A Rs.5 Santa

I was going to Seawoods today, and as usual I decided to go by train as it takes only 10 minutes from Vashi station to Seawoods station. I was in a bit hurry and the train was running 10 mins late. I was getting impatient, grinned as I stared at the digital clock. Ah…the train entered finally and I hopped in even before it came to complete halt. Wooah…stood there….took out my cell phone and started surfing the net. I knew if I stand still and do nothing 10 minutes would feel like 30minutes, just wanted to loose myself in something to keep impatience from killing me.

As I was surfing a group sitting behind me started singing “ tere mast mast do naine” from Dabaang in loud voice. I paid less heed as there are many who come in train with their bajaas, sing and earn some pennies. Suddenly, what started as just another, “sing-a-song-earn-a-penny” turned to be an entertaining musical performance. Their rusty voice was well supported by broken harmonium and an age old dhol.

A guy standing opposite to me started humming the song and swinging in the mood and so did few others. I then just couldn’t help myself but turn back completely to watch them and enjoy for free. I loved their enthusiasm. The lead singer seemed to care less about his torned, unwashed shirt, and the dholki guy with his unkempt hair bouncing in air was not in a mood to stop. Just when I started enjoying the performance my stop came and I had to get down, but I stopped for a second, took out an old and crushed Rs.5 note which a rickshawwala had given me same morning and told the person sitting near the window seat to hand it over to them. The dholki guy looked at me in delight on receiving the note, his big bold eyes twinkled with happiness. I bid him adieu with a smile and thumb’s up.

Why did I stop for a second when I alighted at the Seawoods station?

I just thought that may be this little act of mine would encourage them to do what they are doing. They come form poor backgrounds, they must not have ever attended the school, but still instead of begging or going a wrong way to satisfy their hunger they chose to entertain people and earn well deserved money (even if it’s a rupee coin). That’s what I liked about them. Wow! these guys are an inspiration. 


We, being the fortunate ones, should encourage them at such times so that they never go the wrong way to earn bucks. A ONE RUPEE coin given with a smile can do wonders to uplift their spirits. That One Rupee is a message from our society to them that “you’re a respectable part of our society, and we want you to continue doing the good work”

Next time when you see such people, please stop for a moment and slide hands inside your pocket to take out that One rupee. That silver colour coin has immense potential to motivate lost spirits and change lives.

Today is Christmas. This is perhaps the most celebrated holiday in the entire world. I read somewhere that Gift giving is core to the message of Christmas, and I thank God that although unknowingly, I did give away a small gift today.

What is the greatest gift you have ever given or received? How did it impact you? Please leave your story in the comment box below.

Merry Christmas :)

"Giving begins the receiving process"

Facebook- Transition of a Noun to a Verb

The other day my uncle came up to me and asked, 'what's that thing you do online -chat...and you're always hooked onto it...that Face....'. "Facebook", I said promptly. Yes, Facebook...whatever, can you check out somebody's background as in what he/she does,etc?, he asked. I said yes absolutely. He said okay search for Rahul Patil (name changed for obvious reasons). He wanted to  find some info about this guy because he's considering him for my cousin sister. He came to know about this guy from some distant relative and wanted to cross check (Father he is...after all)


Now what do you get out of this? Few years back we didn't have resources like these. We had Google but we used it to search info about companies- mostly. Google it! as we used to say it. And now we have a grand tool to search individuals, and not just search them but we may also get to know them.

"Facebook him/her" - this is a big thing for a Social Networking Site. It shows the sheer power it beholds behind its popularity. Facebook him and you will get the most up-to-date and probably genuine information about him. Facebook him- the transition of a noun to a verb is clear;y visible, isn't it?

The same thing is happening and will happen big time in case of companies. Many of you must have already "liked" a brand's fan page. In the process of getting more close to its target market companies are finding it essential to have a Social Media presence. In western countries many companies have already established a strong foothold in Social Media. Few years back people said "Google it" and now they say "Facebook it". SMO is taking over SEO or simply stating Facebook over Google.  SEO would still be there but would be a small piece of the large pie.

What do you think? Let me know if you have ever experienced using Facebook as a verb rather than a noun.

Cheers,

Somesh

Diwali - Socialization at its best

Dear friends,
Happy Diwali to and your family members.

