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OFPOTHI.COM

Includes FREE Self Publishing GuideHow to Self Publish for Indian Market

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3

Table of contents

�Best of Pothi.com

Last Rights ...............................................................................9

Blackie ....................................................................................14

Return of Acharya ..................................................................18

Right in the Middle ................................................................25

Trip to the San Francisco Zoo ...............................................27

Analyze All Parameters ..........................................................41

A Toy for the Little Princess ..................................................57

Agony .....................................................................................63

Lalitha Bilgi (Social Enterprise) Venture: Swayam .................66

Motorcycle ..............................................................................78

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Marriage, Kids and other Problems ........................................84

Correspondences With An Unknown Mystic .........................88

Th e Moon’s Complexion .........................................................97

Of Education, Learnings & Knowledge ...............................109

Th e harmony in my life .........................................................114

�

How to Self Publish for Indian Market

Introduction ..........................................................................127

What is Self Publishing? ......................................................129

What Every Self Publisher Should Know .............................145

Self Publishing at Pothi.com ................................................150

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Preface

L ast year we decided to boldly go where no Indian company had

gone before. Pothi.com was founded to off er the independent

Indian authors a platform to publish their works easily and

economically. More than a year and 250 titles down the line, the

concept of Print On Demand (POD) and self publishing is catching

on fast amongst the Indians. Th e journey so far has been interesting,

exciting and at times scary. We faced numerous new challenges which

had no precedence and needed ingenious, innovative solutions. But

we learnt, we innovated and we remain focused on our goals.

Today, we are one of the very few established POD players in

the market. Apart from POD, we off er a wide array of services like

editing, formatting, illustrations etc. We set up an online bookstore

for independent authors to be able to reach out to a wider audience.

You can submit your raw manuscript and leave the rest to us – from

editing to printing and online marketing. We off er you the fl exibility

of choosing all or any of our services to suit your convenience.

In past one year, more than 150 authors have chosen Pothi.com

as their partner in self-publishing. Th rough them, we have come to

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8

better understand the problems faced by independent authors. Since

these individuals lack the marketing muscle of traditional publishing

houses, more often than not they fail to get the kind of visibility

that their works deserve. Th e books don’t get reviewed in mainstream

media, they don’t get interviewed by journalists and only few readers

get to see their work.

Th rough this collection, we have attempted to ameliorate the

situation by choosing to showcase a few select works of self published

authors which are available with us. Th e selection represents a diverse

genre of books including fi ction, humour, children’s book and self

improvement. Th ese authors have explored their creative side and

have a charming tale or an important thought to share with you.

Th e format provides for a brief description of the book and

author followed by a chapter from the books. Th ese make for a

tantalizing and enticing reading. Th ey whet your appetite without

satiating the hunger. In order to satisfy your hunger, you are invited

for the complete buff et at Pothi.com for buying these books and

exploring others too.

9

�

Last Rights

We fi nally moved from King Edward Road Mess to a house on

Tughlak Road in November 1947.

It was a traumatic time for me. Hordes of refugees were streaming

in from West Punjab and refugee camps had been set up all over the

city. Often refugee families would go from house to house asking

for food and shelter. It made me very disturbed to see entire families

dispossessed of their homes and reduced to paupers.

Over a million people would be killed in the mass migrations

that took place after the partition of India. Th ere were Hindus fl eeing

from Pakistan into India and Muslims going in the other direction.

Many would never make it to their destination. One apostle of non-

violence – Mahatma Gandhi – repeatedly went on fast to protest

against this communal violence. It did not help.

At the age of eight I was aware of Mahatma Gandhi but only

vaguely knew the reasons for his greatness.

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My mother was my main source of my information about Gandhi.

She had purchased a children’s book about the life of Gandhi for me.

I read about his early life and eff orts in India’s freedom movement.

Th e one fact that impressed me was that he only travelled in the third

class in Indian trains. Even at my age, I was aware of the tribulations

of persons who travelled by third class. It was an era when the Indian

Railways had four classes – fi rst, second, intermediate and third –

and the third class compartments had simple wooden benches and

were invariably overcrowded. I was moved by Gandhi’s gesture of

enduring personal discomfort to focus on a social injustice.

When living on Tughlak Road, we were fortunate to be within

walking distance of Birla House. Th is sumptuous mansion belonged

to the Birla family who had placed it at Gandhi’s disposal. Whenever

in Delhi, Gandhi would stay at Birla House and hold his daily prayer

meetings at around 5 p.m. in the evenings. My mother would go to

these prayer meetings and I sometimes accompanied her.

It was a short walk from our Tughlak Road home to Birla House.

Th ere would already be a crowd outside the Birla House gate. We

would join the stream of people walking down the drive to the prayer

ground at the end of the garden. By the time we reached the prayer

ground, the fi rst rows were already occupied. My mother and I were

obliged to fi nd places a few rows behind. I can now only estimate but

there must have been more than a few hundred people at each prayer

meeting.

Gandhi was always punctual. At 5 p.m. he would arrive at

the prayer ground followed by some members of his family. After

mounting the steps to the level of the prayer ground, he would take

10

11

his place on a wooden platform. Th e winter evenings were cool and

he was wrapped in a couple of homespun shawls. Th e fi rst thing that

struck me was that he was completely bald and had a shining dark

brown head. It was much larger in proportion to his lean body.

I do not remember what actually took place during the prayer

meeting. I can only remember the pin-drop silence when he spoke.

He did not look at the audience. He spoke with his head down as

if he were contemplating aloud. Even as a child, I could sense the

anguish in his voice. We were living in tumultuous times. It was

now three months after partition and some communities were still

embroiled in communal carnage. Th e Mahatma was pleading against

this senseless violence.

Like many of the others in the congregation, I had come for a

darshan of the Mahatma. I did not understand what he was saying

but I sensed that I was in the presence of a great man. It was as if all

of us were getting an uplift while in communion with a noble spirit.

Th ere was singing and I would join my mother when the

congregation sang the Mahatma’s favourite refrain:

Raghupati raghavan raja Ram

Patita pavan Sitaram

A month later the Mahatma was assassinated. It happened just

before a prayer meeting on 30 January 1948. My mother was not

present at the meeting. She was coming back from an errand when

she heard somebody on the road say that Gandhi had been shot

dead. Another person then commented that the world would not

come to an end if Gandhi was dead. Th at comment indicated that

Last Rights

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Gandhi’s message of non-violence was not being taken kindly by the

thousands of refugees from Punjab now living in camps in Delhi.

Among neighbours there was speculation that a disgruntled refugee

might have killed Gandhi.

Th e next morning it turned out that a Hindu fanatic had

assassinated Gandhi. In school we recounted the details of how

Gandhi was shot at point blank range by Nathuram Godse. It was

at the nearby Tughlak Road police station where the FIR (fi rst

information report) on Gandhi’s death was fi led, the report written

in Urdu. Everything had taken place so close to where we lived. I felt

that history was being played out around me.

Gandhi’s cremation took place on the banks of the River Jamuna

near Delhi. About twenty urns were fi lled with ashes were sent

to various places in India to comply with Gandhi’s wish that his

remains be immersed in the rivers of the country. One urn was sent

to Allahabad for the ashes to be immersed at the confl uence of the

Jamuna and the Ganges, a sacred place for Hindus.

My father was deputed on 12 February 1948 to attend the last

rites in Allahabad. He was away for a day and, when he returned,

gave us a moving account. He told us of the huge crowds around

the cortège that took the urn to the point of immersion and of an

aeroplane that showered rose petals on the crowds near the banks of

the river. He gave us some rose petals as well as a small copper vessel

containing water from the Ganges.

Later we saw scenes of the cortège on the Indian News Re-

view feature that used to precede a fi lm in cinema houses. Ne-

13

hru and other leaders were seated on the open carriage carry-

ing the urn. In front and behind the carriage, there were huge

crowds. I briefl y saw images of two naval offi cers walking behind

the carriage and thought that one might have been my father.

Years later I saw Richard Attenborough’s fi lm Gandhi. In the fi lm,

there is a scene showing Gandhi’s cortège with soldiers marching

with slow and solemn precision to the beat of funeral drums. It was

impressive but the reality was slightly diff erent.

I consider myself lucky. Even though I was only a boy, I had seen

the actual Mahatma. Not a Mahatma invented for fi lms or history.

Excerpts from ‘Permanent Ghosts - A Memoir’ (Genre: Biographies and Memoirs) by Nitin Shankar.

In his autobiography, Nitin Shankar describes his experiences of living in towns such as Bombay in forties, Berlin in fi fties, Warsaw and Milan in sixties and Tabriz in seventies. He provides an interesting insight into the personality of the people he has come across and also gives a peep into historical events like Indian Independence and Iranian turmoil from the eyes of an individual.

Last Rights

14

�

Blackie

Kavita hummed to herself as she cleaned the kitchen after lunch.

Outside, it was drizzling lightly, the rain drumming rap-a tap-

tap on the roof. Kavita loved the sound of the rains, and she breathed

in deeply, to smell the wet mud and the scent of fl owers…

Kavita was just going to relax and complete the last few pages

of an exciting novel, when Mohan the gardener’s anxious voice was

heard. “Kavitaji! Kavitaji! When I opened the garage a huge black

dog pounced upon me. He’s vicious! He nearly bit my hand when I

went to collect the garden pipe.” “How did this dog slip in?” Kavita

inquired. “Maybe he lost his way, and slipped inside at night,”

suggested Mohan. “Or perhaps the dog is black in colour, so our

driver didn’t notice him,” put in the old gardener thinking deeply “for

he must have hidden underneath the warmth of the engine.” “Come

on Mohan. Let us go and check the dog out.” Kavita said putting

a book-mark in her book. “Will you lead the way please?” Kavita

sounded eager.

Blackie

15

It was soon discovered that it was a beautiful she dog, with a

shinning black coat of hair. Kavita loved dogs… and that is how

Blackie, as Kavita called her, got her name.

Blackie was very hot-tempered! To make matters worse, this

fi erce and irritable nature had developed mainly because Blackie had

just given birth to four lovable puppies. “Blackie will leave as soon

as her puppies have grown older,” Vinay, Kavita’s husband explained.

“So don’t disturb her set-up.” Blackie howled, barked and snarled at

whoever tried to disturb or make friends with her; whether it was the

milkman, the enthusiastic newspaper boy, the dhobi who had a way

with dogs, or the servants. Surprisingly whenever Kavita paid her a

visit, Blackie instantly gave in - and danced, barked and licked her

from head to toe! Kavita thoroughly enjoyed herself and provided

Blackie with tit-bits like biscuits, bread, milk and sometimes with a

chunk of meat.

Since Mohan was the fi rst person to meet Blackie, he

soon narrated her ill-tempered ways of growling around the

neighbourhood. Scratch marks were still visible on his arms and legs.

Th e other incident really took place by accident. A few children living

next doors were playing cricket when their ball rolled into Kavita’s

compound. Th e garage door was ajar and Siddharth and Michael- not

knowing about Blackie’s whereabouts ventured right in. Siddharth

managed to escape with bruises and torn jeans, but Michael, who

was younger, was badly bitten. Although Kavita felt extremely guilty

about Blackie’s behaviour, she still felt protective towards her. “She

came seeking for shelter and chose our home, didn’t she Vinay? Th en,

on humanitarian grounds, I feel that I too should shield her.” Th e

main reason behind Kavita’s logic was that she knew that she would

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16

never become a mother. Th erefore, Kavita felt like caring and loving

Blackie just like her own child…

It had just stopped raining that night but the sky still looked dark

and frightening. Kavita stood in the balcony waiting for her husband

who was going to come from Delhi. Just an hour ago, Blackie had

been given a bowl of warm milk and bread and Kavita had made

sure that she was made comfortable in that little garage. “I’ll warm

up some milk till then”, she thought. Just then, Kavita heard a soft

whine and peered out, knowing that it was Blackie. Th e mournful

whine continued, now growing louder and louder, and Kavita grew

restless. In panic, she rushed downstairs to investigate…

An astonishing sight met her eyes. Blackie was kneeling in

front of the steps, calling out again and again to her puppy that

lay still and calm on the steps. Kavita’s eyes fi lled with tears as she

watched in silence as Blackie whined and pawed her baby trying to

lick her– trying her best to revive her lost puppy. Dogs are the only

animals who display their emotions so well. Today, Kavita saw the

real Blackie- a Blackie with feelings… Th en, when all plans failed,

Blackie sat besides her lovely white and black puppy and howled

loudly…

Kavita had never experienced a dog crying… She was so

mesmerized by this scene that she stood still, with hot tears rolling

down her cheeks… Th e pup must have died only a few minutes ago.

Maybe it had ventured out of the gate by mistake and possibly was

hit by a car or a motor bike. “I think I heard a sound of abrupt braking

when I was in the kitchen,” recalled Kavita.

17

She stood long enough to see that Blackie gave one last lick to

her pup, then picked it up and ran silently down the road. Digging

a small pit inside the soft mud, Blackie then buried her puppy

forever…

Excerpts from ‘Over a Cup of Coffee (Genre: Literature & Fiction) by Madhavi Hadker.

The book is a collection of charming short stories on everyday subjects. The stories are simple yet poignant and touch an emotional cord. Madhavi’s narration paints an imagery which any reader can relate to instantly.

Madhavi Hadker is pursuing a career as a school teacher.

Blackie

18

�

Return of Acharya

As dawn broke, so did the news about the ‘junior’ acharya’s return

to the mutt. It spread like wildfi re and people were thronging

about his quarters just to have a glimpse of him and his usual retinue,

the people who used to attend on him and assist him and make the

necessary arrangements for the morning Puja etc – they were all there

and by 7 AM, there was an expectant crowd outside his quarters

wanting to see him. He obliged them and came out but did not speak

a word, and with a benevolent smile, and a gesture with the hand of

benediction, he went back in. Th en his retinue of assistants came in

and he gave instructions for the Puja as usual. Th e amazing thing was,

it all appeared as though nothing had happened in between. Th ere

was no sign of any disruption or whatever that had happened – that

was a great testimony to the elder acharya’s organizing capability

that even during the young acharya’s absence everything went on

smoothly and when he came back and took over again, there was no

break whatsoever. So the arrangements for the Puja were on. Th en

sometime later, one assistant came to him and whispered something

Return of Acharya

19

in his ear. He said the Press has come. Somehow they had got wind

of his return and within an hour there was this horde of people from

the press waiting outside, wanting to see and have a word with the

‘junior’ acharya.

Now, normally, in this mutt, which was very orthodox and

traditional, the Press was not given free entry into the mutt premises.

Th ere was no regular or organized briefi ng for the press either in

this mutt – so cloistered and exclusive was the atmosphere. Even if

occasionally some news, which they wanted to be spread was given

to the press, in general the mutt always preferred to be not in the

news at all. But today the press have come in strength and how is it

going to be dealt with? It was an unprecedented situation. But the

young acharya took it all in his stride. In fact, this was the beginning

of a new era in public relations in the mutt. He just instructed his

assistants “Ask the press people to come in”. Th e assistants were

shocked; it was not the done thing in this mutt! Th en a hurried press

meet was called and the hall was full. Of course, in deference to the

sanctity of the premises, all of them have removed their footwear

and were barefoot, but all the appurtenances of the media were

in full display. Hurried questions were hurled at the acharya and

there were a couple of woman reporters too – the questions were

coming thick and fast. All about his absence, why he left, why has

he returned, when did he return, where had he been, and was it true

that there was a diff erence of opinion between him and the ‘senior’

acharya, was it true that he was disillusioned with the way the mutt

was functioning, was it true that he had his own ideas of running

the mutt etc. Th e acharya was unfazed and he fi elded them all one

by one. To such questions as to the diff erence of opinion between

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20

him and the senior acharya, he said, “Well, you are free to imagine

what you want. But if you are asking me, I must tell you there is no

such thing.” To the others about his possible disillusionment with

the way things were run in the mutt he said “It is not a question

of disillusionment; it is a question of understanding. I am learning

like all others, and effi ciency is the key word. Th e goal is the same,

but there may be better ways, and it is a team eff ort and we are all

exploring. It is not all my doing!” Like that he answered quite aff ably,

and even such questions which normally could have rubbed anyone

on the wrong side, the acharya deftly handled unctuously and with a

smile. So, the press meet ended amicably; the only question to which

he did not give a straightforward answer was as to why he left the

mutt. Finally, when it was pressed upon him again and again, he said:

“I did not leave the mutt in the sense you all think. It is all like astral

travel, a question of fi nding myself and reorienting myself. It is not

just a question of corporeal shifting”. When some of the skeptical

reporters laughed at this reply with derision, he let them and did not

try to intimidate them with a steely glare or something like that. In

fact he joined them in their laughter. Th at was how the press meet

ended.

At the appointed hour of 9 AM, all the preparations for the daily

Puja were ready and the devotees who had thronged to witness this

highlight of the day, a beautiful celebration akin to the High Mass in

a basilica, were all seated orderly – men on one side and the women

on the other. Th e acharya came and took his position in front of the

idol of the presiding deity of the mutt and the Puja began. For the

past one week when this acharya was away, the senior acharya was

doing this Puja, which was a rare sight indeed and to witness which

Return of Acharya

21

people from all over the land had come. Today also, they had not

expected the junior acharya to have returned and resume the Puja,

and they had come believing that the Senior would be conducting

the Puja, and when they saw the junior instead, it was a surprise to

them, and not entirely without disappointment either, for some of

them. Anyhow, the excitement and expectation was high and they

all settled down to watching the Puja in silence and reverence. Even

as the acharya was going through the Puja routine fl awlessly, he was

thinking ‘ I am doing this whole heartedly and not just as my duty.

Because from today, I am not praying to some idol but to the Self, for

the welfare of the whole of humanity. So, to that extent, my soulful

prayers are radiating, and these idols in front of me to whom I am

apparently addressing these prayers are but lenses that concentrate

and bring my prayers to an intense focus.’ So he went through the

motions of all the rituals involved in the Puja, but with the single

concentrated aim and goal of the happiness of the whole of humanity.

And the fi nal act was the lighting of a ceremonial lamp and waving

this at the idols as a mark if reverence and worship, bringing the Puja

to a close.

It was at this precise moment, when everyone was deeply

immersed in the grandeur and aura of this closing ceremony of the

Puja, that a loud shout came from one man of the congregation. He

was an old man, coming from a far off place, and he just stood up

and shrieked in rage, shouting at the acharya: “You scoundrel, you

imposter, what right do you have to come here and conduct the Puja

today? You traitor, you abandoned this mutt, leaving the grand old

man to shame and misery, and now you have turned up and have

the eff rontery to resume the Puja, violating the holy orthodoxy

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of this ancient mutt. How dare you….” etc he was shouting. His

frail body was shaking in his uncontrolled rage, and the rest of the

congregation was dumbfounded at this spectacle. Th e acharya too

was shocked fi rst, but then looked at the old man and the sight of

that wretch shivering like a leaf in his righteous indignation moved

him to compassion. Meanwhile, the mutt assistants were rushing at

the man to make him shut up and also bodily remove him from the

audience. Th e acharya signaled to them to leave the man alone, and

the old man having fi nished his tirade was breathing heavily, still

standing. Th ere was pindrop silence as the acharya looked at him

and said to him:”Sir, Please sit down”. Th e man though he heard him

clearly, was still standing. Th e acharya addressed him further: “You

are old enough to be my father. Your body is racked not only by rage

but anguish also, I am sure. Because you feel that the sanctity and

holy tradition of this mutt had been violated by my absence from

here for the past few days. But then, I want you to know that a very

similar thing happened to me too. I too left this mutt in anguish and

not in anger. And you are outraged with me for my deed, whereas I

was outraged with myself. I wanted to fi nd myself so that I could be

worthy of sitting here and doing this time honored Puja, instead of

merely being one doing this by force of habit or by an edict. I wanted

to fi nd my place in the scheme of things, where do I fi t in, in what

way am I fi t to be your guru and mentor, in what way can I be of help

to you all – it was on this soul searching journey that I embarked

on. I am sure, it is not blasphemy, in your eyes is it? Yes, outwardly

it looked I deserted the mutt, but how can I ever, sir? As I told you,

you are like my father. And my heavenly and earthly father is none

but the revered senior acharya. How can I ever desert my father and

go anywhere? No, I did not abandon this mutt. And if you think you

23

have the right to stand up in this devout congregation to shout at me

in anger and anguish, then I too had such a right and responsibility

really, to let my anguish fi nd its solace and answer. I did fi nd it and

you will all come to know the eff ects by and by.” With those words,

as the acharya began reciting the concluding verses of the Puja, the

old man was apparently mollifi ed and he sat down shamefacedly. At

the conclusion of the Puja, the devotees silently dispersed.

