Amit's Musings

Alphabet: From Search Supremacy to Cloud Conquest Amid Regulatory Reckoning   In Q3 2025, Alphabet shattered records by eclipsing $100 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, fueled by its "full-stack approach to AI" that propelled double-digit growth across all major segments. Total revenue soared 16% year-over-year (YoY) to $102.3 billion, with net income surging 33% to $35 billion, despite a $3.5 billion European Commission (EC) fine denting margins. Google Cloud led the charge at 34% YoY growth, while YouTube ads climbed 15% and subscriptions hit 300 million paid users. Over three years, revenue CAGR stands at 11.8%, rebounding from post-pandemic slumps. Yet, risks loom: ballooning capex at $91-93 billion for 2025, antitrust battles, and AI search monetization uncertainties. This essay unpacks Alphabet's triumphs in cloud wars against AWS and Azure, YouTube's hybrid pivot rivaling Netflix, and a bullish two-year outlook tempered by regulatory headwind...

Lascars: The Invisible Armada of Empire   In the vast expanse of the British Empire's maritime dominance, lascars—seafarers primarily from the Indian subcontinent—emerged as the unsung heroes and exploited backbone of global trade from the 17th to mid-20th centuries. Hired under discriminatory "Lascar contracts" or Asiatic Articles, these men faced wages a fraction of their European counterparts, grueling labor in steamship engine rooms, and ambiguous legal protections despite being imperial subjects. The term "lascar," derived from the Persian "lashkar" meaning army or camp, evolved from military connotations to a catch-all for non-European sailors. Paralleling the Girmitiya indentured system as a sly workaround to abolished slavery, lascars numbered in the hundreds of thousands, with peaks like 51,000 in 1914 comprising 17.5% of British mariners. Mostly returning to origins in Bengal, Gujarat, and Malabar, a minority scattered globally, seeding e...

Patna's Runway Riddle: Soaring Ambitions on a Short Strip   Patna's Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport (PAT) grapples with a runway that's too short at just 2,072 meters, sparking safety concerns and operational limits for aircraft like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. This brevity imposes load penalties, reducing passenger numbers by 10-30% to ensure safe takeoffs, especially amid hot weather or long routes. The historic Secretariat clock tower exacerbates issues by forcing steeper descents, effectively shortening usable runway. Wide-body jets are impossible here, stalling international connectivity. Future relief lies in the new Bihta airport, 20 km away, promising longer runways for global flights by 2027. Experts warn of risks from urban sprawl and obstacles, urging expansions to balance heritage with modern aviation demands. This saga highlights the tension between Bihar's growth and infrastructural constraints. In the bustling heart of Bihar, where th...