Engaging Content is the Gateway to Success

Did you know, an average individual spends 24 hours in a week online? And what does one browse on the Internet? Yes, you are right! It’s the Content! It is this very fact which the Digital Marketers are harnessing upon, thus devising their Content Strategy to market their products.

The question now arises, “Is any Content enough to dig a gold mine?” The answer is a big No. Not every blog that you read or every video that you watch on the web goes viral.

Research suggests that an average span of human attention is 8 seconds ONLY. So, amidst the plethora of blogs and videos that pile up on one’s online feed, your Content needs to be engaging enough to stand out and keep the audience hooked.

What are the traits of Engaging Content?

·       Easy to understand.

·       Offers value to the audience.

·       Solves the problems of the audience.

·       Emotionally connects with the audience.

Just to cite an example, last year, when actor Rahul Bose tweeted about being charged ₹442 for just two bananas at a plush restaurant, Amazon Prime Video responded with a witty tweet, thus marketing their product.

Example of Engaging Content                                   Image Source: www.twitter.com

Now that you have understood what Engaging Content is, let us now see why this Engaging Content is pivotal to Marketing Success of your business.

 

1.    Gives your brand it’s Recognition.

Engaging Content: Brand Recognition                                           Image Source: www.pexels.com

The online world is a crowded place, and in real terms, the fittest survive here. If the brand doesn’t have appealing Content for its target audience, then in no time, the brand will be lost in the oblivion. Many who understand this rule, harp on Engaging Content to create awareness for their business.

WhiteHat Jr, a Coding learning Platform is one example which in no time has become a household name in India, thanks to its Engaging Content across all platforms.  

2.    Drives Traffic to your Website.

Engaging Content: Driving Traffic to Website                               Image Source: www.pexels.com

Now that people know your brand, they should visit your website, which in turn would make them buy your products and services, thus adding to your Sales and Revenue. Engaging Content in the form of blog posts, social media feed or videos for that matter with a prominently visible ‘Call to Action’ or ‘CTA’ as they call it in the Marketing space can come to your rescue when it comes to driving traffic to your website.

How do you think the e-commerce giants like Amazon or Flipkart lure its customers into spending more?

3.    Personal Connect with your Customers.

Engaging Content: Customer Connect                                            Image Source: www.pexels.com

Study reveals that 89% of Indian Consumers prefer to shop online. Understanding the pulse of the market, Brands these days are active on Social Media which is a part of Content Marketing wherein they give their clients a medium to voice their concerns and feedback.

Have you ever visited a website wherein a chat box pops up at the right corner? It allows clients to speak to a company's representative directly.

These measures give a sense of a personal touch as the customer feels empowered.

4.    Enhance your SEO Ranking

Engaging Content: SEO                                                                     Image Source: www.pexels.com 

Engaging Content is more likely to be shared on the Internet, which makes it and in turn, your Brand visible to search engines like Google and Bing. Thus, enhancing your SEO Rankings.

 

Bill Gates once said, “Content is King,” in the contemporary times though, it’s not just Content but an Engaging Content that rules!  

 

 

 

Did you learn anything new in this lock-down?

It was mid-March when India started facing the heat of the COVID-19. As days passed, Corona positive cases kept increasing, and ultimately there came a day when our honourable Prime Minister had to announce a Nationwide Lockdown. With no sign of respite, the lock-down kept on extending, and today, it’s almost two months that most of us are confined to our homes.

When the initial few days were confusing, as people never had this much free time at their disposal. But, as time passed, they learnt to attune themselves with the new normal. Thus, were born Lock-down Chefs, Artists, Writers, YouTubers, Singers, Musicians and what not. If this lock-down had anything in affirmative, then it was the fact that people could find time to reinvent themselves.

When I was writing on and off on my social media handles, during this lock-down, I decided to deep dive in this art and attended an online Content Writing workshop for 6 days.

Here’s an overview of my learning.

Image Source: pexels.com

1.    What is Content Writing?

In very brief, Content writing is a process of writing articles which are informative or     entertaining or both.

Your Content should add knowledge and value to your readers.

2.    Types of Content Writing

·       Corporate Writing:       E.g., Writing content for a corporate Website.

·       Article Writing:             E.g., Blogging.

