Finally the Rukmini Dwarka Dwesh Mandir is opening in Mauritius’ largest village Triolet! The Grand Opening Ceremony is scheduled as from 23 Nov till 29 Nov. There will be Bhagwad Katha everyday from 18:00 to 20:00 and Abhishek on 29 Nov.

This is the last time that we are having our usual ceremony in the small mandir. The latter was jam-packed today and believe me, the devotional level was at the highest. All devotees are happy for the Grand New Opening of Dwarka Dwesh Mandir…The first mandir in the world being located in Los Angeles and now the second one being opened in Mauritius, paradise island.

What surprised me is that there will be a “Raj Bhog” consisting of 1008 dishes! Wow Need to have a strong stomach for this… In the pic below is our new location for Mahaprasad, in the Open Air…

After Maheswarnath Mandir (The largest Shivalaye in Mauritius and the biggest one in Mauritius), here we are, Triolet is blessed with another one.

Here is the link for the location of the Mandir (Ahh, Google has not bought satellite images yet, hence the temple won’t be visible on the land)

Jai Shree Krishna!

International Law

Following the advertising of the event on facebook by the UoM Student Union:

We are pleased to inform you of the following activities :

The Law Society is organising a Talk By Mr. Milan Meetarbhan on Financial Services Commission
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: Lecture Theatre 2, University of Mauritius

it was another great pleasure to be on the réduit campus to attend a talk after a looooooong time.

I agree, the talk did not start at 12:00 and we had to wait for the Guest speaker to make appearance.

At around 12:30, finally Morgini, the Master of ceremony welcomed the Guest of UoM Law Society and introduced to us Mr. Meetarbhan, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Most of the information on him was found by Googling. I should admit that I was personally waiting to see a ‘live demo’ of  Mr. Meetarbhan, having heard of him so much. I got the confirmation yesterday: He is real professional!

It was a pleasant surprise to witness the presentation skills of Mr. Meetarbhan. The experience of teaching at the UoM for 10 years was evident. He started with the history of the Law Department at the University of Mauritius being set up in 1989. It was also interesting to note the candidate selection procedure for LLB course at the UoM. After applying for the course, one would be called upon for interview and would encounter the traditional question: “Why do you want to study Law??” . After the ‘hollywoodian’ answer of the candidate, he would be put for a 3 months time to get a taste of what Law is about. And the same traditional question would be given to him at the end of the 3 months.

The main topics covered during the talk were:

• The role of FSC
• Global Business/ Offshore
• International Law (treaty)
• Double Taxation Avoidance
• Treaty signed with India

The aim of the FSC as a regulator is:

To ensure that promises are kept.

This was the simple definition of what they do the FSC people.

Milan share with us some very very tasty, unforgetable food for thoughts:

It is not only about qualifications (yes it is important to be qualified, even important to be a specialist) but it is not only about that.  It is also about ETHICS!

Then he elaborated on this magical piece of wisdom by some annecdotes:

Being on time at work: The big problem of working with professionals found worldwide is: at what time will the meeting be held. The ideal time for mauritius is at 4:00 a.m or 6.00 a.m. So at six in the morning, you have to be here, to answer the call and participate in the meeting.

Respecting the deadline: if you have to submit the work by latest x date and at y time, you have to respect it.

another quote of him:

In professionalism, it is about 70% attitude and 30% competence.

Whilst fertilising us with this message, Mr. Meetarbhan was having a look at the Human Resources Manager who was also present in the lecture theatre 2.

The end of the talk was with the usual Part: Questions/ Answers

The interesting question that came from the students: about the job prospects with a Law and Management degree .

In answering this question, we came to know about the Young Graduate Recruitment programme set up by the FSC. That’s interesting for those interested in having a career at the FSC.

Today I woke up and said to myself: yupi going to uni today! What was worrying is that I did not have time during the week to read about my unexpected blogger talk (my first one) on my blog post: Air Mauritius Hedging – Strategy or Aptitude?

Arriving at the Réduit Campus after a relaxing drive, big problemo: Parking!!! Just after saying oufff…finally managed to get a nice car park, the Genius phoned me: “hey Ash, where are you??” It was 9.30 a.m. I replied, I will be in the class at 10:00 a.m after drinking a hot coffee.  I then quickly read my blog post so as to be able to talk about it before the class.

Then I set up for New Academic Complex and before opening the classroom door, I was amazed by the number of students present. Amazingly I saw the lecturer in T-Shirt and Sandales. But I was reassured by the “Hi Ash!” in a nice English accent.

The blogger talk started. I was happy to present myself as a blogger and to talk about the UoM Blogging community. The geek talk (which was hyper brief) was on real-time web. Otherwise the main talk was mostly on Hedging. Ahhh…I enjoyed the intellectual discussions. Real Delight!

Then I went to the library after a long time! As I entered, just at the security check point, I felt a shock!!! I asked the security guard: What has happened, how come this is not at its usual place. The latter then explained me what the heck has been going in the UoM Library. Here are some screenshots:

New computers will be installed here with high-speed internet connection!

New Boards..Nice design

As usual, I would go to visit my favourite Reserve section….Euhhhhh…what ?? it has been transferred!!

