Its snowing here in September..At the peak of summer...It is strange. But then this week has been the epitome of change. The ice man I mocks at me and says "Change. It is the only constant".
Im coming back after a sumptuous (??) lunch of duck, leaves, potatoes and red wine. Im emotional. So much has changed in the last week that I still think Im in a daze. Many of my friends have lost jobs. Two companies which had offered me plum jobs are no longer extant. (The only reason I did not take jobs with them was that I got into McKinsey). I've lost most of my savings invested in Indian equity markets atleast on paper. I can't of course file for bankruptcy even though Im pretty much broke.
The CDSs and CMOs designed, sold, bought and hidden by many of my friends have come home to roost after grander days. Some people I speak to here (who are from US) have houses where their equity is completely wiped off.
There is a sense that someone cheated everyone. That someone always predicted upward sloping curves for housing prices. That has now come crashing down. And in its wake it has swept to ashes the dreams and aspirations of many young men and women. We can all debate till cows come home on whether the Fed should have done an LTCM and saved Lehman. Or if by allowing Bankam to pick Merrill it has helped create yet another "too large to fail" monster. In all the technical debates, one must not forget the thousands of people involved, their families and homes.
As we all pick up whatever is left of our lives, some lines in some half read Indian spiritual book gives me the courage to face these uncertain times
"We came into this world with nothing. We shall leave this world with nothing. So why sweat?".
As I flick another waft of unseasonal snow from my Indian winter jacket and shiver, I say, Quite True.
This link from a friend of mine quite correctly sums up what has happened over the past year or so. Enjoy clicking here. Quite sarcastic. But unfortunately true.