·       Sales Writing:              E.g., Writing Newsletters, Brochures, etc.           

·       Copy-writing:               E.g., Social Media Ads, Landing Pages, etc.

3.    Styles of Writing

·       Expository:      Wherein you write to explain.

·       Narrative:        Wherein you write to narrate.           

·       Descriptive:     Wherein you write to describe.

·       Persuasive:     Wherein you write to convince.         

4.    Process of Content Creation

Now that you are introduced to Content, let’s see how Content is created.

·       Research:     

     To write on any given topic, you need to be well versed with the subject. This is the step where you gain this knowledge.

·       Write:               

     It’s time to bring your knowledge on paper.

·       Proofread:       

     Read your own Content, look for errors. There will be many.

·       Edit:                 

     Edit your Content. This is a crucial step.

·       Design:            

      A plain write-up looks dull and doesn’t catch a reader’s attention. Format it, design the layout as per the topic.

·       Distribute:        

     Give yourself a shout-out. Distribute your Content to readers.

I hope this must have excited your curiosity.

If you want to learn more on this topic, you can read from the plethora of books available on this topic or you may even join the online Content Writing Workshops conducted by Content Vidhya.

So, what are you waiting for?

And yes, do share with me what all new things you learnt in this lock-down.

 

The Lost World - Life without Phones and Internet

“Hello, can you hear me?” Basu Da seemed to be shouting on the other end of the call.

“Yes, Dada, I can hear you loud and clear. How are you?” I asked.

Once he realized that he could be heard, he was relieved and started speaking in reasonable decibels.

“The year 2020 is taking the hell out of us. Being in the Red Zone of Corona, most of Bengal was already in Lock-down and now this Cyclone Amphan. There is havoc all around.”

“The trees are uprooted. There is water logging everywhere. Power was down for almost two days. Phone lines and internet services were dead. Things have just started to come to life. But nothing is normal.”

He continued talking for some more time, speaking his heart out. When I could empathize with him, his tragic experience kept resonating in my mind, “Phone lines and internet services were dead.”

When we are so accustomed; no, we are so dependent on these services,

What if Phones and the Internet Die tomorrow?

Image Source: pexels.com

1.    The Postman and the Pigeon

Do you remember, we were taught Letter Writing in schools?

But, when was the last time, did you send a letter to somebody?

With phones and internet not around, letters will be back in the business and so will be the two great messengers of the bygone era.

And with no Facebook or WhatsApp, we may revamp the concept of making Penfriends. 

We shall once again long for the appearance of the Khaki clad Postman singing the iconic Rajesh Khanna song, “Daakiya Daak Laaya…”

 

2.    Manual Mode, ON!

Thomas Friedman, in his book The World is Flat, argues that thanks to the internet and the telephones, geographical distance is no more a barrier between people, thus making the world flat. With no phones and the internet, all of us will be geographically far away. This will affect our lives severely; both personally and professionally.

With no internet connectivity, the prefix ‘e’ will be wiped out from our dictionaries.

Which means,

·       No e-Shopping:          

No Flipkart or Amazon! No Festive Sales. No doorstep delivery.

·       No e-Ticketing:          

No IRCTC! Waiting in long queues for buying that one ticket.

 

·       No e-Banking:            

No Net Banking or UPI will make our nearest Bank, our social gathering place.    

 

·       No e-Learnings:         

No online Webinars. Virtual Schools will find a place in History Textbooks.

And by the way, there will be neither Google nor Netflix – can you imagine, how lame the mankind will be then?

Alexa and Siri will be just two girls but with human intelligence.

With No Internet of Things, things will be on Manual mode again.

Image Source:pexels.com

3.    More Tree Cuts

Remember this e-mail signature?

When we are so concerned about the Environment that we think twice before we give that Print Command.

But, with no e-mails, all letters will have to be printed before those are posted.

They say, today, one tree is cut every hour. With everything becoming manual, we will end up consuming more papers and ultimately cutting more trees.

Usually, there is a notion that technology hampers nature, but with the death of phones and internet, Environment will be at a loss.

 

Personal Loss, Professional Loss, Environmental Loss… 

Won’t it be a lost world then?

More such thoughts kept lingering in my mind till my cell-phone beeped and my reverie was broken.

