I have sometimes written on this blog about my inexplicable attraction about all things Russian :-) So I was curious when a supplement titled “Russia and India Report” tumbled out of the Economic Times yesterday morning. Of course, much of it was boring stuff about the business relations between the two countries and investment opportunitiesin Russia.

But I noticed a picture of a woman along with that of Vishvanathan Anand on the back page with the heading “The Global Chess Stalwarts”. Intrigued, I started reading the article about the youngest female grand master and winner of the 2008 women’s chess championship – Alexandra Kosteniuk (pet name Sasha).

It was amazing how she built up her career despite not being born with the proverbial “silver spoon”. But what will remain forever etched in my mind is the end of the article. I quote here:

“When asked about her favorite chess piece, Sasha always says the pawn. Although small and insignificant at the beginning of the game, it can rise to be the queen towards the end. It sometimes happens in life, too.” :-)

Smart Investing

A friend forwarded this story :-) I don't know if it's true though.

A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.

The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died last night."

Kenny replied: "Well then, just give me my money back."

The farmer said: "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Kenny said: "OK then, just unload the donkey."

The farmer asked: "What you gonna to do with him?"

Kenny: "I'm going to raffle him off." (Note: To raffle is to sell a thing by lottery - draw lot -! to a group of people each paying the same amount for a ticket)

Farmer: "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"

Kenny: "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?"

Kenny: "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $998.00."

Farmer: "Didn't anyone complain?"

Kenny: "Just the guy who won. So I gave him back his two dollars."

Kenny grew up and eventually became the CEO of the American Energy Company : Enron

-----

Now I wonder how he said he has made a profit of $998. What happened to the $100 that he had paid to purchase the donkey? :-)

The Shipping News

Ordinarily I wouldn’t have watched this movie. It didn’t have any nail-biting chases, edge-of-the-seat mystery or out-of-this-world fictional plot which normally attracts me to a movie. Plus I don’t particularly like Kevin Spacey since he tried to kill my favorite superhero in the last installment of Superman. :-)

But it was late in the night and I was too tired to read a book. Nor did I feel sleepy enough to go to bed. So I grabbed the remote and was wading through late-night saas-bahu serials, myriad news channels all airing different versions of the same Breaking News and tele-shopping channels dishing out miraculous cure for obesity and hairloss – when I chanced upon a movie channel that was airing this one. I actually got on board in the middle of it and stayed right till the end.

It was partly the story and partly the scenery that kept me glued to my seat. As far as the story goes, Spacey plays a husband whose upto-no-good wife flees with her boyfriend after selling their only daughter to an illegal adoption agency. The cops manage to rescue the child but the mother and her boyfriend die when their car crashes in a river. Traumatized, Spacey returns to his family's ancestral home in a small fishing town.

As he tries to piece together his life he takes up a job at a local newspaper. Contrary to the editor’s suggestion that he write about oil tankers, he starts a column on shipping news. It is appreciated by readers and so naturally the owner of the newspaper appreciates it as well. As if to complement this success in his professional life he meets Julianne Moore – a widow with a child – who he gets along pretty well with. Still, during his stay he comes to know of many things about his ancestors which he otherwise wouldn’t have known – and not all of them are pleasant.

The movie marvellously brings out the beauty of the small seaside town and different aspects of life there – Spacey’s rebuilding of the rundown ancestral house, a simple meal of sandwiches in a small eatery, his near drowning because of his lack of knowledge of piloting boats in the seas, working in a small office without a computer, using a typewriter to write his column and finally finding love in the unlikeliest of places. Love, after all, has always managed to do that through centuries. :-) The rustic region captivated me so much that I later looked it up on imdb.com – it’s Newfoundland.

Kevin Spacey essays Quoyle’s entire journey excellently – his shell-shocked state at his wife’s behavior, his defeated look when he sees his broken-down ancestral house, his determination to work through life in this unfamiliar place, his uncertainty in getting adjusted in a small newspaper office, his enjoying the companionship of Julianne Moore and finally standing up to the editor for his column. Moore, as the simple calm widow, complements him nicely. Since I didn’t watch this movie from the beginning I am not sure if Judi Dench plays his mother. But her harsh demeanor gives a hint of a softer inner core wonderfully.

In this day and age, when everyone who has received a setback or gone through a tragedy in life just wants to curl up in a corner and die, this story of accepting what life dishes out to you and still marching on with a chin up fills one with hope – lots of hope! :-)

A child who was born with 8 limbs

I vaguely remembered reading about this somewhere as the program started on the Discovery Channel. Lakshmi was born with 8 limbs to a poor couple in some small village in Bihar. Right from her birth she became an object of intense interest because people started beliving that she was the reincarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. She would have remained so for the rest of her life but she was lucky enough to have been blessed with parents who understood that she needs to get treated for this physical anomaly if she wants to lead a normal life.

Even though the doctors at Sparsh – a hospital in Bengalooru – approached the parents for her treatment, the decision was a tough one because of the apparent risks in such a complicated surgical procedure. The parents, however, made up their minds and flew to Bengalooru. After a plethora of tests the massive operation was undertaken and successfully completed. Lakshmi now leads a normal life with her parents in Rajasthan.

Though it was disturbing to see the camera capture very private moments such as Lakshmi’s parents’ anguish at having to leave their village to travel to Bengalooru, her mother’s crying as Lakshmi was being wheeled to the operation theatre and her restless state during the entire duration of the operation, I can understand that it was necessary to unfold the whole story. Being a cynic that I am, I wondered if the doctor’s caring attitude towards the family was because of the rolling camera. Having said that, it was heartening to see how he tried his best to allay their fear and anxiety.

It was sad to see that the press, however, lived up to their reputation and hounded the family like a pack of vultures – every step of the way. :-(

If you ever get a chance to watch this program, don’t miss it!