Ashneer Grover–The Elizabeth Holmes Of India

Shark Tank India season 1, was both Fascinating and Dramatic, the Magnus opus which had Love, Compassion, drama, Sympathy, patriotism etc, it wasn’t just a reality show that deals with entrepreneurs presenting there business ideas to a diverse set of investors, but a spiced up family drama where the wannabe brides were trying to impress the grooms family members, with a tadka of IIM.

Anupam Mittal reminded me more than once of the elderly Tauji, who would be silenced by the other aggressive family members, his tag line “Yaar koi mujhe bhi to bolne do”.

Namita Thaper, the vivacious diva, the Badi Bhabhi of the family, would always ensure to encourage the contestants, but mostly beg herself out of the deals.

Aman Verma : The Chota Devar, the daredevil, who would show his flamboyance more than once in every episode, his tag line “Brand to bana denge hum”.

Ashneer Grover: The evil uncle or chacha, he would abuse at will, would love to demean the bride and her family, he was like the Gulshan Grover of 80s and 90s, his tag line “Sab Dogla Pan hai” and “Band Ker de tera business”.

Vineeta Singh : The chooti bahu (younger daughter in law), too talkative, always smiling and empathetic while bowing out of a deal, she had no particular tag line.

The spiced up reality show caught the imagination of the entire country, business ideas became dinner discussions in the average Indian households, we saw young men and women from marginalised sections of the society, taking  lead in identifying the problems and putting forth the solution, we saw inventors showcasing painless or no needle blood sugar diagnostic machine, we also saw portable ecg machine which has the potential of saving many lives, and we also saw the humble son of a farmer, hailing from the region which has thousands of agrarians committing suicide every year, coming up with a jugad to make the excruciating work of the farmers easy.

The judges became the instant gods among the average youngsters, there success stories, there struggle and there perseverance made them god like for the average Indian youth, Aman Gupta, the candid and rusty Millionaire, Ashneer Grover the biggest shark in the tank, was brutally honest and calculative, Namita Thaper, very charming but had impressive business acumen, Anupam Mittal had tons of experience and he is probably one of the oldest angle investor in the country. The show topped the TRP charts in no time.

And then came the infamous Ashneer Grover call with the hapless Kotak Bank employee, it shocked me like many loyal Sharktank viewers, it exposed the GOD syndrome pathogen Grover was carrying in his head, in fact it was so dominant that it had simply annihilated the persona of the young billionaire, when I heard Ashneer abusing, I felt disgusted and wondered how a shallow man like him came at the helms of one of India’s leading fintech companies!

The infamous but viral phone call then opened the can of worms, exposed the rotting underbelly of one of the leading Fintech companies of the country, what I understood was that Ashneer and his wife were robbing investors of there money to finance there extravagant lifestyle, there luxury cars and abroad vacations, even the makeup stuff of Madhuri Jain was billed to the company.

Ashneer had stark resemblance with Elizabeth Holmes, slightly miniaturised or probably was in the making of it, a person with compromised morality knows no dearth and can sink the entire ecosystem of budding entrepreneurs for his personal gains, luckily he was caught before he could inflict fatal blow on the fragile ecosystem, or even worse getting away with it, creating a narrative of a system where the fraud and embezzlement becomes a norm and acceptable evil.

Once the rot was out in the open, Ashneer was sent on a forced leave, his wife was sacked, It was meteoric fall of the demigod of the startup world of India, it broke many hearts but it raise some very important questions:

• How can, in todays world, RBI and GOI can leave the fintech companies unchecked and unsupervised?
• With the tons of customer data, including personal data of the millions of users, is there a mechanism to check the likes of Ashneer from profiting from it? Or should they have an unchecked control over it?
• How to save the the image of the Ernest entrepreneurs from taking a hit because of the deeds of a bad unicorns like Ashneer grover?

These are some very important questions which need to be answered before the budding and booming atmosphere of Indian Startup world takes a permanent Hit…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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UNKNOWN MANIBEN & an ungrateful Country

