Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Used Toys:Exploring Business Possibilities

TRUSTED TOYS (Used and seconds Toys up for sale)
This can be one of the markets still unexplored.
It will a highly revenue generating business proposal for a new comer with no competition around.
This is all about “used toys”. In India people have not started talking of it, so we should talk!
Hardly there would be a kid who would not have thought or played with a toy.
As the economy grew the market of toys have also grown
The turnover has gone up. So many new companies have joined the army
Thousands of new products have rewritten the toy story.
I remember when I was a kid I used to buy cheap and usually familiar n common toys.
A pigeon for Rs.10 and a Light sparkling gun for at the most Rs.30.
But as the time passed the new generation wants all together new kind of toys,
which never costs less than Rs.100 and some tag as high as over Rs.1000.
This new generation is very impatient .Morning you give them a toy and in the evening
They would adore even seeing it and then they demand a new one.
Although it was the case earlier also but that time the toys hardly cost Rs.10.So it was not that
A big economical shock for the parents. But today toys are very costly as I mentioned
And being a product of a reputed brand it doesn't loose its iron and looks so easily and early.
They are made of High Quality material which rarely breaks.
Well, one can't afford a new toy everyday.
Recently, I visited my brother's house at pune.He has a sweet one and half year old baby.
I chanced to look at her almirah which were full of toys. All high value toys and mostly in good condition.'
But she hardly enjoys and likes any of them. As per one study IQ level of the new born have gone very high.
And so the curiousity.So today kids get soon fed up by the toys and then they demand for
New.

Here is the market for an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist to explore in India. I emphasize again this
Business model will work in India only.
Well, some day reading a classified if my brother gets an opportunity to buy a New Like used toy
For 1/3 rd of the price then will he not be happy?
If we can exchange the toys with each other,ofcourse for some sum ,will it not ease the burden of the
Parents who works very hard to earn peanuts :-).
Further the kids will be more than happy as they were enjoying variety of toys day on day.
They will thus be more creative now and the parents definitely love the smiling face of their kids.
It has one other tangible benefit also. As u know that these toys are made of plastics and we know that
plastic is not bio-degradeable.So this way sharing the toys will decelerate the production of new toys
Which finally are going to affect the environment at a later point of time?
And at this time when the Ghost of “ Green house " is knocking our doors, it becomes our moral responsibility
To serve and save our earth well.
Produce should be taken as Pro-(the)-use, means less production and whatever we have
Use that efficiently. This may really disinterest some Venture Capitalists.
I am really sorry for that but we need to understand the need of the hour today, lest it becomes too late.
Infact when the governments will start taking call on it, there will be two potential products:-
1 New Market
2.Used Market



The companies will be asked to slow down their production level and in order to meet the

Cost of operation they will be free to charge high premiums.

Say If they today earn Rs.100 per deal an do 1000 deals, they will be compelled to sell/produce only

500 units with an earning of Rs.200 per deal. And this will be the time when production

Rate will be hit, as we can't maintain current production rate growth longer.

Here the used market will play a major role. Like today we scrap the item after use,

Things will not be same as of now. So many local level ,it may be company operated also,

will be opened that will refurbish the product and will sell it as new .The OEMs will

Have their share in it. This way companies will be able to sustain the financial pressures

Arised due to loss of production.



Further one thing to observe that why the new products will be able to enjoy high margins.

It is ok that there is always a niche group of customer who buys only new. But with the availability of

New Like Used products, even this niche customer base may drift.

But there will be one thing that will work as a resistance for this user group to stick to new products.

That is "innovativeness".

It is but natural that the new products, the innovative one can never be sold as used first.

So the used product buyers will have to wait till the product becomes used and becomes available in the market

Now the new products will be custom made and will drift from the present practice of

Mass production. It is very true that due to Mass production we sacrifice

innovativeness sometimes.Beacuse if the companies start introducing innovativeness

every now and then to their products in mass production, the cost will go very high

Beyond the reach of moderately earning customer.

And this way we are stopping innovativeness which we can never do.

So, with the environmental pressures mounting and no sacrifice to

Innovation this type of market dynamics will emerge. New and Used.

Have money go NEW and Innovative one.

So, during the passage of time New Products and Innovative Introductions

will become synonyms.



Some Pundits may objects whats rubbish I am saying, even many may even

Not like to take pains to comment rather. But how the time changes no one can

Predict. See this one:-



In the stone age we used to write from right to left but with the adoption of ink pens

We started writing left to right. Why?

Obviously, it was easy to strongly hammer a stone when we move from right to left

and it may spoil our shirts if we write from right to left using ink pens, so compelled

To start a new tradition of writing left to right.