Just thought of writing a small post to mark this occasion. Diwali as we all know is popularly known as festival of lights. People of Ayodhya first celebrated it on return of their king Ram after defeating Raavan. There are many aspects of Diwali, like, having sweets, lighting up diyas, triumph of good over evil, new clothes, and family and freinds. Yes, that's is the aspect because of which i thought of writing this post.- Family and Friends.

Diwali gives us more than one reason to come together and celebrate. We exchange greetings, sweets, wishes, burn crackers together, nowdays SMS friends (even with those with whom we had a talk last Diwali). Socialization is not a new trend, it dates long back. It's just that avenues like Facebook have given us a more constructive and larger scope. Today you "like" your friend's pic, few years back we did the same but only when we met them. You exchange comments on Facebook, share info.....all this we did even earlier on festivals like Diwali, thanks to Facebook now we can do it sitting at one place. But still, socializing on Diwali by meeting people in person, exchanging sweets, comments, saying" i LIKE your dress", "the sweets made by your mom are awesome", etc. has a charm of its own.

So go out there and "Like" somebody.

Wish you all a Very Happy Diwali.

Social Media Maths

Social Media Maths:

Brand X is a new product meant for youngsters. Brand X wants to reach out to them and get popular amongst the youngsters in metros. But it's a new company, poor baby doesn't have much to spend, can't afford multiple verticals. But has the intent to reach and become popular.

So what does it do?

Brand X decides to display a half page ad in one of the leading tabloid of Mumbai 

tabloid says, a half page advertisement would costs around Rs.200,000

this tabloid reaches 1,50,000 houses in Mumbai

Let's have a look at....

Potential scenario: 1,50,000 units in 1,50,000 hands. Probaably 2 people read it in one house so the tabloid offers a reach of 300,000 readers

now,  

we assume 5% of the people see the ad

so it means,

15000 see it and read it   Wow tats gr8!!! 

if Brand X does a campaign for 6 months, 1 ad per week...........that is 24 half page ads, say on every sunday

calculator says it goes to 24*200000 = Rs. 4800,000

48 lakhs for getting 15000*24 weeks= 3,60,000 people reading it

In 6 months, Brand X will be very popular among 3,60,000 youngsters......

WAIT......

i can't really say if those 360,000 are youngsters...if you could help me finding out who all are going to read it then please call me......

Brand X calls God! please help me......

God Sends FACEBOOK

Brand X finds out that Facebook is immensely popular with city youths

Brand X decides to create a Facebook page

Brand X contacts a social media agency

Agency promises 50000+ fans in 6 months time @ Rs.1,80,000

Let's have a look at....

Potential Scenario: avg user of Facebook has 130 friends 

so, it means,

 50000*130 = 65,00,000 is the potential reach in 6 months - hypothetical... :P

but.....

assuming 5% see ur ad 

so, it means,

3,25,000 see it read it, which is 2066.67% more than tabloid readers WOAH!!!

additonal advantage is that they  have a platform to 

share it 

comment on it 

like it

even if 0.5% of people share it (0.5% of 325000)

Brand X gets 1625 engagements.......amazing

So what do you say???

With whom should Brand X go for???

SOCIAL SHOLAY - Google v/s Facebook

Social Sholay- Google v/s Facebook. I recollect Dharmendar, with all the worlds anger in his eyes, tightening his muscles and saying "Gabbar Singh....aa raha hu mai"  (Gabbar Singh..I am coming to get you). He said that because Gabbar caused him lot of pain- killed his friend-Jai, abused his girl friend-Basanti, cut off Thakur's hands, and exploited Ramgarh for his advantage, AND Humiliated Veeru like anything. After all this, but obviously, anyone will then stand up and fight back to take revenge. I see....


Google                                      - as Veeru (Dharmendar)
Google's American Market    -  Jai 
Orkut                                         - Basanti
Facebook                                - Gabbar Singh
Social Media                           - Ramgarh
Google Wave                          - Thakur
Google Buzz                            -  Radha the widow (her existence doesn't matter)


Now let's watch the movie SOCIAL SHOLAY in a snapshot. ;)


As in above case Gabbar was hellbent on intentional damage, but I think Facebook's action was more of a Collateral Damage for Google. Facebook which was launched in Feb 2004 accelerated near 2008 in way as if Nitros were put on. Check out the figures I got from wikipedia. 