Maniben Patel was Sardar’s only daughter. When only 16 she switched to Khadi and worked in Gandhi Ashram!
When 17 she put all her gold bangles, earrings Gold Wrist Watch and all ornaments & jewelleries in a bundle of cloth and obtaining her Father’s nod, deposited them in Gandhi Ashram, for the cause of freedom.
All the garments Sardar used to wear after 1921 were woven out of the yarn made by Maniben.
Unlike Nehru’s daughter Indira, Maniben was a freedom fighter, who actively participated in the non-cooperation movement.
In 1928, in the Bardoli Satyagraha she helped out Satyagrahis in Camps.
She was arrested and Jailed in 1930 in the Salt Satyagraha!
Thereafter, she was arrested and jailed on several occasions.
Defying ban in Bardauli, arrested in 1932 again re-arrested for defying ban in Kheda and Sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, for arousing people in villages of Rajkot arrested in 1938!
Gandhiji complimented the girl that he had not seen another daughter like Maniben!
Under Gandhiji’s selective disobedience, Maniben was arrested in 1940 and was released from Belgaum jail in May 1941. When she again wanted to court arrest Gandhiji had prevented this frail girl for ill-health!
She got arrested during Quit India 1942 with
Kasturba Gandhi and released in March 1944 and again re-arrested in May 1944 in Bardauli and was sent to Surat Jail & then to Yervada jail!
She didn’t marry and served her father till
Sardar Died in 1950!

Here is a shocking episode relating to Maniben based on various sources, specifically Dr Kurien’s autobiography: ‘I too had a dream’!

Sardar Patel had no bank balance or property!
Even though he had substantial earnings as a very Successful Lawyer, he gave up everything after plunging into the Freedom movement.
He used to say: THOSE IN POLITICS SHOULD NOT HOLD PROPERTY, AND I HOLD NONE!
(Today Everybody in India may think Sardar a Big Fool)

When Sardar died, he kept nothing for his daughter!
With Sardar no more she had to vacate the house!
With no roof over her head and no money
Maniben had to fend for herself!
Obeying Sardar’s parting instruction, Maniben had gone to Nehru to hand over a bag and a book!
Dutifully, she took an appointment with PM Nehru, she handed over the bag and the book to Nehru in person!
The book was an Account Book!
The bag contained rupees Thirty Five Lakhs! (It was 1950)!
After delivering both to Nehru, she waited a while!
Nehru did not thank her!
Nehru didn’t enquire what she would do!
Nehru didn’t ask where she would stay!
Nehru didn’t ask if she had any money on her!
Nehru didn’t ask if she was in need of any assistance or help!
Nehru didn’t ask, if he could do anything for her!
Nehru, not to speak of sympathy, had shown absolutely no interest in her!
For him, after receiving the huge sum of Rupees 35 lakhs Maniben didn’t exist!

Maniben went back to Ahmedabad to stay with a cousin the rest of her life, forgotten by an Ungrateful Country !

Via.. Dr. Gour Mohanty

Communist Party of China –Celebrating 100 years of oppression ….

There are stark similarities between the Nazis and the Communist party of China, 1) They enslaved there own people, 2) They have (Nazis still exist, AKA White supremacists)  serious superiority complex, 3) They both were cowards.

China is a villainous bully, the only way to face them is by standing up against them, If a country shows slightest sign of weakness, it will surely loos its territory and its people will be butchered.

If a country really want to learn how to confront China, they must learn it from India, the only country in the world which opposed the pet project of “XI” Belt and road project and the way Indians confronted the Chinese on the Himalayas.

World must realise that is bully is actually the weakest one, he will seek vulnerable opponents to oppress, and will backoff if the opponent retaliates.

World must stop this evil ideology and must unite to overturn the vile government of China, must support the democracy to liberate more than a billion human beings.

This can only happen if the people around the world start discarding Chinese Goods, please remember that if you are purchasing any thing that’s made is China, you are supporting slavery and feeding the monster who will eventually come after you.

make sure your weight loss efforts are stress free

Stress can play a big role in stopping you from achieving your weight loss goals. But when you implement changes slowly into your life, you dramatically increase your success. This is because you are reducing the amount of stress in your life.

Stress, apart from making you tired and anxious, can also make you gain weight and reduce the positive elements of your dedication and hard work. This is because when you are stressed, your body produces certain hormones that contribute to weight gain, and can do so in a rapid pace.

Before you start introducing new habits to get into shape , it is recommended that you try and reduce as much stress as you possibly can.

There are many benefits from reducing stress and losing weight and everyone should take the time to enjoy them. The first thing you will notice is that your energy levels increase. you’ll go from felling sluggish one week to feeling energised and happier the next. You’ll notice that it’s easier to say no to unhealthy foods and yes to healthier ones, which in turn leaves your hair and skin looking and feeling great.

When you feel great about yourself, you feel much more positive towards other parts of your life, creating a better balance. Mentally and physically, you’ll soon see that you be come more confident about the way you look and how you deal with other people, and you’ll see an increase into how much effort you put into establishing healthier habits into your daily life .

