Travel, Cycling and MFI

Life lessons from cycling.

Saturday, September 11, 2021

Today I am traveling via train after almost one and a half year. Feeling a surreal mix of excitement and uncanniness. While I am sitting on seat number 65 of the C5 coach and typing my thoughts out, I see lush green mountains, dark grey clouds which can burst any moment, slow internet yet people glued to their phones (Maybe they're typing their their thoughts too). New Delhi Railway Station was crowded as usual, Taxi Drivers and Auto Wallahs were ready to take me back home (Isn't it weird they ask people who are ENTERING the station if they can help them reach their destination), Some random Uncle is sleeping besides me with his mouth open(I'm not judging), Tea still costs ₹10 and Coffee ₹20. Everything is still the same except that they have stopped giving food in Shatabdi, which is actually a sad part :(

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Cycling teaches us a lot about life. I bought a new cycle in July and I have been cycling since then, more or less continuously. What I realised after a month of cycling is that it is not how many Kilometres I cycle that makes me tired and sweaty, It is the number of times I have to start from ZERO again. The amount of work required to set myself up in motion is waaayyyy greater than the amount of work required to increase the speed. Similar is the case with whatever you do in life. Anything you do from scratch, from ZERO, requires some effort. But once the ball gets rolling, the ride becomes smoother. While cycling, you overtake some people, and some overtake you. It doesn't mean that some are slow and others are fast. The ones you crossed were probably barefoot and the ones who crossed you were probably on some motor vehicle. Everyone has their own clock, their own system, their own means and they are doing best according to that. There's no point in comparing. You have your own clock. Sometimes you have to cycle opposite to the direction of wind, and at times in the direction of wind. The hack is to go slow, save your energy when the wind is not in your direction, you have no control on the external forces. You cannot snap your fingers and change the direction just like that. The time and the opportunity will come. Pounce upon the opportunity just like a hungry lion pounces on its prey. One should know how to efficiently use their energy and power. Oh, do you remember the dark clouds I talked about in the beginning? Yeah, they have exploded and it’s raining cats and dogs! Let's stop cycling and get a shelter. ;)

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Have you ever been to a weekly market? It is so crowded that you can call it a fish market of vegetarians. One can see lines of vendors selling vegetables and fruits everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean the middle of the road too. Most of these vendors buy from wholesalers in the morning on credit, sell everything off during the day and pay back to the wholesaler with interest in the evening. Even the carts they use are rented most of the times. Similar is the case with big businesses, they buy their stuff using the capital they borrow and payback using the revenues they generate. The world runs on debt. The difference in lending to businesses and the poor vendors is that the interest vendors pay is much more than the interest businesses pay. This is largely because banks are unwilling to touch the poor. The advantage of this void is taken by moneylenders and traders who charge outrageously high interest rates. This is the reson what triggered the widespread adoption of Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) across the world. MFI were supposed to lend to the poor with a very less interest rate, and help and support the poor and especially poor women financially. Initially MFI were a huge success, SKS is one of the most famous MFI in India and its IPO was a huge success. But surveys later revealed that poor were lending more from the moneylenders, who were charging approximately 4 times the interest rate charged by the MFI. There are a bunch of reasons behind this and it's logical if you look from the perspective of a poor man. Let's leave this discussion for the next edition of Passion Pad.

See you next Saturday, until then have a great weekend :)

Cheers!

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Some things that you may find interesting-

Article: Invisible women: Exposing Data Bias in a World designed for Men.

Must Watch: The Universe is Hostile to Computers

Song I am listening to: Do Gallan

Thought of the week:  "Your comeback will be far greater than your setback"

Thread of the week: Oblivious Transfer

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