Total active users^{[N 1]} (in millions)

Date	Users	Days later
August 26, 2008	100[24]	1,665
April 8, 2009	200[25]	225
September 15, 2009	300[26]	160
February 5, 2010	400[27]	143
July 21, 2010	500[5]	166
—	600	32 (ongoing)

Facebook developed an innate ability to engage it's users. It kept on giving us reasons to be glued to it. Google's Basanti- Orkut was getting stripped of its beauty by Facebook. In India Facebook posed a big threat to Orkut reports NIELSEN. DISHUM 1

Earlier this year in March, timesonline.co.uk reported that Facebook had dethroned Google as the world’s most popular website. It got more traffic than Google in American market 
(Jai got killed). DISHUM 2

Adding to the humiliation was announcement of Google Wave's exit (Thakur's hands cut off)- a real time communication and collaboration web application. Google in its official blog announced that further developments on WAVE will stop by this year's end, it said WAVE didn't get the user adoption they had expected it to get. DISHUM 3. In my earlier post Google Wave's Last Breath I explained why Facebook might be one of the reasons of Waves exit. 

Overall, it seems Facebook is trying to capture Ramgarh, the social media market. 

Earlier i used the word Collateral Damage , I use it here again because as it can be observed Facebook's hits (punches i mean) were not intentional. But whatever may be the case Google's is not a company known for taking punches. Google, I think is proactive, forward thinking. Somewhere, it might have lost the track for a while but now the HOT NEWS around these days is that of  GOOGLE ME- a Facebook rival- that is being made in Google's labs. The inception of GoogleME took place on twitter, and the extractor (if I have understood Inception movie correctly) was Digg Founder, Kevin Rose. Ever since then, media has been reporting something or the other about GoogleMe. Google CEO, Chairman of the Board, Eric Schmidt, in interview with The Wall Street Journal however denied clinically saying, "“The world doesn’t need a copy of the same thing.” 

But VEERU is up and raring to take on Gabbar now. This is what Google is doing which hints at what Kevin Rose said.

Google bought SLIDE, as per PCWORLD report, Slide develops virtual community applications used on social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. They include SuperPoke Pets, Top Fish, SPP Range and SuperPocus Academy of Magic. The company was founded by Max Levchin, a co-founder of PayPal.

Techcrucnh reported Google invested in Zynga, the maker of games like Farmville, Mafia Wars. Techcruch guesses there will be lots more news on Google Games in the near future. Google might also want on to cash on the social gaming trend. Yes, social gaming is or in fact has come big time. Zynga reportedly earns $500,000.00 per day according to socialmediaexaminer.com (click on the link to learn more on that). 

It seems to me that Google will definitely come out with a biggie. I don't think it will launch another Facebook like site but instead will integrate social gaming in its offerings. We could then play Google games, share it via buzz, gmail. May be, if it does, come out with a social site, then it will ensure all its technology right from gmail to wave are put to good use. Networking, sharing, liking, gaming, Wave like real time interaction all at one place. But I hope it keeps Gmail separate. 

What do you think how's it going to be??? OR what should it be like??? 


Jo darr gaya samjho marr gaya...

Google Wave's Last Breath

Google Wave- R.I.P - Google on Aug 4th 2010 announced that further developments on WAVE will stop by this year's end. In it's official blog -http://googleblog.blogspot.com/- Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Operations & Google Fellow was reported saying, "Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked". He also said that although Wave will no more be a standalone product but it's technology will be used in other projects of Google. To those of you who are still clueless about what I am talking and what exactly is Google Wave, I mean what it was, let me put it in simpler terms. 

Wave was first announced at the Google I/O conference on May 27, 2009, and was opened for general public on May 19th 2010. Wave was, in it's true sense, a high end web application for real-time communication and collaboration. One could actually start a new discussion or a blank wave and invite his/her friends to join. Now, how was it different? Because, once you start a new discussion and invite friends to join, all of you could write your opinions, suggestions, information,etc. about that particular topic LIVE. Yes, it was as good as you all are sitting together and talking. Any friend can then write, edit, add pics, reply any time. It was a real smooth app. Adding friends to discussion was so easy that all you needed to do was to "drag" your friends pic into the column-what was called as Wave, and your done. 

Wave meant different things to different people. To some it was a good way to invite friends and chat together,discuss, brainstorm,etc. My friend Shweta says, "I see it convenient and economical; even a small conference can be conducted in official way speedily- that's a good feature". She's just so right, but i guess Wave was just not good enough. We were engaged in something else which provided us with not similar but equally efficient app to communicate with friends, share information, discuss, comment, or like. Yes, you got it, I am referring to Facebook. Facebook's popularity had soared to great heights by 2009, people learnt a new way to communicate, share, like(facebook ishstlye). 

