Dalda, Xerox, … IIT, MIT, Stanford… and Twitter…

The amazing success stories behind brands and their products are very interesting. Vanaspati Ghee became Dalda, Photocopying became synonymous with Xerox, and these two brands are such pervasive that most of the consumers don’t even know the product’s actual name. So, what is more important for a manufacturer/ entrepreneur? Is it Product or Brand? Building a brand demands innovation of a different kind. Whenever you think about “Brands”, you can’t afford to miss out IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology). Though the product here is quite different and each one can cash in the brand reputation of IIT to build another brand which in fact makes IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology) the most powerful Indian brand ever created or is it the IPL (Indian Premier League)? India’s fetish with 3-lettered powerful brands also includes IIM (Indian Institutes of Management).

The equivalent of IIT in the USA is MIT or in more politically and historically correct form it’s the other way round. IIT, IIM, MIT, Harvard, Stanford and other top universities across the world attract the crème de la crème of the student populace and are known for their immensely successful alumni. Not long ago, people studying at these places eyed for their dream job and career path which leads to a stable (at least economically) career in the long run. However, in these last two decades there has been a paradigm shift in the psyche of the average MIT/Harvard/Stanford/IIT/IIM/… grad. Entrepreneurship has become socially accepted and a respected career path. These universities have started nurturing the entrepreneurial instincts of their students and venturing out in entrepreneurship has never been so serious activity.

"Let pedigree trickle out, don't spill it out"

Few days back, strategist and management consultant, Semil Shah (@semilshah) tweeted:
(http://twitter.com/semilshah/status/12996210164)



This is not the case only with MIT or Stanford, it is obviously a common practice adopted by young entrepreneurs who are naïve about their brand management and try to leverage their elusive and elite degree for touting their business plans and catapulting the popularity of their product portfolio. You can’t blame them too as they are not brand managers but entrepreneurs who don’t have much experience about the capitalistic economy and its dynamics. The degree though helps in building the brand image but can’t be made the only parameter to test the value and need for your innovation.

Shrey Goyal(@shreygoyal) says rather tweets:
(http://twitter.com/shreygoyal/status/12996763962)





Semil Shah further elaborates, “It’s much more effective to quickly introduce biz concept, impact. Let pedigree trickle out, don't spill it out” (http://twitter.com/semilshah/status/12996574589). At this point of time, the coherence in his thoughts seemed to be in sync with me. Great businesses have always solved problems or given us an alternative to do certain tasks.

Another subtle thing which you might have noticed is how I have used twitter. I got the opportunity to interact with an expert like Semil Shah, just because of twitter. This is not the only use of twitter I have come across. Recently, one of my friends got his summer internship by following his current internship employer on twitter, replying to tweets, and having “@” conversations. This prompted the hirer to have a look at my friend’s LinkedIn profile and discuss his internship application and he got the confirmation call.
(BTW, I've changed my twitter handle take a note of this: my earlier was @ashishiitkgp4 which is changed to this (@ashishgourav) do follow me!)

In a nutshell, entrepreneurship should be nurtured from a very early stage of maturity, work on your business plan focusing on the product, its applications, revenue earning model, proper branding and use twitter effectively. Social networking sites have been blamed for privacy intrusions but we need to embrace this medium of communication as this is the need of the hour.


I’d like to leave you with an invigorating video of Cameron Herold, Successful business leader. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCar_sFfEf4)



(Image Source: http://www.leadingedgealliance.com/issues_old/2002/fall/branding/i/branding.jpg)

Joys of Bribery, Blogging and Racist outlook

“You cannot enter this room with this ticket” says the lady attendant outside an Indian Railways’ “Upper Class” AC waiting room.
“I know that madam…how much should I pay for 2 hours” I replied squeezing my eyes and widening my mouth.



"I want either less corruption or more opportunity to participate in it"

This was how I bribed a woman for the first time in my life and after doing that I actually felt quite good and this was the first time I initiated the bribery. Bribery doesn’t mean splurging money on every paan-spitting lousy sarkari babu (clerk/official/peon) but efficiently tipping off poorly paid government employees so that your work is not hampered. Bribing can be embarrassing but it’s a win-win situation for both the parties. I would like to mention that I'm not in favour of corruption, it's detrimental to the smooth and democratic function of the society...you can read my take on this from here (Cynicism of an Average Indian and the "Vicious Circle of Corruption")

This all happened during my recent visit to the southern city of Chennai during Good Friday and Easter Sunday Holidays. It was my maiden trip to South India.

I have been born and brought-up in eastern India and am likely to be prejudiced about other parts of India but I did notice something about the south Indians in particular. Indians in general are corrupt and unhygienic but south Indians are hygienic and north Indians corrupt.
I’ve earlier announced my voluntary retirement from blogging but I revoked my decision (after public gatherings, suicides and hunger strikes to resume blogging). There is a thing about blogging which gives you an alter ego. People like to call you by your blog name, they mock your blog, it’s always you and your blog, these things always motivate a blogger like me to keep on writing.