Coming back to our Business Model.
This was the future strategy where our business model will be at its peak but even today
It doesn't loose its charm of money churning.
Key Points:
1. The entire system will be web based.
2. The user will not be charged any fees.
3. For Used Toys it will be completely C2C transaction.
4. Search Engine will be provided to pick a specific toy.
5.Defective Toys from Toy Manufactures can also be displayed
which generally make their way to Auction houses presently, selling 1/3
of their costs.
6. Contact Information of the buyer as well seller will be displayed.
7. System will not ask for any registration for using the website.
8. The opening page will be kept simple like Google’s.
9. Special Courier /Shipping charges if our services are availed.
10. Will be promoted through General Bulletin Boards of various companies form sectors like IT, BPO etc.using contacts.
11. No Vulgar Product selling.



Like Google's business strategy ours will also follow the same .Let the people use

And verify the usefulness and credibility of your website.

And once they get addicted to your website like orkut and the day your VHR's

Visit hit rate per day surpasses 1000 mark a day, you become a potential channel

For the sellers and now not only for used one but also for new ones too.

And here the revenues start flowing in your system.


Following are the ways through which revenues can be generated:-
1. Google’s Sponsored Ads.
They pay 3 cents per click.
2. Commission from the Sale of New Toys.
At later point of time, this option may be considered.
3. Tie up with shipping companies.
We can crack a deal with courier companies so that we can offer
shipment of toys at a highly affordable, reliable and negotiable rates
We may charge a commission from the courier company as we are giving them the additional business.
This will be win-win situation for all.We, customer and Courier Companies. All will benefit
4.Income from advertisements
5. Can provide value added services to the users by tying up with other websites in the future.


But as of now the only aim should be to increase the VHRs and develop the interest among the net using
Community.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Ab..........

Ab,

Hum Gum se tasalli Lete hai,
Nirjeeh Awaaz aur Shithil Tan.
Vaadon ki Vakalat Dhoka de gayi,
Muskil yesh pal,hai khud se Anban.

Bewaki Hamari ,jo sir chad bolti thi,
Gahrate Badal,Gahare sagar ke raaz khoti thi.
Aaj thar-tharati,jaane kahan dupak jaati hai,
Aahat ho teri,taash ke patton ki tarah bhikhar jaati hai.

Who aankhen jo, gairon ko bhi,kabhi sharmati thi,
Jo khul jaayen,tau ghor kayamat laati thi.
Aaj,befikra ho,apno ke hi teer sahti hai,
Yeh teri nazaron ka kalam hai,ki bheegi-bheegi si rahtin hai.

Ab,khayalon ne bhi adalat dekh lee hai,
Mohlat ki miyad kaise bhadwaye.
Ab akele nahi,akelapan bhi saath hai,
Tu hi saaza-E-maut de,bas yahi fariyaad hai.

------------Ankur --------

Tanhai Ki Kalam................

Tanhai Ki Kalam…………

Jam kar baatein,bewafai ke Jaam,
Maikhane Lut gaye,hum huye badnam.
Ab paimano ki ginti,deti hai,Uljhan,
Bekhauf hai mann,chache saans hi chode jivan.

Mez per sazi,pyalon ki katar,
Jaane kyon jodti,kisi bhasha ke Taar.
Beparda ho,samzhaye woh nirakar saaki,
Bewaqt bhi aana hai,kyonki kuch jaam hai baaki.

Kaanon ke parde,ab dil se dharakte hai,
Diwali ke patakhe,bhi beawaaz lagte hai.
Gori surat pe teri,jo holi sa Rang tha,
O,Bedard,woh rang,mere aang aang tha.

Darwaazon ki Dastak,Maikhaon ki charcha,
Woh Mehmaanon ka aana aur Dawat aka Parcha.
Sab,muzhko,lautado,woh pane purane,
Tanhai ki Kalam se,likhlun guzare phasane.


-------------Ankur

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Einstein Said:-

"Logic can get you from A to B.Imagination can take you anywhere."
---Albert Einstein

Monday, July 16, 2007

Andaaz- E-"Google":Marketing Times

Videophone and ITV Calling

One Marketing Guru Says that there are two types of marketing :-
1. Inward Marketing
2. Outward Marketing