So why Wave didn't sweep us off our feet? Well, at this point I would like to share what Nicholas Boothman once stated, “The cheapest, most effective way to connect with others is to look them in the eye". Facebook must have taken this very seriously, it not only looked into our eyes, but it almost hypnotized us. By the time Wave hit us, we were blind. Also Wave was not "engaging users". Facebook instead kept on giving us more reasons to "like" it ;). 

As pointed out by Hölzle, Wave didn't stand the test of user adoption. Early adopters didn't seem to have positive experience. 

I feel Wave's user interface was not friendly as compared to Facebook. For user like me and others who are 24*7 into social networking Wave was not difficult to comprehend, but for an average user Wave didn't seem to be friendly. 

Some might argue here saying Wave was not meant to be like Facebook, but when an user gets similar features and even much more on another platform then why he would surf on a wave like this ;) ?

To conclude, I would say Wave was a successful experiment. Why? Because although it failed in its mission, it did prove it's unique technology. 
If you would like to experience Google WAVE, then click on the logo and open in a new window.

What you think why Wave failed, what could have saved it? Will it be back? Share your view with me, all are welcome.

I think may be Wave needs to revamp itself. A makeover, little more masala, and then served piping hot. Will Google bring back the wave in a new avatar? Will, time will tell us. But before leaving let me tell you a secret, Google seems to busy cooking something new. What it is? 
Will tell it to you in my next post. Till then...

Wave your hands and say Goodbye Google Wave

Social Media - A God’s gift

I wander everyday on search engines, SNS(social networking sites) and explore this beautiful thing known as Internet. I love SNS for many things- to mention one- I would say, I like the sheer power it carries. Yes, it is certainly very powerful. Why? because of the abundant information it possesses. That information can be easily transformed into a knowledge resource and as we know - Knowledge is a powerful weapon when utilized. Businesses investing in social media marketing will definitely agree with me on that. But apart from this attribute of ‘being powerful’ i also appreciate SM’s ability to unite people, to attract different individuals from varied backgrounds on a common stage and then giving them the freedom to express, share, and connect with people. This aspect of social media is definitely going to play an important role in years to come. People will leverage upon this benefit of social media much more than what they do now. Say for instance Pooja want’s to consult a skin care specialist in Mumbai, she then posts an update on Facebook asking her friends to refer a few, her friend raj in turn gives her the contact of rhea who recently got the treatment done, pooja then adds rhea as a friend and with her reference contacts the specialist thus availing some discount. This was just an assumption but let me give you my own experience of ‘connecting’ through SNS and getting free advice. Couple of months back I did a search on LinkedIn to see if there’s anyone who could provide me with some clarity on Internet Marketing. My interest was in knowing how Internet Marketing is as a career option and what all skill sets it calls for. After a couple of searches I came across Giacomo’s profile, Mr. Giacomo is Digital Strategy Director,McCann Worldgroup. He’s backed with years of experience in Sales&Marketing especially digital. I then simply sent a add request and a small message asking for some information on Internet Marketing. To my delight I got a reply within 2 days, he answered all my questions and also forwarded certain links which helped me understand the skill sets required. I was joyful not just because my questions got answered but because I got the advice from a person of such a high stature, and that too for FREE ;) . Such is the power of social media, it has made people so accessible, when was this possible before the Facebook era (i refer to this era as the facebook era). Even before the questions pops in your mind there’s an answer ready for it, a solution present for a problem.

