“ ugadi pachhadi ” in telugu and “ bevu - bella ” in kannada, symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of pleasure and pain, which should be accepted together and with equanimity. people traditionally gather to listen to the recitation of the religious almanac ( panchangam ) of the coming year, and to the general forecast of the year to come. this is the panchanga sravanam, an informal social function where an elderly and respected person opens the new almanac pertaining to the coming year and makes a general benediction to all present. the advent of radio and television has changed this routine somewhat, especially in the cities. nowadays, people turn on the radio or tv to watch the recitation. ugadi celebrations are also marked by literary discussions, poetry recitations and recognition of authors of literary works through awards and cultural programmes. recitals of classical carnatic music and dance are held in the evenings. in maharashtra, it is customary to erect “ gudis ” on the first day ( padwa ) of the marathi new year. “ gudi ” is a bamboo staff with a colored silk cloth and a garlanded goblet atop it, which symbolizes victory or achievement. hence, this day is known as " gudipadwa " in maharashtra. the new year is ushered in with the worship of the “ gudi ” and the distribution of a specific “ prasadam ” comprising tender neem leaves, gram - pulse and jaggery. the symbolism of tastes is the same as that of ugadi. it is believed that the creator of the hindu pantheon lord brahma started creation on this day – chaitra suddha padhyami or the ugadi day. also, the great indian mathematician bhaskaracharya ’ s calculations proclaimed the ugadi day from the sunrise on as the beginning of the new year, new month and new day. let me confess that i am not able to predict for the next year, the future of monetary policy in the open economies in general or opening economies like india, since i am yet to hear " panchang sravanam " for the new year named as " sarvajeet ". there is an interesting reason why i could not hear the authentic panchang sravanam. there is a difference of opinion among the top pundits in andhra pradesh as to whether panchang sravanam should be on the 19th or the 20th

##roved in recent years. the world's largest economy, the united states, currently runs a current account deficit, financed to a substantial extent by capital exports from the emerging market economies. of course, it can be argued that the so - called “ global imbalances ” are a reflection of incomplete globalisation. but the fact remains that as long as globalization happens to be incomplete, public policy has to manage the consequential " imbalances ". secondly, in a globalising world, the context in which monetary policy is set, often leads to a confrontation with the impossible trinity – independent monetary policy, open capital account and managed exchange rate. the theory holds that at best, only two out of the three would be feasible. in practice, however, there is a shift in preference away from the corner solution with respect to financial imbalances. currently, intermediate solutions, which were earlier regarded as “ fuzzy ”, are now becoming increasingly relevant. moreover, in recognition of the differences between trade and financial integration – first pointed out by jagdish bhagwati – there is less certainty today about the corner solutions than in the past. thirdly, at a practical level, the recent experience seems to indicate that globalisation may have had accentuated potential conflicts that can impact the fabric of our societies, particularly, in view of rising corporate profits coupled with a reduction in share of remuneration for the labour. in this regard, i was struck by what mr. john micklethwait, editor - in - chief of the economist is reported to have said in an interview, as mentioned in a leading daily yesterday ( march 18, 2007 ). he said this in the context of the process of globalisation : " but as far as globalisation goes, i am worried about one thing : if you look at inequality, particularly in america, the rich have got even richer and the median income has barely budged. what is interesting is that just in the last couple of quarters, you began to see a sign of the wages beginning to rise. what if you have seen in the last ten years is the returns to capital increasing dramatically and returns to labour proportionately going down? what is happening now is that if you have the prospect of a downturn, then inequality will become much bigger issue in the american elections. around the world it is already a much bigger issue, including in places like japan. the corporate boss in japan now is paid 35 times what the