Briefly understanding these marketing types, Inward Marketing is done for the Product that is demanded by the Consumer and you have to just convince the consumer for its worthiness and value for money, rather on the other side if the product is new and it has no demand in the market, then the primary task is to make aware the target segment of its features thereby making a deal, is what we name as Outward Marketing. For example if you are a TV manufacturer and there is a huge TV buyers segment already present .Now for to sell your product you just need to justify your price vis-à-vis product quality and features over your competitors. This is a sort of Inward Marketing where the customer comes to your place. But if your product is one which is in a concept stage (read concept product), so no demand and no buyers, then you need to first create a demand for the product by advertising its features which may do the needful, who has still not identified its needs completely, making him realize that this product can make his life more comfortable and full of fun.Infact Product comes earlier than Brands. Most of the products have to pass through this concept marketing stage till it establishes an identified set of buyers, later the brands follows. In short, selling a product what the customer requires is inward marketing and selling what you want to sell or what new you have created, to customer even it is not required by them is outward marketing. Let us understand it by an example. In Automobile Industry, Selling a Speedometer is Inward Marketing but Selling a GPS (Global Positioning system) is Outward Marketing in today’s time. Even before the invention of GPS very few people would have thought and aspired of a device which can track and administer their vehicles remotely. Large chunk of the market had not demanded this product to the manufacturers. It is completely a new Product. But in order to expand their businesses and to add new arms to the industry, manufacturers joined to develop this product and create a new market for this. Today there is no huge demand for the product .But slowly with the advertisement and hype, consumers will start understanding its significance and it will rise to the stage of core product selling from the present state of concept selling supported with the great deflation in price. Another example is Sony’s Blue Ray Disc which has a 50 GB storage capacity. Initially Pepsi and Coke were also launched as a concept in India. So this is roughly the difference between the two types of marketing.
Marketing includes Advertisement and a Major share is spent in this activity. Brand Promotion through media has become very money-some. And many a times we could not get required mileage of our media campaign and the whole investment goes for a toss, how well the pre campaign study may be! The promos sometimes don’t get a right viewer ship, making the campaign a failure. What is the use of promoting a washing power brand through Television and spending even sometimes more than the real cost of the production and thus inflating its input cost when there already exists a big target segment. Just to expand your market share! Many a times, people adore seeing these promos on regular products such as tooth-paste or washing powders. They have the power of remote to change the channel. So you don’t get a right viewer ship for your promo. Simply there is nothing new in your product to talk about although you may present it in a new way, in an innovative manner then for a change viewers may look it just once or twice and ignoring all future repetitions, later. It is a loss for you. So what type of advertisements people like to watch with curiosity! Obviously, only if the product is new and innovative. People will buy an advertisement promoting a Hybrid Car, Microsoft’s Touch Screen Computer. These are the concept products which people don’t know about. Out of the curiosity they love to explore more about your innovations through the advertisements. So you may enjoy a good viewer ship for such products. So we need to understand that that what type of Product specific promos is admired and viewed by the people. As I said selling a Tooth-Paste or a Washing –Powder through media advertisement is a waste of money unless you have really made some innovative changes in your product.
In a nutshell only innovative products should be promoted through this channel in order to get a good value for your investment. In other words we can summarize that only Outward Marketing should be done through Media Advertisement and practice Inward Marketing through some another channel. What is this another channel? Or Rather New!
Invest in Marketing only then when the consumer requires it! Suppose I am in the business of Property Selling .I need not to advertise in the open market, and I know only 1% are interested to buy upon my product. So 99% of the promotion cost goes in vain. Now I will advertise to only those customers who really are looking to buy a property. This time I am investing only on Target Segment. So my investment this time is lower but highly result oriented.
It is very obvious that you need to bring the customers at your doorstep to listen to your promo. Now how will you do this? May be promotion by website. Advertising on a Property website like magicbricks.com or 99acre.com or the likes. By advertising on these websites you target only a small bunch of customers. But sometimes due to loads of advertisement on the website your advertisement gets sometimes overlooked. You loose a potential buyer! So there is no guarantee that your advertisement will be viewed anytime or not. But whatever be the output, good or bad, website hosts will charge their fees from you. Next Target Oriented way is through Google Text Advertisement. This is a good and effective way of doing the promotions. The advertisements are relevant to the subject of the webpage which a user is surfing. I completely support this type of advertisement but there are certain flaws I have pointed out, if properly dealt with ,it will be the most popular and effective channel of advertisement in the coming times.

1. Website is still a Medium “Less Popular” at some places
2. Website Address Popularity


So how to deal with these flaws. Best ways I can think of is Mobile and Internet TV. Both are very popular means and enjoy a high usage. The concept is same as applied in Google Adwords.Watching the advertisements is completely free. One sees the relevant advertisements only as and when requested by the user based on certain Adwords.
Let us understand it with an example:-
I am looking for a Bike. Before that let us first point out the features of a Bike on which a consumer finalizes the deal.
1. Power or CC
2. Disc Brake /Drum Brake
3. Style
4. No of Gears
5. Suspension
6. Mileage
7. Price/Value for Money
8. Others

These are all Adwords and will be owned by the Bike OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) .If there are 3 OEMs as A, B and C and 2 (A and B) of these 3 OEMs have “Mileage” as their Product USP .Now how to decide that who will be the owner of the word “Mileage”.Infact there can be N no of owners of an Adword. But it will be preferential. There will be a Degree of ownership attached to each Adword. Now this degree of ownership will be decided by a process of online bidding. A minimum proposed price/click/Adword is set by the service provider. Say it is INR X for the Adword “Mileage". Now whomsoever among A and B outbid another will be given first preference.