Even the past exam papers —> transferred!

Do you like this new place to site and work, UoM fellows?

The new place to borrow/ return your books

The Mauritiana section has changed! Even the girl who would be serving you is a newcomer!

What the heck is this??

CCTV surveillance in a library????

Can anybody explain to me the reason behind CCTV in a place like a library?

The day was really nice indeed. Felt hyper nice to spend time with friends in the café! Preparations for Diwali show is going hard I remarked. This year, I think I gonna perform Till then, keep connected

Have a nice and relaxing weekend!

In the context of the National Week of Philosophy, a talk is scheduled on Monday 23 March 2009 at LT 1. The theme of the talk:

« La philosophie comme médecine. »

Time: 12:00 – 13:00

The talk will be animated by Joseph Cardella, who, I admit, has the amazing ability to explain Philosophy!

Do come and bring your friends!

Wednesday 18 March:

Saturday 21 March:

The film “The Name of the Rose” was projected. It carries a lot of messages. A great film to watch:

Img Src: Lemauricien.com interview

At the request of the representative of the Faculty of Law & Management, University of Mauritius Mr. Sadek Ruhmaly, Consultant Economist, conducted a two-day seminar at the Lecture Theatre 2. The topic of the talk: Hedging- An aptitude or a Strategy?

It was Mr. Ruhmaly who introduced the system of hedging at Air Mauritius in the late 1980s. This strategy was very successful at that time and he can be considered to be an expert in Hedging and Fuel energy.

The talk was held on two days: Monday 9th March 2009 from 13.00 to 14.00 and Wednesday 11th March 2009 from 12.00 to 13.00 (which actually ended at 15:30!).

Mr. Sadek has been cross-fertilised by great minds (S. Hawking, Lord Denning) and intellectually brilliant Mauritians.

Key terms heard: Poetry, literature, physics, pilot, Air Mauritius, Black Hole, Maths, Hedging, Strategy, freedom

Monday 9 March:

Most of the students from Finance and Law background were anxiously waiting at Lecture Theatre 2 for the opening of the talk. The lecture hall was jam-packed!

Mr. Sadek started with a “Good Morning” with a genuine English accent. Seriousness was seen on his face. He started with a statement: “Mon premier amour c’est la literature française et l’astronomie!” and read a French poem, he himself wrote last year. The poem describes his visionary views on Mauritius.

You come to the university to learn to think

The first issue was that “learning to think” is the most important thing in life. We have to be a Systemic thinker.

Being Fearless

“Those who know me, who have read about me, know that Sadek is not a Yes-Man”. He then told us the annecdote about his refusal (the only vote against) of the decrease of the Interest Rate at Bank of Mauritius.

Refinery Economics

Without the knowledge of refinery economics, it would be rubbish to talk about Oil Energy and Hedging. The below diagram was explained well:

The optimum equilibrium is not a static path.

Doing Nothing is a strategy but doing something when not required is Stupidity!

The choice of parameters in a formula is necessary.

Wednesday 11 March:

Despite being the Holi festival, the Lecture Theatre was full, again! However this time the duration of the talk was longer than expected. In the impressive CV of Sadek, we note that he is a Private Pilot, a Painter -Mystical Art, he likes Poetry and is a Mountaineer! Today he shared his passion with us. He brought some paintings which were displayed in the Lecture Theatre.

I have the crazy idea that if I would die, I would die with the most precious things that I carry in my bag!

Yes, Sadek indeed carries precious books/ documents in his brown bag. We were impressed by the number of book being shown to us, notably:

• Bhagvad Gita
• Geetanjali – Rabindranath Tagore
• Pensees – Blaise Pascal
• A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking
• A book on Japanese Archery

What is 1 + 1?

Ans: you have to specify your assumptions, what is the model. for eg. in Binary 1 + 1 gives 01!

A PhD is a substantial contribution to knowledge. Pushing the frontier into the unknown.

Philosophy

I want you to be free. On the eve of Independence, I want you to achieve Holistic Independence. Take for eg. the cutting of umbilical cord -> this is a freedom symbol.

The foundation of daring is fearlessness and selflessness. These two are the fundamental core of grace.

The body is a perishable product, but you cannot kill the ideas.

Don’t be in psychic prisons -> Groupthink

Stop just looking, start Noticing.

The most stupid thing is to ignore that has been great minds in the world.

There is a difference between doubt and uncertainty.

President Obama has to understand Black Hole in order to get out of this systemic collapse.

I talk about the world of Abstract. use of senses on Knowledge.

Sarcasm is the highest form of wit.

Grace

The first issue in strategy is Acknowledgement.

The most brilliant poetry is one that has mathematical balance.

Grace in Mathematics, Science, Art.

Hedging

Hedging can be an optimising strategy depending on the core of the business.

For each strategy there is a fallback strategy.

Playing Sudoku -3 at the same time and looking horizontally- need to have a lateral vision. Get your brain to work on 3 mysteries at the same time.

When you do hedging, don’t be caught in a circle of minds.

In Hedging, if you are distracted, you are losing.

