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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 11:37:15 pm

Fast Today, Prosper Tomorrow

AI Generated Image Navratri is a time when devotion, self-control, and celebration come together. For nine days, people across the country observe fasting, prayers, and rituals with discipline and faith. But beyond the spiritual significance, Navratri also carries valuable lessons for our financial lives - especially in how fasting and sacrifice mirror the principles of investing. Fasting as discipline When we fast, we consciously give up indulgence. It is not just about avoiding food; it...

Fast Today, Prosper Tomorrow

AI Generated Image Navratri is a time when devotion, self-control, and celebration come together. For nine days, people across the country observe fasting, prayers, and rituals with discipline and faith. But beyond the spiritual significance, Navratri also carries valuable lessons for our financial lives - especially in how fasting and sacrifice mirror the principles of investing. Fasting as discipline When we fast, we consciously give up indulgence. It is not just about avoiding food; it is also about training the mind and body to resist temptation. The same applies to investing. In a world full of instant gratification, whether it is the latest gadget, a fancy car, an expensive lifestyle or a luxury holiday, real wealth creation requires the discipline to sometimes say, “not now.” Just as fasting strengthens willpower, disciplined investing strengthens our financial health. Sacrifice for a greater good Navratri fasting involves small sacrifices today for spiritual growth tomorrow. In investing too, we often have to sacrifice some short-term pleasures to secure long-term prosperity. Choosing to invest a bonus instead of spending it entirely, or increasing SIPs using a portion of every salary increment instead of allocating the entire increase towards expenses and new liabilities, may feel like a sacrifice initially. But these small decisions, repeated over many years, can accumulate into significant future wealth and financial security. This is the very essence of delayed gratification. Patience and consistency Navratri fasting is not observed for just one day. The discipline continues throughout the nine days. Similarly, investing is not about one lucky trade or one successful investment. Wealth creation requires staying the course month after month and year after year through regular investing, sensible asset allocation and the power of compounding. There will inevitably be periods when markets test our patience. But just as discipline during Navratri is maintained throughout the festival, financial discipline must continue through both good and difficult market conditions. Balance and moderation Fasting during Navratri is not about starving. It is about moderation, restraint and mindful eating. Investing too should not be about extremes, neither reckless risk-taking nor excessive conservatism. A well-planned portfolio spread appropriately across assets such as equity, debt and gold can provide both growth and stability. Just as moderation keeps the body healthy, balance helps keep our finances resilient. The bigger picture Ultimately, Navratri fasting is also about purification of the body, mind and soul. Investing, in its own way, requires purification of financial habits: moving away from impulsive spending, unnecessary liabilities and short-term thinking towards purposeful saving and wealth creation. This Navratri, as you observe your fast with devotion and discipline, also resolve to bring the same qualities into your financial life. After all, both fasting and investing ask us to give up a little today in pursuit of something greater tomorrow. (The author is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

Art Beyond Spaces

Mar 5, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Mar 6, 2025

Internationally acclaimed artist Sujata Bajaj’s exhibition of paintings revolving around the cosmos are a treat. The Perfect Voice deciphers the inspiration behind her works.

Sujata Bajaj
Nebula Magna 1- 150 x 300cm Acrylic on canvas with Silver Leaf 2023
Stellar Alchemy 2 Acrylic on canvas  with Gold & Silver
Stellar Alchemy 2 Acrylic on canvas with Gold & Silver

Mumbai is all set to welcome artist Sujata Bajaj back with an exhibition of her works Spacescapes at Jehangir Art Gallery that began on March 4. Taking inspiration from the cosmos, the art show is an ongoing series of abstract paintings that embrace colour in its unrestrained form.


The Europe based artist will be in Mumbai to showcase some brilliant paintings revolving around the cosmos and its beauty.


Artist Sujata Bajaj
Artist Sujata Bajaj

Seeking escape from the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus, Bajaj returned to her longstanding childhood fascination with astronomy, when she would be pulled out of her bed before dawn and taken outside and introduced to stargazing.


Between the seen and the unseen, where dreams and constellations collide, Sujata creates worlds that shimmer with the essence of life itself. She is not just an artist; she is a voyager of the infinite, capturing the pulse of creation with a palette of fire, starlight, and cosmic whispers.


Her work flows like a river of memory—carrying fragments of her childhood skies, where her father’s quiet presence guided her eyes to the stars. Those stars became her first teachers, speaking to her of vastness, mystery, and the silent poetry of the universe. Years later, as the world stood still in the echoing silence of a pandemic, those early lessons resurfaced, igniting her soul with a fresh purpose. The stars called her again, and this time, she answered with brushes dipped in light.


“These are not maps of galaxies or scientific renderings of space—they are symphonies of color and movement, where nebulae unfurl like celestial dancers and black holes hum with the secrets of existence. I aim to bring my canvases alive, vibrating with energy, capturing the moment when the universe first dreamed itself into life,” she cites further adding that this is her first major showing of abstract works of 17 years!


“Spacescapes is also the title of my new book which will be launched simultaneously. They mark a significant and exciting departure from my earlier works. I have been completely immersed in this project for the last five years,” she says.


The series wields color like a poet wields words—bold, fearless, and with a sense of rhythm that defies gravity. The fiery blush of a nebula, the electric greens of auroras, the cool blues of infinite horizons—all dissolve into each other, creating a language that speaks directly to the soul. There are no boundaries here, no lines to confine the imagination. Sujata invites us to lose ourselves, to drift into the boundless, where the cosmos whispers secrets to those who dare to listen.


While her earlier works were contained, structured—bold lines harnessing the chaos of her thoughts, in the present paintings the lines have dissolved, and what remains is pure freedom. It is as though she has surrendered to the universe, allowing its vastness to flow through her.


Sujata’s art is not an escape from reality; it is an elevation of it. She reminds us that the universe is not just out there—it is within us. Every burst of light, every swirl of energy on her canvas mirrors the galaxies spinning in our souls. Through her work, we become stargazers again, looking not just at the heavens but into ourselves, rediscovering the infinite that resides in the heart of every being.


The exhibition opens at the Jehangir Art gallery on March 4, 2025 and will remain open till March 10.

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