So for buying a Bike I would definitely like to watch their promos so that I can gather more information. I can use two sources apart from the Internet.
a) Video Supported Mobile
b) Internet Television (ITV)

I will dial an AdLine No. given by my Service Provider and will spell the Adwords that I am looking in my Bike. It would go like this “Bike, Mileage, Suspension” .Then a List of advertisements will be displayed in the order that owns these specific Adwords same as displayed in Google Text Advertisements. Now on clicking the options I can watch the full promo of the Bike of a particular OEM. Also my query will be registered with the OEM’s database of prospective customers so that they can themselves contact me for more information. We can use ITV (Interactive or Internet TV) as a medium which is becoming so popular today. One thing to note here that these requests will be completely free of cost and the consumer will not be charged a single penny. Here the service provider will earn as soon as the customer clicks the Video Advertisement.

This way OEMs can save a lot of money that get wasted on costly TV advertisement. Now they have to spend money only on the prospective buyers.

Here it is a big opportunity for the sectors like Mobile and communications.

A new wor(L)d is waiting .A revolution has to come in the field of Advertisement .It is not the only concern that what we see but also how we see the things!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Deadly 101th Law of Nature

Destiny of a GOD

It is a widely confronted and highly nerve breaking topic of discussion that are we nearing our death? Will the human beings become the things of the past like dinosaurs? Or will we be able to win the battle of death, whenever the scene arrives in this colorful play of life! Many feel that we would be having a great scientific edge then, far sharper than what we have today which will make us invincible for anyone! Or some day we all will become immortal! There is a strong prediction by NASA that after 36 years from now a BIG Meteorite will hit our beloved planet earth .The impact will be equivalent to hundreds of Nuclear Bombs as all have blasted at the same time. Half the population will be killed and rest half will build a new foundation for a new society! The climate will be changed and the Man will have to develop ways to be able to sustain the blow of the nature. Now two possibilities arise here.
A Fresh Start:
Our all scientific brains will be dead. Our all knowledge of Nature will be washed out and the remaining people will have to bow down to the power of nature and now will have to start afresh same as long time back one Adam and Eve would had started. This will be a new nature, a new climate and the new flow of river. All together all the laws of science be it a Newton’s law or whatever will stand to be false. Things will tend to go up rather than going down! If we burn the coal we may feel colder or may be some different feeling wrap us!
Sky Roared and it rained, it was what Adam and Eve had experienced at the time of evolution, same way we may experience that the sky on which we are standing smells and it showers high intensity lights which make us feel confused! Then we will have to start from the scratch to understand these new principles of nature.
Advancement of the earlier:
This possibility can also be not ruled out. After this flush off operation we may get to know, may be by chance (many of the discoveries and inventions till date have taken place only by chance) a new law of nature. And with this we become automatically more advanced. All of a sudden we become more familiar with the nature. We would have more control over the nature and we may possibly avert the re-occurrence of a deadly incident of such kind. Or it will not remain a deadly incident anymore. Our understanding of nature will be more advanced. This will be like a breakthrough. It is true that everyday we study and learn something new about the nature but this occurrence will act as a catalyst.

I am supportive of the later one as of now.

Will this the way we move forward or at some point of time a final verdict of our end is written? I trust and have full faith that one day we all will be the things of the past. Our significance will be no more! But when will that time arrive? Can we ever estimate that time frame or is the Final death written after 100 years, 200 years or when? Yes it can be estimated! It is simple mathematics but there is one parameter that we need to figure out first! Quite obvious it is not an easy task too but be sure while nearing end we will get the indication that we are playing the slog overs! I have a theory on this. I call it “The 101 Laws of Life”.101th Law is Fixed and one can predict it even today. But Before that we should understand what these 100 laws are?
The Nature is like a quiz session and we all are the participants. As the quiz advances it gets tougher and tougher. Same way understanding the nature is like answering the questions in the quiz. Earlier people used to worship the natural powers like clouds, Sun etc.Whenever there was a thunder in the sky they got frightened and had to worship to save their lives from them. Ignorance is the key cause of fear and then only option remains to be its slave until you understand that fully. The day you understand it completely you will no more take it as a danger as now, with the occurrence of that incident you are well equipped to fight with! Why we worship GOD? Most of us pray GOD to save us from some untimely misfortune, as we have no full control over our fortunes. So for ignorance we are praying the price as worshipping the GOD, and I feel that its no wrong or unscientific, as prayers with faith have a successful impact on our lives. So GOD is just the creation of ignorance. It is just like your shadow. It always follows you. If you exist, shadow exists and if you no more exist then there is no shadow too. But think if some day you reach a place illuminated with high intensity lights coming from all the possible directions then you can possibly get rid of your shadow. And that’s the day of enlightenment. You know and understand each and every law of nature so then you need not require to get terrorized with any happening of nature, as you can fight it well and can save yourself. You will no more worship anything like GOD anymore because in true means you will become a virtual GOD for yourself. But there is one law still remains that follows after this!
According to my belief there are 101 laws of nature. As of now we hardly know 50 % of them. There are so many queries in the nature which are still unsolved. We still have not understood the nature completely, that’s why we worship some unseen power whom we say GOD. But we are gradually developing our understanding. There is a certain rate with which we are progressing towards our higher intellects. And the day we are able to know all the hundred laws of nature then we will have no fear from any one. We will be the GOD. But then, there still remains a 101th law, which is the Law of Death, which is the Law of End. It is the law of self demolition. It is quite obvious that one who has full control over his fortune then life will become devoid of hopes! A hope is like fuel for a car. No hopes, no more running, thus no Life. That will be the final end! So keep running and understanding the nature till you finds the 100th law and becomes GOD because next a deadly 101th law is waiting for you!