You need not to have total control but total consciousness (of hedge funds which have a single agenda i.e. Portfolio maximisation). Control -> discrete ; Consciousness -> continuous

Economic Bubble burst because of Gargantua

Fundamental to Hedging is understanding the data

Hedging is freedom from uncertainty, moving from an unstable point to stable one.

At one point in time, you have to place your bets.

Tactical mistake -> no corporate strategy, no holistic view

Problem: options are mutually exclusive

Onion -> de layering and bringing to the core

Correlation does not infer causality.

Hedging is also an aptitude.

Strategy from the Nature

Hammerhead Shark

Fish Eagle

Microwave Generation

We, youngsters, we are of the Microwave Generation

Papyrus Parchment & Computer Science

Mr. Sadek shown us a parchment. It is the first encryption on Floppy Disk.

Caravanners are the fist Internet system in Human Civilisation

Today the results of the Election in Mauritius will be announced. We already have some speculation. The elected candidate will have certain level of power restored.

For Foucault, biopower is a technology of power, which is a way of managing people as a group. For Foucault, the distinctive quality of this political technology is that it allows for the control of entire populations.

Some Definitions:

5. Power (224)-

“A more-or-less organized, hierarchical, co-ordinated cluster of relations.” Power is a characteristic of all relationships and, in fact, constitutes those relationships. All individuals exercise power, and are all subjected to it.

6. Bio-power (225)-

Power over life. It “exerts a positive influence of life, that endeavors to administer, optimize, and multiply it, subjecting it to precise controls and comprehensive regulations.”

7. Resistance (226)-

In Foucault’s system, this can be characterized by discourse that both creates and constrains.

At university, we make reference to French Philosopher Michel Foucault. Here is a very interesting video:

We have a new category in my blog: Philosophy!

I went to the first conference yesterday  (despite the heavy raining at Port-Louis) for the Universite Populaire.The conference was being animated by Joseph Cardella whom we had the opportunity to meet at the second edition of barcamp. Actually I remember Joseph coming whilst I was doing my presentation (I was in the mid-way of the presentation) and our friend Pierre explaining to Joseph the what’s going in barcamp and a bit about my presentation. This day Joseph was talking on:

4ème conférence-débat : Etre ou ne pas être ? – Parménide. Vend. 16/01

Euhh, at first sight, my I received my Google reminder on my mobile, I knew I had to rush at the Port Louis Municipality, but the theme of the conference was totally in Greek for me!

I entered the Municipality Hall and Waow, it was so beautiful. The light composition in the hall was great. The furniture – first class. It was cool. There were people listening carefully to Joseph and noting down important sayings.

As far as I was concerned, I preferred to not jot down, but try to understand the topic first. To be honest, I was impressed by Joseph. He was talking about complicated things which the Philosopher wrote in his poem.

Due to the complexity, I was getting bored a bit. But Joseph finished at 06:45, leaving 40 minutes for discussion. That would be fun! and it really was – because the discussion were of high level. The question I asked was about : “How about patients who suffer from Schizophrenia?“. Rating this question as Excellent (:D), the hall pondered upon it for at least 8 minutes.

At the end, I thanked Joseph for the very interesting lecture and nice to know he still remembered me (my name at least, though being pronounced with the French accent).

Aller, parlons un peu de philosophie:

Parmenides of Elea (Greek: Παρμενίδης ὁ Ἐλεάτης, early 5th century BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Elea, a Greek city on the southern coast of Italy. He was the founder of the Eleatic school of philosophy. The single known work of Parmenides is a poem which has survived only in fragmentary form. In this poem, Parmenides describes two views of reality. In The Way of Truth (a part of the poem), he explains how reality is one, change is impossible, and existence is timeless, uniform, and unchanging. In The Way of Opinion, he explains the world of appearances, which is false and deceitful. These thoughts strongly influenced Plato, and through him, the whole of western philosophy.

Parmenides stated that there are two ways of inquiry: that it is, that it is not.^[11] He said that the latter argument is never feasible because nothing can not be:

For never shall this prevail, that things that are not are. (B 7.1)

There are extremely delicate issues here. In the original Greek the two ways are simply named “that Is” (όπως εστίν) and “that Not-Is” (ως ουκ εστίν) (B 2.3 and 2.5) without the “it” inserted in our English translation.

Premises:

a. A thing can be thought about only if it is possible for it to exist. [= step (4) above]b. Anything that does not exist, cannot exist. [= step (5) above]

But (b) is equivalent to:

c. Anything that can exist, does exist.

From (a) and (c) it follows that:

d. A thing can be thought about only if it exists.

And (d) is equivalent to:

e. Anything that does not exist, cannot be thought about. [= (3) above]

In symbols:

Tx: x is thought about
Ex: x exists
: it is possible that …

	a.	“x (Tx ® Ex)		Premise
	b.	“x (¬Ex ® ¬Ex)		Premise
	c.	“x (Ex ® Ex)		From (b) by contraposition
	d.	“x (Tx ® Ex)		From (a) and (c) by hypothetical syllogism
	e.	“x (¬Ex ® ¬Tx)		From (d) by contraposition