KINGFISHER, VIJAY MALLYA AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

I am writing after a long break. The markets are in the doldrums, not going anywhere. Good businesses, some select few are selling at attractive valuations. I have partially bought those businesses and partially I am sitting on some cash to further purchase some more businesses if I get an opportunity. On the other side, I have been busy with work. And busy with a lot of reading. You may be surprised with this unusual blog. But having read so much about Vijay Mallya on social media and the news channels– India wants to know. I sometimes wonder that India wants to know only about Mallya and not anything else???? Not about our politicians who swallow bigger sums like a python to only lie in a corner till they digest the last bundle and then hunt for a new prey. Actually it is about how we all get influenced by vivid imageries and form opinions and then take decisions based on them. They may be stupid decisions. Look at the picture below. What is your first reaction?

I can bet, the ladies in red catch your eye first

Now look at another picture below, if I had not found an image with a logo behind it, some of  you would not have guessed the gentleman.

Executive Chairman JP Group

80% of readers may still  not know him. He is Mr Manoj Gaur of Jai Prakash Industries, name of the company changed to JP Associates and now Jaypee Group. Does he generate feelings of revulsion or hatred in you? I bet he does not. He looks like your friendly neighbourhood, middle aged jovial uncle. 

And how about this gentleman. 

Mr G Mallikarjun Rao (GMR Infra)

Now, if I were to tell you that the loans which Jaypee Group  and GMR Infra have taken from banks and financial institutions are 10 times more than what Mallya took. Does it change things? I am not for a minute condoning Mallya or batting for him. He has had a malafide intention and needs to pay for his sins.

But the banks and FIIs have not declared GM Rao or Manoj Gaur as willful defaulters. So, what’s the reason?

By nature, we dislike show-offs, we dislike people who roam around in Porsches and Ferraris, we dislike the Page 3 socialites. We are simply envious and jealous of such people who have much more than us and then flaunt it. It looks like they are making fun of us. Spiting us. Although, a lot of men would love to exchange places with Mr Mallya. Who doesn’t like villas, women and wealth? Who does not like Madonna or Iglesias singing on his birthday? 

What we hate is a display. And then the images flashed on TV, newspapers make these individuals more sinned against than sinning. The Bible also says, the meek shall inherit the earth. In the third verse of the Sermon on the Mount, and also the Beatitudes, the text reads: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

We like soft people, we like humble people, we like the under dogs though all of us want to be the top dogs. We always root for the unseeded player against Serena Williams, have you ever wondered?

It is human nature to aspire for the vivid, the luxurious and the sensuous but at the same time shun the same things in others. We lose rationality when faced with the prospect of a interacting with the opposite sex, especially if they are easy on the eye. 

Now, it gets interesting. The Jindal Group,  a big business house is also under a huge debt. . Mumbai Mirror carried this tail piece a few days back. 

Tailpiece
Much has been written about the impending Jindal-Jasani wedding. Sajjan and Sangita Jindal’s son Parth is to marry Ansuhree Jasani in May in Vienna, even though the engagement, the youngster’s party et cetera have spawned much of the past year. Now we hear that the sangeet ceremony, to be held in the beauteous Austrian city, will have Enrique Iglesias performing live. Iglesias, who sang for Vijay Mallya’s 60th in Goa in December, still has his fans recovering. His Indian-weddingsinger act will be one for the book on luxury weddings for sure.

Is it very different from what Mallya did?  Yes, they are doing it away from Indian “Presstitutes” and in Vienna where there won’t be any Indian Papparazzi.  

So, the lesson for life:-

1. Shun lime light. Animals which are spotted are the ones which are hunted in the animal world as well as the human world. 
2. Do not get influenced by the vivid imageries of advertisements/media.
3. Dig a little deeper than the surface. Your perceptions may change. First impressions are good but not everything. An ugly face will look beautiful and a very beautiful face may look ugly.
4. Be happy in what you have and not covet others wealth. You do not know how that wealth has been generated. 
5. Softest Pillow to sleep is a clear conscience. 
6. In order to grow big do not take debt which you cannot service or repay.

Enjoy the Monday after a long weekend……..