From Shahrukh Khan to Swami Vivekananda and Charles Dickens to Henry David Thoreau, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday appeared to have traversed a long distance from cinema to spirituality and fiction to philosophy as he read out his third consecutive Budget speech in the Lok Sabha.

The man who sought to instill the nation's confidence with King Khan's "Main Hoon Na" over two years back was today quoting Swami Vivekananda to exhort the nation on the path of destiny.

"We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. The wind is blowing, those vessels whose sails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which have their sails furled do not catch the wind. Is that the fault of the wind?...We make our own destiny."

Quoting Thoreau, he said, "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

Though the harsh realities of guiding one of the world's largest economies may have had its impact, Chidambaram continues to be inspired by his favourite poet-philosopher Saint Tiruvalluvar.