Th us began a renaissance in the annals of this august mutt. From

that day, things began to move in the otherwise stagnant aff airs of

the mutt – there was to be no more obscurantist, tradition bound

‘right or wrong’ infl exibility, inertia. Th e acharya infused dynamism

into the place and its working. Th e senior acharya has already given

up the whole charge of the aff airs of the mutt to him, and therefore

he could take control without let or hindrance. Th e mutt had a lot of

properties, various valuable endowments to it, from philanthropists

and well wishers in the past. In the days past, big landlords used to

bequeath vast acreage and lands to the mutt, and some of these lands

were lying fallow, some cultivated – but not fetching sizeable income

to the mutt which was its due. Today, in today’s prices, these lands

have greatly enhanced in value, though remaining as non-performing

assets. Th e acharya constituted experts to go into maximizing returns

from these assets and consulted them as to how to put these to

productive use with recurrent returns to the mutt. He made one

thing crystal clear from the beginning. Th e funds so generated for

the mutt should go towards spreading not merely Hindu culture and

spiritual and religious lore, but should be utilized for the welfare of

everyone, irrespective of religion. So let schools, colleges, Hospitals

and institutions be built with the funds, where every one can benefi t.

Return of Acharya

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24

Of course they will be run on a quasi-commercial basis, to the extent

to be self sustaining as far as possible once in existence and running,

but at nominal costs and there shall be no discrimination.

Excerpts from Memsahib (Genre: Literature & Fiction) by Paul Gopal.

The book is a political thriller cum love story set in southern India. The happenings and the characters in the book are based on prominent Indian events and personalities. At the end, the reader is left wondering whether this fi ction could actually be a part of an untold reality.

25

�

Right in the Middle

When my wife subtly reminded me to cut my overgrown

toenails, little did I imagine that the task would be a

challenge in itself. Armed with the nail-cutter, I tried to reach the

superfl uous growth at the extreme end of my body, but to no avail.

While I could take care of my fi ngernails from time to time, it was

the toenails that eluded my attention. Was it due to the shoes, which

covered the sight of my toenails for most part of the day, shielding

them from the onslaught of the implement?

Th e real culprit lay between the position of my eyes and the

position of my toenails, right in the middle. I have come across several

obstacles, but never one that grew on me! Th e central growth, often

attributed to prosperity, was the cause of my predicament. Several

tidbits regularly made their way into my mouth between sumptuous

meals, and were the cause of my “all-round” growth. Help began

pouring in from well-wishers. “Let me tell you a simple yoga for this,”

said one. “When you are off ered some more food... look the person in

the eye, shake your head sideways, until the off er is withdrawn.” How

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26

could I overcome my cravings for all things sinfully sweet? After

Oscar Wilde, “I can resist anything, but temptation.”

My sedentary lifestyle! Th e only time I walked was when I

“walked through” a Powerpoint presentation, and the only time I

“jumped”, was when I was in a queue. “Aerobic exercises. Turn on

your music system and dance vigorously, as though no one is seeing

you,” prescribed a fi tness expert. After a couple of days of the near-

hysterical workout, I was hurting in parts of my body that I never

knew existed. Th e deeper meaning of “dard-e-disco” dawned on me.

My next well-wisher, a salesperson by profession, urged me to buy

a treadmill and some exercise accessories, which he could off er at a

“special price”, so that I could burn my fat at home. After learning of

the damage it would cause to my bank balance, I decided to go for a

brisk walk around the neighbourhood, instead. At last, my fi rst step

in my long brisk walk has been taken. It is said that a journey of a

thousand miles begins with a small step. I have miles to go before I

reach my own toenails!

Excerpts from The ArTicKles Collection (Genre: Humour) by Gopinath Mavinkurve.

The book is a collection of select articles. The author has converted everyday mundane happenings and activities into a rib tickling narration of humour. The short piece presented below is a perfect example of his writing where the expanding waistline of the author has been dealt with in an extremely humourous manner.

Gopinath M. Mavinkurve is a professional management expert in the fi eld of foreign trade policy and procedures.

27

�

Trip to the San Francisco Zoo

As the plane touched down in San Francisco, Julia could not

contain her excitement. Descending over the Bay Area was

exhilarating, and Julia was astounded at the beauty of the hills, the

Pacifi c Ocean, and the skyline of the city. It was her fi rst trip to San

Francisco, and she was here on vacation visiting Jerry, whom she’d

met over fi ve years ago when he was an exchange student at her

university in London. Jerry and Julia hadn’t seen each other for over

a year.

Julia was very excited to reach San Francisco and immediately

wanted to share her excitement with her family back home in

London. She had promised her parents that she would be in touch

when she reached the United States. She also wanted to let Jerry

know that she had arrived safely and on time. Her cell phone worked

only in the UK, not here in the U.S. So she couldn’t contact Jerry or

her family, and they couldn’t contact her. Indeed, she realized it was

silly to have brought her cell phone at all.

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28

Once inside the airport and through customs, Julia located a

pay phone. Fortunately, she had exchanged some Euros into dollars

back in London, but had to go into a restaurant to change a dollar

into quarters. She called Jerry, who was just pulling up outside the

baggage claim. Elated to see each other, they told stories over dinner

and drinks at a Mexican restaurant in Palo Alto, where Jerry lived.

Unfortunately, Jerry had to work the day following Julia’s arrival.

He was fairly new at his job with a technology fi rm in Palo Alto

and hadn’t been able to get the day off . Over dinner, Julia decided that

she would go to the San Francisco Zoo by herself the following day.

She would take public transportation because she didn’t want to take

Jerry’s car, or rent a car, as she was nervous about driving on the other

side of the road, especially in the middle of the city. Jerry didn’t have

a clue how to give her advice on public transit, as he always drove his

car, though he knew it was possible to get to the zoo by taking buses

and trains. After dinner, back at Jerry’s apartment, they looked up the

San Francisco Zoo from Jerry’s computer in order to plan Julia’s trip.

Th ey were happy to discover that the SF Zoo Web site encouraged

people to take public transportation, and even off ered a discount to

those customers who brought their receipt. Jerry and Julia logged on

to the 511.org website to get help with what public transportation

was available. Th ey entered the address of Jerry’s apartment as the

starting point, and the address of the zoo as the ending point. Th e

Web site off ered them a detailed itinerary, telling Julia exactly what

to do. Th ey printed this out; Julia felt confi dent that she’d be able to

do it by herself.

29

Cell Phones Don’t Work in Other Countries

In the morning, Jerry rushed to the offi ce early for a meeting. Julia

made herself an omelette and phoned her parents from Jerry’s

landline. She checked her e-mail on his computer, packed a bag with

a water bottle and some fruit, and set off to fi nd the zoo. All the

buses and trains were on schedule, and she arrived there without

a problem. Julia was thrilled to be in the city. She thought about a

friend in London, whom she would have loved to talk to right now,

but she couldn’t fi gure out how, other than to use a pay phone, and

she knew that would be ridiculously expensive. Jerry had asked her

to call and let him know that she had arrived safely. After a bit of

searching she found a pay phone and called him. He didn’t pick up,

as he was having coff ee with his boss, but she left him a message

letting him know that everything had gone well. Julia bought the

entrance ticket and got a map for the zoo. She wanted a cup of coff ee,

so she looked at the zoo map and found a restaurant. While having

coff ee, she looked over the map and planned out her trip inside the

zoo. First she saw the birds, then the monkeys. She went to the big

cats’ exhibit and then stood for a long time watching a zebra eating.

Th ere was a theatre at the zoo that off ered daily “wildlife theatre.”

Th e next show would begin in fi fteen minutes. She was looking for

the theatre location on her map, trying to fi gure out how to reach it

from where she was. She was proceeding in one direction, looking at

the signposts along the side of the pathways.

After a few minutes, she realized that the other route would

probably be shorter. She got a bit lost and fl ustered, and arrived at

the theatre after the show had started.

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30

Nonetheless, Julia had a fantastic trip to the zoo. She spent a

long time watching the tigers lounging around in the shade and

took a bunch of pictures with her digital camera that she would later

upload to her Picasa account so that her friends and family could

check them out. She enjoyed the California sunshine, and ate her

lunch outside. She was still feeling very proud of herself for fi nding

the zoo all by herself in a foreign country. Now it was 5 o’clock, and

the zoo was about to close, but it was too early to head back to Jerry’s

apartment. He had said that he’d probably be home around 7:30.

Julia decided to try to fi nd the Golden Gate Bridge. It seemed

like a daunting task, however, and Julia really wasn’t quite sure how

to get there. She had no Internet access or else she would have

logged on to the 511 Web site and printed out an itinerary similar

to last night. When she fi nally found a pay phone, she dialled Jerry’s

number again. Luckily, he answered and she asked if he could look

up directions from the 511 Web site from the zoo to the Golden

Gate Bridge. Jerry was having a very busy day at work, and really

didn’t have the time to dictate the directions to Julia over the phone.

Nor did he have much faith or interest in public transportation.

“Take a cab,” he said, “It will be way easier.” Jerry explained.

“Is there a phonebook there?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Julia.

“Turn to the back pages and look up ‘Taxi,’” said Jerry.

Th e pages of the phone book were old and tattered; many pages

were missing. Julia found a company called Yellow Cab.


31

“You’ve got to call them, tell them where you are, and they’ll

come pick you up,” said Jerry.

Web Not Available On-Th e-Go

Julia hung up and called a cab. She waited about 10 minutes, and the

cab showed up in front of the zoo. Th e cab driver was very friendly,

and chatted with Julia while driving her towards the bridge. At her

request, he dropped her off at the north end of the bridge, and then

charged her what seemed like an arm and a leg for the ride.

Julia was very excited to see the bridge in-person, after seeing it

in photographs ever since childhood. It was such a magnifi cent feat

of engineering excellence! She walked from the north end of the

bridge back toward the city, stopping for a while in the middle to

admire the bay, the water underneath the bridge, the sailboats, and

the view of San Francisco. It was sunny and windy, and there were a

lot of other tourists and bikers enjoying the view. She took tons of

pictures. Th en she again found herself looking for a pay phone and

discovered one near the rest room on the south side of the bridge.

“Here I am at the bridge!” she said to Jerry. “It’s so beautiful!”

“Nice,” said Jerry. “I wish I were there. I get off work in a few

minutes. Have you fi gured out how to get home from there?”

“Well, I’ve got my itinerary,” answered Julia.

“Yeah, but that was from the zoo. Now you’re at the bridge. Do

you know how to get back?”

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32

“Oh, shoot,” said Julia. “I didn’t even think about that! Oh, man,

this might get complicated. I guess I’ll have to call the cab again, and

they’ll take me to the train station.”

“How ‘bout this,” said Jerry. “I’ll pick you up and we can drive

into Sausalito for dinner. It’s right on the other side of the bridge,

and there are some fantastic places to eat there.”

Julia was thrilled.

“So, it might be an hour before I get there. Wait close to the rest-

rooms and the pay phones at 7:30. I should be there by then.”

Julia was very happy to spend another hour in that beautiful spot,

and quite relieved that she didn’t have to worry about taking public

transportation back to Jerry’s house. Julia returned near the restrooms

at 7:30 and waited. Fifteen minutes went by, but there was no sign of

Jerry. Julia had no way of knowing that he was stuck in traffi c. Finally

he showed up around 8:00. Th ey were both starving. After a bit of

searching, they found a sushi restaurant in Sausalito and then took a

stroll along the beach. Afterwards, they drove back to his home.

Virtual Companion

It is a few years in the future. In a very short time, Web on-the go has

become a universal phenomenon. Pretty much every global citizen

has at least one Mobile Internet Device. Wireless access is available

just about everywhere on planet Earth. Julia brought her Samsung

MID to America with her, and also her Sony Pocket PC. She uses

the MID to read e-mails and do some quick work online and the

Pocket PC to write e-mails, read e-books, and more. Th e MID fi ts


33

into her shirt pocket while the Pocket PC is in her handbag. When

Julia arrived in San Francisco, she pulled out her MID and sent a

quick text message to Jerry, who immediately responded, letting her

know he’d be waiting out front in his car, and then another to her

parents back in the UK to let them know she’d arrived safely.

Later on that night, Julia and Jerry were looking at the San

Francisco Web site and then the 511.org site to get clear on Julia’s

public transportation route to the zoo. On the 511.org site, a link was

provided to download a transit trip planner application to a Mobile

Internet Device. Julia downloaded and installed that application in

her MID. Th e next morning, Jerry rushed to his offi ce for the staff

meeting. Julia got up and began preparing her breakfast. At work,

in the meeting, all members of the fi rm were off ering updates on

their current projects. Jerry gave his update early and then listened

to the updates from members of teams in diff erent departments. He

had his laptop in front of him and launched the Google Latitude

application, which showed that Julia was still in Palo Alto. He sent a

short text message, “Hi, are you still at home?” Julia responded that

she was eating her breakfast. Jerry texted back: “Have a great trip to

the zoo!”

Around 9 a. m., Julia left the apartment and launched the 511

transit trip planner application on her Mobile Internet Device.

Th e MID picked up her location from GPS and responded with a

map showing her a map of the neighborhood she was standing in,

including names of surrounding streets. Th e trip planner application

prompted her to say or enter the place where she wanted to go. Julia

said, “San Francisco Zoo.” But the application couldn’t recognize

her British accent, so she had to enter the destination using the

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34

keyboard. Th en the application asked her the next question, “When

do you want to go? She entered “Now.” Th en the application came

up with an itinerary, based on her current location, the current time,

and current traffi c conditions. Th is is known as “Information in Real

Time.” Now, Julia’s MID showed her a map with the directions that

she needed to follow. It also had voice instructions. “Walk to that

corner.” Th e device picked up the GPS location and also did some

internal calculations to arrive at Julia’s new location. Th en it said,

“Turn right and walk to that bus stop.” Julia reached the bus stop.

Th e MID said, “It will take another fi ve minutes for the bus to arrive.

Have a dollar and 25 cents for the bus fare. It will be a ten-minute

bus journey to reach the Caltrain station.” After about fi ve minutes,

the bus arrived. Julia paid the fare and within a few minutes, reached

the station. Julia was very excited about her fi rst bus and train trip

in California. She was proud of herself for doing it all alone. In fact,

she didn’t really feel that she was alone. Th e voice instructions from

the MID 511 transit planner application made her feel safe, and

strangely enough, as if she had company.

Meanwhile, Jerry was still in his weekly staff meeting, listening

to people give their updates, while off and on checking the Google

Latitude application on his laptop. He could see that Julia had reached

the Caltrain station. In some cases, for obvious reasons, one would

want to turn on the Google Latitude application’s privacy feature,

in order to block anyone (or specifi c people) from being able to see

their location. In this case, however, Jerry and Julia were not at all

concerned with privacy. Jerry really just wanted to know that Julia was

doing okay. Soon the meeting was over and Jerry rushed to his cube.

He called Julia to talk to her about her trip so far. Meanwhile, Julia’s


35

Mobile Internet Device told her that the train for San Francisco

would be arriving at the platform shortly, and was giving her all the

relevant instructions.

“I can’t believe how easy this is!” Julia said to Jerry. Th at eased

Jerry’s mind, and he got back to work, not so worried that Julia might

run into trouble fi nding the zoo.

Julia boarded the train and began travelling north toward San

Francisco. Meanwhile, her Mobile Internet Device continued to

pick up her current location from GPS and informed Julia about

each approaching station. When the train approached Millbrae, her

MID let her know that she needed to get off at that stop. Th us Julia

followed the step-by-step voice instructions and reached the San

Francisco Zoo safely. Since Jerry and Julia were both online, every

so often they would exchange small messages, making jokes and

enjoying each other’s virtual “company.”

Zoo Guide Application for Mobile Devices

Julia reached the zoo and bought her entrance ticket. At the entrance,

Jerry had let her know that there were instructions for installing the

Zoo Guide application onto her Mobile Internet Device. Julia asked

about that feature at the counter. Th e assistant told her that this

application included the zoo maps, timings for shows, and specifi c

directions to any location within the zoo, such as the theater and

restaurants. Julia noticed that on every lamppost in the zoo, there was

a wireless access point.

“What’s up with the access points on the lampposts?” Julia asked

the assistant. Th e employee told her it was the Zoo Wireless Network

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36

and that the Zoo Guide application installed on her Mobile Internet

Device accesses those points. Th rough the same application, Julia

learned that she could also access the Internet. However, she had

noticed already that she had coverage throughout the city, thanks to

the new municipal Wi-Fi service in

San Francisco. Julia went to the Zoo Guide Application

Download booth. Bringing her MID close to the counter, a Bluetooth

connection was established between her MID and the counter. She

then easily downloaded the Zoo Guide to her MID. A message

popped up:

“Do you want to install Zoo Guide application on your Mobile

Internet Device? Yes or No.” Julia selected “Yes,” and after a moment

another message popped up: “Zoo Guide application is successfully

installed on your Mobile Internet Device.” Julia now launched the

Zoo Guide application, which immediately established a wireless

connection with the nearest lamppost.

Each lamppost access point had a unique identifi cation name,

and with that name, the application could access the current location

of the user inside the zoo. Julia selected the option: “Locate rest

room.” Her MID immediately gave directions on how to reach the

nearest restroom from the location where she was standing at that

moment.

Julia wanted a cup of coff ee, and so asked the MID where the

closest restaurant was. Immediately, it gave specifi c directions on

how to reach the restaurant. While she was drinking her coff ee, she

explored the Zoo Guide application on her MID. She let Jerry know


37

that she had downloaded the Zoo Guide application through the

chat feature on her MID.

Th en Julia alerted her MID that she wanted to view the tigers.

Th e Zoo Guide application gave her step-by-step instructions on how

to reach the tiger cages. It also alerted her to the other animals she’d

see on the way. Her MID off ered Julia rich background information

about tigers in their natural habitat, and about this particular tiger

and its family. Julia really felt that she was walking with a real person,

a guide, telling her all about the animals at the zoo. She took a few

pictures of the tiger with her Mobile Internet Device camera. Th ose

pictures automatically uploaded to her Picasa account. Immediately,

the tiger pictures were available in the public folder on her Picasa

account. Right then, Julia noticed that her dad was also online.

He was in London. She started chatting with him and sharing her

pictures from the San Francisco Zoo.

Th en Julia was looking at the wildlife show times in the Zoo

Guide application. Th e next show would begin in 10 minutes, and

she wanted to go. Th is time the Zoo Guide application on the

MID gave her step-by-step instructions about how to reach

the theater from her current location, and thus she arrived on time.

During the show, she noticed that an elderly Chinese lady also had a

Mobile Internet Device and was watching the show. But the elderly

lady was listening to the show commentary from her MID.

Julia was curious to know what she was listening to. When she

asked, the Chinese lady said that she was listening to the Chinese

translation of commentary about the show.

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38

Stay in Touch Using Google Latitude

Once the show was over, Julia continued happily wandering about the

zoo. She was confi dent that she would never get lost with that device.