Recently, our college had its Gymkhana Elections for the highest student post, the Vice-President. I decided to sideline myself from all the hullaballoo of these elections but ignoring someone is not easier than being indifferent. Candidly speaking, I do not know what powers the VP of our institute possess and I don’t even intend to acquire the knowledge, I simply don’t care.

To quote one of my comments
“I know people who campaigned for one, supported the other and voted in the favour of the third; to top it all, they shook their hands with Celestine(VP, IIT KGP Students Gymkhana) after he won...true spirit of KGP :P”

Share your grief, excitement, disgust and whatever emotions you have about my return to blogosphere…

Channelise the Libido, Save the Youth!

I’m not talking about the obese, burger in hand, iPod earphones plugged-in to ears and low waist jeans clad teenager; they are not going to change the world anyway. History is evident that all the great revolutions have been a result of merciless suppression, discrimination and exploitation. If you don’t allow the release of steam from the pressure cooker, the pressure inside will go on increasing and it will explode.

Women have been discriminated mentally, physically and sexually for more than centuries and now we are feeling the gradual rise in women power though occasional cases of victims like Ruchika Girhotra attract a lot of mainstream media attention and spark national debates on molestation, human-trafficking, prostitution, domestic violence on women and workplace harassment.

If we do not start introspection and start doing something for the next generation such that they don’t face similar debates, we should be ready for explosions literally as well as figuratively.
Take a case of girl who is physically and sexually assaulted by a group of insurgents or terrorists for a week, without giving proper rest or food. Most of the girls don’t ever remain alive to experience any more cruelties of the world but the few who do survive are brainwashed and made anti-establishment. They go on to become more dangerous terrorists or insurgents than their male counterpart.

This is just an extreme case; most of the teenagers learn what they are asked to follow by parents and taught by teachers. Parenting is a very sensitive science and usually considered easier than conceiving a child but we all know it is not true. This doesn’t have immediate reflections on the society.
However, when people who have mass following and are responsible citizens misuse their power and faith common people have in them, they can only ruin a child’s career which becomes detrimental for the society.

Below is a video of a 13 year old Hindu girl addressing a VHP's rally, Spitting out venom against Muslims while targeting Pakistan.



Obviously, this can’t be the words of a 13 year old but is portraying as an ideal example of a mislead youth. Once a person attains puberty, the forces known as libido influences our mental state and we act accordingly. If the libido doesn’t find a useful means to flow from the body it engages itself, it short-circuits and the person mindlessly involves himself or herself in destructive fantasies.
Similarly, if the teenager grows in an environment of compassion, motivation and empathy he/she becomes the next Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa or Sergey Brin. The girl in the video just below is a live example.




As Sunitha Krishnan, who fights against human trafficking says

“…And thereon every child I met, who has been violated and abused I made sure the child understood that he/she is the one who is wronged and being a victim is not something one should be ashamed of. As the anger, pain, outrage and unbearable sense of betrayal poured out, the child was cleared of a burden of a lifetime. Through unconditional love, empathy and acceptance the child was able to see the beautiful person within. As we took the journey together the child was able to slowly regain dignity and a spirit to conquer all odds.”


Sunitha Krishnan didn’t succumb to the seclusion by society, she kept on stewing her anger and when she was brimming with confidence and motivation, wanted to do something meaningful for the girls like her and she did channelise all her energy towards Prajwala.

We need more girls like Sunitha who could fight for their innocent sisters like Ruchika Girhotra.

The world we live in is not hell, good people do exist and they do understand their responsibility and the faith we have in them. Our culture, upbringing and environment we grow all reflect in our personality throughout our life. The perception of your right eye is different than your left eye.



I wish the youth of today who would be responsible citizens of tomorrow realise this very soon and save this world from mass destruction, if the world is going to end in December, 2012 it might me due to improper channelisation and insensible perception of the leaders of the world, but I do not believe in this theory at all.

"Individuals make the families; families constitute the societies; and societies together form the nations, an ensemble of which is seen as the world." [Source]

Humans are known to adapt to every adversity and I know the youth will eradicate all the evils including the "vicious circle of corruption" and bring the changes in the social scenario envisioned by our forefathers and world would remain continuous.

Facebook Flirting

As Orkut Büyükkökten cries over the gradually decreasing popularity of Orkut, the smart users betraying Orkut and desperate attempts by Orkut of emulating facebook, online flirting moves on to facebook.

“Orkut is History…here is the link to my new facebook profile”.