But you know what? When I think from another perspective, my mind tells me that if Phones and Internet Die tomorrow, things won’t be that bad either. Because man is an enterprising animal, he would invent a mode of communication and connection which would be faster and better than any phone or internet speed for that matter. 

What’s your take on this? Do let me know.

ते पुन्हा आले...

It's a Saturday morning, and you are having your morning tea.
The newspaper is lying on the table; untouched, but you are not interested to even peep into it - कारण रोज फक्त बैठकाच होतात, निकाल कही लागत नाही...

So, you switch on the idiot-box, and while changing channels, you coincidentally tune into a Marathi News show (yes, in this TRP Hungry era, News broadcast is also a kind of a show...)

”सरकारबांधणी अजून कगदावरंच... पण मुख्यमंत्री मात्र, एक मुंबईकरंच होणार, हे निश्चित!” the news anchor reads. You are not bothered, you wish that they should come to a decision soon. After all, it's almost a month that the results of the election are out and no government is formed yet. And it's a bad sign for the जानता to know that the administration is running without a CM.

But then, you tell yourself, “मित्रा, तू कशाला टेन्शन घेतोस, ती powerबाज लोकं बघतील काय करायचं ते... तू तुझं बघ आधी...” and you go to your favourite morning destination, after all, चाय पीने से pressure बनता है, भाई!

After enjoying your time in the washroom, you see that the same news show is still on but, there is one significant change in the Breaking News which was flashed a few minutes back and that which is shot right now.

All equations had changed...

बघतो तर काय,
ते पुन्हा आले...

तरीच पु.ल. म्हणून गेले होते,
“खरा नागपूरकर हा नागपूरला राहत नाही...”

असो,
पण politics काय असतं
आणि, ५६ सीट व ५६ इंची छातीत काय फ़रक असतो,
हे आज समजलं...

P.S. When I am entirely apolitical,
जे सुचले, ते लिहिले...

With only one hope that this alliance of completely different ideologies should last for the complete 5-year term.

JAI HIND!
JAI MAHARASHTRA!

What's in a Name?

I had once said that whenever any business becomes popular, other small companies try to harness its brand power by using the same brand name. WhatsApp Ladies Tailor seen in my vicinity was one such example.

The same logic is being applied in the case of our cities as well. Especially when you are in Mumbai, places like Parel and Lower Parel or Worli and Upper Worli for that matter have become common household names.

The latest obsession among the cities is Thane!

I vividly remember the days when the city of Thane meant going till the Teen Haath Naka and coming back but that’s almost two decades ago. Today’s Ghodbunder Road (or the G.B. Road as they call it) was a mere jungle then. (I wonder if no trees were cut down to carve a city out of Ghodbunder because I don’t recall any protests or agitations happening as they are now happening on account of Aarey! Maybe because Social Media was not popular then. But, that’s a different story for some other time)

Though Thane is not a part of the Mumbai district; being at a centre of Mumbai and since all the major cities like Borivali, Navi Mumbai and even the far fetched cities like Kalyan-Dombivli (villages-as the South Bombaywallah tend to call them) being nearby, everybody wants to live in Thane. But with the real estate prices going sky-high, it's not everybody’s cup of tea to buy a dream home in this city.

So to lure the common man, builders have come up with an idea of constructing houses in the outskirts of the city and calling them with some fancy names.

That's why you see Godrej calling some outer area of the city as Thane-Extension and Lodha calling the same as Upper Thane!

By the way, just while entering the Republic of Kalyan, you see The New BKC!

No, not the Bandra Kurla Complex, it's the BHIWANDI KALYAN CORRIDOR!

If Shakespeare would have lived to see this day, he would have definitely said,

“It’s all in the Name!”

The Art of Gossiping

You can't deny the fact that everybody loves gossiping.

Now, some may argue that females are more prone to this chattering.

If you feel that Men don't gossip; then it's the biggest myth!
The fact is, gossiping is never gender-biased. This starts from the very beginning of your life, be it in school or college, you tend to gossip. And this ’foreplay’ reaches its peak when you enter your workplace.

“सुना तुमने, राज और सिमरन के बीच कुछ चल रहा है...
दोनो रोज़ ऑफ़िस के बाद पानी-पूरी खाने जाते है...”