Again, in the evening, she decided to go the Golden Gate Bridge. Th is

time she had no regrets that she hadn’t planned ahead for this side

trip before leaving home. When she left the zoo, Julia launched the

511 trip planner application. Th e application registered her current

location from the GPS sensor and said, “Right now you are in San

Francisco; where would you like to go?” Julia entered “Golden Gate

Bridge.” Th e 511 trip planner application came up with information

about the public transportation that would take her to the bridge,

and Julia arrived there safely, in a very short time. Almost the whole

day, Jerry was watching her going from place to place on his laptop by

running the Google Latitude application. Jerry sent her the message:

“It looks like you are going to the Golden Gate Bridge. Stay there

and I will pick you up.” Julia was happily walking on the bridge. Th is

time, even without a cell phone, she easily stayed in touch with Jerry

in the U.S. and her family in UK. Th ere was no need for her to use

the pay phone or wait around near the restroom so that Jerry could

fi nd her. Checking the Latitude application on her Mobile Internet

Device, Julia noticed that Jerry had left Mountain View and was

driving north on Highway 101. After an hour, he parked his car and

got out his Mobile Internet Device to select walking directions to

reach Julia. Th e device was pointing toward the middle of the bridge.

Jerry walked and noticed in his device that Julia was walking toward

him. Both of them saw a handshake sign on their devices and by

that time, they had bumped into each other. Th ey spent some time

together on the bridge, then searched for a good restaurant close by,

39

using their Mobile Internet Devices. Th e result showed quite a few

in Sausalito. Th ey spent an incredibly enjoyable evening, and then

headed back to Jerry’s apartment. Th ese days, pretty much everyone

has a cell phone. We pay a premium fee for the service, but much

of the time we are travelling places where our cell phone no longer

serves us. Perhaps we are a tourist in another country, or even just out

driving or camping in a rural area. Th e technological advancements

suggested in the second part of this story demonstrate a much more

effi cient method of wireless communication. Th e San Francisco

Zoo Guide application could be applied to any zoo or theme park

in the world. A similar downloadable program could be off ered at

Disneyland, the Singapore Zoo, Great America, and more.

511.org is a wonderful concept for public transportation. Th ey

have already built the entire infrastructure necessary to evolve into

the downloadable application referred to here. Th e next step would be

to make this program work on a Mobile Internet Device. A further

feature might include the ability to track an individual’s current

location from GPS. It is real-time information, real-time decision-

making, with the ability to incorporate fl uctuating variables such as

traffi c into consideration


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40

Excerpts from Web-on the Go (Genre: Computers & Internet) by S. Balachandran.

This book provides great ideas for future applications of the web. It motivates the reader to come up with surprisingly new ideas for industries like, transportation, shipping, health care, safety, security, etc. The book will interest professionals as well as and the general public.

Bala lives in Silicon Valley, California, United States.

41

�

Analyze All Parameters

I was not sure whether Venkatraman and his brother were pleased

with our fi rst encounter and whether they would come back for

further discussion. Th ere had been others earlier who had come

for instant remedies for their entrepreneurial itch. Getting no

immediate inoculation they had either drifted towards those who

professed to administer the right curative doses or given up the

idea altogether. I have ever maintained that an accurate assessment

of one’s Entrepreneurial Edge is of utmost importance before any

attempt to venture out on one’s own is made. I like to defi ne ‘EDGE’

here as the Enthusiasm, Dynamism, Grit and Enjoyment that a

prospective entrepreneur must be possessed with at the threshold of

his venture. In the face of opposition and discouragement successful

entrepreneurs display unabated enthusiasm backed by dynamism

at getting things done. Grit expects you to possess the mettle, zeal,

perseverance and total commitment to achieving your goal through

self-discipline. It suggests that you hold an intense desire – almost

a craving, to succeed at business. Why so? Well the universal truth

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42

is that every business passes through good and bad patches and to

nourish you through trying times you need an inexhaustible supply

of tenacity. Th is strain of disciplined commitment emanates from

loving and enjoying what you are doing. You must love and enjoy the

business you intend to start or are already in – only then can you give

it your best.

Talking about love – where is it that love caresses you fi rst? At

home of course! Now consider this: your father has been in service

all his life and the one time he tried his hand at business his partner

took him for a royal ride. He was bitter and just about managed to

get his job back. Your sibling met with a similar fate when he tried

his hand in business just after college. He was lucky to get alternative

employment. Th e mother is a housewife though she augments

the household income by selling sarees that she sources once in a

while from her hometown during her visits there. As for you, you

have a good-paying job but you also have this itch for your own

enterprise. You have never seen a working business at close quarters.

Your loved ones don’t want you to burn your fi ngers at business nor

do they want you to sacrifi ce your good job at the business altar.

Do you really believe that your family can understand your love for

business? Incidents of business failure in the past, within the family

and friends circle, will be repeatedly quoted to discourage you from

doing anything ‘foolish’. “We are a service class family. Besides, you

have the potential to reach the top,” will be the mildest admonition in

disguise. So where do you get the moral support and encouragement

to nurture your love for business? I believed that this predicament

was going to be Venkat’s fi rst big mental hurdle to cross.


43

From what I have been told I was confi dent that Venkat had

the technical credentials and experience to undertake the production

of equipments in his range of expertise. Whether he had a speck

of the ‘business-mind’ was anyone’s guess. My own experience was

that technology’s contribution to the overall health and success of a

manufacturing unit diminishes, as the product reaches maturity. A

product design company that introduces new artifacts or models on

a regular basis and prides itself as an innovator of new and futuristic

devices, defi nitely relies more heavily on technology. Mind you here

again effi cient production and bringing the product to the market is

the responsibility of a lesser technology oriented department or entity.

Only in the software industry where no ‘physical’ three-dimensional

product gets forged, molded, bent or otherwise processed into shape

do technologies continue to play a dominant role. Th ere are no

material inputs or outputs in the software industry. In most other

cases the market triumph of any product depends on factors other

than just technology.

Meanwhile, Venkatraman seemed to have found his reasons

for starting his own enterprise and gave me a call on the following

Wednesday. Since I was pre-occupied that day and the next we

decided that Friday was appropriate for us to meet. He came alone

and very much on time. After the usual pleasantries we settled down

to the matter of our meeting.

“Do you still believe that Jaiprakash is your reason for going into

business?” I queried.

“Not directly, but indirectly - yes,” Venkatraman revealed.

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44

“How’s that?” I wanted to know

“Let me be frank with you. My original thinking was ‘If

Jaiprakash can own a business why can’t I?’ But when you suggested

that Jaiprakash could not be a valid reason I had to ask myself

honestly why I could and should get into business,” Venkatraman

enlightened.

“And so why do you believe you can get into business?” I

enquired.

“I am good with and understand technology better than

Jaiprakash.”

“But doesn’t that still make Jaiprakash your reason?”

“I guess so, but the diff erence between him and me is that he

does not like technology and I do,” Venkatraman contended.

“How does liking technology really matter?” I probed

“Oh it does; especially when the client also has only an overall

idea of the controls his systems require to achieve an end result. Th at’s

when you need to understand the capacity and limitations of your

technology. It’s only when you love technology can you go beyond

the college version.”

“So are you’re saying that you are in a position to help a client

conceive a working solution whereas Jaiprakash is not?”

“Th at’s absolutely right.”

“But how many times would you come across such a situation?”


45

“Oh you’ll be surprised. Even in the Alfa Laval panels that

Jaiprakash delivers he and our engineers are unaware or do not

understand why some functions are incorporated in the collaborators

designs. In fact I have clarifi ed certain features for Jaiprakash on

more than two occasions.”

“Mr. Venkatraman you do seem convinced that the extent of your

love and understanding of technology will benefi t your client. But is

that enough to risk getting into your own manufacturing?”

“After last Friday I did a mental review of the kind of

equipments Jai is supplying to Alfa. In my opinion there is a vast

space for improving the workmanship. It baffl es me that some of

their equipment passes the inspection at all. I won’t bother you with

details but believe me I can do a much better. Th ere are times when

even their cable terminations are not tagged, cable routing is shabby

but you get to see that only when you uncover the cable channels. Oh

I could list at least a dozen similar defects. Th ese would impact the

performance of the panel adversely in the long run.”

“Are you saying then that if you were to manufacture the same

control panels you could give a better and more reliable product at

the same price than Jai Controls?”

“Exactly,” Venkatraman clarifi ed.

“Let’s accept that for the time being,” I agreed. “Yet none of this

convinces me on why you should quit your job and start a unit.”

“I would have to quit because it would not be fair on my part to

be employed by and take a salary from Alfa and at the same time run

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46

a unit of my own. I would keep feeling that I am cheating. It would

be cheating isn’t it?”

“It would defi nitely be cheating if you were working at your

unit during the time you should actually have been attending to

your duties at Alfa Laval. It would be cheating if you manufactured

a product for someone else based on Alfa’s drawings. It would be

cheating if you off -loaded work from your Alfa department to your

personal unit when there was no need for it,” I opined.

“But I already told you I am only responsible for maintenance

of the electrical infrastructure at Alfa and not directly involved with

production. As far as off -loading is concerned our planning people

look after that. No individual department can take that kind of

decision,” refuted Venkatraman.

“Does that mean you could be cheating only if you were to steal

Alfa drawings or work at your business on their time?” I prodded.

“How can you even imagine me stealing drawings?” contested

Venkatraman loudly, “I don’t even bring as much as a pin home from

the factory.”

“And how about stealing their time?” I cornered Venkatraman

“I defi nitely do not? For the eight hours that I get paid I am

wholeheartedly an Alfa man doing not only the job assigned to me

but much more. Most of my sick and casual leaves just expire. As for

the balance sixteen hours I am the sole master of that time and they

have no say in that,” Venkatraman clarifi ed.


47

“Are you then saying that once you are back from your employer’s

factory you can do what you want?”

“Th at is right. Only diffi culty is that I do tend to get a bit tired,”

Venkatraman confessed.

“How real is this tiredness? Is it mental or is it physical?” I

interrogated.

“Frankly speaking, now that you ask, I think it could all just be

in my head. Th ere are days when the factory politics does leave me

mentally agitated,” Venkatraman refl ected. “I guess I should ignore

what my peers at work keep griping about,” he contemplated.

I had jotted on the pad in front of me the fi gures ’24 - 9’ and

below it ‘8 + 1’. Th e handwriting was large enough to be easily read

by Venkatraman sitting opposite me. He stared at these numbers for

a while. Having weighed them to his satisfaction he exclaimed, “Yes

it does leave me with at least six hours to work for myself assuming I

spend eight hours sleeping and one for other personal eff ects; doesn’t

it?”

“Th at’s what it seems to me and it still leaves you with your full-

time job,” I confi rmed in an understanding tone. “I wonder what all

you can do in these six hours?” I pushed further.

“Oh I could defi nitely study the user’s system requirements and

generate the schematic, control and circuit diagrams. I could draw the

general layout and mechanical details of placements and mountings.

In fact sitting at my home desk I could conceive the entire panel with

all its features.”

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48

“You sound exactly like my brother,” I revealed to Venkatraman.

“Th is engineer brother of mine is considered a master at conceiving

mechanical designs and could generate drawings and fabrication

details based on defi ned requirements. However this talent was of

little use at his job in the synthetic-fi ber plant where he worked.

Th is plant had a foreign collaboration and the Indian Company was

required to, and strictly followed the foreign designs right to the last

screw. No innovation or improvements were even looked at. It took a

cousin of mine to bring out my brothers genius.”

“Th is cousin refused to go through formal education after his

twelfth class. His Dad managed to get him enrolled for the L & T

Apprentice Training program. Th e trainees underwent a three years

on-the-job training with the Company, which fi nally absorbed the

talented amongst them in the diff erent L & T production units.

Now this cousin had always been atypical. During the third year he

noticed that the L & T business unit he was delegated to was falling

behind in their deliveries. He boldly approached his trainer to take

on a sub-contract to help fi nish some of the business unit’s pending

jobs. Th e trainer and business unit head were surprised and remarked

that only a good design engineer could do what was expected. At this

my cousin off ered to do the job free of cost provided workspace and

all materials were supplied by the Company. ‘Pay me only if you are

satisfi ed with the quality of what I do,’ he had off ered.”

“Th e business unit head was intrigued by the boldness and

decided to take a chance with my cousin. Requirements were given

to him with a two-week deadline for completion of the drawings

along with the job work. Promptly the cousin recruited my brother’s

genius. My brother generated the set of drawings and together the


49

two completed and handed over the piece of equipment for inspection

by L & T within the eight days that my brother was on leave from

his regular work. Needless to say that L & T paid them for a job well

executed. Th e cousin went on to become an entrepreneur while my

brother continued in service.”

“Th at sounds very interesting. But looking at it from Srimaali’s

angle his contribution cannot be a whole lot I guess. At least not

from the point of view of starting our own electrical panel’s business,”

Venkatraman observed.

“But you did bring him along when you fi rst came here; and

hadn’t you said something about him being the fi nance professional

for your project?” I jogged Venkatraman.

“Oh yes, but he would only be able to play his part when we are

all set and running,” Venkatraman acknowledged.

“Aren’t you overlooking something Mr. Venkatraman? Or is it

that you have the money, the product with all its details and a list of

clients ready to buy this product?” I purposely fast-forwarded.

“I never said I had the cash or a product with detailing, leave

aside customers that would buy from us,” objected Venkatraman,

“but I think I know what you are getting at.”

“Yes? So let me hear what you think I am getting at,” I prodded

“If you think that Srimaali can locate prospective clients, forget

it. He has no clue of electrical panels so how is he going to try and

fi nd users?” doubted Venkatraman. “As a banker he would defi nitely

know bank’s borrowing terms, interest rates and things like that

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50

which might help in working out costs, that’s about all. But if you

think he can arrange fi nance from his bank, just forget that too. I

wouldn’t put him in that kind of soup. In any case he is too junior to

infl uence any decisions of his bosses at the Bank.”

“You’ve got my ‘getting at’ all wrong! Why are you putting the

cart before the horse? I quizzed

“Huh! Th en what is your ploy? What are you suggesting? Did I

miss something?”

“Let’s just go back a bit. You said you could conceive a control

panel sitting at your desk. Suppose you did that for a client and he

approves your designs, what happens then?” I enquired.

“Once a client approves my designs he would want to know how

much the fi nished panel would cost.”

“And normally only if he fi nds the price right would he place an

order on you,” I butted in.

“Th at means I would fi rst need to know the prices of all

components and parts that would go into the panel including

the fabricated frames and cabinets. Maybe Srimaali can help by

collecting price lists and catalogues of diff erent components and

manufacturers,” Venkatraman caught on.

“Now you have put the horse in its place. Th e one sure thing

that Srimaali can do is collecting all the relevant information. Th e

information horse caught by Srimaali can be put to good use even if

you do not have the cart!” I proposed.


51

“We can easily do this exercise but it still gets us no closer to

starting our unit. How are we supposed to do that?”

“Look at it like this, if you found that your product costs more

than competing products I would ask you to rethink before putting

any money on setting up your manufacturing unit,” I reigned in.

Th is daunting statement of mine appeared to dismay Mr.

Venkatraman as he aspired to become an entrepreneur in double

quick time.

* * *

In the course of my consultancy work I had come across many

dejected individuals who had jumped on to the entrepreneurial

bandwagon. Some had mistakenly believed that their product could

compete with existing products. Others had burned their fi ngers

trying to copy what their friend or relative had established. Yet others

had discovered that their unique inventions had no takers in the

market. Success usually came after several failed attempts at trying to

produce a marketable widget. Th ose who had dreamt of making it big

in their fi rst attempt were badly bruised by their failures. Th ose who

learned valuable lessons from their earlier failures and persevered

tasted success. My own experiences and my close association with

them had given me a new respect for entrepreneurs.

An entrepreneur is a person who undertakes a commercial activity

for the purpose of making a profi t but sometimes ends up with a loss.

Th is activity could be done as an employee for someone else, or for

one’s self. Entrepreneurial people make things happen and as a result

rise up the ladder in the corporate world or start and expand their

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52

own businesses. Often successful corporate entrepreneurial managers

with vision quit their jobs and promote a start-up business of their

own while others may continue in their jobs taking their company

to great heights.

From his own account Mr. Venkatraman Aiyer had quite often

displayed this entrepreneurial streak, as a maintenance engineer at

Alfa Laval. Th e company had awarded him for it. He now wanted

to be amongst entrepreneurs who have given or wish to give birth to

a new business. Such a person, prior to or during the development

stages of his project, knowingly or unknowingly does an exercise to

investigate and understand certain factors that he considers critical

for the well being of his project. Th is drill is a must. It not only brings

forth some interesting and intriguing questions, but also opens one’s

eyes to certain aspects that have to be addressed adequately and

promptly. It also alerts you to what is best avoided.

Th e issues, characteristics, and mechanisms that determine the

success of an entrepreneur and his choice of business are multi-

dimensional and in reality quite diffi cult to segregate. I wanted

Venkatraman to initially discuss and do a thorough analysis of these

dimensions with the aid of simple examples and later try to arrive at

the more complex picture for himself. Most entrepreneurs have used

this technique during their careers to fi nd their bearings and drive

themselves to achieve their goals. Th e exercise I wanted Venkatraman

to do, would give him the wherewithal to choose such a direction so

as to be able to come as close as possible to his ideal. Th ough mind

you, there is no ideal product or project for any entrepreneur.


53

In its simplest form, a 3-way system of analysis consists

of matching one’s ‘Personal Parameters’ to that of the ‘Product

Parameters’ and the ‘Project Parameters’. For a new comer –

especially a fi rst-generation entrepreneur, the relative importance of

these parameters are in order mentioned. However I am aware that

the most important – Personal Parameters are least considered in

any entrepreneurship development program and the banks do not

even make a cursory reference to them. It is for this reason that I

lay stress on personal parameter study and understanding. A good

understanding by Mr. Venkatraman of his Personal Parameters could

make or break his project.

* * *

“Don’t be disappointed with what I just said,” I appealed to Mr.

Venkatraman, “I am sure you won’t like to burn your fi ngers or your

money by hasty decisions, would you?”

“Th ere’s no money to burn; fi ngers – may be yes! But with what

I’ve done so far even my fi ngers look safe,” laughed Venkatraman.

“Th at’s great! So far you have accepted that both you and your

brother could utilize your spare time to work on your project. You

also believe that your unit will be able to manufacture good, reliable

control panels. Right?”

“Th at’s as far as you allowed me to go. What comes next? You tell

me,” Venkatraman sounded me out.

“Th ere are some fundamental decisions that you will have to take.

First and foremost you will need to be absolutely sure as to why you

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54

want to be in business. You will be putting some – I recommend not

all, of your personal and family savings at risk. Your life may go out of

balance, with the additional working hours taking away from other

social, family or pleasurable activities. Th e headaches and other forms

of stress may increase beyond the point you have experienced as an

employee. To top it all, family support may be worse than nil. It will

probably be negative with admonitions and warnings that ‘business

does not run in the family’” I forewarned Mr. Venkatraman. You will

run the risk of sounding a little eccentric, literally loosing friends and

relations. How prepared are you for all this?”

“My father has always believed that business is very dangerous.

He reminds us that he fi nanced my brothers and my engineering

education so that we could get good jobs, be happy and settle down

in life. In fact you may say that we are basically an employment

seeking family. None in the family barring me can see that there is a

huge market for the kind of business I want to do. I guess the idea of

using my spare time to set up a venture will appeal to them and their

stance may change,” declared Venkatraman longingly.

“What if they are not convinced by your part-time argument?

What is your stand then?”

“I would still go ahead and give it my best shot. You are there to

help me, aren’t you?”

“Mr. Venkatraman you are a thoroughbred technology man

and well versed with all the technical aspects of the product you

want to manufacture. Th is knowledge will defi nitely contribute

to your success, yet on its own it will not guarantee it. Any

55

successful business requires an equally strong knowledge and

skill of marketing, fi nance and general management. And even

with these skills available you may still face a lot of hardships.”

“How could that happen?” Venkatraman disbelievingly interrupted.

“I believe that for entrepreneurs to be successful they need to

be fully aware of the environment they are operating in. Besides

their technological and managerial background, they should possess

personal strength to cope with the vagaries of the business atmosphere

they operate in. If they fail to assess their personal strengths and

weaknesses their chances of success are remote,” I proposed.

“And pray how does one do that?” was Venkatraman’s obvious

reaction.

I patiently wait for my Client to come up with that very question.

Th ose who have addressed that question and given themselves honest

answers have found success faster than those who have not. I am also

aware that a picture speaks more than thousands of words. I handed

Venkatraman the set of three tables reproduced here.