Friday, July 6, 2007

Global Bhaiyas

Indians as Global "Bhaiyas": A cheap Trip to a Foreign Land

Summers or no summers! Every Indian borns with a dream to visit a Foreign Country in his Lifetime.Infact one among the FAQ to an astrologer! Like “Panditji, Videsh yatra ka Kya Yog hai”.Without this, the Prediction triangle of Life, Love and Luck is not completed. If Panditji is positive for your Life and Love but NO “Videsh Yatra” then you are down! A Psychological factor hard to sub-factorize. I am one among this desi crowd too. After all I have “pseudo” proud to be an Indian. Some may feel hurt for my usage of this word “pseudo”. Am I not a true Indian? Don’t I respect our great Martyrs? What degree of respect I owe towards the great Indian Ancient Culture? Clearing the dust, I admire my Great Indian Ancient Culture to the core of my heart and have die hard respect for our brave martyrs who gifted us our precious freedom, which an every True Indian should possess and live with. But what we are today! What Image we are carrying to the other parts of the Globe. What laurels we have won since freedom that we can proudly talk about. Big-B is very big in our country but how many times we have been “Oscaried” in our so called ever shining Bollywood History only expect once or twice. And just now I came to know that this our own (for me an alien) MS-Word doesn’t identify the word Bollywood. Well don’t get scared we have a favorite and most used option of “Add to Dictionary”. But tell me that how many times we will be adding our history in their dictionary! Some days back we had celebrated a First Hand Diwali (A Diwali before Original Diwali) on the occasion of successful Landing of Atlantis, the US Space Ship. Congrats NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)! For a while it seemed that NASA has just accomplished a “one in million” mission. And our well acclaimed Sunita Beti is the front runner astronaut of the era. Dirt apart! Out of the curiosity I chanced upon to browse the NASA website (http://www.nasa.gov/) just after the successful landing of much hyped “Atlantis”. I was shocked! It definitely had Atlantis on its Main Page. I had taken a screen shot also. Please care to look at it.


Where is our “Sunita Beti”? The video on the television had shown Sunita sitting right in the centre of the crew,Sunita doing this,Sunita doing that but why no Sunita here on the front page of the NASA website. Rest of the crew members have posed for the photograph but not our Indian Beti.However if you further drill down the website you get the glimpse of the lady who has brought much publicized proud and inspiration to our country! Secondly it was one of the routine missions for NASA.And we had celebrated a First Hand Diwali. Although one can’t deny the fact that there are hardly over a hundred astronauts in USA and it is a real big thing to be a part of the mission. And Sunita is a proud USA citizen only. Originally being a Gujarati, now she is no more a Sunita Vaghela or Shah, she is Williams i.e. Sunita Williams.There is a famous hindi phrase which fits at this situation “Begani Shaadi Main Abdullah Diwana”.So please stop playing the role of Abdullah.
Learn from the past how many Noble Prizes have been given till date to an Original Indian citizen with no dual citizenship of course! Well, please don’t count Hargobind Khurana, Recent Amartaya Sen and likes. None are pure Indians now! Visit the Noble Prize Website (http://www.nobleprize.org/) you will find their right citizenship.Mahatma Gandhi though nominated five times, never had been found fit for the award.
See Excerpts from an article published on the Noble Prize Website:

Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate
by Øyvind TønnessonNobelprize.org Peace Editor, 1998-20001 December 1999
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) has become the strongest symbol of non-violence in the 20th century. It is widely held – in retrospect – that the Indian national leader should have been the very man to be selected for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was nominated several times, but was never awarded the prize. Why?
These questions have been asked frequently: Was the horizon of the Norwegian Nobel Committee too narrow? Were the committee members unable to appreciate the struggle for freedom among non-European peoples?" Or were the Norwegian committee members perhaps afraid to make a prize award which might be detrimental to the relationship between their own country and Great Britain?

For more facts visit the website.