As you become healthier, you see the world in a better light. You are more likely to eat healthy in the long term, stay in shape, and take more opportunities in your social life. When you eat healthy, and take the time to look after your physical health, your confidence and positivity shines through each action you make. You will find its’s easier to adopt healthier habits over time, which then increases your positivity and reduces your anxiety.

Emergency In India “Decoded”

How Emergency imposed by ex – PM Indira Gandhi in 1975 changed Indian politics forever 

Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and grandson of late PM Indira Gandhi said that Emergency                    was a ‘mistake’ and what happened in that period was ‘wrong’.

On June 26,1975, former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Proclaimed a national emergency across India, Under the directions of the then Prime minister of India Indira Gandhi- which lasted for 21 months. During this time elections were suspended and civil liberties curbed.

After 46 years, on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi- Congress leader and grandson of late PM Indira Gandhi, said at an event that the emergency was a mistake and what happened in that period was “Wrong”. Rahul Gandhi also said the emergency during which time constitutional rights and civil liberties were suspended, the media was severely restricted and many opposition leaders were jailed, was “fundamentally different from the current scenario.'”I think that was a mistake. Absolutely, that was a mistake. And my grandmother (Mrs Gandhi) said as much. (But) the congress at no point attempted to capture India’s institutional framework…frankly, it does not even have that capability,” Rahul Gandhi said in a conversation with renowned economist Kaushik Basu.

But what is Emergency and how did it came into effect and how it changed the entire political dynamics of this nation – is something this generation may not know. So here we bring you in simple words on what happened in 1975, which can be easily be termed as the biggest political blunder of independent India.

 

The Justification for Emergency

The reasons given for the emergency in the country was to control “internal disturbance”, for which the constitutional rights suspended and freedom of speech and the press withdrawn. Former PM Indira Gandhi gave three reasons to justify the extreme step- first, India’s security and democracy was in danger owing to the movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan.

The second reason cited was that Indira in 1971- In parliamentary elections, Indira Gandhi had defeated Raj Narain from the Rae Bareli constituency, who subsequently had filed a petition in the Allahabad High court accusing Indira Gandhi of electoral malpractices.

January 1974- Students in Gujarat protested against raising prices of food grains and other essential commodities and corruption in the state government. Major opposition parties joined the protests, this led to the imposition of the president’s rule in the state.Demands for fresh elections became intense. subsequently elections were held in Gujarat in June 1975, which the congress lost.

1974- Students in Bihar started a movement to protest against the same issues. Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had given up active politics and was involved in social work, lead the movement. This took the issue to a national level.

June 12, 1975- Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha found the Prime Minister guilty of misuse of the government machinery during her election campaign and declared her election null and void and also barred her from contesting an election for the next 6 years. The court, however gave the congress 20 days to find a replacement to Gandhi as PM. Indira Gandhi moved the Supreme Court against the verdict.

June 24, 1975 – The Supreme Court granted her a partial stay on the High court order till her appeal was decided and that she could remain an MP but could not take part in proceedings of the Lok Sabha.

June 25, 1975- JP Narayan led a huge political rally in Delhi’s Ramlila ground where he announced a nationwide Satyagraha for Indira Gandhi’s resignation. The employees of the railways too called for a nationwide strike, led by George Fernandes.

June 25, 1975- This fateful night a state of emergency was declared as a government response to the June 25 Strike. All the powers were concentrated in the hands of the Union Government. The Government restricted the fundamental rights of the citizens during the period. All elections were suspended  and civil liberties curbed.

Most political opponents were imprisoned. Press was censored. All newspapers needed to get prior approval for the articles to be published. Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and the Jamait-e-Islami were banned. Constitution was amended in an autocratic manner, particularly in the 42nd amendment.

An amendment was made declaring that elections of Prime Minister, President and Vice- President could not be challenged in the court. Sanjay Gandhi, who did not hold any official position at the time gained control over the administration. The period saw the symbolic forced mass sterilisation campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi.

How our Life changed By Yoga

                       The Effect of yoga on Body , mind and soul for the Elderly Population 

                                      What is Yoga ?

Yoga is a combination of both mind and body practice and traces its origin to the ancient Indian philosophy. The practice involves meditative movements helpful for health purposes.