“Venkatraman I suggest that you and Srimaali use these tables to

assess your strengths and weaknesses. You must become responsive

to and positively tackle and take steps to strengthen parameters

related to your background, personal traits and environment. I have

used a weightage scale of 5 to 1; you could use a scale of 10 to 0.

What is important is that you give yourself an honest rating and

be prepared to work on your shortcomings. Remember, you can get

plenty of information and published data on all other aspects of your

enterprise but nothing on yourself.”


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56

“I expect after completing this crucial exercise, you may need the

help of other professionals. By the way have Srimaali and you already

fi gured out, fi rst, what product or mix of products you are going to

be good at manufacturing in the initial stages, and second, where and

how you are going to manufacture them?” I queried.

“Regarding product or mix, I have an overall idea of what and

where control panels are required and some knowledge of who is

buying from Jai Controls. How we will manufacture is still a question

mark?” confessed Venkatraman.

“Well then you need to do a lot of homework on yourself, your

product and your facility,” was my rejoinder.

Excerpts from Entrepreneurial Sins (Genre: Self-Improvement) by Ashok Purandutt.

The book is an easy to understand guide for a budding entrepreneur. Almost every facet of entrepreneurship is covered in a practical way –from how to make a business plan, set up the manufacturing unit, expansion, cash fl ows and everything in between. The explanation of the issues through a story makes it easier to understand.

Mr Ashok Purandutt is an Entrepreneur and Human Resource Development consultant based at Pune.

57

�

A Toy for the Little Princess

The day began as usual at Alladin’s Toy Mart. Th e shelves were

dusted, the fl oors were mopped to a sparkle and the glasses

were wiped squeaky clean.

Each toy stood smartly in its place, hoping it would be taken to

a new home that day. Some of them had stood on the shelves for

months and they were bored with the place.

Suddenly a robotic dog with artifi cial intelligence perked up

his ears. “Hey! Th at’s exciting news,” he exclaimed, jumping up and

down. He then whispered something to the toys beside him. Soon,

the excitement spread among the toy population of Alladin’s: the

robotic dog had heard that the king and queen of the land were

going to visit Alladin’s that day!

Th e princess’ birthday was less than a week away and the royal

couple wanted to buy a plaything for her. Th ey had decided to visit

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58

‘Alladin’s Toy Mart’ because it was the biggest toy shop in their

country. And they wanted only the best for their precious daughter.

Th e shop assistants and managers ran about making arrangements

to welcome the royal couple in style. Th e toys jostled with one

another to occupy the prime position on their shelves. Each of them

hoped to be the one to catch the eye of the royal couple. Th e whole

country adored their kind king, generous queen and the gentle, little

princess. And every toy wanted to become part of the wonderful

royal household.

Th e beautiful dancing doll with auburn curls cascading down

her back said, “I’m so fashionable and classy! I can do a ballet like a

regular ballerina! In fact, I’m almost like a princess myself ! I’m sure

the queen will choose me for her daughter.”

“Oh, you’re just a pretty-face. All beauty and no brains. Choose

you? Ha! Ha! You must be joking,” sneered the programmable robot.

“Right now I’m a sleuth looking for an intruder. But I have an

electronic chip embedded in my head. Th at makes me the only toy

with brains in the whole shop,”

“I have a chip too. I also have brains,” barked the robotic dog

who had fi rst heard the news of the royal visit. But the programmable

robot was nonchalant. “Perhaps, but his majesty is sure to choose me

and only me,” he said, haughtily.

It’s true the robot was a rather unusual toy. In a jiff y he could

transform himself from a sleuth into a traffi c constable or a fi refi ghter.

He even had separate sets of clothes to match his roles. And, was he

proud of his electronic sophistication!

59

Th e soft, life-sized piglet in pretty pink put the robot in its

place.

“No, no, you’re just a machine. And you’re too hi-brow for a toy.

Who wants to tire their brains over toys?” she squealed. “Toys are for

fun and comfort. I’m so soft and cuddly, the princess will love to hug

me! I’m sure I’ll be the royal couple’s choice,” she said, adding, “After

all, everyone knows pink is the princess’ favourite colour.”

“Oh, the princess has long since outgrown soft toys. She’s going

to be ten, you know! Just the right age to play with me:

I can hop, I can skip.

I can sing, I can dance,

I can cry and laugh too;

With me around I don’t think

there’s a chance for any of you!”

sang the dancing lion, and began somersaulting with gusto.

He almost fell off the shelf in his eagerness to show-off . But

he was a vain fellow and wouldn’t own up his mistake. He looked

around for a scapegoat and found the wobbly little duckling.

“Oh! You cheeky little duckling! How dare you push me!” roared

the lion. “Are you trying to displace me and waddle up to the front?

You don’t imagine the royal couple will choose you, do you?

“You don’t have a switch, a button, an electronic chip or anything.

Th at shows you can do nothing, just absolutely nothing. No wonder

no one’s bought you all these days. Who’d want a bright yellow, stuff ed

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60

duckling that can just stand around and stare with beady eyes? Why,

you must be the most ancient toy here!” he said, scornfully.

Th e little duckling felt terribly ashamed of herself. Th e lion

was right. She could do none of the things the other toys could.

She cowered into a corner and hoped no one would notice her. She

didn’t mind not being bought, but she didn’t want to be laughed at

or scolded.

Suddenly there was a hullabaloo in the shop. A few attendants ran

to and fro with bouquets. A red carpet was rolled out. An electronic

band, which could automatically play tunes stored in its memory, was

switched on. And the managers stood at attention at the entrance,

heads held high, shoes polished to a sparkle. Th e royal couple had

arrived!

Th e toys assumed their best postures and waited.

Th e king and queen went round the shop. Th e shop manager and

her attendants explained the working of all the modern playthings.

Th ey demonstrated the best ones and the unique ones.

Th e royal couple was most gracious and said, “Th at’s wonderful, but

not really what we want” or “Oh, how very nice, but I don’t think it’s the

right one for Tina” or “Amazing, but not exactly what we’re looking for”

and so on and so forth till almost every toy in the shop was disqualifi ed.

Th en they began another round of the vast shop, wondering if they

had missed out some toys. But they did not fi nd anything to buy.

Th ey went round the shop a third time too, but without choosing

anything.

61

Th e suspense became intolerable for the toys. Th e queen was

tired and the king, bored.

“Don’t they make simple toys any more? Toys that’ll just be toys

instead of trying to imitate life?” sighed the queen, disappointed.

“One can hardly call these playthings! Th ey’re more like

machines,” said the king.

At that very moment the queen spied the tiny yellow duckling

nestling in the darkest possible corner of a shelf of sophisticated toys.

“Can you show me that bright yellow thing, please? I don’t think

we’ve seen it yet,” she said to the attendant.

Th e attendant took down the duckling rather shamefacedly and

said, “I’m sorry your majesty. Th is is just a stuff ed duckling. It belongs

to an old generation of toys. I don’t know how it has escaped our

periodical stock-taking operations….”

But the royal couple waved aside his profuse apology.

“Look at its eyes – so bright and full of wonder,” said the king.

“And it’s so small and cute,” gushed the queen.

“Just the thing for Tina,” agreed the king.

“Oh! She’ll love this,” exclaimed the queen.

And they were right. Th e princess simply adored the little yellow

duckling. She named it Shyla because it seemed so shy. “It looks and

feels like a real duckling, So soft and wobbly,” she said. “And just look

at her eyes! Like dark blue marbles – so bright and shiny. I’m sure she

A Toy for the Little Princess

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62

loves me as much as I love her. It’s among the best birthday presents

I’ve ever got,” she said.

Shyla simply smiled shyly and snuggled happily into the princess’

arms.

Excerpts from Children’s Stories for Our Times (Genre: Children) by Revathi S Kumaran.

These are collection of stories for children. They are fun fi lled, simple, mischievous and carry a subtle message of virtue. The backdrop to the stories is a mix of the ancient and the modern. This adapts the stories to our modern context beautifully.

Revathi S Kumaran is a writer, editor and independent researcher with special interest in education.

63

�

AgonyI was rushing down the road,

Singing, jumping all along in joyous mood.

On a sharp corner, foggy day and far way.

I bumped into a monster blocking my way.

I was knocked down, bleeding on the road side,

Th e monster was laughing loud and wide,

I lay there for days unknown,

woke up to see the rainy afternoon.

Th ere were rains, lightning and thunder storm,

I had to lay there, why I don’t know.

Rain stopped and rainbow sighted

Birds seen fl ying, singing and delighted,

Th ere was joy in all woods around

But I was scared, looking the monster around.

Few boys came around, I did not say anything but,

Th ey lifted me up and took me to a hut.

I met my GURUJI, whom I know as my mentor

He gave me food, medicine and shelter,

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64

He taught me the ways and means for

How to live happily once again

“Still I am scared GURUJI,” once I screamed

“I always see monster in my dream”

“Why do you think” said Guruji

“Monster blocking you”

“It is now only inside you and

you only are blocking your way”

“Learn the ways and art of life”

Take the inner monster in your stride”

“Make it your best friend, O my boy”

It is a blessing in disguise and A GIFTED TOY.

BlissO Guruji, thank you a zillion times,

you made me your boy.

now only, I can understand,

and accept this monster as a gifted toy.

Now I can play with him, if I want,

and turn it off when I don’t.

I allow it to play with myself,

and then pack it off to the shelf.

Th e monster sometimes smiles,

And walk with me, hand in hand, for miles.

Sometimes, when I am unable to walk,

He lifts me up, and run, shunning the talk.

Agony

65

He is my buddy, if I deploy

I know, for sure, it is my GIFTED TOY.

Excerpts from A Gifted Toy (Genre: Self Improvement) by Amit Dave.

This is a self help book for those who suffer from frequent spells of bad mood as well as clinical depression. The book is a frank and practical guide on taming the mood swings and making friends with your emotions. It gives sane everyday advice to the reader. The poems given below are a part of the introduction.

Amit Dave is a mechanical engineer and has had some fi rst hand experience of mood swings.

66

�

Lalitha Bilgi (Social Enterprise) Venture: Swayam

“We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with

great love.” -Mother Teresa

It was with this dream and vision that Lalitha started Swayam,

a parent support group of diff erently abled children. Swayam is an

outfi t that works towards educating and empowering children with

special abilities. While merging social responsibility and business is a

distant dream for many, Lalitha makes it look like child’s play.

Lalitha did her masters in Commerce and was a rank holder

in Bangalore University. She did her Bachelors in Education

while staying in Delhi from Annamalai University. She has had a

meritorious student life, and a rich and cherishing experience as a

teacher of Commerce and Accountancy in Cambridge School, Noida

and Bishop Cotton Girls’ School, Bangalore. During her teaching

experience of over a decade, she has contributed immensely towards

67

Teach to the Future Program supported by Intel® India. Lalitha feels

that her exposure to Intel® Teach provided her with the impetus to

be successful in her pursuit.

“During those days as a master trainer, I realized that the realm

of technology does not limit itself to downloading information from

the internet. It also gives us a platform to upload our opinions, raise

concerns over issues and act towards improving them. Th at further

motivated me to do something for children with disabilities and

empower them to stand fi rmly on their feet’’, says Lalitha with a

sparkle in her eyes.

“It was Intel® Teach that opened the door of opportunities for me.

Until then I enthusiastically followed the obsolete teaching practices

and would have succumbed to it, if not for Intel. It exposed me to a

new outlook that made be believe that I can still grow individually

and institutionally,” says an enthusiastic Lalitha.

During the Intel® Teach training, she learnt that the current

generation of students is not acquainted with technology relevant for

their career growth. In May 2005, she gave up teaching to completely

engage herself in her family business (Kou-Chan Convergence Pvt.

Ltd) and start off Swayam. Here she put to use the knowledge she

gained at Intel® Teach training. Kou-Chan works with youth and

motivates them to take up learning computer applications and other

skills like writing, human resource management etc which off er them

sound employment opportunities.

“Around the same time, I was looking for a program for my

own development. I saw the advertisement for MPWE and joined

Lalitha Bilgi

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68

the course in summer 2007. While I was teaching, I came to Kou

Chan only on weekends. Being a director, I was looking into events

for employees and the human resource aspects within the company.

When I stopped teaching, I started coming to the offi ce daily.”

She has the enthusiasm and belief to bring about an integrated

approach to her company’s business which has spread over metros in

India in areas of human resources and business process outsourcing

support to clients like Airtel, TTSL, ALCATEL, IMB to name a

few. Her company has outsourced manpower strength of over fi ve

thousand employees spread across diff erent parts of the country. Her

job at Kou-Chan is more on the administrative lines now, and she

does not need to be in offi ce every day. She utilizes her spare time to

work on Swayam, building it slow and strong, one brick at a time.

Lalitha lives in a nuclear family and that makes the task of looking

after Kaushal (her son) and her elder daughter (who is now a doctor)

all the more challenging. When I ask her about the balancing act,

she smiles and says, “Th ere are some things you learn with time. Its

experience and age basically. I needed fl exibility of timings and scope

for development and these needs governed my choices. However,

family has always been top priority”.

She is a strong advocate of social groups and is a part of a

club of teachers called Prerana in Bangalore. She truly believes in

‘keeping touch’ and runs a quarterly magazine for family members

with updates and funny anecdotes. Lalitha is always ready to help

others with her knowledge and expertise. She has helped an NGO

at Kormangala as well Seva-in-Action in planning their budget and

resources. With the information age replete with examples of women

Lalitha Bilgi

69

breaking the proverbial `glass ceiling’, Lalitha sets an example of a

new generation social woman entrepreneur. She was early to realize

the potential of technology and utilized it in a way that contributed

to the empowerment of the society.

In her words, “Swayam has not only grown as an organization

but also helped individuals to grow. We still have scope to grow.” It

seems sky is the limit for this determined yet modest lady.

Swayam

“A few years back when I was watching TV on 3rd December

(World Disabled Day), the idea of Swayam came to my mind. I saw

a disabled adult struggling to make his living, travelling in buses all

day to reach offi ce with a lunch box in his hand.

My son is a down syndrome child, and I want him to be self

suffi cient. He is very lovable and is a workaholic, and he loves to

see the result of his work immediately. While he is not very good

academically, he is adept at using the computer for certain functions

like printing, scanning etc. Th e idea was to make a work unit for him,

so that he is not dependent on anyone in future. I thought of making

a unit where all adults with disability in the neighbourhood could

come and work together. Lunch would be provided at the centre, and

vans would be available to pick them up and drop them back so that

their comfort is also in place.”

Swayam was conceptualized in June 2006, and since then

Swayam has been holding hobby workshops on Saturdays at Seva-

in-Action. It continues to do so at Bethany Special School. In April

2010, Lalitha plans to inaugurate a work unit in Bangalore which

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70

will operate fi ve days a week. She has not yet registered Swayam, but

plans to register it as a sole proprietorship.

“I need to market Swayam well for continuous fl ow of work into

Swayam, and even after we start the unit, I will keep Saturdays aside

for marketing. I think personal contacts are the best source to get

work for Swayam. I live in an apartment complex, and we get a lot of

jobs from the neighbors. We also plan to approach schools to sell our

products at their carnivals or fests.”

Swayam is engaged in various activities with an aim to make

learning fun for special children. Here, they are trained to perform

their chores independently. Th e teachers and parents try to make

them communicate through paintings, drawings, songs and most

importantly with computer applications.

“It is a slow process, but these kids are taught drawing using

computer tools, printing their pictures and gradually they will be

taught data entering. Th ese activities make learning and teaching a

lot more enjoyable”, says Lalitha.

Th eir work, a fusion of imagination and intimate expressions, has

created wonders and now this special art fi nds buyers which are a great

boost to the morale of these special children. For example, recently

Swayam prepared specially designed gifts for the invited audience at

designer Babita Jaishankar’s show at the Bangalore Fashion Week.

Objectives of Swayam

1. Prepare diff erently abled children to work: For this,

Swayam invites volunteers who help the children (or

Lalitha Bilgi

71

adults) to carry out tasks such as printing documents,

painting, cutting and peeling vegetables etc.

2. Help them develop pride in their work: Anatole France

rightly said, “Nine-tenths of education is encouragement”.

It is very important that diff erently abled children are

made to feel important. A word of praise after a painting

is completed or a vegetable is cut, not only brings a smile

to a child’s face but also boosts his self-esteem.

3. Make children, siblings and families feel honored in the

society: Th e most crucial and challenging job is earning

respect. More so for these children and Lalitha feels that

earning a salary is the fi rst step.

“When these children earn salaries comparable to their more

fortunate friends or cousins, they automatically earn respect in

society. Having job security and a constant cash infl ow is so important

for every individual. I want the children to feel the same sense of

pride that we feel when we get our salary cheque at the end of the

month.”

Swayam has been recognized by

• Intel® India for attempting to empower children with

challenges and turning it into a social entrepreneurship.

(Under the Teach to the Future Program)

• Management Program for Women Entrepreneurs

(MPWE) at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore,

for showing the potential to grow into a successful

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72

organization (Winner of 2nd prize in Business Plan

Awards).

• Kou-Chan Knowledge Convergence Private Ltd., by

providing work experience to the children at Swayam.

A Social Enterprise

Social enterprises are social mission driven organizations which trade

in goods or services for a social purpose. Th eir aim to accomplish

targets that are social and environmental as well as fi nancial is often

referred to as having a triple bottom line. Social enterprises are

profi t-making businesses set up to tackle a social or environmental

need. Th ey often use blended value business models that combine a

revenue-generating business with a social-value-generating structure

or component.

Many commercial businesses would consider themselves to have

social objectives, but social enterprises are distinctive because their

social or environmental purpose is central to what they do. Rather

than maximizing shareholder value, their main aim is to generate

profi t to further their social and environmental goals. Th erefore some

commentators describe them as ‘not-for-profi t’ as their profi ts are

not distributed to fi nancial investors. Others dislike the term as it

suggests they have an unbusinesslike attitude. An ingenious solution

to this quandary is to call them for ‘more-than-profi t’.

It could be that the profi t (or surplus) from the business is

used to support social aims (whether or not related to the activity

of the business, as in a charity shop), or that the business itself

accomplishes the social aim through its operation, for instance

Lalitha Bilgi

73

by employing disadvantaged people or lending to businesses that

have diffi culty in securing investment from mainstream lenders.

Th e term social enterprise should not be confused with trusts

or NGOs working for empowerment of women, orphans, poor,

disabled etc. Th e former strives to earn independently from the

business to serve dependants (i.e. the socially underprivileged it

works for), while the latter depends on donations and charity.

Swayam was born out of Lalitha’s strong determination to work

towards empowering children with disabilities after the birth of

her son Kaushal with down syndrome. Her aim through Swayam

is to develop individuals with down syndrome or similar disabilities

through lifelong learning and social integration. Along with this,

being a parent herself, she tries support other parents through

information, education and discussion. Swayam advocates for equal

opportunities, quality of life and their contribution to society.

Operations

At present, Swayam comprises fi ve children with their parent-

volunteers. By April 2010, Lalitha plans to gather ten adults as

members and develop more variety of products and services. Activities

of Swayam children currently include:

1. Making paper-covers and supplying to the chemist-shops.

Th e children are supplying envelopes and courier covers to

shops currently.

2. Painting/Designing greeting cards, envelopes, CD gift-

covers, cloth bags, bookmarks.

3. Vegetable sorting, peeling and chopping.

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4. Scanning photographs.

5. Stamping application forms with offi cial seals.

Swayam is open to accepting volunteers. It accepts children who

are not in the main stream of academics as members, their relatives

and anybody who wishes to volunteer their services. Volunteers invest

their time to help these children with their jobs and motivate them

at the same time. Th e infl ow of volunteers is not an issue – there are

many from social groups, schools, and colleges etc who want to help

Swayam in its noble venture.

Sources of revenue for Swayam include:

1. Contribution of reusable items from households of

promoters and volunteers. Using and reusing items, and

making useful products out of waste and recycling etc help

recover some costs.

2. Offi ces/organizations where the Swayam children-adults

do a part of the work such as scanning, printing, Xeroxing

etc.