I still remember the day when I started using Orkut and as I created my profile the first thing which I did was search all my crushes on Orkut, but I guess they were enjoying their life. (The more interesting your life becomes, the less time you spend on internet... and vice versa).
It just took two weeks of online activity to realize that beautiful, cute, sweet and hot girls do exist outside TV and Movies and they are real too! And may be accessible ;)

The hunt began…2007 2008 2009 and it is 2010 and the result, I’m still single, next step I have created facebook profile. I have a crush on Google but I’m betraying her as she didn’t get me a single girlfriend.
So far even facebook seems to have no solutions to my problems. I guess the problem is within me. Just have a look at the conversation below:



The girl uses a facebook application to find her next kisser. After getting the result she exclaims that the guy doesn’t even know how to kiss!
The guy having mini-orgasms starts flirting; the friends are having fun over this. The girl asks the boy to learn kissing!

God! Why it doesn’t happen to me? Why? Why?

If this was not enough, now facebook walls are flooded with photos of pretty girls and constant wooing by despos like me who “like” their photo and give inane comments like “sweet pic”, “nice pic”, “looking awesome”…

This time of the year it is more difficult for us-the IIT KGP fellas with Spring fest and Kshitij giving us various types of complexes. It is very difficult to even come out of your room as the campus is full of hot and pretty chicks who are of course not approachable.
This situation is nicely summed up by

“…Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink…”

Taken from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and also pointed out by Shrey Goyal.

The lesson which I learnt from last two spring seasons is that the best thing to do in fest season is to sleep in your room and be away from that urge to approach a girl and fail in the process. Gosh! We hate failures…the IITians!
Perhaps, this is the only field we are losers.

The level of frustration can be gauged by a simple example; this is the institute which was involved with DPS R K Puram in that infamous MMS Scandal.

Now that Café Coffee Day has finally started its outlet at KGP, the jealousy will decrease as the pairs will get some space which would be avoided by poor singles who are neither blessed with fortune nor girls.

However, this adds to the things which I would miss in my college days, the list is:

1. No Girlfriend.
2. Not went for any date, I’m talking about a real date and not this.
3. Never went to café Coffee day with any girl.

"To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing" ; we live in a constant hope with full enthusiasm waiting for that single girl who will stop us from watching 300 movies a year, 10 seasons of friends 10 times and even more, looking “for girls” in facebook and writing blog posts like these!

Yearnings of Yore- Life Goes on!

This article was originally published in
"Yearnings of Yore"(Volume-VII) given as a souvenir to the alumni present on the occasion of "Seventh Annual Alumni Meet", January 8-10, 2010.


Life Goes on!

It was a day that changed your life once and forever, from just a mere mortal oblivious about this world to a community for which people used to spend half a decade to be in. It was the day your forefathers would attain salvation after getting the big news.



However, you were calm and sleeping in your not-so-cozy but homely bed when your mother wakes you up. You brushed your teeth as you were a mother’s child and had to abide by her morning rules. Wow! You are selected at IIT KGP.

Congrats now you are a KGPian!

The news of your selection spread like wildfire, soon phone calls started coming in if you happen to be selected after the telecom-revolution.

This is the celebrity phase of life every IITian never forgets throughout his/her life.

Life gives you choices and sometimes plays with your fate and gives you surprises. IIT welcomes you with surprises, few bad ones and pleasant ones too. You transform from a teenager to a young adult. It is “Goosebumps-giving” to say that the change IIT did to you still reflects in your personality and you have never changed that much over a span of 4 years other than in KGP. When you put your footsteps here you might be with your dad or mom but in the subsequent 4 years you start doing things on your own. Your first all-alone journey back to home, your first visit to the stationary shop for purchasing stuffs that was previously bought by your parents or elder brothers and sisters, gradual loss of interest in studies, involvement in hall activities and orientation program, etc. all carve out a change in you successively, obviously not in the above order . Here I’m tempted to quote a cliché
“Your hall is your identity. Your hall is bigger than your year, bigger than your department, bigger than your CG, bigger than YOU.”

This is learnt by you and you are made to learn things which leave transcendental changes in you. Hall seniors and the stationary shop owner of your hall are the people you have to be subservient to for obvious benefits!

Within 6 months, you have loads of activities to do and you get a hang of the less happening life outside KGP campus. Cheddis, Tikka and other eateries give you relief from the mess food and excuse to do “Bhaat”!

“Bhaat” is really an activity which forms an indispensible part of every KGPian throughout his stay here, be it the personal problem, IIT issue or national and international issues, a KGPian has a point of view on every topic under the sun what he refers to as his “funda” or “fundae”.

Every KGPian subconsciously believes that he/she gets paid not for his/her technical expertise rather the “fundae” giving capability he/she inherits from his/her seniors. The explicit mention of photocopying centers deserves a mention as it is the prime reason for making you an IIT graduate. People say getting in to IIT is tough, try getting out! (another cliché). Academics take a backseat in most of the KGPians’ priority list. Life goes on, you graduate and after 5 years or 10 years or whatever may in your case, you feel like returning once again to this mother of all the IITs. The students of KGP also wish to welcome their seniors again and relive the moments again. Being an alumnus of IIT KGP you might get nostalgic but the feeling of nostalgia is also quite serene and surreal.

PS: This was the first time I got bylines for any article and I was very happy to see my name in print for any article for the first time!