“इस काजल का नाम काजल नहीं बल्कि मक्खना होना चाहिए था... बॉस को मक्खन लगा-लगाकर प्रमोशन ले लेलिया...”

Such conversations are a part of the daily routine when you come to the office.

Once upon a time in one such office in India...

Yawning, you are trying to concentrate on your work when a colleague comes to you,

"Hey Dude, I heard something about you...”
(Now this is a very deadly statement to hear. When somebody tells you that he or she has heard 'something’ about you, your mind races towards hundred-odd things which could correspond to that something.)

"And what that something is?” Suspiciously you ask him, fearing what is kept for you in-store.

"I heard this... I heard that... and yes, I heard that as well!", he blushes, as if he has read the book on your life.

"And who the hell told you, all this nonsense?" you ask him a bit surprised.

"What’s his name? I don't remember.
Arnold Par...? I happened to have lunch with him today, but I don't know him", he confesses.

"Arnold Parkerson? From Sales and Services?" you ask, stressing on the name.

"I guess yes, Arnold Parkerson! Right! But I don't know him personally. Neither does he know me", he confesses again!

So the point here is, Arnold and your colleague don't know each other personally, but still, they tend to share gossip about you.

This anecdote proves that Men do gossip!

But while gossiping one should not forget the two basic rules -
1. Always gossip only in your closed circuit and not with any Tom, Dick and Harry.
2. Don't forget rule number 1.

These two rules were forgotten by Arnold while chattering in front of your colleague - a total stranger to him.

Because if you keep gossiping with anybody and everybody, then there will be some notorious elements in society who will make sure to make a gossip of you by writing about you in Media, Social Media and wherever possible!

An urgent call

(Though this is a work of creative fiction, then this may happen with anybody and everybody. Parental guidance is advised for reading this piece of shit)

You are visiting a tourist destination. The place is of historical importance and is a part of our national heritage.

They are playing an informative video singing the glory of the place when you receive a call.

No, it’s a call neither from your loved ones nor from your friend. But still, it’s that call which you can’t ignore.

When NATURE CALLS, no matter you are a kid or a full grown adult, no matter you are a मर्द or an औरत, you have no choice but to address it!

Though they are providing some really interesting information in the video, your heart is really not into it. Your mind is busy, devising the further action plan.

The moment the video gets over, you run helter-skelter (as if you are running for your life) in search of a washroom. The security guard in the premises is kind enough to guide you towards one of the makeshift toilets made at the other end.

Happily you break open the door which has GENTS written over it in black paint. But there seems to be some problem, you don’t go inside. In hurry, you then open the adjacent door. Horror strikes when you realise that both the toilets have only urinals and there is not a single pot available for potty!

In dismay, you run towards the same security guard. He pities at your condition but then he understands.

“Ladies में चले जाओ!” He suggests.

You look at him amazed as if asking him,

”Are you crazy?”

He gives you a look in response as if asking you,

“Do you have a choice?”

And you run again, this time towards another makeshift toilet which has “Ladies” written on it.

There, you see a lady waiting outside for her small kid to come out.

Desperate, you ask her -

(Next few lines are better expressed in Hindi so the language switch)

आप जो हर लड़की को, फिर उसकी उमर १६ हो या ३६, अपनी होने वाली Girlfriend की नज़र से देखते है, इस बार मजबूरी में कहते है,

“दीदी, वह बगल वाला toilet खाली है क्या, देखो ना दीदी”

She looks at you in disgust and shouts-

“भैय्या, यह ladies toilet हैं!”

“दीदी, मैं guard से permission लेक़र आया हूँ!” You respond, controlling all the pressure which has befallen you.

And those expressions on your face are enough for the lady to get convinced and just like the security guard, she too understands.

She nods and makes a way for you to enter your palace (heaven?) of the moment. You get inside quicker than the speed of wind and shut the door from behind... thud!

Next few moments which you experience; no words in any language can describe that feeling - eternal bliss!

Contented as you are done with the act, you look around, and then you shout the F word aloud!

What else can you do?

When you find out that there is no water in the toilet!

Being Virgo

Tuesday morning seems no worse than a Monday morning when you have had your Birthday celebration a night before.

The hangover still isn't over yet!

When you are a teetotaller and when you have lovely ladies at home who are no less than Master chefs and to add to it when your wife herself is a Home Baker, the hangover you suffer from is of Food, Desserts and Cakes!

