Once in a Blue Moon Academia (OBMA)

  Stones, Frogs, and Divine Dividends: Piramal’s Philanthro-Capitalist Lila Posted on 22nd February, 2026 (GMT 08:48 hrs) ABSTRACT This incisive satirical exposé reinterprets Aesop’s fable of boys throwing stones at frogs as a metaphor for the Piramal Group’s “doing well by doing good” brand of philanthro-capitalism. Blending fable, philosophy, and forensic critique, the piece dissects how corporate strategies cloaked in Vaishnava discourse and Gandhi-branded CSR have enabled empire building that yields profitable acquisitions and regulatory clearance while exacting severe costs from ordinary depositors, small investors, and vulnerable communities. Using the DHFL insolvency resolution as the central case study, it reveals how retail creditors endured steep haircuts, potential fraud recoveries were acquired for a token amount, and corporate reputation was polished through strategic philanthropy and market optics—even as environmental and social harms persist. The narrative extends i...

  One Rupee, Piramal Finance, and the Ruins of DHFL: A Letter to Mr. Ajay Piramal Posted on 9th January, 2026 (GMT 03:55 hrs) ABSTRACT This open letter to Ajay Piramal interrogates the moral dissonance between Piramal Finance’s “Neeyat” advertising campaign, which celebrates honesty through the return of a single rupee, and the lived reality of DHFL depositors whose life savings were erased through a deeply contested insolvency process. By juxtaposing corporate virtue-signalling with the transfer of nearly ₹45,000 crore of DHFL assets for ₹1, the text argues that legality has been deployed to eclipse legitimacy, and branding to obscure accountability. Situating the DHFL resolution within a wider system of crony capitalism, opaque political financing, captured institutions, and manufactured consent, the letter frames the episode as part of a broader legitimation crisis in BJP-ruled India, where ethics are subordinated to power and proximity. At its core, the piece demands that ...