The illeterate marketer

This is a true incident that happened to me just 2 days ago. I was on a Neeta travels bus from Pune to Mumbai. Just as we were nearing Lonavala, the bus stopped and on climbed a hawker. Now, this was pretty strange and I'd never seen a hawker inside an AC luxury bus before!

So, this guy had like an assortment of local Lonavala chikki that the place is famous for. He went asking every single one in the bus but no one was interested in buying his chikki.Almost an hour later, the passengers realized that this was a non stop bus to Mumbai. This street/bus hawker, noticed a potential consumer base and started giving a piece of his chikki to everyone in the bus saying - "Ye hamare Lonavala ka famous Chikki hai. Khaake dekhiye". The basic instinct of people ensured that no one refused "free-ka-maal". As soon as the hungry passengers had a taste of his chikki, they wanted more of it. In the next 30 min, the illiterate, non B- schooler, a non Kotler reader successfully ended up selling almost half of what he had. We reached near CBD Belapur and this guy got down from our bus and climbed the bus that was going from Mumbai to Pune.

The funniest part in all this was, I, a B schooler, was breaking my head on understanding complex marketing models when a street hawker taught me one of the best marketing lessons of my life.

My dream of a corruption free India

My dream of a corruption free India

Spick and span roads; gigantic flyovers; majestic highways; enormous dams, airports, buildings; sophisticated and literate citizens; slums, jhopadpatti’s - just history; computers and scientific gadgets just common household items; people following the path of Gandhiji; each and every capable as well as incapable individual sweating for his own bread……………………

This is my dream of India, a country where every individual is his own judge, where courts are mere historical buildings and tourist attracting monuments. Children would know just satya and ahimsa, there would be no such word as asatya and himsa. Every government and non-government organization’s work would go as smoothly as oil. Money circulation in the economy would be at the speed of light - no act of give-money-get-your-work-done. India’s loans from the international bank completely cleared. Infact, I dream of an India where it is the bank of the world. No brain-drain. People’s status in the society depends not on their income or riches but on their intellect and talents and…………………

** CRASH **

Something wakes me up from my dream. I open my eyes to see who has crashed my beautiful dream. And in front of me, I see a horrible looking creature- laughing cruelly, showing his power of destruction. I see that he’s wearing a long chain around his neck which has strange lockets. The monster looked like daku angulimal to me, wearing a chain of human fingers. I take a closer look at his chain and I realize that the lockets are infact people. I recognize some. I’ve seen them on TV. Read about them in newspapers. They are the persons who were caught under some scandal or some form of corruption. Even when I’m looking at them, some more are coming and joining the already existing. Writhing in pain around the tight ropes of………… corruption of course!! I see the plight of these people, who for the sake of worldly pleasures have come into the lair of corruption. I shout for my parents in fright. As soon as they come my anxiety is transferred to the monster. I see that it cannot stand the purity of my parents’ hearts. It can’t survive in front of honesty. It vanishes in a jiffy.

I ask my parents- isn’t there a way of getting out of this dreadful thing or better never get into the so called corruption?

And this is what they tell me:

Corruption is mere selfishness and it actually starts at home. And the doers are parents itself. One would be shocked as well as surprised to hear this. Some may get angry too. But think over this carefully. Today in each and every house we can find both mother and father working day and night so that their children may have better tomorrow. To make the children perform the best in every field they promise them heavenly gifts if they get the desired results. Both of the parents earn well enough to buy small gifts for their loved ones…………

At this point, I look at my parents and I realize never have they lured me into studies and other activities. They have always taught that studies and good performance in other fields would ensure my prosperity in the future. Service to my country and mankind was my birthright as well as duty. I feel proud when I look at them. I listen with even more interest and eagerness…………

……… In this way, the children find a weak point in their parents. Every time they need something, they demand it freely and the parents, believing that this small token of care would help their child to perform better, readily give them. As the children grow up, their needs too increase. They need education. Now the parents want the child to get the best education available. But, when they go for admission, the school authorities ask for ‘under the table’. The parents, afraid that their ward will be denied of good education, pay whatever is asked. The same incident repeats when there is a need for a good college. And after that for graduation when the children don’t get the required percentage, the parents either get fake certificates or admission in colleges by giving so called ‘donations’. Many parents are seen giving extra money for getting faster and easier admissions in foreign colleges. Over the next few years these parents are blackmailed emotionally by stating that their act of helping corruption will be leaked out. It is then that they realize their mistake. In the hope of giving their children a bright future, they’ve added fuel to the already raging fire of corruption. Thus, even if 1 out of 50 families in India carry out the brightening of future of their children in this way, one can guess the amount of havoc caused by corruption in India.