Once in the office bus;
With sleepy eyes, as you try to concentrate on the morning newspaper, a fellow commuter asks you,

”Hey! Why are you still carrying an umbrella? It's a sunny day, boy!” (No, he doesn't address you as ’boy’ but having recently celebrated your 32nd Birthday, you wish he does! Because, दिल तो अभी बच्चा है, जी!)

You smile at him; not at all bothered to reply in detail.

But, then in your heart, you are already replying to him;

You tell him -

That you are a September born!

Being a September born, you are a Virgo!

Being a Virgo, you are overprotective about things!

Being overprotective, you don't take chances!

And since you don't take chances (not at least with weather), you are carrying an Umbrella!!!

And you know what?

In the late evening, as you return from the office,

It starts raining!

Artificial Intelligence, Indeed!

In an era obsessed with AI, virtual characters like Siri and Alexa are on the verge of becoming common household names.

Be it Google, Alexa or Siri, one thing which is common among all these Virtual Assistants is that they are supremely intelligent. They use your own data and demonstrate their intelligence in order to assist you.

On the night of October 1, as you prepare for your bed, Siri pops up on your phone.

Yawning, you ask her,

“Hey, Siri, What’s up?”

In a very caring tone, she suggests,

“My calendar shows that tomorrow is a government holiday. Please put your daily alarm off.”

You look at her in awe, then in dismay and then in anger and scream,

“बहन, Corporate Employees का दर्द तुम क्या जानो बहन!”

You will be admired and You will be missed, ALWAYS!

You reach home late from work. For a change, you are not active on Social Media and choose to sleep as soon as possible.

It is only when you wake up in the morning, you are shocked to know, what a loss that nation has suffered overnight.

Although you are not a keen follower of politics, neither are you a staunch supporter of any particular political party.

But still, you feel it like a personal loss.

In an era, when there were no takers for the concept of "Women Empowerment", when nobody thought of ”Beti Bachaao, Beti Padhaao”. Since then, you stood firm, portraying what an Indian Woman can do! You were not only an excellent orator but also a heavy hitter when it came to the action! You never forgot to empathize with the citizens of Motherland, whenever and from wherever they sought your help.

You will be admired, and you will be missed, Always!

ॐ शान्ति...

What is Life?

With wrinkled clothes and tousled hair, as you collapse on one of the ‘not so comfortable’ bus seats, it’s already dark.

The sun has set a few hours ago. You recall that it was still dark when you had left for work in the morning. You had a long tiring day.

“The sun also has lesser working hours than the corporate employees...” you curse the situation.

In this tiredness, too, the sleep deprives you. The dim lights inside the bus don’t let you read. The aimless scrolling on Facebook walls and checking unnecessary WhatsApp statuses of random people makes you feel bored.

Tiredness + Boredom - Sleep = Catch 22

It is when you decide to peep out of the window. And observe nature, that nature which is polluted because of the vehicular traffic.

“The bus is moving faster than usual...” Hardly did this thought strikes your mind when you come to know that the bus has come to a halt. The city traffic never betrays its commuters.

Outside the window, you see a small truck standing adjacent to your bus. It is like any other goods carrier truck, then what’s so novel about it?

But, still, it’s different for it carries discarded pipes, titles and other debris of remnants from a construction site and amidst this construction waste, you see men!

Men who are tan skinned, dusty haired and torn clothed.

Men who look just like you.

Like you, they too have had a tiring day.

But, there is one difference, one striking difference!

No, not that of the attire, attire is just a second skin, beneath which all humans look the same.

Then what’s the difference?

In the polluted air, amidst the honking horns of heavy traffic, on the bed of dust and dirt, all of them are sleeping, sleeping peacefully.

And you? With wrinkled clothes and tousled hair, sitting on one of the ‘not so comfortable’ bus seats, you realize,

“Life is what you make it...”


The Lunchbox

It's 6:33 am,
You have a bus to catch at 6.37 am, and the Bus Stop is 3 minutes drive from your place.
Yes, you are an Engineer, and it proves when you are quite habitual of doing things at the eleventh hour...

