LifeZamaZing

Reliance, Gujarat and business have an unbreakable-ambuja-cement bond. Come any news about Reliance and entire Gujarat is definitely up and listening. Whether the stock market gurus are or not but the harried looking lonely guy in Wankaner is definitely aware of it.

And when Reliance declares an IPO- well, it is mega hubbub for Gujarat. No soon is the slightest of news spread about it, the active stock marketers start adjusting their investments with the IPO as it’s focal point. And when the news is actually out, BINGO!!! there is a tangible vibrancy in the entire state. Almost everyone, yes everyone who has finance and has something to do with stocks (which everyone in Gujarat has!) is up and ears for it.

It starts with collecting money. All the money that had been lent out or given on interest or otherwise is suddenly called for in extreme emergency. Philanthropy definitely takes a backseat for a few days and the common dialogue is - ” bhai mare nathi chale evu. reliance no IPO aayo che mane paisa moklay!” (”Bhai, it is dire emergency, I HAVE TO apply for the Reliance IPO, please pay up.”).

Then comes the udhaari ki topi. BEG, BORROW, STEAL, do anything for the IPO.

Then comes the blocking of Demat Accounts. “If your uncle’s daughter’s brother-in-law’s cousin has a demat account through which he is not going to apply for the IPO, then that account is for me”- says the Reliance-possessed Gujjubhai. “I will apply through that one too. Ohh, how will I manage the funds? Well, Reliance hai na to kahin se bhi kar lenge!! (Well, if it is Reliance, will manage it from anywhere!)

And then comes the actual renting of accounts, people pay upto 1000-1500 Rs. for rent for the IPO. And then lately I have even even come across the scheme where you are paid 10% of the IPO amount upfront, if you let them apply through your account. Whether the person who is paying you upfront is allocated any shares or not by the company is secondary but you get 10% for sure. So for an application of one lakh, you get 10,000 only for nodding your head! And like most Gujaratis if you have opened up demat accounts for your metric pass aunts and uncles then JACKPOT! you get 10,000 X as many accounts as you can manage!

So, you see Reliance is the common factor binding all Gujaratis. Whether it is Mr. Anil’s Reliance or it is Mr. Mukesh’s Reliance- if it is Reliance it is for Gujjus!!

Well, but what I saw today in Ahmedabad beats all this. Today I saw, the levels to which Reliance has penetrated in the minds of Gujaratis and how much they rely on it. As such IPO forms are available a day or two before the IPO opens to the public. But the upcoming Reliance Power IPO have been available since a week for its opening date of 15th Jan and today I saw a small stall put up on one of the busy roads of the city which read-

“RELIANCE POWER IPO forms available here”

For those unaware of what this means, let me tell you never ever so far have there been such stalls put up for the general public like this (Or none in my notice at least). But what you see here is the real Gujju spirit. Some smart chap knows that EVERYONE is going to apply and they all will need forms and help with filling it out. So he has started a small short-term business helping Gujjus do what they like most- invest in Reliance. Well, talk of trickle down effect. I am sure none of the Reliance brothers must not have thought of such effects!!

HAIL Reliance!!

Long Live Reliance!!

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I know I am too late to write about it but I was too busy all day but am still too much into its trance to write about anything else.

If there is anyone of you out there who cannot make a head or tail out of the title then let me give you a brief history of it. India plays only one game(it plays others but they are not worth mentioning) and that is Cricket. It is India’s religion and cricketers are Gods. Pakistan is its arch-rival and a match between India and Pakistan is no less than a battle. Yesterday India won the Cricket’s twenty20 World Cup against Pakistan in a match that brought the entire subcontinent to a standstill for the entire duration.

Details of the match can be found all around the blog and news world and I am sure there is not one aspect of the game that has not been discussed. And I went surfing all over the web and came across this blog iccworldcup07 that had covered the entire twenty20 world cup in ABSOLUTE detail. My hard luck that I found it after the world cup was over.

But what I want to talk of is the spirit of revelry and joy that swept around the country with the final catch by Sreesanth. As soon as the match was over and the Pakistani captain gave his impossible remarks on “all Muslims around the world” (it has been discussed in good detail at Soul witness ) the entire India was out on the streets celebrating and rejoicing. There we youngsters on the streets S..C..R..E..A..M..I..N..G INDIA INDIA!! And my city, Ahmadabad, has a road called C.G. Road that is the unannounced address for all occasions of joy. People somehow always land up at CG without any invitation. Its as if the entire city has been ordered to meet there. And once the crowd gathers up you find a motley of people befriending strangers at unbelievable speed. It seemed as if everyone knew everyone and all of them were brothers in the sense that our Pledge wants us to.

Coming back to the CG road we had one fellow with the Indian flag dancing ON the car waving at thousands around him. Another one was with a trophy (which is supposed to be a world cup ;)) in his hands on the bonnet of the car and the entire crowd had a smile sooo content that it seemed as if all of them had deliberately forgotten India’s shameful loss at the world cup in early 2007. Bu then that is how it has to be. Life is to forget the scars and celebrate the victories.

I was elated to see the amount of joy a single victory brought us. India is a nation starved of victories and hence when we win, WE WIN!! Nothing about our victory is small or dispensable. It is our pride and we want to enjoy it. So the cynics (if there are any, yet) PLEASE leave us alone. Let us bathe in the glory!!

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