There are various styles and forms of employed , which include breathing techniques, physical postures, relaxation or meditation, and distinct philosophy. Some of the examples practiced under these are, namely, ananda, ashtanga, anusara, kundalini, viniyoga, Bikram and Kripalu among other. in the United States and Europe, the common from of yoga practiced is the hatha yoga that emphasizes meditation, breathing, and postures Birdee & Legedza , 2009).Fundamental challenge if raging is the non-communicable diabetes, sciatica, arthritis, ischemic, and hypertension. studies, on the other hand , have projected that there would be a high percentage of elderly across the globe, especially in India and Asia by the year 2025 (Bower, 2010). The author further explains that a carefully adopted set if yoga poses and practices are necessary to reduce the pain occasioned by these ailments of the aged. The adverse effects if the ailments to the aged, Bower (2010) explains is the low Quality of Life (QOL),which is characterised by pain, fatigue, and impairment of mobility. For instance ,Birdee & Legedza (2009) indicate “….epidemiological studies have reported a high ptorevalence of psychiatric disorders like depression and dementia in the elderly, ranging from 9% to 35%(p.1654). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) adversely affects the quality of life in the elderly. Such effects include; sleep disturbances, insomnia, restlessness, excessive daytime sleepiness, nighttime awakening, periodic, leg movements, and snoring. Yoga therefore, comes in as a body and mind intervention used for its therapeutic potential to the elderly.

Studies indicate that American population of roughly 15.8 million, which constitutes 6.9% of her entire population practice different forms if yoga, Moreover, a sizeable proportion still indicates the willingness to take it up in future (Bower, 2010). Thus , yoga is practiced largely across the globe for physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

                                                Why Yoga is good for Your Health?

The approach of any medical system for elderly woman and men needs to address to the physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual aspects of life. Not satisfied with allopathic medications and the threat of serious side effects ever looming large in their minds, the elderly women and men have begun to use the complementary medical systems as a viable alternative to address to their health problems. including Yoga, physical therapy, diet and aromatherapy

Research suggests that yoga therapy is a viable gentle physical activity option with a variety of health – related quality of life, psychological and physical symptom management benefits. Diet and nutritional therapy on the other hand, has shown solid evidence as an alternative medicine to reduce the symptoms of chronic diseases in elderly population.

Who is Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s next President ?

From his time at the seminary in Qom to hardline president elect, Ebrahim Raise has come a long way

                          raise will remain chef justice until he takes over from outgoing president Hassan Rouhani

    Iran – Judiciary head Ebrahim Raisi has been elected as the next president of Iran at a critical juncture for the country. Who is the conservative leader and what are his positions ?

The 60-year- old Raisi , who enjoys wide backing from the conservative and hardline revolutionary camp and its base , will remain Chief Justice until he takes over from moderate outgoing president Hassan Rouhani in early August as did not resign from his post to run for president.

Like supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , the leader wears a black turban, which signifies that he is a sayyid – a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

Raisi is referred to as a likely successor to the  82-year-old Khamenei when he passes away

 

How to sleep well

 

https://anchor.fm/neha-bajpai0/episodes/How-to-sleep-well-e12ui1e

I am sure you do already prepare to sleep however , it is worth mentioning some steps that will enhance and vastly improve your chances of good sleep .

Room temperature is critical , however this can pose some issues for couples, where one partner prefers cooler temperatures against a partner who likes a warm to hot room. So as best you can get the temperaturehow you are most comfortable.

Having a comfortable bed helps , along with the right pillow and height of pillow. it is Important to realise your body knows it needs to rest and sleep , it also knows it needs to be comfortable doing so .Give it what it needs.

Do away with as many electronic devices as possible , their very presence is a distraction ,and as previously said the subconscious mind takes onboard all prompts, good and bad it will do so even while you sleep. Even a stand by light on a tv can emit enough light to distract sleep.

As we have evolved from our distant primitive ancestors who had little extra light after the sun went down, save the light from a fire, the stars and the Moon. It stands to reason we still have the inbuilt ability to turn off when the light naturally fades at the end of the day, just like they did. However, this ability has been sabotaged by Morden living with lighting at the flick of a switch and electronic devices that admit light. So to give your body the best possible chance to rest, turn the lights off, darkness won’t harm you. If required have a small battery torch beside the bed for emergencies.

Don’t eat or drink immediately before retiring  to bed , both food and drink stimulate the body , and this will work against you ;your body will want to act on the introduction of fresh fuel into its system , a glass of water is fine, but cut out all other types of drink for at least an hour before bedtime. Alcohol is not only a stimulant but also a depressant ; many believe it will help them sleep , but in truth it can make good sleep harder

Is Family Man Season 2 worth your time???