3. Sales of Swayam products such as cards, diaries, paper

covers etc.

Swayam operates in a very simple way. Th e parents or relatives of

the children contribute monthly for the minimal expenses incurred

like buying stationery, vegetables etc. Th e children process these

items (either make creative items out of them or cut the vegetables

or sprout the pulses) and they are paid for the products and services.

Th e profi t that is generated is distributed among the children/adults

Lalitha Bilgi

75

as their earning and the cost is recovered by the parent who initially

invested.

Th e task of keeping the children occupied is not as simple as

it seems. Th ey tend to get bored of similar jobs, hence variety is

essential. While parents are relieved that their children are in safe

hands at the Swayam centre, they are also happy that they don’t need

to come up with tasks to keep their children engaged.

“It’s very diffi cult to handle these children. Th ey have less

attention span. If you ask them to write three pages, they will do so

for fi ve or ten minutes. Parents are often at a loss as to how to keep

their children occupied.”

Apart from the jobs currently undertaken at Swayam, there are

multiple other ideas in the offi ng. Th ese children could undertake

shopping (with the help of volunteers) for their clients, who could mail

their shopping list online. Th is is just one example of the many utility

oriented activities which are currently being brainstormed at Swayam.

Th e market for Swayam seems to be continuously expanding. All the

customers feel an emotional connection with Swayam and reward

the children with repeat orders. Once the website is running, the

market for Swayam products will be global while the key enterprise

will be dependent on a neighbourhood support group.

“Th ere are so many things in the house we would want someone

to do like cleaning, dusting, peeling vegetables. Th ese things are done

by our children. Th e key to making Swayam profi table is to fi nd small

products which could bring profi ts.”

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76

Message to Women Entrepreneurs

“Don’t be lazy in life. Always try to empathize with others problems,

and you never know the solution to a problem may turn out to be a

business venture! Women tend to be soft on issues and discuss their

problems with each other. If we utilize this, we can gain strength

from each other.

We play multiple roles in our lives. I have been a matchmaker

and an educational consultant on occasions, apart from my regular

job. If we compartmentalize our work, then multi tasking becomes

simple.”

“We should be more sensitive to social problems. Disability itself

is a social problem. Its time these children are accepted in totality by

society.”

Lalitha believes that these children need not be kept at home.

Th ey too, can lead normal lives. Happiness lies at home, but exposure

to the outside world keeps the children busy and helps them earn

their livelihood at the same time.

No donation, no charity. Only jobs. Th is is Lalitha’s motto for

Swayam. She does not want the enterprise to be dependent on money

from outside.

One cannot help but admire her determination and strength.

Looking at her sitting in her offi ce at Kou-Chan, I realize that Lalitha

has defi nitely succeeded as a mother as well as a social entrepreneur.

It does not matter how many lives she has touched. Even if she has

given one day of ‘normal’ living to a child, one day of living with his

77

head held high and with a smile on his face; then Swayam lives its

name. And that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

Lalitha can be contacted at [email protected]; [email protected]

References

India Employee Communication News, August 2007

Wikipedia

Management Program for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE) at IIM

Bangalore http://www.nsrcel.org

Excerpts from Inspiring Women to Start Innovative Enterprises (Genre: Job & Career) by Sria Majumdar.

The book narrates the story of nine women entrepreneur from diverse fi elds. The author has presented various new ideas being tried out by these fi rst generation entrepreneurs. These stories will inspire more women to create such innovative enterprises.

Sria Majumdar is currently an undergraduate student at the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur and is pursuing her B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering

Lalitha Bilgi

78

�

Motorcycle

I do not know whether you would believe it or not. However I believe

it to some extent. Th at day a motorcycle came into my life, in all

probability, from the left corner. I did not know how it happened. It

might be I was feeling jealous of my neighbour, day in and day out,

traveling by his motorcycle while I waited for a bus at the bus-stop.

He would roar past me, while I would feel bore, waiting, waiting and

waiting for my bus. All of a sudden, I decided to buy a motorcycle

and fi nally got a second hand motorcycle. It was then I remembered

that I did not know how to ride it. I began to learn to ride and before

anybody could understand what I was doing, as I and the motorcycle

were an unusual combination, I quickly reached B.M. – Bachelor

of Motorcycling. I was thinking of completing M.M. – Master of

Motorcycling – and opening a training centre for the juniors.

As expected by all, I came to know that it was not so easy to ride

a motorcycle, and experienced some great falls from the motorcycle.

Everybody had anticipated me to give up this dream of riding a

79

motorcycle, especially my neighbour who had started to wear sun

glasses even if there were no sunlight to avoid. I knew what he was

avoiding. Encouraging me, my professor who had done Ph.D. said,

‘You would learn something new every time you would fall from the

motorcycle.’

He told me the absolute truth. Later I came to know every time I

fell, I experienced pains at diff erent parts of my body. Sometimes red

blood peeped out of the fl esh. Sometimes skipping, jumping out drop

by drop or fl owing down my body to kiss the earth to be swallowed

by it. My blood vanished into the earth here and reappeared to fl ow

with Indian Ocean, I hoped. Nevertheless we stood still in the fi eld

and returned home after winning.

Next day professor said, ‘You have gained enough experience to

ride the motorcycle on the main road. Go, brave man, go.’ I looked

worried but the professor was confi dent, exposing his 70mm smile.

I followed his suggestion and tried my best to show all and sundry

by the expression of my face that I had full confi dence upon myself

and was ready to face any danger which might come in my way.

Although I was all alert, the danger struck, most probably from

the left corner. Suddenly a dog came before my motorcycle. I turned

my motorcycle to an angle of about 40 degree which made the front

tyre to go just touching the ankle of a girl; she shrieked, fell to the

ground and shrieked, while my motorcycle collided with two bricks,

went out of my control, shrieking and throwing me to the ground

beside that girl and lay silent. I looked into her eyes while she looked

into mine. I thought I would receive good beating from her, with her

Motorcycle

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80

high heeled shoes. ‘Oh! My god! Save me! Save me! Her shoes have

pointed heels,’ I murmured. My whole body with its fl esh and bones

began to shiver at the mere thought of them. But nothing happened

like I had thought. I also turned my eyes from her sharp eyes for

there was a great risk of getting hypnotized. My motorcycle did not

hurt her much. Blood only peeped out. It had no intention to skip,

jump or to fl ow down her to vanish into the earth. I also told her, ‘I

am sorry.’

Next day I again met her. Th is time there was neither a dog,

nor any brick. Her enraptured smile threw me out of my motorcycle

to the ground. Blood only peeped out. When she had a splendid

opportunity to talk with me, she told me, ‘You have knocked the door

of my heart.’ After a brief pause, as I was active in thinking when I

did knock, she continued: ‘And I have opened the door’.

I had read enough biology but the door of a heart seemed to me

a strange fact I had ever come across. She also added, ‘I am in love.’

Almost singing, she repeated, ‘I am in love.’ I wondered she would

start to sing the love song from the movie ‘Dhadkan’. But she was

not Shilpa Shetty. And I was not Akshaye Kumar. I thought ‘She fell

in love with my motorcycle’, as I did not do anything to bring about

this type of result. In that accident she liked the delicate touch of my

motorcycle. So she did not complain anything.

Smiling and exposing her two broken teeth, she added more,

‘You have not only fallen beside me but also succeeded in making

enough place for you in my heart by going into my heart by way of

my eyes.’

Motorcycle

81

But I could still remember that I was beside her and had never

thought of making a place for myself in her heart. I told her so. But

she was not ready to listen to me. I tried to bribe her by off ering her

an Amul chocolate and simply told her to forget everything. She

rejected my off er and surprised me by saying, ‘Amul chocolate is

usually given as a gift to someone one loves. I would remember it as

your fi rst gift. I would never eat it. I would keep it as your fi rst gift.’

I tried my best to slip out of her hands like a fi sh caught in the

net tries to escape; but I could not. Th is net was wider than ‘World

Wide Web’. Th en believe it or not, digest it or not, I found myself

trapped in the web of marriage.

We had nothing more on earth to do in our leisure than to roam

about on our motorcycle. But the motorcycle did not like the sudden

admission of a new partner. Whenever we were going somewhere

together, my motorcycle would go for some minutes and then all of a

sudden it would stop with a roar of unwillingness to go any further.

After that it would need the gentle touch of a mechanic to get it

move an inch or start. Many times, my wife would curse herself for

not having satisfi ed herself with the Amul chocolate only. ‘I am going

to eat it today.’ she had told me once and copied it several times.

Finally it was decided by me that the motorcycle was to be get rid

off as soon as possible. But no sensible person was ready to buy my

motorcycle. Th e buyers would come, have a glance at it and turn their

face away from it. It was not ugly at all. Poets could chant their best

poems about its physique and their imagination could run wild, wild

and wild if they were to write a book about it. It was something else

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82

that turned off the interest in the customers. On numerous occasions,

I endeavoured hard to turn it on, but failed to fi nd its main switch.

Th en I had a plan. A brilliant one, I presumed. I kept the

motorcycle with the key on it for the whole night thinking that

the thieves would strike. I prayed to god and promised to give him

personally a packet of Amul Chocolate, if I were successful in getting

rid of my favorite motorcycle.

But in the morning I found it still there where I had left it,

unmoved and untouched. It seemed the thieves were also afraid to

come near it. I lost my temper now. I thought of throwing it down

the cliff . It was not a bad idea. But my kind heart would not let me

treat it so badly. It was indeed too bad of me to think about it.

Th en my wife, the darling of my heart, while preparing something

out of barley, gave me an idea which was brilliant diluted with a little

sympathy. She was not aware that I would convert it to an idea when

she said, ‘Listen, dear, why don’t you go to the supermarket and buy

some things?’ And she gave a list as long as a bamboo tree without

any coconuts. Th en I realized one would not look for any coconut on

a bamboo tree.

I went to the supermarket with my motorcycle and returned

without it. I thought while walking home, ‘Bravo! I am so intelligent’.

But I was not strong at my heart. Th at night I could not sleep well as

that motorcycle repeatedly came into my dreams.

Next morning I did not take my breakfast as the charming face

of my motorcycle was still dancing before my eyes. I even switched

off my idiot box which narrated how a motorcycle was stolen from

83

a certain area. Th en a police inspector arrived. My motorcycle was

with him. First of all he thanked me. When I did not understand the

mystery, he stated describing the heroic deed of my motorcycle:

‘We succeeded in arresting a notorious smuggler who tried to

escape on your motorcycle while we were after him. Th e motorcycle

stopped suddenly leading that smuggler in our hands. I got your

address from a diary found in the box of the motorcycle. Here is your

property. It’s fantastic with its problem. Take care. And don’t forget

the keys on it while you shop around.’

I was rewarded and got enough money to buy a new secondhand

motorcycle. Now what happened to the old motorcycle? Well, I am

still trying to throw it out of my life.

Excerpts from The Alpha and The Omega and Other Stories(Genre: Literature & Fiction) by U. A. Kiran.

The book is a collection of short stories depicting different characters, moods and situations. The characters are based on everyday people and situations. This gives a very authentic feel to the short stories

U. A. Kiran is a Commerce graduate, born in Kerala, educated in West Bengal, employed in Andhra Pradesh and now based in Goa.

Motorcycle

84

�

Marriage, Kids and other Problems

A bachelor has no problems in life. A married man has no respite

from them, unless he renounces everything like Buddha did, or

runs away into the mountains never to return. Th e maximum number

of jokes are on married life, even more than the dirty jokes. Th ere

must be something in these.

Emotions which you have never experienced before can be

easily experienced (sometimes in a day) when you are married.

Understanding someone else’s point of view (I think the psychologists

like to call this empathy) is forced on you, like it or not. Note that I

have said understanding, not liking!

If the urge to marry is strong, the urge to undo it is stronger, and

felt many times during the course of one. Why it should arouse such

strong emotions after a voluntary pact to cohabit, beats me. Maybe


85

some research into our regressive genes or ‘out of order’ brain cells

might one day explain why.

Kids are a necessary byproduct of marriage, if you discount the

small number of condom users. Again, one cannot really explain why,

when given the choice of not having kids, most people (99.99999%,

when research last came in) do not exercise this choice. Peer pressure

could be the reason, coz it can make us do things we don’t want to.

Like buying a new fridge, a new car, a new house, a new…oh, forget

it! Sometimes, you feel sorry for the nice people at ICICI bank who

might starve if you don’t buy anything with money borrowed from

them. And so, you give in.

In the olden days, if you want to believe Hindi fi lms, the hero

had to buy only one saree for the wife on his monthly salary day, and

she would be happy. But with multiple credit cards and loans for

shaving your head available at your beck and call, and pizza deliverers

fl ocking at your doorstep, life is getting tough. Life can be lived on

EMIs (Equated Monthly Instalments), and the bank can take you to

the cleaners or send bouncers after you if you fail to pay up some of

them. Terrorism takes on a completely diff erent hue, if you consider

these sobering perspectives.

Planning a vacation becomes a nightmare, among other things.

I would want to go to Kashmir, the kids to Kullu and the wife,

to Kanyakumari, almost every year. So we went to Goa instead.

Fortunately, most of us liked Goa, though maybe for diff erent reasons.

I, because drinking at 9 am is not taboo, and you can swim any time

of the day, drink on the beach, etc. My kids probably because they

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86

could play or swim or lounge on the beach, and my wife, I am not

sure why, but since she did not complain, I assume she liked it.

It is diffi cult to fi gure out when exactly children cease to be cute

and become (an expensive) pain in the neck. Sometime after fi ve, I

guess, mainly because you have to get them admitted into a school.

Next to climbing Mount Everest with your eyes closed, this is the

toughest thing an Indian parent can do. In the U.S., the trauma

begins rather late (the college years) because schooling is almost

free, but in India, it begins with pre-school, and goes on till Post

Graduation. IIM admissions are a national pastime, with reporters

(usually the PYTs or Pretty Young Th ings) breathlessly reporting on

daily and hourly updates on things like the CAT cutoff s.

I got married in 1988, and I enjoyed it for the fi rst few years.

Th e most fun thing about a marriage is (no, you are wrong) the

arguments. Th ese can be about anything and at any time. Whether it

is about where to go out or whether to go out, or about whether the

fan should be on or off , or whether about buying furniture, they can

go on from minutes to hours, sometimes ending in long silences. I

would have complete sympathy for the Buddha, even if it should be

proved that he ran away from his wife without actually looking for

any enlightenment.

One good thing about a marriage (in India, to an Indian girl)

used to be that the man gets an assured supply of food, and barring

headaches and long silent periods, regular tosses in the hay (without

the hay actually being there). Next generation, I am not certain about

the food. Maybe eating out, or out of a TV dinner box will become

common in India too.


87

I wonder how single women who work manage on a salary.

Married females in general behave as if they have an unlimited

expense account. Th ere seems to be a circuit in their brain that tells

them to live (or rather, spend) as if there is no tomorrow. Shoes

and bags, and a few other things too numerous to go into, are never

enough.

Th anks to the telecom boom, we now have fi ve phones in a

household of four people. What we communicate with various

earthly beings, God only knows. But the bills do bring one down to

earth. I heard one speaker at a seminar talking about how poor people

skipped on milk for their children to buy a TV, but I wouldn’t be

surprised one bit if a woman skips everything to speak on the phone.

I think Maslow made a BIG mistake, when he did not include the

NEED TO COMMUNICATE in his hierarchy of her needs, right

at the top, along with food and sex, before these two.

Excerpts from My Experiments with Half-truths(Genre: Humour) by Rajendra Nargundkar.

This is a witty, free fl owing and fun fi lled autobiography encompassing a wide array of topics ranging from education, travel, relationships, offi cial tussles etc. The book traces the years the author spent at Hyderabad Public School, Osmania Engineering College, IIM Bangalore, and his later years as a marketing professor at IIML, IIMK, and various other B schools.

Dr Rajendra Nargundkar is the Director of IFIM Business School, Bangalore.

88

�

Correspondences With An Unknown Mystic

19 Oct 2008

Dear Aruna,

Namaskar. It is nice to learn from you that you are fi ne. In

fact, I aspire to learn about the progress in your sadhana

/ meditation. As I learn that you are striking good balance

in work, education, art, meditation, and sadhana, I wish you

would have tremendous progress in LEARNING ABOUT

YOURSELF. Is not learning about your SELF meditation?

‘Th e gospel of Buddha’, which I suggested to you to read is

to make you refl ect your PURSUIT OF SADANA AND

UNDERSTANDING OF YOURSELF. Th is understanding of

yourself is a way of liberation from all the past - pleasures and

pains, and of the future - fear and craving. Th is understanding

makes you to live in the Moment, in Now and in what is. Th is

then is a truth. Th is then is Divine. Th is then is enlightenment.

89

A constant AWARENESS makes you realise the truth. Your seeing

the golden light is because of changes in the brain, due to Pranayama.

Ancient philosophers call this light “SPOTA” (correctly spelt?). Do

not PURSUE this SEEING of this light. If you pursue, you will be

stuck with it. Be AWARE of all these things. Th e more you progress,

you will learn that the world that you see through / with the senses, is

Maya. People who see this light- (throughout the universe) constantly

changing, always in motion, communicating, loving are awe struck

with wonder and sing on calling it NARAYANA - ISHWARA

OR SAKTHI. Do not name it. Th at is it. May the Divine bless you.

When I told you to write down your experiences, it is THIS

type of experiences that I want you to note down. Because

this vision, these experiences needs understanding. Can you

please write about how you feel after these experiences?

You need to eat well and drink water and take energy foods.

You are fragile. Th at is why I have to stress more on your

health. Th is sadhana needs a strong body and strong mind.

I mean, not the strength of a banyan tree, but the strength

of a fl ower, dancing, holding amongst the gushing winds.

I shall send my writings on education shortly. Take care.

With love

Krishna

20 Oct 2008

Dear Sir,

Namaskar.

Please fi nd my comments below:

YOU WROTE:


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Namaskar. It is nice to learn from you that you are fi ne. In fact

I aspire to learn about the progress in your Sadhana / meditation.

I feel expansive during meditation on most days. I see fl ashes of

images/ scenes at times, but I do not focus on that, but let it go.

However, I notice a real change in my attitude and in my daily life.

Will write more on this soon.

YOU WROTE:

As I learn that you are striking good balance in work, education,

art, meditation, and sadhana, I wish you would have tremendous

progress in LEARNING ABOUT YOURSELF. Is not learning

about yourSELF meditation?

Yes, I need to understand myself and I am going to sit down one

day and refl ect on my past- the major and memorable incidents that

have happened in my life and the mistakes I make, what motivates

me etc. I do this once/ twice a year during special occasions.

YOU WROTE:

Th e gospel of Buddha, which I suggested you to read is to make you

refl ect your PURSUIT OF SADANA AND UNDERSTANDING

OF YOURSELF. Th is understanding of yourself is a way of liberation

from all the past - pleasures and pains, and of the future - fear and

craving. Th is understanding makes you to live in the Moment, in

Now and in what is. Th is then is a truth. Th is then is Divine. Th is

then is enlightenment.

Th ere is so much in this book that I want to really remember and

follow in life. I am marking selected text when I am reading. Once


91

I have read it fully, I will come back to these paragraphs and spend

more time contemplating the meaning of these words.

YOU WROTE:

A constant AWARENESS makes you to realise the truth. Your

seeing the golden light is because of changes in the brain, due to

Pranayama. Ancient philosophers call this light “SPOTA”(correctly

spelt?)

I have never heard of this term Spota.

YOU WROTE:

When I told you to write down your experiences, it is THIS type

of experiences that I want you to note down. Because this vision this

experiences needs understanding. Can you please write about how

you feel after these experiences?

I did not feel anything diff erent after I saw these lit-

tle moving lights. I continued with the yogasanas and felt

normal. I thought it could be because of fl ow of blood /pra-

na to the head and was surprised and a bit curious as well.

Bye for now,

With love

Aruna

21 Oct 2008

Dear Aruna,

Namaskar.

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92

I am glad to receive your detailed mail. Glad to learn that you

are fi ne

YOU WROTE:

I feel expansive during meditation on most days. I see fl ashes

of images/ scenes at times, but I do not focus on that, but let it go.