So, you are in the elevator with your better half (She is the one who will drop you on her Royal Enfield 'Jupiter'), and you have four floors to get down.
It is when the elevator has reached the third floor you realise that you have forgotten your lunchbox back home.
You ask (to be read as 'request') your wife to make the ride ready, and in the meantime, you decide to take the same elevator back home to collect the lunchbox...
When the doors of the elevator open on the fourth floor, you hear your neighbour shouting, "Son, your father has already gone downstairs with your lunchbox..."

It's 6.36 am by now...
You are absolutely in no position to catch the bus now. Thus, you call your friends who have already boarded the bus, requesting them to further ask the bus driver to wait for you.
Horror strikes when you realise that the elevator; instead of reaching the floor zero has reached level twelve! The doors of the elevator open to a school going girl who blocks the automatic doors of the elevator by standing between the two doors. And you are like "what the hell is happening!"
"Uncle (looking at your potted belly, that's what the kids call you these days), please wait for a moment, my Papa is coming."
You tell her that you are in a hurry, but your pleading goes on deaf ears. Girls, no matter how young or old are always tricky to handle! (No offence!). She lets the elevator go down only when her Papa enters the big box.

It's 6.37 and 30 seconds, and you remember the great cyclist Lance Armstrong who once said, "Every second counts..."

Meanwhile, outside your building, it's still a bit dark, and in this smoggy darkness, your wife who is waiting for you on her scooter sees a five feet tall figure running towards an auto rickshaw. She misjudges him to be you and starts chasing the auto rickshaw; your lunch box hung on the front hook of the scooter.

Thanks to your benevolent friends, your bus is standing idle at your bus stop, but you are nowhere near it. Feeling guilty, you ask them to let the bus leave.
Now, with the bus gone, you decide to take a lift from a friend who goes to the office in his car.

Your wife is back by now; damn upset with you (to be upset with you is her birthright! She is born with it).
She rides you to your friend's place; a distance of 2 to 3 km which she covers cursing you for your stupidity. You are all ears, but you don't dare to utter a single word. (You may call yourself a lion, but you very well know that you are a lion from the circus and you also very well know who the ringmaster of this circus is)
And as you reach your friend's place, you ask (to be read as 'plead') your wife to leave. You are worried that you may faint due to her curses...
And for the first time in your life, she agrees and takes the road back home at a top speed of 10 km per hour.

Husssshh... You feel that the drama is finally over...
But, hang on...
Where's the lunchbox?

It's still hanging on her scooter which is now parked outside your building...

‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’

Disciples of God are followers of the King today!

“There are long queues of people waiting outside a TV shop. All the box-shaped devices, big or small are displaying the same picture - A five feet five-inch-tall figure is manoeuvring the ball in all the directions of the field. As the young and old, with their eyes glued to the Television screens, watch in awe, the stage is set for yet another Tendulkar Century!”

Giving nightmares to the bowlers as he redefined batting, Tendulkar as a bowler too, was a treat to watch. He may get hit for runs, but then he would ensure to take wickets, he was every captain’s safe bet when it came to breaking the long partnerships of the opposition at the crucial stage of the game. After all, it's not an easy feat to take 200 wickets in International Cricket.

As Sachin remained the pillar of the National team, he along with his teammates, Ganguly, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman, collectively termed as the ‘Fab 5’ formed a team which taught us to win matches consistently not only in the subcontinent but also outside it and thus brought Team India to a formidable stature which it enjoys today.

Tendulkar: From a boy-wonder to Child Prodigy to the Little Master to God. His journey was awe-inspiring. His cricketing career, a 24-year long walk on the 22 yards was the entire childhood for the kids born in the early nineties. Thus, Tendulkar remains even today, in their hearts not as a mere cricketer but as an emotion. The mere mention of whose name gives them goosebumps.

When Tendulkar hung his boots in 2014, there was a strange vacuum in the hearts of the cricketing enthusiasts, those nineties kids who were all grownups now. This void, however, was soon filled by a Delhi boy who was once himself among those nineties kids who grew up watching the great Tendulkar bat. And thus the stage was set for Virat Kohli.

As his career progressed, he proved to be a more lethal weapon of the Indian squad, a deadly combination of Ganguly’s courage and Tendulkar’s discipline.

