Forbes Indian Billionaires

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Forbes Indian Billionaires​

Today read an Article by Barkha Dutt in HT regarding the above, damn good one.She says These Indians did not inherit money, meaning the original Ambani, Mittal,and DLF Singh.She says in the open economy that we have, this gives us the hope that anyone today with his hard work, can make that amount of money.


I had read an article by Swaminathan Aiyer, who writes every Sunday in TOI, and I am a fan of his,that the First 5 top billionaires on the list a few years back we self made, like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet,Laxmi Mittal, and two others I don’t remember, and the last 5 were the Walton Brothers, of Wal Mart, who inherited it from their father.


Well this brings me down to the good old Bad Days of Foreign Exchange before 91.We are exporters since the last 40 years,so going to office in Lower Parel those days during the holidays,I used to catch up on whats going on, though I was a teenager.


When Dad had to go abroad in the 70’s, we had to take permission from RBI, for the Dollors,and it used to take close to 15 days for it to come,after greasing some palms.Then they would sanction just 200 dollors per day of stay.How can u spend just 200 dollors, for hotel Taxi, entertaining and the such.So buy dollors in Black and go , along with the official exchange.And when u come back, you have to give the Hisab to the authoritites for what u spent on,Horrible.


My two Uncles were abroad, one in New York (now dead), and another in Frankfurt ,Germany.Whenever they used to come, we all used to go to the airport, the old SantaCruz one, to receive them.We would wait for the Goodies, like Choclates, Wrigley Chewing Gum, which we used to blow up in front of friends and make them jelous,the Scotch bottle for Dad,hams and sausages,and a T Shirt and a after Shave, were all things to crave for.


We as kids used to dream of Foreign Shores,wondering if ever I would get to see the lands of Gold and Daimonds, the Skycrapers, the Malls with escalators, the pretty white females in Bikinis( Courtesy English Movies),The Macdonalds and Pizza huts that Uncle and Aunt and nieces used to boast about.They used to crib a bout Us not having Gas Cylinders,waiting for years for a Telephone connection, waiting days for a Trunk call to get through.,and having just Fiat and Ambassadors on the roads,and no computers.



Today the same Uncles and Aunts envy us.When they call up to ask us what we want from there, we say “ NOTHING”.To save on the hotel, and stay with us, they need to bring some goodies, no ?Today the need is theirs, not ours.An imported cousin of mine, asked me the price of my Nike shoe and I casually told her 4000/- and to add spice to her, converted and told her $ 100.She was shocked, that we can afford this kind of comfort.She said they don’t buy anything more than 50 dollors,and mostly in Sale.


So much has changed .From a shortage of Dollors , today we have Surplus of them.Last Feb when I and wife went to Indonesia, all I had to do was take my cheque book to the bank and buy as much dollors as I wanted.Today Thomas Cook will deliver dollors to yr home and take a cheque, which will take a few days to clear, meaning give credit to you for a few days.Thats what Liberisation has done to us.You can buy any imported item here, at times cheaper than abroad, and with bill and guaranteesNow our cousins envy us,as we have the latest computers, mobiles , the plasmas in our homes,all paid up, and not like them, taking everything on credit and repaying it for donkey’s years.And I love to rub it in.All these years they were showing off to us.Har kutte ke din ate hai (Every Dog has his day), and today is my day.


I am happy for the Billionaires in the list.they have made us Indians proud, that we can be in the top of the richest in the World.Who knows in the next few years, one of us Can be No 1 in the World.


What I know is that I can never make the list, unless one of them adopts me.Dont laugh, miracles do happen u know.When a baby can be adopted, why cant a 54 yr old?I am still a baby at heart u know . I can repay them with jokes, keep the doctor away from them,by making them laugh which they say is the best medicine, and wait for them to conk off.In this land of Bharat, Everyone has the right to dream, and I am exercising my right.Ah! to bathe in Wine and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:State><st1lace>Champagne</st1lace></st1:State>,to have Vodka in the afternoon, a pretty secretary by my side,and staying in the best of the hotels, what more can Kamalji ask for.


So let the Mittals and the Ambanis work hard, and let skunks like me dream.I bless I lites to work hard, and leave some for me.AEvery drop makes an ocean.Even if 20000 I lites leave 25000 for me, can u imagine what would I stand to inherit.And every burp I will give after I drink a peg, I will remember u all.This is heaven u see guys and gals.Amen


KAMAL MAHTANI

 

Devika,

I am a very selfish person.I want the I lites to do something for meBig LaughThanks and regards.kamal