Tomorrow never dies

Lehman goes bust! Meryll lynched! AIG sold off!
All newspapers worth the name carried this prominently on their front page.

Rewind to 2004-2005 to a major business school in Pune.
Students were brimming with confidence. Why would they not? The BRIC report was projecting a huge growth for Indian economy. India Shining was the motto everywhere.
FM was reiterating the 9% GDP growth story at every street corner meeting. Jobs were up for grabs with mind boggling salaries. It was a picture perfect setting.

2006-2008
Traveling to different parts of the country could not paint a different picture. IT, the backbone of India Inc flourished.Malls adorned every street. Retail chains boasted abut double digit growth, while foreign retailers tried to get government approval for direct entry into India. Traffic jams caused by cars of all makes and sizes were routing affairs.
Sensex crossed hurdles with the ease of an Olympic athlete participating in 400 m hurdles.
Life style changes were amazing driven by the growth story of the great Indian middle class.
India was truly shining.

2008 Mid August.
Some figures were still heading north. Inflation crossed double digits. Crude soared to touch record highs. Commodity prices shot through the roof. No of pink slips given by many IT firms went up (though they claimed that it is a regular retrenchment of non performers).

Couple of years back, the news of a Lehman would mean nothing to a layman.
But today, every man is talking about the news.
1. Will the Indian real estate story be intact given that many foreign institutions have invested heavily in Indian realty space?
2. Will the Indian IT continue growing given that outsourcing deals will be fewer?
3. Will the economic growth be sluggish given the global economic scenario?

Ok Ok you might argue that these questions are for politicians, economists or academicians. What about these below?
1. Is my savings in MNC Indian banks (with operations abroad) intact?
2. Is my investments in Insurance companies (which have tie ups with MNC firms) safe?
3. Is the hard earned money invested in ULIP’s or ELSS safe (given the way sensex and other indices are plummeting)?

We Indians are born live and die with the concept of saving for a better tomorrow. Are our savings safe?
Is it wise to struggle today for a brighter tomorrow or should I just live my life king size today?
Will the big bang experiment really lead to the end of the world ;-)
Does the future really hold a meaning?

The TV in the background sings “ Hey Baby,jeene de is pal ko,Kal ke bare mey sochenge kal ko .( Hey baby, let me live this moment, Tomorrow I will think about tomorrow ).