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Thanks to Anoushka Saha we now have elaborate, publicly accessible dashboards for IIM Ahmedabad’s two price indices.

IAIAI	ISALPI
IIM Ahmedabad-AuraArt Indian Art Index (IAIAI) IAIAI is a quarterly price index reflecting price movement in constant-quality modern art (paintings) by Indian artists auctioned over time. Currently, the index is based on artwork produced by top 25 artists. The index has been put together using a data-driven methodology that analyzes price variations in artwork auctions of top 25 Indian artists across the globe over 20-years. IAIAI therefore can offer, art enthusiasts, financiers, insurers, and other stakeholders across the sector, data to calculate the percentage change in the likely market price of an artwork over time.	IIM Ahmedabad-SFarmsIndia Agri Land Price Index (ISALPI) ISALPI was launched during the second quarter of 2022. SFarmsIndia, a Hyderabad-based Agri Land (Online) marketplace, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) on 25 November 2021. The MoU laid out the blueprint for a collaborative research project on the pricing of Agri Land parcels listed on the SFarmsIndia platform. SFarmsIndia agreed to share new land listing data with IIMA on a regular frequency. IIMA agreed to explore the idea of developing an Agri Land Price Index for India based on the SFarmsIndia data. The first batch of data included over 6,000 listings across several states of India starting the January of 2019.
Dashboard: Click here	Dashboard: Click here

Fir wahi Mausam ayenge, wahi chaand wo hi aasmaan
Aur ye guzasta saal tha sargoshoyon ka kaarwaan

Aao karein kuchh roshni, aao jalate hain chiraag
Ummeed ke qayaas me, aaya saal ye chaubiswaan

“Those same seasons will come again, the same moon in the sky.
And this past year was a caravan of whispers.

Let’s bring some light, let’s light the lamps.
In the hope and anticipation, this year has arrived, the twenty-fourth.

Here is the latest release of India’s Agricultural Land Price Index.

For more details, visit: https://www.iima.ac.in/faculty-research/centers/Misra-Centre-for-Financial-Markets-and-Economy/ISALPI

-Prashant Das ‘साहिल’

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जिंदगी रवाँ-दवाँ, किश्त-किश्त जीता हूँ
बिखरी-सी ज़िल्द ये, ख्वाबों से सीता हूँ।

देख मुस्कुराते वो, हैं दिल में साजिशें
मैं जहाँ का जान बन, उनका फजीता हूँ।

खींचता तहें अपनी, सिलता लिबास मैं
मेरा पैबंद बना, औ’ मैं ही फीता हूँ।

भरा हूँ फ़िराक़ से, अश्कों सना हुआ
पिन्हाँ है आग आज, मैं सुलगा पलीता हूँ।

खोजता तबस्सुम हूँ, आँख मेरे अंगारे
अर्जुन की द्रौपदी, मैं राम जी की सीता हूँ।

हिंदी है जान मेरी, और उर्दू माशूका
मैं ही क़ुरआन बना, औ’ मैं ही गीता हूँ।

अरमानों से भरा, कितना मैं रीता हूँ
किश्तों शिकस्त पर, ‘साहिल’ मैं जीता हूँ।

1. रवां दवां Frenzied 2.  फीता Embarrassment 3. फ़िराक़ Separation /renunciation 4. पिन्हां Hidden /latent 5. तबस्सुम Smile 6. रीता Empty

nazm #urdu #ghazal

Since the dawn of time, beauty has been a subject of contemplation. Socrates, and before him Pythagoras, connected beauty with ethics. For them, what is morally good must also be beautiful, suggesting that true beauty resides not in appearance, but in the essence of goodness itself.

Kant adds a rich dimension to this age-old conversation by distinguishing between two kinds of beauty: free and dependent. Dependent beauty is tied to external pleasures: an expensive painting that flatters your sense of ownership, a fine wine that tastes better in the presence of connoisseurs, a piece of cake whose allure grows with its exotic origin, or even the rising value of your financial portfolio. The beauty of such experiences rests not in the objects themselves, but in the gratification they provide.

Free beauty, by contrast, is pure; untethered to utility, status, or any pleasure beyond the moment of encounter. It simply is. And perhaps, in seeking this free beauty, we discover a path to deeper and more enduring happiness.

Imagine, for instance, a Monet painting you can never afford, or a fleeting moment of human kindness captured in a social media video that has nothing to do with you. Both evoke the same response: “beautiful,” we say. This is the realm of free beauty. Scientific studies suggest a strong link between kindness and happiness, and perhaps our inner turmoil arises when we stray from kindness, failing to see the beauty in it.

In this way, Kant and Socrates converge: beauty, in its highest form, is inseparable from goodness.

We find similar free beauty in poetry and music. Some individuals in these arts radiate beauty not merely in their craft, but in the awe they inspire. When something fills us with awe and uplifts us, it is beautiful. Kant’s wisdom reminds us to embrace this awe.

Consider poets and musicians: Elvis Presley singing In the Ghetto, Suresh Wadkar’s Sanjh Dhale, or Baba Nagarjun’s raw verses in Badal ko ghirte dekha hai. These artists, in their essence, are beautiful because they stir something deep within us. Their beauty transcends the material; it lingers in the soul.

Heraclitus taught that time is ever in flux, that nothing remains the same. Our perception of beauty shifts as time flows, yet echoes of past beauty still reverberate within us. Sometimes, it is through music, poetry, or even a nostalgic melody that we reclaim those moments of free beauty.

So, as I sit tonight, once again immersed in the timeless songs of Khayyam Sahab, I realize that true beauty transcends change. His music, deep and soulful, is a window to the eternal; where beauty is free, not bound by the fleeting pursuits of life. In these moments, we find joy, acceptance, and peace. And that, in itself, is beautiful.

-Prashant Das ‘साहिल’

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ग़ज़ब हुआ जो लौटकर मैं इस शहर आया
मेरा माज़ी मेरी ओर, किस क़दर आया।

जहाँ ख़्वाब थे, और रूमानियत की बातें थीं
आज क्यूँ मेरे अश्क़ों का यूँ बहर आया?

वो साल और थे, दरिया भी कोई और सा था
सहरा से इन कूचों में, बेख़बर आया।

गली की रोशनी में सुब्ह थी और शाम अलग
शाहराह जब आया, तो हर पहर आया।

कहाँ गए मेरे हमनवा, कहाँ वो माशूक़ा?
ये वो शहर तो नहीं, जाने मैं किधर आया!

अजनबी अब हैं पुरानी ये सब गलियाँ भी
वो पुराना आशना था, जो लिये मेहर आया।

सेमल का वो दरख़्त, नाव काग़ज़ की थी
बच्चा बना ‘साहिल’ भी वहां  नज़र आया।