Vikram Seth's An Equal Music - A Review

An Equal Music is the only Vikram Seth book I have read (so far). It is always a daunting task to start reading a book of an author of Seth’s stature. As one starts to read – the book comes to life like the music it portrays. Can a book which is solely about classical music (of which I have absolutely zero knowledge) sustain for the length of a novel? It can and does as it flows through chapters describing the perfect music, the love the protagonist Michael is in search of and the fusion of love, music and the life of a struggling violinist and a quartet named Maggiore.

Michael is a narcissist. For him it is perfect or nothing. A butcher’s son from Yorkshire (no, Lancashire), he has started on his journey with the violin with encouragement from an elderly neighbour and inputs from the public library of unlikely Manchester - to make a small place for himself in classical music. As he struggles on in London, he finds his lost love Julia – while his quartet makes some of the perfect music ever. However, Michael loses Julia – and his World comes crashing down – again - as it had once before against the demands of an unforgiving tutor. Woven through Michael’s story – is also the story of the quest for the perfect music and concerts by a quartet, the story of a violin (Tonini), a deaf pianist and concerts in London, Venice and Vienna.

An Equal Music comforts, warms, and in places makes one’s toes curl with the depths of emotions described. As you finish the book – you will definitely want to hear Bach, the Art of Fugue, The Trout, Schubert or Schumann (the wring Schu?) and read the book all over again!

To know more about Vikram Seth - go to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikram_Seth

To read An Equal Music by Vikram Seth - buy it online at
 An Equal Music - The Book By Vikram Seth


Music from An Equal Music is also available for MP3 download or to buy at amazon. Check it out here.

Value Averaging in Investing

It has been a long time since I have revisited any financial planning concept. So time for rehashing some basic investment  fundas!

How many really take an active interest in managing their portfolios? People tend to leave it to the fund manager to manage money in case of mutual funds and tend to put any spare cash in the latest fund that is "in" or as chosen by a "financial adviser", else choose a "safe" inflation beating instrument. The more judicious squirrel away a little bit systematically in "safe investments" and do a bit of active portfolio management while the experts look for gains in the stock market.

But there are some easy to use personal finances tools out there which actually make our money work well with a modest financial planning. However, due to ignorance, overconfidence or maybe simple laziness we tend to ignore them. Value Averaging is one such tool. Its an unbelievably simple financial planning tool that anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge about investments can use to good effect.

Simple Definition

In value averaging one puts/withdraws a certain amount of money into/from investments so that the value of the investment remains the same.

Here's a way to make it work well and work with one's portfolio.

Choose two asset classes - preferably diversified equity and a steady liquid asset. Lets say one has a portfolio of $100,000. You put 75000 into the equity portfolio and 25000 in the liquid asset. On a fixed date every month (or quarter) review the portfolio. If say the equity portfolio has gone up by $3000, book that profit and shift the money to the liquid, low risk portfolio. And if the equity portfolio has fallen, shift money from the liquid asset into equity, so that the value of the equity portfolio remains constant either way.

Advantages

The advantages are obvious. One has kept booking profits and shifted it to a safe investment at every opportunity and rise in equity markets. Also one has invested in equity when at low, unlike dollar cost averaging where one blindly puts in a fixed amount into equity every month, whether high or low.

The trick in value cost averaging is to maintain discipline over a longish period. Its truly a golden way to beat the bears.

After all, you spend so much time earning, shouldn't you spend a little time to make your hard earned money work best...its not really rocket science.

Know more about everyday personal finance and more at https://indianfinanceguide.com/

Books by Fellow Xombies!

My "Xomba" friends Priya Kanwar and V. Taprial have just published a book "A Beginner's Guide to Blogging". Taprial and Priya are amongst the cream of Xomba bloggers!
Taprial, a Naval Commander, has also published a racy thriller "Enemy in the Ranks". Be sure to have a look at both the books! They are both Pustak Mahal publications and can be ordered online too.
Both the books sold well at the Delhi Book Fair. Be sure to get a copy if you are in India. Here is the link to get it online.

http://www.infibeam.com/Books/info/varinder-taprial/beginner-s-guide-blogging-making-money-online/9788122311105.htmlhttp://www.infibeam.com/Books/info/varinder-taprial/beginner-s-guide-blogging-making-money-online/9788122311105.html