That was about how individuals like you and me benefit, let’s talk about business now. Traditional media like print, TV,etc do continue to be highly preferred ones when it comes to advertising but now they are witnessing the silent grand entry of a new media- social media. Internet no doubt, offers limitless possibilities for firms but because it still hasn’t reached the masses across India it still has a long way to go. But in metros it has already spread it’s wings. Youth especially is hooked onto sites like Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn,etc. Now how a business firm benefits from this. Say for instance you are small sports shop in Mumbai, you offer sports equipments and other related stuff. You don’t have a hefty budget so you start listing down your options to reach your prospects- the youth. You strike out TV and outdoor because it’s way out of your budget. Then you have the option of radio, print. You strike off radio thinking it does offer reach but few seconds do not ensure effective message delivery. You then decide to do print, you select your newspaper and the spot which fit’s in your budget. You do a weekly campaign and do get some response but feel it’s not enough, you want to create a loyal base and engage the youth with your brand. What you want is a buzz, then you go for a new media- social media. You decide to target the youth on Facebook. On FB you get the option to choose the demographic, area you wish to target, age wise, sex wise, and many more. FB can offer this because of the information it has about its users. You then decide to specifically target youth in Mumbai between the age of 15-25 years who have written sports in likes and interests column. And there you go, you have successfully reached your target market and got them talking, your ad is displayed whenever they log in - they then ‘like’ your offerings, they can instantly share it with friends, and reply to you asking for more. What more do you want? You have engaged your target market. Unlike TV, print, radio,etc. there is no pilferage of advertisement, your ad reaches only whom you want it to reach.

Recently Kotak Securities, India’s leading stock broking house created a page on FB. Through this they post updates, international market updates, etc. Interested people can share the information, like it, or comment on it. Kotak, has made the right Marketing move because financial institutions need to come out of the pure transactional model and get into the engagement model. With so many other firms offering similar products/services how do you stand out? How do you keep customers coming back to you? Engagement is the answer and Social Media is the tool.

There’s a lot more to be discussed about the social media, which we will in other articles. One of the cultural values of my company is “We love internet, and we thank God for it”. I firmly believe in it and accept it from the bottom of my heart.

Now let’s get out there and Socialize ;)

Real Estate Market in Tier II cities of India

Real Estate market in India is not just booming but booming in all possible directions. The rays of this hot sun are peeping through dense Indian markets, and are guiding developers deeper into Indian markets. Property builders are exploring Indian cities and towns like never before. The opportunity which this period is presenting has got everyone tempted. More fuel is added to this hunger by Government policies which motivate economic and industrial development.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in the real estate sector for the fiscal year 2008-09 has been US$ 2.8 billion approximately,according to the latest data given by the Department of Policy and Promotion (DIPP). This has added further thrust to real estate market in India.

This budding sector is witnessing development in all areas such as residential, retail, and commercial. Of course the Tier I cities are the ones that are overwhelmed with burgeoning investments in industrial and service sector, but the markets there are getting saturated and this has forced investors seek other alternatives which is leading them to Tier II cities. Emerging areas like these Tier-II cities offer excellent real estate investment opportunities because of the low entry level costs compared to the saturated big city markets where getting space is very difficult.

India Reports latest report 'Growth Potential: Tier II and III cities in India', mentions that Gartner India has predicted that India is likely to lose some of its significant market share in the offshore BPO business – a drop fueled by rising labour costs and shortage of skilled labour. Industry analysts point out that the concentration of BPOs in cities like Bengaluru, Gurgaon, and Mumbai has meant that they target the same talent pool, pushing up demand. The most apparent solution then, is to seek greener pastures in Tier II cities.

Big cities Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, National Capital Region (NCR) and Pune are still the preferred destinations for setting up an IT or a BPO company, but these centres are closely followed by Ahmedabad, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Tiruchirapalli and Visakhapatnam, says the NASSCOM-AT Kearney study on `Location roadmap for IT-BPO growth'. Infosys for instance has already established its units in tier-II cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Kochi, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh.

As industries establish bases in tier II cities, the real estate development will accelerate at a faster rate to fill the gap between the demand and supply of commercial and residential properties there. Tier II cities therefore can be considered as new hottest destinations for investors.

Chandigarh, the silicon valley of India has all the systems in place, the Rajiv Gandhi SEZ saw investments coming from Dell, Infosys, Quark, Ranbaxy, Reliance and Satyam. The ongoing development in IT sector has boosted the realty sector in Chandigarh. It has become the most sought after destination for investors.

Pune which is all set to become the 7th metro of India is another Tier II city which has a booming real estate market. The main drivers now are the EonIT Park, the proximity to revamped airport, presence of 5 star hotels.

Ahmedabad is not an inch behind and has started leveraging its real estate potential now. The upcoming NANO plant, high land availability, and improved connectivity are the driving factors for Ahmedabad.

The Makaan.com Property Index (MPI) also has recorded positive growth for tier II cities such as Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad. The Pune property index, as compared to March 2009, in March 2010 has gone up bye 28.1% . The Ahmedabad MPI has gone up by 40% . Kolkata is another tier II which witnessed a rise in MPI by 52% . These figures represent the rise in property prices in Tier II cities.

