Dear Readers,
FC 97 on Light & Mirthful was well-read and appreciated. I value the encouragement that I get from my readers.
I got a tongue-in-cheek comment from Murali: “Glad that your family has a Padma awardee. I got this award in 1976 itself when I married my beloved Padma”.
Tarun says: “Those who make light of their burdens have seen the light!”
Nisha says: "‘With mirth and laughter, let old wrinkles come,’ says Shakespeare. Prasanna, you have done your fair share towards your lightening up the Sunday mornings of your readers. Keep them coming!!”
Dr. Naina says: “Reminded me of my medical school days when the Professor in a clinical session asks us to throw some light on the diagnosis, one not so bright classmate when queried directly took out his pen torch from his pocket and threw light on the patient with all of us in splits. Such were our lighter moments in Med School, when the heat and the atmosphere around would be cooled.”
Ashvini Ranjan recalls this episode on stage involving me, him, and my mother-in-law: “Dear Pras, the terms light, drama, the striped shorts of Draupadi in FC 97 made me recall the play ‘Shudda Pitipiti’, the Kannada drama that you and I were a part of. Though fifty summers and more have passed, thinking about it still brings a smile to the face. Your Mother-in-law (in real life) was the heroine in the drama, and you were the hero and I the heroine’s father. Being a Malayali, your M-I-L did not know Kannada. She had written her script in English and memorized it. She did not know the meanings of the dialogue. Halfway through the play, there was a power shut down. Your M-I-L got her dialogue papers mixed up. What followed was mayhem. The dialogue was out of context and not how the plot should have progressed. You and I had to stage-manage (literally) to keep the drama going. The audience had no idea of the chaos that your M-I-L was creating. The author of the original story must have turned in his grave. To put an end to the agony, I, the father of the heroine, readily agreed to have the hero have his way (though he did not deserve her) just to put an end to the agony. Phew! Gives me goosebumps even now thinking about it.”
💰 Good Money After Bad Money
Colley Cibber (November 1671 – December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright, and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal, and even rambling style. The phrase ‘throwing away good money after bad’ appeared for the first time in this book.
I am a lawyer by profession, and I always caution people who come rolling up their sleeves to take someone to court. I explain the consequences of getting into a long-drawn courtroom battle, the associated costs, and the loss of productive time. The initial gung-ho feeling of emerging victorious gets tempered when they weigh the pros and cons of commencing a legal fight, which they later realize that they can neither give up nor take to its logical conclusion.
When I refer to bad money, I am referring to the end result that a legal fight is intended to achieve. It could be the recovery of money or property or any other actionable claim.
When I refer to good money, I not only refer to the money spent on lawyers and courts but also the time value of money — the time spent over a period of years, and the associated physical and mental anguish. And don’t forget the vengeful desire to succeed or the fear of failure causing some loss of face.
What then is the option if one is dissuaded from going to court? Amicable settlement through mediation? What if the counterparty is unwilling to engage in this process? The answer is not easy to come by. But exploring all options and then making an informed decision whether to engage or not in litigation may be the right course.
In FC #005 posted on Aug 02, 2020 I have at length spoken about mediation, and it features the renowned mediator par excellence Ms. Laila Ollapally. I urge you to read it.
In this process of evaluating options, one may decide to treat it as a lost cause and not file a case but otherwise gainfully utilize the money, time, and other resources. This does not mean that one has lost the case. It only means that one has chosen to not start a wild goose chase. After all, ‘discretion is the better part of valour’.
Speaking of a wild goose chase, one should realize that this idiom is a good expression to use when talking about a long search or pursuit that is bound to be unsuccessful. It was first featured in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. The idiom can be synonymous with ‘chasing bad money with good money with no end in sight’.
Games of chance and games involving skill also involve spending good money. Games of skill may involve money, but they leave you with the satisfaction of having participated, even if you did not win a prize. A game of chance is invariably an uncertain proposition, with outcomes that are equally uncertain. It is a gamble.
Solving a crossword puzzle or taking part in a Sudoku competition are clearly games involving skill. But spending money betting on a horse or participating in an event where luck plays a key role is clearly a case of spending good money after bad money.
The lure of quick money or doubling your money is at the core of fraudulent schemes floating on the web and enticing people to part with their, not just good, but hard-earned money. I have known a person who not only invested his savings but also borrowed heavily and lost all that money to scammers. The other day a relative of mine called me up seeking my help to recover a huge sum a neighbour’s son had lost while in pursuit of tripling his money over bitcoins. Little do such people realise that the money they lost to scammers is virtually impossible to retrieve.
Addiction to online games is the new trend, wherein more money is lost than gained if one is not careful. There is also this debate going on whether such online games are a game of chance or do they involve skill. The fact is, many of the online gaming companies put out a caveat that goes something like this: “Players are advised to exercise caution while playing these games, as they may lead to addiction.” Well, as the saying goes, ‘we know the wrongs and yet let the wrongs pursue’.