However, I notice a real change in my attitude and in my daily life.

Will write more on this soon.

Th is expansiveness is the mind seeing the consciousness. Once

you dwell in consciousness, your whole living, whatever be the pursuit,

works, relationships, love, outlook, becomes / is Divine. Your being is

transformed. Th ere is absolute silence. Th at is not the silence of the

caves. Th is silence is rich. Th is silence is dynamic. Th is silence is the

movement of the universe beyond the senses, body, mind. Until such

time sadhana is required.

Th is expansiveness, images, scenes are not to be PURSUED. At

the same time, they should not be overlooked. BE OBSERVANT

AND AWARE OF THIS. Like the wind it comes and goes. Do

not pursue when it goes. When you pursue these images, scenes,

you will see clearly. Th e pursuit of these images, scenes will make

the mind imagine, create and triggers the ego of achievement and

strengthens the self. As long as the self is there, there is no realisation

/ enlightenment. But losing the self is ignorance. IT IS TO

UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR SELF IS THE SELF OF THE

UNIVERSE. TO REALISE THIS IS ENLIGHTENMENT.

AND TO MOVE, SPEAK, LIVE ONE WITH THE SELF OF

THE UNIVERSE IS THE LIFE DIVINE. And you will realise

this.


93

Stick to all the positive changes that brings in your moment to

moment living.

YOU WROTE:

Yes, I need to understand myself and I am going to sit down one

day and refl ect on my past- the major and memorable incidents that

have happened in my life and the mistakes I make, what motivates

me etc. I do this once/ twice a year during special occasions.

Understanding oneself may help to plan and to draw a blue print

of life to live. But one’s life is not so simple, that we can have a master

plan and try to live by that. All major incidents of one’s life do not

go away from the memory. Any recalling of the past only gives rise

to sensations. And the mind captured by sensations pursues further

sensations.

Do you know that all life has sex to procreate. But man and

woman brood over the experience again and again in their minds.

Th is brooding gives a sensation and thereby leads to perversion.

Young lovers do brood. Th e boy thinks and tries to give a meaning

to the girls words, smile, clasp, etc. Th e girl recalls the moments she

spent with the boy and replays in her mind. Th is RECALLING /

BROODING strengthens the experience and leads both of them

to a point that each thinks and feels that they cannot live without

the other. Each person’s mind is occupied by the other in totality.

And there is a craving and longing to be in each other’s presence.

Hence, UNDERSTANDING and BEING AWARE IS EVERY

MOMENT’S BUSINESS. One has to die to all that is past. (Let the

dead past bury its dead.- Kipling) Only then the new, the self, which

hitherto the mind has not experienced shall come into being.

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If a girl is talking to a boy, you can observe that her toes on her

legs, especially the big toe raises. Th is you can observe in India very

much. Th e girl is not aware of this. Total observation / awareness of

oneself in every moment is what is required. Because this awareness

makes you to live totally, wholly and then there is no need to look

back at the past. Have I stated clearly?

YOU WROTE:

Th ere is so much in this book that I want to really remember and

follow in life. I am marking selected text when I am reading. Once

I have read it fully, I will come back to these paragraphs and spend

more time contemplating the meaning of these words.

Th e sadhana you practice and the teachings of Buddha appears

to be in opposite. Th e diff erence is only by which part / element

of your existence that you practice sadhana and try to realise the

truth or Divine. Buddha takes hold of the functioning of the mind

and discerns the awareness as the means, THE BEST MEANS,

HITHERTO IN THE HISTORY OF ENLIGHTENED LIFE.

Th e sadhana you practice is taking all the elements of your existence.

Buddha’s life and times are diff erent from yours. Your life and times

are diff erent. You have to learn, teach, preach, share, love, and still be

an enlightened person like KRISHNA.

YOU WROTE:

I have never heard of this term Spota.

Th e correct spelling is Sphota. Th e universe is manifested as

NAME AND THEN AS FORM. Th e whole universe is name

and form. Swami Vivekananda spoke, “All this expressed sensible


95

universe is the form, behind which stands the eternal inexpressible

sphota, the manifested as LOGOS OR WORD.” If you further want

understanding on this, please see the dictionary for the meaning. Th e

dictionary I have do not carry this word. To know further on this, you

can refer the Book `Bhakthi Yoga’ under the chapter – ‘Th e Mantra

OM: Word and Wisdom’.

YOU WROTE:

Th is only happens when I do the Th irigona asana. I do not place

much importance on this, but I will continue recording anything like

this which happens.

After this asana come back to the relaxed position for 1-3-5

minutes and breathe normally. Th e relaxed position is the position you

remain before doing an asana. Each asana has a position you stand or

sit before doing an asana. Th at moment before attempting an asana is

the position you draw all concentration and your consciousness fl ows

in you to make the attempt. After doing the asana YOU HAVE

TO REMAIN IN THIS ORIGINAL POSITION OF THAT

ASANA - RELAX.

Take care.

With love,

Krishna

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Excerpts from Correspondences With An Unknown Mystic(Genre: Religion & Spirituality, Self-Improvement) by Aruna

Nadaraj.This book is a collection of correspondences between an enlightened master and a sincere spiritual seeker who is striving to realise God. It provides a deep insight into the mind of a seeker and the mind of an enlightened person. There is something for everyone in this book- from the mildly curious to those who are seriously interested in spirituality. .

Aruna is a spiritual aspirant who constantly strives to realize the Divine.

97

�

The Moon’s Complexion

Hannah sat up and looked at her watch. Th ree hours had passed.

She’d dropped off to sleep. Hardly surprising, as she’d been

up all night. Now she felt wide-awake, buoyed up by her escape—

evidence that she still had some fi ght left in her. She smiled. You’ve

not lost it, gal, she told herself, but a little help wouldn’t go amiss.

She passed the time reading up on Bangalore in her guidebook.

She discovered that the capital of the state of Karnataka was the

fastest-growing city in India, a world center for the computer

software Industry. Th e city was home to some of the greatest seats

of education and learning in the whole of the sub-continent, its

scientifi c institutions counting as among the best in the world.

Th e language spoken was mainly the local Kannada, but Tamil was

widely understood due to the presence of a large minority from

the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu. Th e geographical features of

Karnataka ranged from thriving cities to mountainous wilderness,

from ancient temples to tiger reserves, from the jungle to the sea.

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98

By late afternoon, Hannah’s clothes were dry enough to wear.

At half past four, the telephone rang.

“Hannah? Oh, hallo, it’s Ashok Rao here. Sorry I was out when

you phoned.”

“Ashok! What a relief.” Th e words slipped out, before

embarrassment caught up with them. “I mean...well, sorry, hope I’m

not being a nuisance...”

“Is something wrong?”

“Look, I’m in a spot of bother. Are you free?”

“Yes, of course. How about if I pick you up at the hotel at

around seven, and we get something to eat.”

“Great, but you couldn’t make it earlier, could you? On top of

everything else, I’ve lost my luggage—tell you about it later. Is there

somewhere I can do some clothes shopping?”

“Yes, sure. I’ll be round in half hour and take you to

Commercial Street.”

He arrived on the dot and knocked gently at her door.

“Hallo, it’s me, Ashok.” His voice sent an unexpected shiver of

pleasure down Hannah’s spine.

She opened the door. He looked down at her, for he was some

four inches taller than she was, his dark eyes sincere, a lock of black

hair straying across his forehead, a half-smile forming on his lips.

Gosh, Hannah thought, as she felt her heartbeat quicken. Gosh.


99

“Namaskara,” he said, breaking a moment’s awkwardness. “Nice

to see you again.”

“And you. Th anks for coming.”

“Here—I’ve brought you this. Evenings get a bit chilly.”

Hannah unfolded a huge, light woolen shawl. It was double-

sided, green on one side and maroon on the reverse. Th e weaving

was intricate and beautiful. She wrapped herself inside it. It

covered her completely, and she twirled around, laughing.

“It’s enchanted. I feel as if I’m fl oating in gossamer.” Behave, she

warned herself. Of course it’s simply the shawl that’s making me feel

light-headed.

“It’s Kashmiri,” Ashok said, adding, “Suits you.”

“Th ank you. It’s very kind of you.”

“No problem.” After a moment’s pause, he continued. “You said

something was wrong.”

“Yes.” On the fl ight to India, Hannah had felt an inexplicable

accord with this man. Now, as they stood awkwardly in the doorway

of her hotel room, the feeling had already been rekindled. But she

had learned to be cautious. She didn’t feel inclined to pour out her

heart. Not yet.

“Can I tell you about it later? Over a meal?”

Outside the hotel, they commandeered one of the waiting

autorickshaws. Hannah scrambled in awkwardly and slid across the

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100

seat to make room for Ashok, who, despite having to bend almost

double, managed the maneuver with a grace that had eluded her.

“Not designed for well-fed foreigners like us!” he commented.

“Whoops…sorry…didn’t mean to imply...”

“Don’t worry. Been feeling like Dumbo’s mother ever since I got

off the plane.”

“Dumbo’s mother? Dumbo, maybe, but his mother? Th at’s taking

things a bit far.”

“Gee, thanks a bunch. You’ve made me feel a lot better.”

“Well, you don’t deserve to. Poking fun at elephants.”

“Sorry. Hope there weren’t any listening, though I suspect that

at least one was.” Her eyes gestured to the little shrine, festooned

with tinsel and wilted marigolds, sitting on the rickshaw’s dashboard.

Ashok smiled. “Aha, you can be quite sure Ganesh is listening. But

he’s a god: son of Shiva, with head of elephant, not quite the same

thing.”

“So how come you regard yourself as a foreigner? Th rown off the

shackles of your native soil?”

“No, not at all. I suppose it’s a trick being played on my mind. It

seems as if, when I’m in England, the Indian part of me yearns to be

set free, but back here the Englishman in me sometimes slips out.”

Th e rickshaw pulled up at the end of a narrow alleyway, crowded

with shoppers.


101

“Come on. Down there is Commercial Street. Great place for

clothes.”

Ashok steered her through the crowds on the bazaar-like alley

and out onto Commercial Street, where she was plunged into a world

of noise and color and light. Shops and state emporia fell higgledy-

piggledy over one another, bulging with advertisements and neon lights,

crowded and cluttered with every kind of item imaginable on display:

shops selling bags and suitcases, saris and shalwar kameez, cheap

jewelry; heavily-fortifi ed gold shops with entry-phones and guards;

and fruit sellers and food stalls exuding mouth-watering aromas that

drew Hannah’s attention to the length of time since her last meal.

Th ey made their way slowly up the street, their progress hampered by

beggar children and half-dissolved lepers tugging at their clothing,

and by the sheer volume of people fl owing past them. A man tried to

sell them an umbrella that you wore on your head.

“How about trying out some local fashions?” Ashok said. “Much

cheaper than trying to buy European clothes here. Better, too.”

“Brilliant! I’d love to...” She was about to add go native then

stopped herself.

Two hours later, Hannah, clutching her purchases, found herself

being ushered by Ashok up four fl ights of hotel stairs to a top fl oor

restaurant.

“Power cut—no lift,” he said, “but I think you’ll fi nd the climb

worthwhile.”

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102

Before they even reached the fourth fl oor, the aroma of freshly

pounded spices wafted tantalizingly down from the restaurant to

welcome them.

A table by the stairwell; roti-bakers at work across the room; the

rhythmic slap, slap, slap of a score of hands beating out the dough

into thin circles; the fi res from many ovens playing on the bakers’

faces and rekindling them into works of art.

“You should have brought your camera,” Ashok said. “Plenty of

faces among that lot for your next book.”

Hannah remembered telling him on the plane. Professional

photographer. Going to India to take photos for a coff ee-table book.

Now she’d even lost the camera. How could she ask this man to help

her and yet keep half the truth from him? But how could she level

with him until she was sure about him? And if he turned out to be

that Ashok Rao, wouldn’t it be harder, not simpler, to come clean?

Take it easy, she told herself. Get to know him. At least test the water

before you throw yourself in.

Th e food arrived. Little measures of diff erent vegetable mixtures

and chutneys carefully ladled onto their banana-leaf plates. Freshly

baked rotis and bowls of rice.

“Didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“Enjoy. We call this baingan bharta. It’s from the north—a

favorite of mine.”

Hannah scooped a little of the mixture onto a corner of her roti and

tasted it. Her eyes opened wide. “But this is incredible. Th is is exactly


103

what my grandmother used to make. It was a favorite of mine, too.”

“Your grandmother made baingan bharta?”

“Yes—well, she didn’t call it that. I think she just called it mashed

eggplant. But the ingredients must have been very similar…”

“…aubergines, tomatoes…”

“…chilies, onion—I think the onions were raw, but that’s the

only diff erence.”

“Amazing.”

“Yes, amazing. My grandfather came from Romania—he taught

Grandma how to make it.”

“Perhaps not so amazing then. Th ey say the Romanies came

from India and some traveled west via Romania. Perhaps you have

Romany blood.”

“Maybe I have Indian ancestors.”

By now, any residual formality had been swept aside. Words

tumbled between them like acrobats.

Hannah took more food from her banana-leaf plate and

transferred it to her mouth via the roti, using her fi ngers as deftly as

if she had been eating this way all her life.

“Th at’s pretty good,” Ashok replied. “Yes, you must have been

an Indian in another life. Incidentally—that chudidar looks great

on you.” He nodded at her simple, silver-gray outfi t: long dress over

loose, tapered leggings, gathered round the ankles, matching chiff on

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104

dupatta slung back across her shoulders. “You wear it well. A true

Maharani.”

“Th at’s made my day.” Her smile faded. “Perhaps it’ll make me

less conspicuous.”

Excerpts from The Moon’s Complexion(Genre: Literature & Fiction) by Irene Black.

The book is a romantic thriller set in India. A distant tragedy turns the lives of an Indian doctor and a British journalist upside down when, newly arrived from England, they meet in India and discover a secret that binds them together as they fl ee from a dangerous stalker.

Irene Black is based in Surrey and has won numerous national and international awards.

105

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106

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107

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108

Excerpts from Phuljhadiyan(Genre: Children) by Priyanka Gupta.

This is a collection of short stories for the children. They are written in simple Hindi and cover common everyday topics. However, the narration is charming and elegant. The stories entertain as well as teach morals to the children.

Priyanka Gupta is writing since a tender age of 7-8 years.

Best of Pothi.com

109

�

Of Education, Learnings & Knowledge

I was waiting for the security check call at the departure lounge

of an Airport. Sitting at a distance from me, a co-passenger

was puffi ng a cigarette. Right in front of him was a prominently

hung fl orescent-lit notice prohibiting smoking in public places and

warning attraction of a fi ne of Rs.500/- if caught defying the order.

What surprised me most was that all the while his eyes had also

remained rooted to it. He was a fi ne looking and impeccably dressed

man in his middle-age. Do you think he was not literate? What to

speak of being literate, he must be a highly qualifi ed person!

Th is incident took me back on the timeline somewhere in the

eighties when I was serving in Mumbai (then Bombay). I had a senior

who was once discussing with us the socio-economic problems of

our country. By the by he stated that India’s problems were not just

because many of her citizens were illiterates but many of her so-called

educated people often behave in an ill-educated manner. Defi ning

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110

education he said, “According to Rig Veda, education is a process of

learning to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong; to

say or do in a situation and sticking to the right at a similar situation

in future.” I did not check the veracity of the authority quoted for the

saying but it appealed to me profoundly and has, therefore, stayed so

long with me.

From the above defi nition of education, two things are

clear. Since life, at every point in its journey, has to deal with a

combination of some situations which are similar to the ones

confronted in the past and others for the fi rst time, the process of

education never ends. In other words, education continues for the

whole life. It does neither end on obtaining a desired academic

degree nor on getting into an earning mode. Secondly, education is

invariably a value education. If education has not helped a person

in instilling in him a sense of right and wrong and accordingly,

in guiding his behaviour, then it is not an education at all.

What is learning? Th at which surprises us is our learning. As a part

of training, I have to sometimes take the participants for fi eld visits.

Next day we would have sessions on ‘Learnings from fi eld visit’. In one

such session, a participant said that it surprised him to see a seventh-

class read village woman member of a local self-help thrifts and loans

group fl awlessly maintaining accounts on the lines of double-entry

bookkeeping system. Yes. It was a case of learning for him. A person

was earlier known to be very supportive to you, but on one occasion

you were surprised to see him behave in an altogether diff erent

manner. Th at was again a point of learning for you about that person.


111

When does one get surprises? Although all of us live in one

world, each one lives in his own world. All those attributes which

together defi ne a real world are not known to anybody. Th e concept

of real world is, therefore, a myth. Whereas an experience of life is a

reality. And a life is too short to experience all the facets, hues and

moods of this phenomenal world. Only on the basis of whatever

limited number of experiences one has gathered thus far in living a

life, would he accordingly tend to develop his perceptions about the

real world. Th us, in the same world, as many we are, so many are the

perceptual worlds.

And as are one’s perceptions about the world, so are the

assumptions one develops in life in relating with all the events in it.

In other words, assumptions sprung up from one’s perceptual world

condition one’s way of fi ltering/ selecting the information from an

event, organising them into a meaning and interpreting a message for

oneself. When one comes across something which diff ers strikingly

from what is considered to be valid in one’s world view of things, it

makes one feel surprised.

It follows, therefore, that more the surprises in life, more would

be our learnings. And these learnings only ultimately help us to

develop a wider set of assumptions as well as in transforming some

of our existing assumptions into the ones which can relate well to a

larger world view of things. If you want to get a lot more surprises in

life, just try changing a matter, situation, person or even yourself !

What about knowledge? Being aware of all that which work

and which don’t with or on something together bring into existence

formally a knowledge about that thing. When we are required to

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112

work with and through something towards a goal, this knowledge

about that thing helps us to do it eff ectively.

Since knowledge forms the basis of action, unless your ‘self ’ fi rst

validates the truth about something, it would never consider it safe

for you to work with and through it. In other words, a knowledge of

others on anything is no knowledge for you until it has also received

the inner validation from you. Obviously, for this inner validation to

be possible, knowledge about anything should have existed in you as

an a priori phenomenon or a pre-existed truth. Only then on your

coming across a knowledge about something from an external source

would it provide you with an opportunity for this inner validation to

take place and make you accept it as well a truth for you.

In this connection, it would be pertinent to quote what ‘Th e

Mother’, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry said: “Knowledge

about everything is always within us. Only it is waiting for an

expression in our subconscious level. Men fi nd a book or a teaching

very wonderful and often you hear them say, ‘that is exactly what I

myself feel and know, but I could not bring it out or express it as

well as it is expressed here’. .... But, once expressed, he immediately

recognises it and feels that it is truth. Th e knowledge that seems

to come to you from outside is only an occasion for bringing out

the knowledge that is within you.” (‘Th e Sunlit Path- Passages

from Conversations and Writings of the Mother’ published by Sri

Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry).

Hence the role of a teacher in our life. While conducting programmes

in Shillong (Meghalaya) in a training establishment of a premier Public

Sector Bank, I noticed a quote from Galileo’s writings put up on the


113

wall inside the classroom by the authority there. It read, “You cannot

teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself.”

Let us, therefore, recognize someone as our true teacher, if his/ her

presence had at anytime in our life facilitated the mind to reach at

least one layer of stored knowledge in our subconscious being and we

could instantly and concurrently become aware of its presence within

ourselves in such a manner that as if we knew it earlier but could not

so far give it a conscious expression in our behaviour only due to lack

of realisation.

Excerpts from Treasured Slices From Life & Living(Genre: Self-Improvement) by Ranjit Kumar Das.

The book is a collection of 101 articles on spiritual and philosophical thought. Replete with Hindu mythology, the book showcases the authors’ personal convictions on the subject with great clarity. A must read book for anyone who wishes to understand his own self.

Mr. Ranjit K. Das is working with an All India Public Financial Institution. His works have been published extensively.

114

�

The harmony in my life

I sit down on the sand, facing the ocean, far away from whispering

couples and boisterous teenagers. In some dim corner of my mind,

I notice the beauty of the marked moon. I notice how the moon light

catches each of the rising waves, giving it its moment of glory before

it dies—like my own life until now? At some sub-conscious level, I

feel grateful for the stinging chillness of the wind hitting my face.