Just another Indian missed the shot.Very few peope know that even Nehru had been nominated for this prestigious award.
Enough on Pseudo.
History apart, we need to introspect that why and where we are lacking!Why Indians are not respected across the Globe especially in the white skinned countries.What made these white skinned people a better human being than us.
We are on the wrong path. I would share some with you!
As “Biharis” for India we are Indians for the globe.You will find a lot of crowd pulling rickshaws, doing labour work all across the country.And most of them are either from UP or Bihar.I am also from UP.Have you ever find a tamilian ,a maharastrian or a punjabi carrying loads in other than his native states.Exceptions apart!
I myself feels bad when someone calls me a “Bhaiya”. Has the word been derogated a lot?
I had studied in allahabad where we used to use this word to give respect to someone.Coming to the point the same “ Bhaiya” image we are carrying to the west.
We are identified the way we present ourselves to them.If we are well dressed and well etiquetted then people will welcome us and if we are shabbly dressed then?
Some days back I was talking to a Punjabi Guy in Ludhiana.People are so crazy here towards the west that they will do anything just to get a VISA for USA or UK.Rich ones can pay as high as 10-15 lakhs .The poor ones are also not behind.They manage to get a Drum in a Cargo Ship which you can call as immoral trafficking.
(This may not be true but I have heard from Rumours)
So,If they are caught then what image they will carry for India.Secondly If one has entered those countries through legal gate.What kind of jobs we most of the Indians do there.You will find many Indians serving as waiters in a Hotel or restaurant, Driving A Taxi or Cleaning Toilets.So are we not “Bhaiyas” of America? You will never find a German or a Europeon cleaning the docks.Albert Einstein was a german and so the many others.Germans are viewed as a Better Breed than Indians.
I am an avid viewer of Discovery and National Geographic.There was one Programme named “Extreme Engineering” on National Geographic.In Australia ,there was one Mega Project Going on .They were on the way to construct a dual usage underground tunnel to deal with the problem of Flood and Traffic simultaneously .Highly advanced technology! Some english people were the heads for the project and you know who were doing the low profile and no intelligent jobs as joining the pipes,flushing the water or digging the soil! I could identify many of them as Indians.The Bhaiya Image.And there these Bhaiyas are from all parts of India.Australians are smart and what we are!Two days later, I saw the similar fate of Indians on Discovery ,labouring at "Palm Islands" in Dubai.I don’t say that any work is bad or derrogatory but there ought to be a fixed ratio of salt in food.What we have become like Food in salt!
Recently I happened to chit-chat with a travel agent in Ludhiana ,Punjab,the Manchester of India and I found certain things really eye catching that prompted me to write this article.
The Guy proposed me a 10 day tour plan to three countries ie Thailand ,Malaysia and Indonesia .The package includes all the expenses like travelling, lodging and fooding.When I asked for the price it really shocked me.Not because it was high but it was dirt cheap.I could not really believe that my dream of visiting any foreign land can come true at this price.First I felt bad and decided that from now on I will not call it a Dream.Is this the globalisation that has made my country so BIG that today I can easily visit the exotic places like malaysia or so with literally no extra effort.I realized that not only me,a guy earning much lesser than me can fulfill his dreams.And all this for just Rs. 25000/-.Can you believe this?Infact there is a 10 % commission of that guy included in this sundry sum.But here again we are taking our Nation’s Image and Pride for granted some where hidden between the lines,which is the crux of this story which compelled me to sum up a few words on this.I got interested and was about to handover him my passport but still I was unable to digest the cost factor.Even If you fly from Mumbai to Delhi in a low cost Airline it will cost you not less than Rs.3500 to Rs.4000 for one way.What is the Magic Maths behind this making resonance and playing trumpets!Are the tour operators doing this for Charity? But ,friends there is no free Lunch in today’s time.And I got the concept well understood .Basic Understanding of Maths played its role here.Hold your breath!