Being Virat is not easy though, when every day you are being watched closely and when you are always compared with the Master who is your admiration in cricket. But, Kohli did not let the outer world hamper his inner self and kept scoring runs, breaking records after records. Very soon he may go on to break Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries which at one stage seemed unfathomable.

As Kohli remains the cornerstone of India’s success, he with the likes of Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are taking the reins of the team further whose seeds were sown by the Fab 5.

Kohli: From a Star Player to Captain to the King, the journey is on at it’s going on a rapid pace.

As we approach 2020, there are no more long queues outside the TV Shops. Thanks to the Digital India movement, every hand now has got a big or a small device which can now store a plethora of apps and an unimaginable size of data. And at the end of any cricketing day when people browse through the cricket news, Kohli has already hit yet another century.

When they look at the ease with which Kohli scores runs, these people who were mere toddlers in the nineties, who in the cricketing arena call themselves as the disciples of God, they are followers of the King today.

Little Things...

Mornings in Mumbai, though not really cold but are dark. In this darkness, the street lights are consorting with the moon, which is yet to set, to spread the light.

There is enough traffic on the road to refer this time of the day as ‘peak hours’.

The watch on your wrist seems to be deceiving as it shows 6.30 am.

Just 6.30 am and yet another ‘busy’ day in the life of ‘Mumbaikars’ has already begun.

Amidst the plethora of auto rickshaws, school buses and milk vans as you hurriedly make your way towards your bus stop (that place, where you will meet your daily commuting agent, the company bus which will further take you to your workplace), you come across another bus stop where the kids are waiting along with either of their parents for the school buses.

It is here you overhear a voice,

“आई, आज bus आलीच नाही पहिजे...”

(“Mother, I wish, the bus should not come today”)

Unable to resist your smile, you look in the direction of the voice, the little boy must not be more than six-seven years of age. This reminds you of the famous Marathi nursery rhyme, “सांग सांग भोलानाथ, पाउस पडेल काय?” (where the kids pray to the Lord Shiva, to tell them if it would rain so that they will get a holiday from school) But, it isn’t monsoon and the sky shows no signs of rains so the school kid can only pray that the bus shouldn’t come.

Somewhere in your mind you pray to the God that the little boy’s wish should come true.

Somewhere in your mind, the song, “सांग भोलानाथ, पाऊस पडेल काय?” keeps playing and you realise that you have reached your bus stop.

“Hi, Good Morning... what’s up?” One of your colleagues who has already reached the bus stop greets you.

“You know what?

“आज bus आलीच नाही पहिजे...”

You reply spontaneously.

God’s Grimace

Disclaimer: This article is not against any God or Religion but is against Human behaviour. Any resemblance with a particular God, Religion or Place of worship is purely coincidental.

It’s a Sunday Morning. You wake up early and decide to pay homage to your favourite God (Yes, in a country where there are so many Gods and Goddesses you do to have your favourite one, don’t you?)
You board the train which is jam-packed (Alas! Sunday isn’t a holiday for local trains) and travel for almost an hour.
You reach the place of worship to find an incessant queue of devotees. Soon you too become one of them.
You are piously waiting in the queue with your hands joined and eyes closed when a sound falls on your ears “एक आदमी का पचास रूपया”...
You don’t need an interpreter to tell you that they want you to pay money so that you can pay respect to your Lord.
A righteous self tells you to withdraw and join that queue where they aren’t charging. But it’s too late, you have already reached the cash counter, and you end up paying.
It takes a few more ‘crowded’ minutes before you enter the main hall of the Lord. But where is He? You can’t find Him. Many heads are creating a hindrance between you and Him.
Finally, your Eyes meet His. Hardly had you started praying when you find His eyes grim. Confused, you stare at Him, and the Lord begins to talk to you...
“Welcome son. Good to see you here. So, paid 50 bucks to see me?”
Ashamed, you lower your eyes. You don’t respond.
“It was I who created you, gave you an ability to think, and out of this thinking you could invent the concept called ‘Trade’.” The Lord continued.
You are confused but are eagerly listening.
“And today you have put me, your own creator on Sale.”
You have no words. You are still listening, gaze lowered even more now.
“I am omnipresent. But still you come here, pay money to see me, and then you offer me a plethora of things. Do you really think that this barter is going to work? I can see everything, good, bad and ugly, and your future is a consequence of your deeds in the past and the present. That is your Karma. Your money and other offerings simply don’t please me.”
You feel like apologizing, but before you could utter a word, a human voice hits your ears,
“यह कब से यहाँ खड़ा है, निकालो इसे बाहर”, one security personnel instructed another.