But today, I will not let the calming elements of nature console me.

Today, I want to think, alone.

Instead, I cry. I cry for reasons I don’t fully understand. I cry until

the wind dries my wet cheeks. I cry like a man who has lost, a man

who is lost. And I have neither lost nor am lost. because she is still

with me.

*~*~*

“I am getting married.”


115

Priya says it in one of her matter-of-fact tones. She has several

tones, their repertoire, almost a second nature to me, in just two

years? I feel I know her like I know myself—natural, instinctive. So,

I do what comes naturally to me. I laugh.

“What’s so funny? He happens to be a sensitive, good looking

gentleman...” and she adds, “Unlike you!”, when I continue to laugh.

“Poor guy. Did he not take a good look at you?”

“He did! And he happens to like me. A lot. He said he liked me

from the time he met me fi rst at the coff ee shop!”

“Oh...that guy. Th e oh-am-so-goody-goody-I-willturn-up-

fi fteen-minutes-early chap!”

“Yes and that chap has a name, Arvind. Ok, Prem, please be

serious, for once?”

“As you wish, Madame. When do I get to meet him?

Obviously you are joking about the marriage bit, right?

You didn’t already say yes, did you?” I ask in mock anger.

My feeble attempt to make her feel guilty. And I lose, as always.

Th e girl never gives me a chance!

“Of course not. Th at was just to get your attention.

Am not saying yes, until you give the go-ahead, buddy!”

And she tilts her head a bit to the side - something she always

does when she is happy - and smiles.

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For a moment, I feel a pang of something I can’t quite put my

fi nger on. I touch her lightly on the head and tousle her hair. “I am

going to miss you, Priya.”

She doesn’t say anything, just closes her eyes and leans against

my hand for a few seconds.

*~*~*

“Excellent”, I make a little circle with my thumb and forefi nger

and Priya’s mom laughs. “Have some more idlis, Prem. You seem to

be growing thinner by the day!”

I am about to reply when Priya rushes in, “Amma, do you think

I should wear a saree instead?”

She looks adorable.

“You look fat”, I say.

“Amma! See what Prem is saying...” she turns to her mom, with

a querulous tone in her voice. Her childish pout delights me. I grin

and Priya’s mom rolls her eyes as if she were settling a fi ght between

two children.

She is still a child, at least to me. Just as she is about to walk off

in a huff , I catch her hand and say, “Arvind is going to be swept off

his feet today”.

She has such an expectant twinkle in her eye, I suddenly feel

protective about her—he better keep my Priya happy. My Priya? I


117

smile to myself—not anymore. I let go of her hand and wonder for

the fi rst time if I really want Arvind to be swept off his feet...

*~*~*

Th at night, she calls me late in the night to tell me all about

Arvind.

“I was waiting for mom and dad to sleep. Th ey had so many

questions—‘Do you like him? Does he seem like a decent boy? Did

he ask to meet again?’”

I interrupt and let her catch her breath, “Well?”

“Well? Well what?”

“Well, do you like him? Did he ask to meet again?”

“Uh huh”

I wait and she says, “Prem?”

“Still here.”

“You know how all your life, you wait for this one perfect person?

Th e one person who understands you even when you don’t say a

thing? Th e one person who knows you better than yourself ? So much

so that he completes your thoughts even before you have fi nished

having them?”

I wait for her answer.

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“...well, you know, that’s kind of impractical. Th ere is no such

person. Well, I have you but...” and then she pauses as if her own

words confuse her.

I realize I am holding the receiver tightly and I also realize I am

holding my breath. Why? She is my friend and I should be happy

for her. But, all I feel is a slight sense of relief that her perfect guy is

just a fi gment of her imagination and Arvind is none of those. But, I

assume more than her words imply.

“...but you know, Arvind is sweet, patient and I think he adores

me. He has that look in his eyes, you know what I mean? I can go on

waiting for the right person and maybe I will never fi nd him...but I

just know that Arvind will keep me happy...”

I still say nothing.

“So?”

“So...”

“Will you meet Arvind?”

“No.”

Why did I say that? I should want to meet Arvind now, to make

sure he is right for Priya—after all, I am her best friend, I should do

this for her...

And I hear myself say again, “No, Priya, not tomorrow. Th is week

is not good for me...”


119

“Prem, you promised! You have to meet him. He is waiting for

me to say yes...”

“Oh?”

“...or no. Please, will you meet him sometime this week? Next

week? I have told him so many things about you...”

Th e idea of this stranger knowing me intimately, as Priya knows

me, infuriates me. I know I am being irrational but several other

feelings overpower the practical me.

“Why? You didn’t have to go talking to your sweetheart about me

behind my back!”

“Prem, stop being silly. Remember the time when we went forty

fi ve minutes late to that Sudha Raghunathan music concert and we

tried to bribe the gate-wallah to let us in...I was telling Arvind about

that and we had such a laugh...you must...”

“I suppose he had a good laugh and preached about why I must

be on time?”

“No...Arvind said...”

“Priya, all this talk about Arvind is getting really tiresome. Can

we do this some other time? I have an early morning conference call

to attend...”

“Prem...ok”, she says in a small voice and I know she will cry

after she hangs up.

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And still, I say bye and hang up. Th at night, sleep eludes me for

a long time. Early morning, I have a dream about Arvind and Priya

laughing and pointing...at me! I wake up, feeling just not right.

What is the matter with me? Am I just not ready to let go? Or

am I confusing friendship with something else?

Why is it that a part of me wants Arvind to hurt her so that she

comes running to my arms? Th at can’t be love—I shouldn’t want to

hurt if I am in love...

I make up my mind. It’s just best for her and for me if I move

away from her, for some time. Time will clear my thoughts and direct

our lives. Time...that’s all I need.

*~*~*

Th e next few weeks, I feel miserable. I don’t return her calls.

Her emails to me still announce that they are unread. I avoid her,

perhaps hurting myself more than am hurting her. I hardly stay in my

apartment, making my working days as long as possible and working

even during the weekends.

One dreary Saturday afternoon—it had rained the whole day;

I remember because she walked in slightly shivering, rainwater

dripping from her clothes—she decided I had given time enough

time to steer our lives. She decided it was time she took our lives into

her hands.

She sits down next to me, the silence around us interrupted only

by the constant pitter-patter of the rain outside.


121

“I am sorry”, I say.

“Yes, you are.”

“I just thought I needed some time to sort out...my life. Without

you.”

“You can’t.”

“Sorry?”

“Your life is a mess”, she smiles and it’s as if everything is the

same between us, “What makes you think you can sort it out without

me?”

I smile at her and fi ght back an impulse to hug her tightly.

“You think I will run away that easily and let you live your life the

way you want to, you idiot?”

She continues, “I can’t let go that easily, Prem. I know that you

can’t either.”

And I suddenly wonder who the child in our relationship is.

“Priya, I know that. I don’t ever want to...”

But, she doesn’t let me complete what I wanted to say.

Instead, she talks about Arvind. She likes him. She wants to say

yes and she is still waiting for me to say yes.

And I say yes. Just like that.

“But, you haven’t even met him!”

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“Yes, but I have heard a hundred things about him, from you. I

am sure he will be a nice and boring husband, no surprises! And if he

is not, I will kill him for you.”

We laugh together and I wish I could make that moment last

forever.

*~*~*

I know she is probably getting things ready for her engagement

tomorrow. I know I should probably be with her now. I just can’t

bring myself to face us together, one more time. So, I walk to the

beach and sit down at her favorite spot. It reminds me of time spent

in her company, of laughter, of friendship—of all the things close to

my heart.

And then I cry.

I am not sure how long I have been sitting there. I think about

friendship and love. I think about Priya and Arvind and I know we

have taken the right decisions in our lives—Priya and Prem...

I know it is Priya. Even before her hand touches my shoulders.

Even before she sits down next to me and takes my hand in hers. I just

know. And these are the little things that confuse me—this feeling of

nothingness, lightness when she is around, it’s as if there is no other

person sitting next to me—I can be myself—boring, witty, caustic,

funny, whatever I want to be because I know she will understand...

“I thought about it for a long time too”, she looks at the waves as

she talks and for once, I see their turbulence refl ected in her eyes.


123

Th e wind carries her hair all around her tear-stained face, hiding

it from me. She tries to smoothen out stray strands of hair with her

right hand and the moonlight reveals a bride’s delicate hand—the

henna has not even dried.

“Arvind knows I’m here...with you. Everyone’s so excited - my

parents, Arvind...they are all talking about the engagement and I

just needed to be alone, to listen to the voices in my head. But, then I

realized, I just wanted to hear you talk. I knew you’d be here.”

We sit there, seemingly no diff erent from the other couples who

sit at the beach that day, holding hands. But we don’t whisper like

them - the silence between us talks for us. I know we are diff erent

because we are friends. We were meant to be friends. To be anything

else would be unnatural, incomplete. And that night, holding Priya’s

hand, I know as she does that we will always be friends.

“I love you Priya. I should have said this long back, without

hurting you...I love you as I can love no one, perhaps not even…”

“And I love you too...”,

It’s as if the wind is whispering those words to me. “...in a way, I

can never love Arvind. I am sure I will be insanely possessive about

him. I would not want his eyes to even dare settle on another pretty

woman, I would want to own him, make him mine and I am looking

forward to that. But you...are diff erent. I don’t want to spoil what we

have, by trying to thrust newer meanings to it. It is perfect as it is.”

It was as if she had just read out my thoughts to me.

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And she, my thoughts, convinced me that our decision was taken

if not rightly, at least for the right reasons.

Sometimes, we gain by letting go but I had everything I wanted,

I was letting go to gain nothing, to lose nothing. I was letting go so

that I could still hear the harmony I hear now in the waves, in her

words, in my thoughts, years later when I want to hear it again.

And then, I hug her, without guilt, without thinking— my

moment of glory. And I know she will always be with me.

Excerpts from The Last Laugh(Genre: Romance) by Ramya Sethuraman.

The book is a collection of intensely romantic short stories. The stories are set in Indian context and have a simplistic charm about them. It leaves you feeling poignant, at times nostalgic and touches your romantic core.

Ramya Sethuraman is a software engineer with a penchant for telling tales.

�

How to Self Publish for Indian Market

Created with Inputs and Help from

Jaya Jha, Nadeem Sani and Chandrima Pal

‘How to Self Publish for Indian Market’ by Pothi.

com (Mudranik Technologies Pvt. Ltd.) is licensed under

a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works

2.5 India License.

127

�

Introduction

There is a writer in all of us.

We write diaries and letters, poems, and stories, we blog

and make offi ce memos…. Perhaps the more serious among us write

on professional topics. Apart from the utilitarian aspect, we write

because we want to create something more permanent than the

spoken word.

Not everyone can be as successful as JK Rowling but that does not

mean we cannot write as well. Maybe we haven’t got the opportunity

to showcase our creation. Or perhaps we are intensely private and

don’t want to share our thoughts with anyone except a few close

friends.

But wouldn’t it be great if you had the freedom and the means

to convert your thoughts into a book? Whether it is a collection of

your love letters meant as an anniversary gift, or a glimpse of your

professional wisdom meant for colleagues and seniors – now you can

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publish anything with the help of modern technology. What’s more,

you don’t even have to wait for an eternity to get your coveted book

published.

In this guide we look at self publishing using Print on Demand

(POD) which enables low-cost publishing for printed books.

Print on Demand is a technology which off ers you the means to

get your precious work printed quickly and cheaper, in the numbers

you want. Th e Internet and a few friendly sites even help you market

your books to the world.

Th is booklet aims to explore the world of self publishing with

you and answer some of the obvious and not-so-obvious issues which

may crop up in your mind. It is divided into three main parts - What

is Self Publishing?, What Every Self Publisher Should Know and

Self Publishing at Pothi.com.

129

�

Part I – What is Self Publishing? Publishing

Th is is the process by which books, magazines and other reading

material are produced and distributed among the readers. Th e aim

is to make information, ideas, thoughts, stories available for public

viewing and, maybe, make some money too.

Th e process of publishing a book can be broken down into the

following steps:

• Selection of manuscript – Th is is the step where the

struggling writer goes from pillar to post, hoping to draw

the attention of some editor or publishing house.

• Editing the book – Once a manuscript is selected, an

editor starts cutting the fl ab -- doing away with what is

unnecessary. Also under the scanner are language, syntax

and readability.

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• Designing the book – Once the basic text is ready, it

needs to be packaged the right way to appeal to the target

audience. Th e designer’s job is to ensure, for example, that

an Economics textbook does not have Katrina Kaif on

the cover.

• Printing – Th is crucial process can be handled in diff erent

ways, depending on the requirement. We shall discuss this

in detail later.

• Sales and marketing – Th ousands of writers get their

books printed every year. You need to let the readers know

that your book is unique, luring them to buy it. You can

have a great book but if the reader does not know about

it, you may as well chuck it in the dustbin! Th e book needs

to be distributed well so that every reader – or even a

possible reader – gets to buy a copy at the nearest book

shop.

Publisher is a person or an organisation which takes the

manuscript from the author and handles the processes outlined

above.

Self Publishing

Self publishing is a special kind of publishing in which the author

has complete control over all the aspects of publishing – preparing

the book, printing and marketing the book. In fact, anyone – be it an

individual or an organization – can self publish.

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Self Publishing: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• No need to spend time convincing publishers/agents.

• Th e author is the boss and has complete control over

content, design, pricing.

• Faster way to get your book published.

• Easy to publish books for a niche audience.

Disadvantages

• Needs fi nancial investment for the publishing process -

editing, designing, printing, marketing.

• Lack of sales and marketing expertise. No pre-launch

publicity, no launch hype with celebrities and media.

• Chances of lower credibility because the book is not

validated by an independent/traditional publisher. In

India, these things do matter.

When to Self Publish

• Experts: If you are some sort of expert in anything, you

could self publish a book targeted towards that audience.

Expertise need not mean global fame. You could be a

blogger on environmental issues with a following, for

example.

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• Niche publications: Th e way the economics of traditional

publishing works, if your audience is niche and small,

publishers may not be interested in your book. If you have

a way to access this niche audience and market your book,

self publishing is the way to go.

• Publishing as gift: A book can be published for gifting

purposes or for distribution to friends and family. For

example, you may want your book just for your family,

or may want to surprise a friend by publishing his/her

writings as a birthday gift.

• Support to profession and brand building: A book can

be published to establish your credibility and thought

leadership in your profession. Coaches, training institutes

and other professionals/organisations can publish a book

themselves and distribute or sell them. It will help brand

building.

• Complete control over the book: If you do not like to

succumb to the demands of the editors on how the book

should start, read and end, self publishing is the option

for you.

Self Publishing and Print On Demand (POD)

Th ere is a diff erence between self publishing and Print on Demand.

Th e two terms are often used interchangeably by most of us since

POD is the most prevalent technology used by self publishers. But

the two are not the same.


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Publishing is the entire process of preparing the manuscript,

editing, designing the cover, printing, distribution and marketing.

Printing is only one step in the process of publishing. At the printing

stage, the publisher has to choose between two technologies – off set

printing and POD. If the publisher is confi dent of selling a large

number of copies (500+), then he may opt for off set printing. If

the sale is not expected to be in large numbers, then even a normal

publisher may prefer POD. In short, publishing is the entire process

whereas POD is a technology which can be used by a full-fl edged

publisher as well as a self publisher.

POD versus Off set Printing

POD is a relatively new printing technology where the cost of

printing does not depend on the number of copies being printed. Th is

is essentially digital printing, where each copy is printed independent

of the other.

POD has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

• Flexibility to print even a single copy at a time. Th e unit

cost of printing one copy and 1,000 copies does not vary

much.

• Each copy can be personalised. You can even dedicate

diff erent copies to your diff erent bosses or friends and

earn brownie points, for instance.

• Th e content can be updated over time at no cost since the

printing is done directly from a soft copy.

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• Since one can print exactly the number of copies ordered

for, with no signifi cant addition to costs, there is no need

to maintain dead inventory (unsold copies).

• Th e entire process is faster.

Disadvantages

• Th e cost per copy is slightly higher as compared to bulk

printing done by off set.

• Although black and white/greyscale printing quality is

now at par with off set, accurate colour reproduction may

be an issue in some cases.

Off set printing is a more prevalent and older technology. Th is

involves setting the book in certain specialised software and cutting

a plate of the image. Th e inked image is transferred (or ‘off set’)

from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. Th e

plate making process is costly and once made, the plates cannot be

corrected or changed. Revision in the book requires cutting new

plates. But once you create a plate, you can use it to generate a large

number of copies. Th erefore, one needs to print a large number of

copies (typically 1,000+, minimum 500+) to distribute the cost of

plates over all those copies. As a result, printing just a few copies is

not cost-eff ective with off set printing; the cost per copy decreases

with increase in the number of copies printed.

Off set printing too has its advantages and disadvantages.


135

Advantages

• Per copy cost is low if number of copies is high. Works

well with the current distribution setup in the industry.

• Quality may be better, especially for coloured printing/

photo books.

• Wider choice of printing paper and other production

options are available.

Disadvantages

• Large upfront investment in bulk printing. Because of

high setup costs, short print runs are not feasible

• Need to maintain the inventory and logistics

Binding

Th e binding process involves folding, gathering, trimming, stitching,

glueing, and/or casing of printed pages. Th e common types of binding

available are:

• Perfect bound: A paperback book where the title and

author’s name are printed on the spine. Your book must

have 70-80 pages for text to appear on the spine.

• Saddle stitch: A stapled booklet. Best for very thin books.

Your page count should be divisible by four. If it is not,

the printer adds enough blank pages to the back of your

book to make the page count divisible by four.

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• Dust jacket hardcover: A book bound in navy-blue linen

with a full-colour dust jacket.

• Casewrap hardcover: Full-colour, glossy cover; no dust

jacket.

Self Publishing Your Book

You have fi nally fi nished your book and are dying to see it in print.

Since you have decided to self publish, nobody prevents you from

going ahead and printing copies of your book. But hang on, there are

a few more tasks to be done, decisions to be taken before you can see

the birth of your creation. As they say, haste makes waste.

Step 1 – Finalise the content. You should not write a book and

forget about revisiting it. You need to go through the manuscript in

minute details and revise it if required. In the initial excitement of

having completed the book, authors tend to overlook checking for

mistakes in writing style.

Remember, no matter how talented a writer you are, it always

helps to have another person look over the entire book. Th e greatest

writers in the world have had their work ruthlessly edited. Editing

does not mean your book has to lose its style/fl avour. As a self

publisher, you retain the right of fi nal judgement on anything.

Th e editing options available to an independent author are

• Professional editor.Th is is the costliest option. However,

it will ensure that you get an unbiased professional look at

your work from a third person’s perspective.


137

General editing checklist

Common mistakes we tend to commit in our writing

Getting repetitive. Repetition – of a sentence or words or ideas – can be used as a tool to emphasise a point or an idea, but beyond a limit, it becomes counter productive.

Narration, fl ow and writing style. Th e book should be consistent. Th e storytelling should not be disjointed or abrupt. Th e tense and narrator’s person should be consistent. Th e best writers break many rules, but they know the rules like the back of their hand before that.

Contradictions. Care must be taken to ensure that the characters/information/incidents mentioned do not contradict each other in diff erent parts of the manuscript.

Readability. You need to ensure that the sentences are lucid and readable – not too long or complex.

Clarity of narration. While editing, emphasis needs to be laid on checking that the narration is clear and conveys the ideas or description clearly. Check if certain portions need to be rewritten to improve clarity and narration.

Flow of the book. Th e overall fl ow of the book needs to be logical. Check if the organisation of the chapters is fi ne or if it needs to be rearranged.

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Grammatical errors. Last, but not the least, the language needs to be grammatically correct. Sentence construction, prepositions and articles, punctuation, verbs, tenses, spellings – everything. Nothing will be a bigger turn-off for a potential reader than spotting a grammatical mistake in a book.

