The second half of the last century saw, both in the south and in the north, the emergence of well-educated musicians who could shine not only on the concert platform but also at the lectern, giving lecture demonstrations; they could also write books and journal articles. Deepak S Raja belongs to this distinguished generation of musicians-cum-musicologists. He has excellent academic credentials besides being a disciple of luminaries such as Pulin Deb Burman, Arvind Parikh and Dhondutai Kulkarni. He is a sitarist and surbahar player of repute belonging to the Etawah Gharana. I have had opportunities to hear him at the seminars of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai. So I looked forward to reading his book, especially since I had done some writing on the contemporary state of Hindustani music (&ldquo;Declining Gharanas, Disappearing Ragas&rdquo;, Sruti, August-September 2010).

Hindustani music & modern times

Business Standard

Will Rafa remain king of clay?

&ldquo;The debt is not, that is to say, to be regarded as a residual among quantities of economic policy&hellip;. Thus debt management can be regarded neither as something to be, as it were, left to the last and adjusted to all other policy decisions, nor on the other hand, as a consideration which should override all other policy decisions; it has to be integrated with a variety of measures in the pursuit of the broad aims of economic policy.

A Seshan: The hidden Ponzi scheme

Before the Reserve Bank of India&rsquo;s (RBI&rsquo;s) annual monetary policy announcement, I had recommended a reduction in the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) by 100 to 200 basis points to improve the liquidity in the system without affecting the money supply. The suggestion was made because, even though the system had surplus SLR, it was unevenly distributed as a result of which those with excess securities could engage in arbitrage operations. For banks with surplus securities, the availability of repo funds at eight per cent is an incentive for arbitrage in call money, commercial paper, certificate of deposit and treasury bill (T-bill), besides providing refinance for their lending operations. The treasury departments of banks have a mandate to make money, inter alia, exploiting arbitrage opportunities that arise every moment thanks to the computer and the real-time flow of market data.

A Seshan: Now, time for an SLR cut

Veena S Balachander was an acknowledged master and innovator, but he was also a bit of a stormy petrel.

Highly strung

Most audiences, and most dancers, now lack the patience and stamina to experience Bharatanatyam in its original, full-length Margam form.

The show must go long

With the 2012 season of the Australian Open all set to begin in Melbourne on Monday, A Seshan traces the highs and lows of the tournament over the years and speculates on the possible contenders for the title this year.

A Seshan