The lucky travellers are basically the carriers of the items which fetches a Higher Value in other country.Here is the crack! Say a particular Item costs in India for Rs. 100 and the value of same Item is Rs.400 in Thailand.So,If one somehow manages to sell that item in Thailand he can earn a pure margin of Rs.300.Have doubts over the justification of this price difference! In USA a 1 Litre Bisleri (Mineral Water) costs more than a Bottle of BEER.For a Dollar or Two one can enjoy a full Can of Beer.In India Cloth is cheaper than in Thailand .As per the Air Traffic Rules one can carry a maximum luggage of 40 kg carry with him.So each passanger is given a box full of clothes weighing 40 kg which is identified and checked-in as his own luggage .As per one Estimate they earn an amount of roughly Rs.500 per kg.So 40 Times 500 is Rs.20000 is the net earning per passanger on a one way trip.Vice Versa there are certain items which are cheaper in Thailand than in India like Electronic gadgets etc., are again loaded with the same passenger.Say they earn Rs. 15000 more on this return trip.So the total earning per trip to the Tour Organiser is Rs.35000.Also they have already charged Rs.25000 from you as the Tour Cost.It makes the Net Income as Rs.60000.Say Rs 40000 is their net expenses Rs.15000 more than what they have charged from you.But Still they make a Net Profit of Rs.20000 per trip.You know there is one more way you can further reduce your expenses.One Bottle of English Wine is all legal to carry with you.It costs hardly Rs. 500 there which one can sell at Rs.7000-8000 back in India.So here you can earn your own net profit of Rs.6500.So effectively how much you have paid Rs.25000-Rs.6500 makes Rs.18500.So roughly with an investment of Rs.19000 one can go for an exotic trip of Three Countries.Wow what a logic!And all is Legal from my point of view.You are not carrying any drugs or similar kinda rubbish with you.Who can object you for Carrying Innocent Clothes!
But are we not sacrificing our Nations’s Pride ?Are we Indians acting more as a Cargo Carriers than as a dignified human being? Have you ever heard any British or German ever caught doing this rubbish!I don’t say its a henius crime but we should never compromise with our Swabhiman.Nation feels proud only when you bring proud to it with your respected deeds.Mahatma Gandhi had brought proud to the Nation by Teaching the Lesson Of Peace and Non Voilence to the world.We need to act in the same way.Never Dream of a Pizza when you don’t have money to buy a simple chappati for youself.Work hard and then earn your Pizza.And There are no shortcuts for this.With this I dropped my idea of accepting this offer.I can’t afford my country to let down its importance for a misdeed to mine.Same way should act my fellow Indians too.
Time has come when we need to get back our Lost Pride.In many parts of the world India is still identified as Gandhi’s Country.We need another Gandhi and this time in the field of Science and Technology.Enough is enough! Don’t we feel ashamed that we still have not been able to land on Moon when people are thinking of Mars, abroad.Time has come when we have to stop dancing as a mere Hand-Puppet of foreign powers.We need to develop our own identity .Make our own space ! A Bodhanyan, an Aryabhatta and a Ramanujan has to take rebirth.And if they have already taken birth then time has come to identify and use them for the progress of the country.Time has come when we need to to identified as a superior breed.Time has come when we have to re-write the history.In 16th Century when Columbus had dicovered America and Vasco had come to India then Cloumbus had cursed its fate as both of them had a target destination of reaching on the banks of India.And Vasco had emerged out to be the winner.And what we are today !How many Vascos and Columbuses do really feel great,even think of coming to India.Time has come to raise the level of India as the most preferred destination of the globe.We need to rework on ourselves right from the scratch.
Only then I can stop calling myself as a Pseudo Indian.
Time has come to raise from the level of derogated Global Bhaiyas to the status of Dignified Bhaiyajis of the East.Time has come when we have to stop just praising the west.Rather Work for a Graceful India! ......................Jai Hind