Selfishness is human tendency and is a normal act. Controlling your selfish feelings for the sake of your neighborhood is a Herculean task. So, if any person anywhere in the world tries using the power he has received for helping others, for his own personal purposes, it is a customary behavior. But what does matter is whether you as an individual go forward with it or go up against it and make that person realize his duties. If the former is carried out, it is given the name of corruption. It’s said that a single palm can’t produce a clap. In the same way, in the act of corruption, there is a requirement of two parties for carrying it out.

Thus, a simple way of avoiding this pandemonium and confusion is to stop corruption at home. Right from the day one, if the children are made aware of their duties, they’ll be bound to these. Then even after growing up, they’d have the courage to stand up against selfishness. One must realize that there is nothing to be frightened or afraid or scared of. And once you fear nothing, the whole universe is with you and nothing can stop you from going on the path of truth and honesty………………

I spend the whole day with my parents’ golden words sounding in my ears. At night, I go to bed. I again dream of my country. Now I know the word that my country must get rid off. Thus, I dream of a corruption free India. This time, I don’t find the monster in front of me. Even if it dares to come, I have more than enough strength to finish it off. Then suddenly, I remember the words of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The sheer thought of those words make me feel happy, confident and proud. I can see his words floating in the air, singing happily at the victory I’d accomplish in future. Those words say:

Dream, dream, dream.

Dream transforms into thoughts.

Thoughts result into action.

Let me be..

Let me be…

I wanna reach the stars, the skies high above.

I wanna reach the depths, to the rocks deep below.

I wanna cross the oceans, to the lands unknown.

I wnna invade the jungles, dark and deep.

I wanna feel the air, the gust of the winds.

I wanna be free, free to do what I like.

I wanna reach the heights, never reached before.

I wanna break the rules, that have chained me firm.

I wanna free my heart that’s caged and shut.

I wanna express myself, my opinion made known.

I want myself heard, someone to appreciate me.

I want it be known, I too have a heart and soul.

I want to find a love, a love that is pure.

I wanna learn to sing, the song of hope.

I wanna learn to dance, the dance of joy.

I wanna learn to pray, the prayer of faith.

I wanna live my dreams, be what I am.

….Will anyone let me be the one that I am????

-Divz

You do get what you want...

I want to recount an incident that made me get back my faith in GOD. I truly believe that some power out there truly exists that knows what's to be done.

On the 1st of January, 2012, i fell into an argument with a street vendor selling second hand and pirated(photocopied) books. I was asking him to give me 'The world is flat' + 'The professional' for Rs.150, as they were second hand a.w.a photocopied. He wasn't agreeing. He asked for 250. I felt 250 was too much as for just a little more I would get the originals! I bargained for straight 30min in the dusty heat and humidity of Mumbai, but all in vain. My mum yanked me away from there as she was getting too frustrated seeing a useless argument. I was totally pissed. I wanted to read those books. I took out my frustration on mum claiming that they never allow me to buy original novels! She was deeply hurt. For had it  not been for my parent's encouraging attitude, i wouldn't have realized my love for books. She kept silent. That night, I cried and cried. I was thinking - 'really, is this my life?? Can't i BUY even some novels to read? ? Why can't i have the guts to buy originals! Just because they are so costly and once read, remain untouched forever? Are they really waste of money!!??'
And I cursed God a lot for not letting me get what I love the most in my life. And I stuck to my 240X400 resolution e-books after that.
Enter Utsav-12, the annual cultural fest of our college. My friends become the coordinators. There are many events and competitions. My friends being coordinators are searching for as many entries as they can. They forcefully make me enter various competitions. I have no hopes of winning. I go there for name sake. I don't even know the prizes!
20th Jan 2012, there is the prize distribution ceremony of all the events. I'm there standing next to stage coordinating with the prize distribution.
Its then, that I find I've won prizes in elocution, best out of waste and quiz......

CROSSWORD coupons worth Rs.1,250..... 

The Push and the Pull

The Push and the Pull

Is force. You’d have read this in your primary classes. And I bet there ain’t a single soul alive who didn’t snigger reading – a push or pull is called force. Hadn’t realized it back then that an innocently giggled upon definition would lead us to making life changing decisions. 

You must have always experienced the FORCE but never were able to realize it. Honestly, have you never needed a starting thought, a force, an inspiration before venturing into something new? I call this the push. One always needs the right push in the right direction. This is all it takes to make you a successfully satisfied person. Right push in the wrong direction or vice versa leads to disappointing frustration. Wrong push and wrong direction routes to disaster. 

Thus, when in this frustration and dissatisfied life, you get a small ray of hope that promises you a better future, you just grab it with all your might. I call this the pull. 

You’ll never realize the importance of the push and the pull until you understand it. In fact, Science is full of postulates that show us the meaning of life. I find force the most interesting and the most applicable to my life. If you ever thoroughly go through the properties of force, you’ll be surprised to notice how closely it is analogous to our lives! Try applying the laws of inertia and you’ll find it same as to the reason we celebrate our happiness for a long time or cry over something lost. 

