Commuters in an Autorickshaw!

Imagine what sort of people you come across on your daily commute to work. People who drive or are driven to work I would advise you to commute by train, you know, public transport and save this world a lot of pollution, and you can save money for that holiday in the tempting resort tucked into the Kerala backwaters.

I meet a friend of mine outside Andheri. This friend, is a real estate biggie, a general damager, sorry, manager. Then rickshaws being rare we decide to share one it with an ordinary looking guy wearing a half-sleeve shirt. So we sit, me in the centre and these two guys on either sides of me. The guy we picked up works as a risk analyst with one of India’s biggest banks, 3i something. Risk analysis? What’s that? I ask. He says he analyses risks, worst case scenarios, and best case scenarios and depending on them what decisions you should take, you see. Ha… hahn… I saw, the sort like the smart chap who came to my company analysed the risk and told the management that we were over staffed! Exactly, he said.

And this guy used to drive a Ford Ikon, and he gave up because he wanted to really know the pulse of the people. Now he commutes to his office in Andheri (East) through muck, crowd, flies, sewage, and what not. Now he knows what life is all about.

“So risk analysts must be well paid,” I ventured. An owner of a Ford Ikon has to be.

“Yeah a couple of hundred grands.”

“An year?”

“A month!”

God! Why didn’t you make me a risk analyst? I could have made so many worst and good case scenarios. The general damager I am with also makes as much, I know, I am his friend, amn’t I?

Then the conversation veers to something totally alien to an unlettered Johnnie from peasant stock, such as yours truly.

“See the downturn should last till bank PLRs show improvement,” damager says.

“No, the CRR also should show improvement,” says the risk analyst.

God! I wonder where I am; these two moneybags that earn ten times my salary are talking rotten rubbish.

“The market is unstable, only right polices can bring stability,” damager.

“But where’s political stability? When brokers short selling like mad.

“Don’t you think short selling will bottom out?”

“No, not until FIs bring in more funds.”

“What are FIs?” I ask.

“Why? Entities that bring in FDI,” damager, my friend says dismissively.

“Oh! That!” I say unsure of myself.

Then I tune out. I am no longer clued in. I drift away to the smoke belching out of the toad-shaped autorickshaws, the traffic that doesn’t inch even a centimetre, the blaring of horns, and the rain falling on the windshield of the autorickshaw.

But I am still wondering about CRR, PLR, FIs, and FDI as the chatter goes back and forth about NBFCs, FII (not FIs, mind you), WPI, GNP, etc. etc. I am in a totally different world than them. Then I guess they should drive their cars and not the humble rickshaws.