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

The Journey Starts Here-New Railway Reservation System

New Railway Reservation System-

As the summer season sweeps in, one finds it tough to get the reservation. Although Tatkal Facility comes as a savior but on the very first day rather say in the very first hour all the seats get booked. Then what to do and whom to approach! Reaching the destination can’t be avoided. Now only option remains is to take a waitlisted ticket and wait for the D-day, the day of journey. After consistent prayer to GOD and checking the WL status daily until the chart is prepared and when still not being able to get the right to enter in the reserved coach legally, last options remains is to grease the palms of the TTE and hence assure a sound sleep for night.
Recently, I had to travel to Bombay from Kota.I checked the Internet for availability of seats in trains but as expected none of the seats was available in any of the trains. Devastated, I took out a waitlisted ticket from a Local Travel Agent with a 50-50 assurance of confirmation. I was asked to meet one person at the Railway Station who somehow has to do some magic by arranging a confirmed berth for me in the overcrowded Train. I was little terrified as he was the only ray of hope. Would he identify me? Or he can easily save his face by fleeing from the scene as I was not having even his contact no. Even if I got to meet him, chances were he simply could have said NO. Reaching the destination was important I was getting nervous. But with God’s Grace I managed to contact the person but it was not the end of the story. He told me to wait for the Train to arrive. Immediate expressions emerged on my face were of fury mixed with nervousness as even this guy seemed to be helpless! But nervousness finally covered my face with a 90 Degree smile of PITY and my language took a sharp U Turn from Bhaisahab to Sir as I could only say “Yes Sir, please dekhlijiyega, jana thoda jaroori hai.” That day even the train was in a mood to test waters. One of the Best Trains of India “Rajdhani Express” was getting late and late. Obvious reason was as Rajasthan had recently overcome from communal riots that had put the entire state machinery out of gear. The PA system announced the arrival of the train. “Yatrigan kripya dhyan de…dilli se chalne wali..mumbai ko jaane wali gadi sankhya…..nau bazkar paitalis minute par platform no 2 par aa rahi hai”.Heart started pounding fast. I lifted my luggage and waited for the train to arrive. The train arrived .I along with that guy moved towards the train. A person wearing black coat alighted from the 2nd AC coach.He was the TTE.A tall, well built Keralite with some bunch of papers in his hand (The typical Indian TT Style). We approached him. The guy with me pleaded him to allot a berth to me. But to a sudden shock! He showed his inability to help me. Time was running fast. A hardly 2 minutes stoppage. The decision had to be taken fast. Denied! We then moved to another TTE of 3rd AC, he repeated the same story “no seats, boss”. By now I had made up my mind that I would have to miss the train. But thanks to GOD, story was not over yet. It was just like cracking a last minute deal. As if I were in the mid of some auction and I had to offer a Final Bid. Or I am playing the Last Ball, Last Over and I had to hit a six. The guy accompanying me asked to give Rs.500 to him. First I thought the amount is too BIG but it always had little worth wrt saving a day .I agreed and paid him a Rs.500 note with a Gandhi embedded on it. Being a disciple of Gandhi, I hate to promote corruption. But I think I still have a long way to go for becoming a True Gandhian. I realized it that day! The BID worked and Mr. John could not say no this time. After all I had emerged as the highest Bidder. A sense of “winningness” floated in my body. As I had just kicked a winning goal to my team in a soccer game. Then I boarded the train with a feel of pride and later I was allotted a berth too. I thanked Mr. John .Later I called up that agent and conveyed my thanks.
The night was sound and sweet. I tried to take a nap but the Gandhi inside me didn’t let me sleep. It provoked me to think of some idea that could stop this malpractice without causing trouble to the travelers. A fool proof system to be developed that can save me and Infact thousands like me from promoting corruption. I badly needed a solution. The whole night I could not sleep and I just kept on thinking to find a solution for this issue. How could I sleep when something was not fine and I was also a part of that system!

I hereby recommend a system that will disarm the TTEs and make the travelers life smoother. Now they can really enjoy the journey.
Some days back I chanced to read a Novel as “Da Vinci Code”. The work of the author was appreciated in high esteem. The content was too good full of codes.Infact sometimes I feel we all have a fantasy towards the word “Code”. My theory is based on the same fantasy. The “Code Theory” .If implemented, it may reshape our Indian Railways.
The system goes this way. As you book your ticket OTC (Over the Counter) or through Internet then along with the PNR No. you will be given a system generated Code. It may be a four or five digit numeric code. It will be printed on the ticket. On a confirmed ticket when you board the train you need to enter your code no on the panel installed inside the bogie. This will bypass the present system of manual checking of your Ticket by the TTE. If your code is accepted by the machine then you will be able to use your berth or it will unlock your berth. It is more like a Check-in process that is practiced by all the different Airlines. The seats will have to be redesigned in a way that without the proper authentication it will not be unlocked. So in real time the status will be updated in the system. The same can be conveyed to the central server and that can be accessed through mobile or internet in real time. Say there are three stations X, Y and Z. I have to board the train from station Z.So; I will have the real time information of the seat availability till the last station i.e. Y.It means if there are 10 reservations from Origin X to Destination Z for 10 seats and only 8 passengers have boarded the train up to station Y.So Two seats lies vacant that can be allotted to the first two waitlisted passengers that will board from Station Z.Here is the crack! Presently these seats are available at the mercy of TTE.But now with the implementation of this system one can submit its request with the Panel as soon as a passenger with a waitlisted ticket boards the train. If with some arrangement we can make the panel information available at the internet also so one can get the exact availability of the seats. Say my W/L no is 7 and there are 10 seats available than I am sure to get a confirmed berth which I can either be allotted by the Internet then and there or at the platform or after boarding the train. But in case my W/L no is 11 and 10 seats are available then my chances of getting the berth is only possible if anyone of the previous 10 W/L passengers doesn’t board the train at Station Z.This can only be confirmed after the train leaves station Z.Now after boarding the train you just have to enter the information of the boarding in the Panel. After the train leaves the station you need to again request the panel for the current status. If as I said if anyone of the 10 passengers have not boarded the train from station Z then that vacant seat will be allotted to you. Again no need to fall prey of any TTE.Infact after the introduction of this system we will virtually require no TTE which should ideally be. Time is changing and so our systems also. Yes they will be required at the general bogies always as there is no reservation system there.
Use of Barcode in place of Numeric Code:
There may be some passengers who may be illiterate and they will be very much uncomfortable in using this code system. For them a Barcode will help. They just need to show the Barcode printed on the ticket to the panel. Then a Computer Generated Voice will guide them to the allocated berth. Or they can simply take the help of fellow passengers. Let us understand this with a Flow chart:-




I am pretty confident that its implementation half the battle with irregularities in railways will be won!