One more amazing analogy is the theory of energy – It can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another. We’ve always seen great poetry and works coming out of pain. That just shows you how a whole load of energy in the pain has been converted into literature. Similarly, we have seen great works of art and architecture coming out of enormous joy and celebration.

Hence, next time you find your primary school science texts, just take a few minutes to simply flick through the pages. I’m sure you’ll find all your life’s answers and actions in it. Have a happy reading 

Here goeth a story I wrote long long ago....and many of my friends have already read it. It sounds a little kiddish now...but well..that was me @ 15...!!! And I'm proud of the work.. :)

He was the hottest guy of the college. 6’ft tall, fair, silky n’ shiny black hair and the same colored bike and jacket, were his trademark. He was the lead dancer in the school’s dance group. Heart throb of all the girls and best friend of all the boys. Yes, he was proud. However, he valued his friends and friendship more than his pride. And, as every hot guy of a Bollywood movie, he had many affairs. His girlfriends used to change every month. But the only different thing about this boy was: he believed in true love. He kept girlfriends only for the sake of publicity. Except that he never as much as touched the girls. He wanted to wait for true love. And he did.

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His wait ended when a new entry took admission in his college. He noticed her because she was different from other girls. She wasn’t at all like the thin, slim, graceful, delicate darlings. She was what you could say as OK. Unlike the rest of the girls in his batch, she had worn salwar. But yes, there was a kind of sweetness on her face. She looked the kind who could easily make friends. The whole day, he spent just staring at her. He couldn’t understand what this was. Here he had a tall, slim, ultra-modern girl wearing micro-minis, deep neck tops as his latest girlfriend, and still he couldn’t help seeing that newcomer to his class. That day he couldn’t sleep. That girl somehow seemed to have taken all his attention. He wanted to talk to her.

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A month had passed since the girl had come. He came early to college that day. He had found the previous day that she too loved dance and was going to come the next day for watching the practice of the dance team for the upcoming college fest. He was quite curious to see her dance. If she danced. As he opened the door of the practice hall, he saw something that changed his life forever. He had never seen such an enchanting and beautiful scene. That girl was swaying gracefully to a sweet and soft music. She was alone in the room. And she stopped seeing him. He could see pink gush in her plump cheeks. He felt an electric wave rush through him. He knew he had found his true love.

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9 months had passed since they came together. The remaining girls of the girls now considered him stupid to go and hook up with a so called “out of fashion” girl. But the two knew that it wasn’t “a hook-up”. It was love. They found in each other what they had dreamt of. They found themselves in each other. They weren’t the type “I can live happily with you”. They were the type “I cannot live without you”. They were very happy. Did anything for the other’s sake. However, none demanded for anything. Because the other understood, what one wanted. They believed in love.

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That night, the sky was raging with storm. It hadn’t stopped raining for past 48 hours. He was sitting next to her, holding her hand. She was lying in bed. Her head aching. The doctor had just finished examining her. He had called him out. Then the doctor told something that shook him from the roots. She had blood cancer. But thankfully, it was in first stage. If treated, she could survive. That day, an atheist was found praying to god asking him to save his love.

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She had lost all her hair and had got plumper during the chemotherapy. All through the treatment, he never left her side. For, he hadn’t loved her for her outer beauty. She was cured. And he still loved her, with her pink colored scarf covering her head. All seemed fine. But no one knew that god too loved his own creation. God had his own intentions.

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Her headache started again. This time, it was worse. They took her away from him. To a hospital in another city.  He didn’t go. She had promised she was fine and was going to return in a day. That evening, he got a call from her. She wanted to see him. But he couldn’t go. All routes to that city were flooded and blocked due to a rampant storm. But the night suddenly calmed. In the calm, his mobile flashed”1 message received”. The message was from her mother’s mobile. God had claimed his love.

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He didn’t cry. He couldn’t. He lay down on the park bench, drenched in the rain. After 4 hours of search, his friends found him. Everyone tried. But none could make him cry. His love was taken from him. The world had ended for him. He cried only after he saw her body. And he couldn’t help noticing her cute smile and sweet face.

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He had to go for rehearsal that day. He had to perfect a dance move; else, they wouldn’t be able to win that year’s competition. He beckoned her. There she was. His angel. He saw her move gracefully to the music. He tried to follow her moves. He couldn’t. She came, held his hand, and made him move with her, step by step. He could feel her. Her cute smile…he could see it. They went on dancing to the tune…

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That year, his team won the competition as they had always been. But this time, the organizers had given him the award of best dancer. His dance moves were brilliant. He had even earned himself a contract for choreographing dance moves for the movie of one of the most popular Hindi filmmakers. As he stood there, holding the cup, he could feel the warmth of her hands around his, supporting the cup. She would always be with him. No one could see her. It didn’t matter. She was his and he was hers…