 88 Comments filed under Active Authors

1) Vijay’s secularism :

TVK ‘s Vijay and his secularism: A commentator had argued that whilst, other Hindu secularists need to criticize and some need to bad mouth (udayanidhi)Hinduism to be called progressive and secular, Vijay with his ‘Joseph ‘ name can be a secular just by being himself. If he goes the Dravidian way critizing hinduism, all hell will break loose.

Ironically non Hindu leaders, go all the way out by going to temples, wearing kumkum, vibhiti. So does Vijay , and yet claim to be secular.

So he does whatever he knows best, going to places of worship, do token good things in jayalalitha fashion.

2) Tata’s events: A naukar should be one and too much power to him in a closely held family enterprise appears to be the main essence of the tata problem. I feel that the family should regroup and take voting rights of non family members.