People either start a business or enter into partnership with persons whom they trust but know nothing of their business acumen. In either case, the initial investment is spent and losses keep mounting. As if to recoup, fresh investment is made, from either one’s own savings or by providing personal collateral for borrowing, without any assurance that there will be turn around and the business will become cash positive. Case of good money after bad money leading to good friends becoming bad enemies.
The poor and gullible are taken advantage of by unscrupulous characters. Ponzi schemes are made to look very attractive by promising high rates of interest, and very soon the fools and their money are parted.
So what do we call all the different kinds of people who part with their hard-earned (good) money? Do we call them ‘naive’ or ‘foolish’ or both? Being naive is lacking wisdom, judgment, or worldly experience. Foolish does not mean a lack of basic intelligence, but in this context, it could mean rash, impulsive, lacking judgment and being blindsided by unrealistic expectations.
Do we call them idiots who lack basic intelligence? Well, it depends on the context. Speaking of idiots, here’s an anecdote that did the rounds on WhatsApp:
Akbar asked Birbal to look for the five biggest idiots in his state and produce them in his court within a month.
After a month's extensive search, Birbal brought to the court only two people!
"But I asked for five", Akbar angrily asked.
"Give me a chance to present them one by one", Birbal pleaded and went on to present his idiots:
"Maharaj, this man, while travelling in a bullock cart, was keeping his luggage on his head so as not to hurt the bullocks. He is the first idiot.
Pointing to the second man, Birbal continued, "And this man here is the second idiot. Some grass grew on the roof of his thatched house, and he was trying to force his cow to climb up a ladder to graze on them."
Pointing to himself, Birbal said, "Maharaj, I ignored my duties and wasted a precious month in searching for idiots. According to me, I am the third idiot."
"Who are the fourth and fifth idiots?", Akbar thundered.
"Beg your pardon, Maharaj", Birbal continued, "Instead of looking for wise people, you engaged me to look for idiots. According to me, you are the fourth idiot.
And, Maharaj, the person who is glued to this WhatsApp, just to learn who is the fifth idiot, is the fifth idiot himself. What do you say, Maharaj?" Birbal concluded.
Akbar said, "Post-it immediately in all groups."
Dear Readers, I hope you liked this issue. If it was not to your liking, take comfort from the fact that this post comes to you free, and you aren't throwing good money to get it.
Cheers!
Liked your FC 98 and was reminded of a time when my son a 5 year old quizzed me as to how our neighbour’s son ( happened to be a Dy SP police ) had all the exotic toys at home whilst he being a Govt Doc’s had just the bare minimum? I told him son some of us have only good money but some others have both good and bad money without getting into the source. The next time I went to the bank he insisted he accompany me and didn’t realise the reason . Upon reaching the bank and when I was writing out in the withdrawal slip he wanted to sit on the counter ledge to peer over the counter which I obliged too knowing the friendly staff didn’t mind . Upon handing over the slip he asked the staff , Uncle are you giving my mother good money or bad money to which he replied- Son your mother will never have bad money to withdraw as she’ll faithfully put in her salary cheque and withdraw almost everything for the expenses of the month. He kept insisting that probably a bit of bad money to have gotten from the bank was not a bad idea to buy him those dream toys . Disappointedly , he asked me as to why I didn’t opt for bad money too but I told him that bad money brings bad luck and ominous consequences and how my Dad a senior Civil Servant taught us the values young to earn only good money. A year or two passed by but my words did come true as the police officer in a major case of extortion was trapped and not only suspended but dismissed from service and never again did we meet them as they had to disappear into their native place in ignominy and shame. All my son knew was bad money lead to their disappearance from our neighbourhood and now a 34 years strong man an Engineer level - headed , ethical and working for Knowledge Management Centre in Infosys never stops thanking me for the values inculcated in him and my daughter as they can clearly distinguish what is working hard and earning good money vis-a- vis possessing bad money and inviting misery.
FC 98 was indeed great and interesting read. I am sure you must feel like a cricketer batsmen when he is on 98 -the nervous 90’s as they say. In your case however there is nothing to be nervous about (shades of nothing official about it campaign by Pepsi in the Cricket World Cup). You will surely get there and the century edition will be in your bag.
The stage story related by Ashvini Ranjan was indeed hilarious but not so I agree for those in the midst of it all. Your advice to detest from going to a court if it can be avoided is quite pragmatic and level headed. My father-in-law’s father who was a lawyer himself at a local court ( in those times) had the same advice for most. The initial euphoria that one gets on taking someone to court will soon no doubt soon turn out to be misplaced, once one realizes the endless time it takes to have a matter settled through court.