• Editing by friend/acquaintance. You could approach a

friend with good language skills to go over the manuscript

and do a frank, ruthless critique.

• Self editing. Th e third, option is to go over the manuscript

yourself for spotting problems. Th is is the least you must

do. Remember, errors can be spotted more easily if you

review your manuscript after a gap – say, a couple of

weeks.

Step 2 – Design the book. Th e book design is in two parts – the

interior of the book and the cover.

Book interior. Th e layout, fonts, size, etc of the book needs to be

designed according to the target audience. For instance, a children’s

book will have more illustrations with larger, well spaced out fonts

and an overall endearing look. On the other hand, a thriller will have

a denser text with an easy-to-read font. Technical books are likely to

have more diagrams and tables.

Book cover. Unfortunately, most people do judge a book by its

cover. So, design an eye-popping cover for your prized work.


139

Suggestions for an attractive, eff ective book cover:

• Do include the author’s photograph somewhere. Th is

gives the author behind the book a personality and helps

readers connect better.

• Use the back cover to show positive reviews of the book

and a gripping synopsis of its content.

• Th e design of the front cover, title and subtitle should

arouse the reader’s curiosity.

• Th e book title and the author’s name should be printed

on the spine for better visibility on a bookshelf. (Th is may

not be possible for thinner books.)

Step 3 - Printing. Earlier in this booklet, we had discussed the

printing process and the two options available - bulk printing with

off set or one-off /short run printing with Print on Demand. Your

decision needs to be based on three main factors –

• Estimate of the market size. If you are confi dent that

the demand for your book is more than 500 copies, go for

off set printing. In the event of a smaller demand, POD

is a better option. To put things in perspective, a book

selling more than 5,000 copies in India is considered a

success by traditional publishing houses.

Remember to factor in your actual marketing abilities

when you are estimating the demand. Most well-known

authors have a large, specialised promotion and marketing

team working behind the scenes. As a self publisher, you

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will mostly be your own promoter and marketer. Self

promotion is something which many of us Indians are

not very good at given our upbringing where humility

is highly valued. Marketing your book successfully will

require a lot of aggressive self promotion, without which

your book will be read only by your close friends and

family. So shake off the humility and get going.

• Genre of the book. In case the book is essentially a photo

book or what is called a ‘coff ee-table book’, you should

go in for off set printing to ensure print clarity of the

photographs. For a normal book, POD may be a better

option.

• Distribution options. If you see a possibility of getting

a distributor, then, to get the prices right bulk printing

is more suitable. If you are selling directly, through your

own website or through the website of self publishing

companies (like Pothi.com) then you are better off with

Print on Demand and short run printing. Read more

about distribution options in the next section.

One good thing to try could be to print a short run by POD, test

market it, probably scout for publishers/distributors by showing it to

them and depending on the response, go for bulk printing.

Step 4 - Distribution. Distribution should not be confused with

marketing. Marketing creates awareness and entices the reader to

read the book. However, the book has to move from the printing

press to the book store for the reader to buy it. Distribution is the

process by which the book is made available to the reader.


141

In a typical chain, the book travels from the publisher to the

distributors. Th ese are comparatively bigger stockists who usually

look after a region or state. From the distributor, the book goes to

the retailer (your nearby book shop is a retailer) where it is purchased

by the individual reader.

Typical margins1 (known as ‘discounts’ in the industry) are 40-

60% of MRP to retailer and 10-20% of MRP to the distributor/

wholesaler. Th is implies that for a book with a printed price of Rs

100, Rs 40–60 is pocketed by the retailer as profi t and Rs 10-20 is

pocketed by the distributor. Th e books are also generally distributed

on a “fully returnable if not sold within a specifi c period (e.g. three

months)” basis. Th is means upfront payment from the distributor

is rare and they take no fi nancial risk whatsoever. Th ese numbers

often surprise fi rst timers, but these are the realities of the publishing

industry. Online as well as offl ine retailers work with similar

margins.

Without contacts, getting a distributor is diffi cult for a self

publisher. Distributors are picky about the books since they have

to store the copies and sell it to the retailers. Even when you fi nd a

distributor, often they don’t really do a good job of getting your book

to the retailer, i.e. the bookstore.

Th e above information is not meant to discourage, but to give a

realistic picture to the independent author/publisher.

1 For English Language publishing

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Options for Self Publishers

Offl ine Distribution:

• Th e best bet is to start with your local bookshops. Give

away the book even for free at this stage. If it picks up, try

and get to a distributor through the bookshop.

• Sell it yourself, through your family and friends. Don’t

give in to relatives asking for free copies!

• Ask people around to explore the possibility of institutional

selling (for example, company/school libraries). Works

better for non-fi ction books on specialised topics.

Online Distribution:

• Make your own website and sell the book through it.

You can accept payment through PayPal (in dollars) or

through cheque, demand drafts and electronic transfers.

• Th ere are self publishing companies (like Pothi.com)

which operate online book stores specifi cally for self

publishing authors.

• Get a distributor in a similar way for offl ine distribution.

Check with them if they can get you listed on online book

shops.

As mentioned earlier, the distribution option you go for would

also decide which printing technology is better for you. If you

can get into traditional distribution, to get the prices right (refer

to the margins above), you are better off going with bulk printing


143

through off set technology. If you are selling yourself or through self-

publishing company’s website, Print on Demand is a better option to

avoid inventory and logistic hassles.

Step 5: Marketing. Although marketing comes as the fi fth

step in publishing, fact is, the buzz should start even before writing.

Marketing a book is all about building the author’s brand. It

takes time and you have to work towards it. If you recall the hype

surrounding release of a Dan Brown or a JK Rowling book, you will

understand the concept. Th e books sell on the author’s reputation,

which is created by a team of professionals representing a publishing

house.

Th is obviously is a limitation for an independent author who

has chosen to self publish. But the good news is, with the Internet,

everyone has a free and eff ective marketing tool to reach their

audience. Th is works especially well when going for POD. You can

get your readers, book orders and then have the book printed. It is

important for the author to build a brand before trying to sell the

book. Just coming online with a book to sell won’t be eff ective.

• Th ere are many social and professional networking

Internet sites where you can promote your work. Among

them Orkut, Facebook and Twitter have the largest

following. Build your profi le on these sites to market

your book economically and eff ectively. But build up your

credentials before making your sales pitch.

• If you have written a book about your professional expertise,

market it on professional sites like Linkedin where you

can join groups with shared interests. Also explore book

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centred websites like Shelfari and Librarything which

provide excellent opportunities for marketing.

• Adding your book to Google book search displays it in

relevant search results.

• You can also create a website about your book. Request

a friend or some prominent personality to write a review

of your book and post it on your site as well as their

networking sites. You could even write about your own

experiences while writing the book.

• Put up extracts from your book on your website for others

to read. Th is will catch the reader’s interest and help sell

your book. Don’t worry too much about piracy. Nobody

is interested in a great but unknown manuscript. Book

pirates only target bestsellers.

Apart from the Internet, you could also arrange for a press release

in the local newspapers. If you know someone in the print media, you

could have reviews of your book published in newspapers/magazines.

Remember:

• It is easier to market a non-fi ction book in your area of

expertise rather than fi ction or poetry.

• Th ink about your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Th e

market is fl ooded with books and other content mediums.

Why should someone buy your book?

In the next section, a few tips for the debutant self publisher.

145

�

Part II – What Every Self Publisher Should Know

ISBN

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number, a unique

code that can be assigned to a book. Th is is a system developed and

adopted by the International Organisation for Standardisation to

uniquely identify each published book.

Assignment of ISBN

Each country has their designated ISBN agency which is responsible

for allotment of ISBNs for the books published in their country.

In some countries there are also resellers of ISBN apart from the

agency. In India, the only agency authorised to issue an ISBN is Raja

Rammohan Roy National Agency for ISBN, which comes under

Ministry of Human Resource Department. As of now, there are no

authorised resellers of ISBN in India.

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Who should get the ISBN

ISBNs are issued to publishers, who can then assign them to each

of the books published by them. No one other than the publisher

should assign an ISBN to the book. For a self publisher in India,

it means that they should not get an ISBN from anybody except

directly through the agency issued in his/her name. Th at would be

the correct way of getting the ISBN. Th e process of getting an ISBN

assigned is simple and it is explained later in this guide.

Importance of ISBN

• ISBN helps in compilation of published book in directories

and bibliographic records.

• It helps everyone in the distribution chain track the

movement of the books.

• It helps in collection of sales data of books.

In India, however, the ISBN is yet to be adopted by the majority

and many parts of the distribution process are not automated. So, the

real advantage of ISBN is not that high. However, if you want to go

through the traditional distribution channels for your book, it would

be useful to get an ISBN. Most organised and online retailers need

an ISBN assigned for a book to be sold through them.

ISBN for Self Publishers in India

As mentioned earlier, ISBNs are given to publishers to assign to the

books they publish. Earlier ISBNs were allotted only in blocks. But

What Every Self Publisher Should Know

147

the good news is individual ISBNs can now be allotted to individuals

who are self publishing. And getting an ISBN in India is free.

You need to send an application to the Raja Rammohan Roy

National Agency for ISBN with the details of your book, photocopy

of the cover page, identity proof and a self-addressed envelope for

return communication. A template for this application form is

provided as Appendix I along with the address of the agency.

Copyright2

Copyright is a form of intellectual property that gives the author of

an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation

to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation,

after which time the work is said to enter the public domain.

Protecting your copyright

Copyright issues in India are governed primarily by Th e Copyright

Act of 1957. Some of the important aspects of copyright law are:

• Protection under copyright law kicks in as soon as the

work is written. No formality or registration is required to

claim copyright. Th is is unlike patents. Protection under

patents is not given if the invention is not registered as

patented. But copyright law works diff erently. Registration

of copyright is strictly optional.

2 All the content under this section is for informational purpose only and is NOT supposed to be legal guidance or opinion. For any confusion or details check out Copyright Offi ce’s website or consult an Intellectual Property (IP) lawyer.

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• If a dispute occurs, the registration of copyright can come

in as a handy proof, but it’s not mandatory and does not

stop anyone from starting the dispute against you.

• Copyright law, in general, would not protect the name of

your book and other short phrases. Th is means, registering

a copyright does not mean your book will have a unique

name.

• If you do want to register the copyright, the details

are available on the Copyright offi ce’s website (http://

copyright.gov.in/). Th e FAQ [Frequently Asked

Questions] section can be really useful.

• If the paperwork is diffi cult for you, you should contact

an Intellectual Property lawyer for help. Th e minimum

expense in this case would be approximately Rs 10,000.

Not violating other people’s copyright

Th is is also an important aspect to be kept in mind while writing and

publishing your book. You should not, knowingly or unknowingly,

violate the copyright of other people’s work. Here are some thumb

rules:

• Just because some content is available on Internet, it does

not mean you have the right to copy it. Carefully check

the license under which the content is released before

using it.

• If no license information is available, assume that you

don’t have the right to reproduce the material. In that case,

What Every Self Publisher Should Know

149

either limit any reproduction to small excerpts and give

reference to the original source to be within the limit of

“fair use” clause and ethics; or ask for explicit permission

from the content owner.

• Do not download and use images from the Internet

without checking the license or getting explicit permission

from the owners.

• Do not reproduce complete data sets, tables, graphs, etc

without permission from the owner of the material.

• If you are unable to locate or contact the owner and must

use some content, then put a clear disclaimer somewhere

stating that if someone thinks their copyright is violated

they can contact you. Remember, as the publisher of the

book, you are the one who is fi nally responsible for the

content of the book.

For further details of copyright law, copyright registration

and protection, visit the Copyright offi ce’s website at http://www.

copyright.gov.in or consult an Intellectual Property (IP) lawyer.

150

�

Part III – Self Publishing at Pothi.com

So you have read through the initial part of this booklet and

have a fair idea of what self publishing is all about. You have a

manuscript ready or intend to fi nish it as soon as you get that last

chapter sorted out in your head. And you are dying to see your work

get published. Welcome, you are at the right place. At Pothi.com, we

convert your dream manuscript into a book.

Publishing at Pothi.com can be surprisingly simple. You can

become a published author just by uploading your manuscript on

Pothi.com, deciding on the royalty you want to earn, and getting it

listed on Pothi.com online store.

Besides the typical Print on Demand publishing process,

Pothi.com also supports private publishing (publishing without

listing on Pothi.com’s store), e-book printing, etc. By default,

Pothi.com is adapted to POD, but you can specify in case you want

Self Publishing at Pothi.com

151

bulk printing done. Th e economics and the methodology for bulk

printing are slightly diff erent since it involves a diff erent technology

and maintaining an inventory. Th e rest of the section gives an

overview of the publishing services and tools available at Pothi.com.

You can use our services irrespective of whether you want to go for

Print on Demand (POD) or bulk printing (off set).

How Self Publishing Companies Work

Self publishing companies broadly work on two kinds of models.

Package Model. In this, the entire bouquet of services needed

for publishing is off ered as a single package. So, you can give your

raw manuscript to the company and the printed book is available to

you after a given time. Th e company will edit it, format it and design

it. All the services are off ered at a package price. Depending on the

company and the kind of package off ered, delivery of some printed

copies may or may not be included in the pricing.

Pick and Choose Model. In this, the company off ers each of the

services as an individual product. Th e author is at liberty to decide

which part of the process he wants to handle himself and which part

he needs to assign to the company. Since all the services are available,

the author may go for all them, but each service is priced individually

and not as a package.

Both these models have their pros and cons. Th e Package Model

can be costly for the author, but it does not put much demand on

the author’s time. Th e Pick and Choose Model is more cost eff ective

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152

and gives the author more control over the entire process. But it also

requires involvement from the author’s side.

At Pothi.com, you can pick and choose the services you want to

avail and you can also choose to go for all the services by paying for

them individually. Details of services off ered by us can be accessed

from our website.

We may off er packages in future. But right now, we do not have

any.

How to Use Pothi.com

Preparing the Book (pre-press)

After editing the manuscript, the book needs to be prepared for

printing. Th ere are multiple options available to the you, the self

publisher. You can prepare the entire book yourself, or you can use

our entire range of pre-press services. We suggest a judicious mix of

the two, depending on the time and resources available to you.

Do it yourself (DIY ). Th e ready-to-print book is maintained

in two parts, the inside and the cover. Th e inside fi le includes the

complete content of the book and all other components that should

be printed on the inside pages. Th ese include table of content,

preface, foreword, title page, copyright information and anything

else you want in the book. Th e cover fi le has the cover design of the

book. Both these fi les need to be prepared in accordance with certain

specifi cations. Th ese specifi cations and tutorials on how to go about

preparing the fi les are available at our website. In addition to the


153

tutorials, we also have free tools to create Generic Cover Design

and for converting blogs to books on our site. Th e obvious advantage

of going the Do it Yourself way is that it involves no investment or

upfront cost.

Avail professional services. We off er all the services needed

to prepare a raw manuscript for printing. Th ese include editing,

formatting, cover designing, illustration and allied services. Depending

upon your specifi c needs, you can pick and choose these reasonably

priced services. For example, if you have friends who are good with

English, you could use their assistance for editing and avail of our

services to format the book. You can avail of our services even if you

do not plan to publish through us. For example, you may want to get

your book edited before submitting to a publisher. Or you may print

the book locally, but want it designed by us.

Making the Book Available

As you must have realised, POD and self publishing have tremendous

fl exibility to match individual requirements. You can choose to sell

your book to anyone who is interested or circulate it privately, within

a small, select group. Pothi.com off ers you the additional fl exibility of

selling your books printed elsewhere through its online book store.

Publish and sell. You can publish your book through Pothi.com

or from a printer of your choice and have it listed at our online store.

Depending on your book’s production cost, there will be a minimum

price for the book. If you choose not to get any royalty, your book will

be available at that price. But you are free to decide how much you

want to earn per copy and the fi nal price of the book will be decided

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154

according to that. More details about this are available on the website.

Th e royalty will accrue to you depending upon the number of copies

your book sells.

Private publishing. It is also possible for you to publish the

book through us but not sell it on our website. We will maintain

your ready-to-print fi les and dispatch the books only to the person/

organisation you ask us to do. Th is way you can ensure that your book

is circulated only amongst the people/organisations you want. Th is

facility is especially useful in following circumstances

• Th e book is for gifting purposes only.

• Th e book is for private circulation in a closed group

(family, organisation).

• Th e book is for selling exclusively through your own

website or other channels.

Marketing and Distribution

Marketing and distribution are hurdles for individual publishers since

they do not have the resources and the network of an established

publisher. In the current scenario, online marketing and distribution

is the best way out.

Pothi.com’s online book store. Th e books published through

Pothi.com can be sold through Pothi.com’s store. Th e book is

allocated a page on the online store, where people can read sample

pages, write reviews and buy the title. As the author/publisher, you

are however, free to tie up with any distributor and retailer you want

in addition to putting up the book on our online store. Pothi.com


155

also off ers the fl exibility of online listing already printed books of the

individual publisher.

Online marketing packages. Basic online marketing is aimed

at helping self publishers build a strong online presence and engage

with existing and potential readers, without committing to heavy

ongoing expenses. Pothi.com off ers such packages which include

online brand building measures like registration of domain names,

creation of website, etc for reaching out to a wider audience. Details

can be accessed at our website.

Other opportunities. You can participate in the other marketing

and distribution opportunities Pothi.com provides from time to time.

For example, the book launch during the Bangalore Book Festival

2008 and placing your book at the Pothi.com’s stall at the Bangalore

Book Festival 2009.

Th ings to Know While Publishing Th rough Pothi.com

• Selection criteria for publishing. Pothi.com is not a

publisher. It’s an open platform for anyone to use. So, there

is no question of us ‘selecting’ any book for publication.

We do not have any restrictions on the content or topic

of the book, except that it should not violate the law of

the land.

• Evaluation of manuscript. We do not evaluate manuscripts.

Remember, Pothi.com is not the publisher; you are. If you

have decided to publish your book, we are glad to oblige.

156

• Indian language support. We accept books in all Indian

languages. We also provide typing facilities in most Indian

languages.

• Royalty. Amount of royalty is not fi xed; it is decided by

you: Th ere is no fi xed percentage royalty that Pothi.com

pays to the authors. Authors decide their royalty and the

books’ prices are aff ected by that. Higher the royalty, more

is the price of the book. Details of book pricing formula are

available on the website. Price can also be easily estimated

by using the price estimator tool available on website.

• Author margin. Author Margin or Author Earning are

the phrases commonly used on Pothi.com for royalty.

• Author price. Irrespective of how the book is priced at

the store, Pothi.com authors can buy printed copies of

their book at a special Author Price. Th is is the price with

zero Author Margin and minimum margin for Pothi.

com. Th ey can also avail discounts for bulk purchase of

their book.

• Rights to the content. You retain all the rights to the

content and are free to publish the manuscript through

other self publishing companies or send it to a traditional

publisher/agent for consideration. You can also sell the

book through any channel you want to. You are free to

put up the content on you blog, websites and anywhere

you please for free or for a price. In nutshell, Pothi.com’s

terms are completely non-exclusive and do not prevent

you from using your content in any other way.

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157

• Duration of publishing process. If the soft copy of the

book is ready as per our specifi cations, your book can go

online within one working day. Physical copy of Print on

Demand books are generally produced in three to fi ve

working days.

Getting Further Information

Th e Pothi.com site is your one-stop-shop for further information.

Th ere are articles and tutorials about self publishing and preparing

your book, as well as details about the services off ered by Pothi.com.

If you still have doubts, refer to the FAQs on the site. Last but not

the least, we (Pothi.com) are always there to answer any specifi c

query.

E-mail is the best way to interact with us. You can write to us at

[email protected]

The Takeaway!

Pothi.com provides a fl exible, easy-to-use platform for publishing

your books. You can exercise control over every stage of publishing. You

can choose to avail of the editing service and yet not accept the editor’s

remarks, design your own cover, and choose the book size you want.

You can choose to sell it through our website to everyone or retain the

choice of distributing the book to a select few. While publishing with

us, you can still send the manuscript to a conventional publisher for

acceptance and put it up on your blog. In short, you are your own master.

So, what are you waiting for?


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