Industry experts also feel positive about Tier II cities. Rohit Goel, CMD Omaxe credits the growth of Tier II cities to the real estate development happening in those areas.Leading real estate consultant JLLM was reported saying to ET Now that cities worth consideration for long term investments are Pune, Ahmedabad, Nashik, Nagpur, Vadodra, Coimbatore, and other Tier 2 cities.

If we consider the Union Budget 2010-11, its implications also stand in favour of Tier II cities. The budget has extended 1% subsidy in interest rate for housing loan up to 10 lakhs till March 2011. This in turn would stimulate the home buyers in 20 lakh segment. Major beneficiary of the union budget 2010-11 will be home buyers in B&C category towns, and buyers with a budget around 20 lakh or less, says the intelligence of MakaanIQ. which is an initiative by Makaan.com to provide information, intelligence, and tools for an informed property investment decision.

Kamyab nahi Kabil hone ke liye padho

Kamyab nahi Kabil hone ke liye padho

Two things that I really liked in the movie '3 idiots' are chatur’s cunning expressions while delivering that speech and the line “kamayab nahi kabil hone ke liye padho. There is something about that line. It revived an age old belief in me. Although it sounded new, it wasn’t.

We all want success, but have we taken out time to find out what success wants, probably not. It may be because we were too busy running in the race, carrying heavy school bags, putting others behind in ranks. While desperately trying to meet the assignment deadline and sipping the coffee late night we forgot the purpose of that assignment, and unfortunately the evaluators as well have forgotten or I should say, have failed to recognize the true purpose of them giving assignments. But throwing all the hot potatoes on them won’t be right, as sometimes we (the students) don’t bother to understand why we are studying what we are studying. We all must have studied the world famous equation E = mc² . How many of us have raised the hand to question our teachers that why is it so? And how is it so? Some of us might have and some of us (like me) didn’t. For those who did ask, I am sure the common reply would have been a theoretical one ‘as given in the textbook’. Well, we actually should have probed our teachers to tell us how this equation was derived. I am not talking about the mathematical explanation chalked on the blackboard. What I mean is the story behind E = mc² . Knowing that story would tell us that Einstein was not only a genius but moreover a courageous personality. He questioned the accepted theories and boldly published his own (which was eventually proven right).

He assumed that speed of light is constant and in fact time and distance were relative; this was in contradiction to earlier theories. Einstein was criticized by the scientific communities as he had challenged the fundamental principles. But he didn’t lose hope, he worked on his belief. He derived proper reasoning to support his findings. Instead of getting distracted by the pressure of the society, he focused on getting his equation right. And ultimately he got it, the miracle year 1905 staged him as a genius in front of the whole world.  

But if we look at it from a different angel, he was just like a common man but actually a very courageous person. He imagined, made assumptions, stood against criticism and finally arrived at his equation.

What we need to learn from this is:

We should not blindly accept the facts presented in front of us

We need to stick to our guns when everyone around us is attacking us

We don’t need a certification from our society about the truths we believe in. If what we think is true has a good reasoning, that’s enough.

Our ancient education system, the gurukuls as we call it were the best as all the students were miles away from the tension of ranks, marks, etc. The focus was on the overall development of the individual. Unfortunately the colonial era saw the beginning of the end of this system in India. British needed clerks and hence the system was designed so, and sadly the same is being carried on even after years of Independence.

That’s why it is said that “kamayab nahi kabil hone ke liye padho” (don’t try to find success, try and find excellence ). It’s only when you look for excellence that your mind would be liberated, you would come across untold truths, you would question the generally accepted principles and ultimately uncover the truth. Einstein did it, he was termed as a genius, and he was. 

But genius is not the one who has an IQ above 150 or who scores 90+ marks, genius is anyone who recognizes his/ her talent, develops it, and stays focused, Einstein was one and so is Sachin Tendulkar and so is any other common man. Even you and I are eligible for that tag, only if we recognize our true potentials.

Mugging up the theories would definitely help in scoring good marks but kindly try and understand the concept as well, as it will help you throughout your life, says my professor.

To conclude I would answer the question asked in the beginning, that what success wants. Success wants you to be kabil (capable enough), not on your marksheet but in terms of understanding the basics. And it’s time that today’s youth like you and me understand that “kabil honge to kamyabi…

Somesh S. Khandalkar