Family Man Season 2 is every where and the entire google review universe seem to showered by this latest Web Series extravaganza. Among so many so called official tv steam reviews, it becomes very difficult to pick one, most of the tv show reviews seems like copy of the many many other reviews, I wish I would know as how to delete google reviews!

So here’s my take on the series: Our own 007 Shrikant was upset by the killing of an innocent Kashmiri student by his team, so after saving Delhi from a terrorist attack he decided to pursue carrier in an IT firm, he is now spending more time with his family and most importantly he is making more money, he thought this will make him happy, but he was wrong, he would continuously call up his TASK colleague DK and seeks information on his assignments, he was dying to rejoin the TASK.

The biggest strength of the Family Man 1 was the element of humour imbibed in an action packed patriotic spy thriller, the Family Man 1 started from Mumbai then stretched to Delhi and then to Kashmir, It showed a nexus between ISIS and ISI along with Kashmiri terrorists, in the end the series was concluded with a question mark, weather Delhi  survived the terror attack or decimated by it!!

The Family Man Part 2 was more subtle in its approach, it smartly portrays the delicate family life of a spy, how he deals with the dilemma of making a choice between his mission and the safety of his family who inadvertently came between the crossfire, thankfully he was able to save both his mission and his family thwarting the threat to the lives of our Prime minister and his daughter and thankfully it was conclusive.

 

It also reminded us the horrors and war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan civil war, brilliant performanc by Samantha, she was outstanding as Raji, a focussed rebel, on a subside mission to kill the leaders of India and Srilanka, well researched, perfect portrayal of the dangerous LTTE rebels and how they disregarded there existence for completing there mission, and a glimpse of how people part of our security apparatus defend our country by putting there and there family’s lives on the line…

A gripping series with stellar performance by Manoj, Samantha and Sharib AKA “JK” , watch it 

 

 

The Path

When I was a kid, my grandfather was the sun of our solar system, followed by my father, he was the most important person in and of our family, every one would look up to him for every important decision to be made, few years later he passed the baton to my father, and he assumed a rather supporting role, as the time passed he started detaching him self from all the responsibilities he use to carry, and one day he was no more with us, he became a memory in our hearts and minds, my father is now the head of the family.

Isn’t this  life cycle or phenomenon is supremely common every where in the world, and the same is being followed for generations, for centuries; point is what can we learn from it?

I think some of the facts are noteworthy:

• Each one of us is mortal, we walk the planet for a finite span of time, and the day of our departure although is most certain, nobody knows when exactly will it happen.
• The day of our departure could be today or it could be a day next year or decade, no body knows when and how he or she will have to pack up and leave.
• Now if in the end we all have to leave the show, then the question is what part should we choose to play till the time we are on stage.
• I have seen a lot of people who spend there entire life Judging others, dominating others, offending and being offended, they make there lives and the lives of people around them miserable, in the end there story is one full of regrets, and then I have seen few who live there life in full, they are filled with bliss, they focus on them self, they respect there life and the lives of others, they are so busy in self upliftment that they don’t have time to bother others, there life becomes a beautiful song, sung by many even after they are gone.

Now the question is what should be our priorities and is it possible to choose the correct path, which comes down to the very question, what is the correct path and how to ascertain one for ourself?  There are some very simple ways to follow the path:

Do not Impose your will: First of all for realising our infinite potential, one must avoid the urge to somehow control the lives of others, these others include siblings, spouse, children, friends, cousins etc, now what I mean by not trying to control there lives is that we must advice them as to what according to us is best for them, but we should happily accept and respect there decision even if its contrary to our advice, we must allow them to chart there on course of life as they are responsible for the decisions they’ve made and the outcomes of those decisions.

Attitude of Gratitude : This is the key to a happy and blissful life, please try this out, every day before going to sleep take a minute and thank God for all the things you have, health, house, spouse, kids etc, and see the magic it brings in your life.

Be a constant learner: the single most important trait that led to the evolution of Human mind and civilisation is Curiocity , learn at least one thing new every day and if possible write it somewhere.

Know The Trickster: Our mind does something very peculiar with us, it keep swinging us between past and future like a pendulum, it keep reminding us of the mistakes, unpleasant events or failures of our past which make us feel guilty and then it swings us to the future, basically it tries to scare us by painting a picture of a bleak future, this trick of our mind depletes our ability to create and do the best for ourself, how to control it? the best way to control it by occupying your self with a lot of work which you really love to do, when ever your mind tries to trick you, take a deep breath, hold it for six seconds and then release it slowly. Truest me this simple technique works like a charm!!.

Child is the father of man: Ever thought why a child a baby is always so happy, that’s because he lives in the present moment!