Long story.

Butterflies on the roof of the world by Peter Smetacek

In this book which is a fascinating journey across Himalayan high reaches of Laddakh and Uttarakhand hills, Peter introduces you to a world of butterflies, their species and behavior and explains our dependence on their well being. Written in a lucid witty prose, this book is a compelling read. 

In a scale of 10 we give it 9. 

Breathless by Al Saddiq Al Raddi

Breathless

Your heart thumps - 

as if she were already 

at your door. 

Or - as if expecting her - 

all the birds in the midday sky 

arrive to clamour at your window. 

An age of patience. 

A forest of fluttering.

        ......................by Al Saddiq Al Raddi

The original version of the poem was in arabic. It was translated into the English version by 

Sarah Maguire 

This week's poem  is "Breathless" by the1969 born Sudanese poet Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, now granted asylum in UK. It's translated from the Arabic by Sarah Maguire.

'Breathless' is a tender love poem written in fragments, dotted with pauses, in which nature marries emotions. The choice of words show much more than an eager wait, it's a surety of the coming of love. The poem itself is the antonym of the Age of Patience, it is an ageless wait for the beloved.

The original version

لهاثْ

translated poem

by الصادق الرضي

كأنَّها تَقتربُ من البابِ

تسمعُ دقات قلبِكَ

أو 

كأنك في انتظارِها

تَحْضُرُ طيورُ الضُّحى 

وتَصْطَفُّ على النافذةْ

.........

ساعةٌ من الصَّبرِ

غابةٌ من الهديلِ والشقشقةْ.

Weekend music Kronos Quartet with Bryce Dessner

Kronos Quartet Bryce Dessner  perform 'Aheym'

Kronos Quartet is string quartet American band that recently celebrated their 40th Anniversary with a sold out performance at Zellerbach Hall, U C Berkeley in December 2013Using two violins, a viola and a cello, the style and content of their new age music  touches on music from every corner of the world , while covering a wide repertoire.

Bryce Dressner is a composer and guitarist is currently a composer-in-residence at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven.

In November 2013, the Antirecords record label released the album Aheym featuring the first recordings of Bryce’s compositions, performed by the Grammy award winning Kronos Quartet .The album include his compositions “Tenebre,” “Little Blue Something,” Tour Eiffel,” and “Aheym. Bryce wrote, “Aheym,” (meaning “homeward” in Yiddish), was inspired by the stories of his Jewish immigrant grandparents who settled near the park when they arrived in Brooklyn. A tough composition, its a wonder to listen to .

On the Indian Stock Markets. December 13

The benchmark index must trade above 6252 mark in the initial hour of trade conclusively for bulls to return in which case the resistances will be at 6272, 6308 and 6330. Otherwise, i.e. below 6252, the market will remain weak and bearish with supports at 6216, 6195 and 6159.

Intra-day traders may trade accordingly depending on which side of the 6252 mark the index trades. They may go short if the index trades conclusively below 6252 in the initial trades with stop loss at 6289. In case if Nifty trades above 6252 conclusively then they may trade on the long side with stop loss at 6235.

Short-term traders may trade on the short side if Nifty trades below 6237 with strict stop loss at 6289.

Mid-term investors may utilise the weakness to buy Tata Steel by placing bid @ 409.75, 398.05 and 381.30  and buy HCL Tech @ 1157.1 in small quantities.

Disclaimer: The writers of this column do not personally hold any stock or position in the F&O market and do not intend to benefit in any way by publishing this column. The final discretion is that of the reader and we disown any responsibility for any loss incurred by the reader.

On the Indian Stock Markets. December 12.

The markets behaved quite in expected lines in the last session. The silver lining is that the index did hold above the critical support of 6300 on the closing basis. The technical charts indicate that the undercurrent is still bullish inspite of a consecutive fall in the last two sessions.

That being said the deciding point for today's session is at 6305 and Nifty must trade above this point to resume its upward journey in which case it will face resistances at 6331, 6351 and 6379. Otherwise it will remain soft and weak with supports at 6283, 6258 and 6236.

Intra-day traders may trade accordingly i.e. go long of the nifty trades above 6305 mark in the initial hour conclusively with stop loss at 6295. Otherwise they may trade on the short side with stop loss at 6320.

Short-term traders may go long if the Nifty trades above 6365. They may open shorts if the index trades below 6250.

Mid-term investors may consider selling 10% of their holdings in HCL Tech @ 1203.25.

Disclaimer: The writers of this column do not personally hold any stock or position in the F&O market and do not intend to benefit in any way by publishing this column. The final discretion is that of the reader and we disown any responsibility for any loss incurred by the reader.

On the Indian Stock Markets. December 11.

The markets remained soft throughout the last session which was quite along expected lines and the support of 6304 held which implies that the underlying current in the market is pretty much bullish. 

That being said, the critical point for the day is at 6334 and if the benchmark index trades below this level, then it will soften a bit more with supports at 6306, 6279 and 6251. Otherwise it will consolidate with a bullish bias with resistances at 6361, 6389 and 6416. However if the Nifty dips below the 6300 mark then new shorts may emerge and above 6375 mark fresh longs will be built into the system.

Intra-day traders may trade accordingly depending on which side of the 6334 mark the index trades in the initial hour. Stop loss for longs may be placed at 6300.

Short-term traders may go short below 6300 levels and long above 6375. Those who had played on the long side in ONGC as advised in our earlier post might have profited well.

Mid-term investors may utilize the current consolidation to bid HCL tech @ 1140.05. They may also rid their portfolio off of the non-performers.

Disclaimer: The writers of this column do not personally hold any stock or position in the F&O market and do not intend to benefit in any way by publishing this column. The final discretion is that of the reader and we disown any responsibility for any loss incurred by the reader.