There resides a Super Hero in You

You board the train to travel to your native town for the festival of Diwali.

The train is running full house. You can see people waiting for the Ticket Checker with their 'Waiting' Tickets.

With a confirmed ticket in your wallet, you consider yourself lucky.

No sooner did you complete the ticket checking formalities and hit your berth for a good night sleep than you catch a glimpse of a kid.

He must be 3 years old and is notorious. He is sharing the berth with his mother.

Making you nostalgic, He reminds you of those days when you too were of his age and used to share the berth with your mother.

As a kid you never slept alone on the berth. You always feared that you will fall down.

Years went by and you grew up. From school to college and from college to office things happened.

At times you succeeded and at times you failed.

But somewhere at the back of your mind the fear still persists- the fear that you will fall down in Life.

You are lost in this reverie when the kid approaches you and startles you with his innocent question,

"Uncle, are you छोटा भीम?"

You don't know how to respond. You simply smile.

No matter how kiddish a questiom, your thoughts gather and revolt,

If a kid can fantasize the super hero in you why can't you identify him. Why do you live in a constant fear?

They say, Kids are Avatars of God Himself. Unknowingly this kid too, alike God enlightens your mind.

There resides a Super Hero in each one of you. Finding him and using his powers to its fullest is the need of the day.

This Diwali, let's unleash the Super Hero within. Come let's give up the fear and pave the way for courage.

Here's wishing you a Happy and a determined Diwali...

Let there be Light...

Being Winner...

This is an era of competition. No sooner a child is born than he finds himself competing with fellow children of his generation in every walk of life.

As parents become managers of this competition, it starts with enrolling the kids in a good school. When parents of children of our generation had an option of a Vernacular medium or an English Medium school, parents today choose a school from a wide variety of options starting from a State Board school to an International board school. Not to mention this selection of school largely depends upon the financial well being of the parents.

And as they start their schooling, parents starts conversating with their kids in English, it really doesn't matter to them about how adept they themselves are with this foreign languague. Good, bad or ugly, they talk to their kids in English only believing that more and more practice will make their kids well versed in English.

Well it doesn't stop here as going to a good school and talking in English are just the basic necessities. Parents want their kids to be all rounders. Being so, children are burdened up with additional load of a plethora of coaching from cricket to swimming, from painting to Karate and what not. When an all round development of kids is a need of the day, a closer look reveals that this desire for all round development comes from a mob mentality. "Since Mr. Sharma's son is a swimmer, I feel my son should be a swimmer too... Since Mrs. Gupta enrolled her daughter for a Karate training, I too followed the suit." Comparison begins.

With comparison there begins a race. And parents, they want their kid to be a winner, an absolute winner. Everyone wants to be a no.1 as a no.2 is actually good for nothing.

And when you are running a race, you either win or you lose. When winning gives you confidence, losing gives you complex. When complex shatters the self confidence, too much of winning gives rise to over confidence which ultimately makes way for Arrogance.

Coming to the scene...

As you happen to play with these kids from an age group of 5 to 12, you find this girl who is most probably the eldest of the lot. You approach her enquiring few details about her, she replies in a tone which is nothing but rude. You don't bother thinking She is just a kid. You move on enquiring about other kids and there too the eldest one pokes her nose, her rudeness crossing all her limits. Offended you go away from the scene.

As you seek information about this rude kid, you come to know that she happens to be an all round winner in whatever She does at Her school. But does her behaviour really reflect those qualities?

Dear Parents, please understand winning doesn't always come from being a numero uno. If you really want to make your kids winners then,

Teach them their mother toungue, English will be taken care by schools. Still you want them to excel in English, give them books thus cultivating in them a hobby of reading.

Teach them values and culture which are Indian.

Teach them how to respect their elders.

Teach them a lesson of equality.

Teach them benevolence.

Teach them that it's not always about winning and failures too are important in order to grow.

Teach them comparison not with others but with their own self.

Most importantly, teach them humanity and a winner will itself emerge out from this human.

#Dedicated to all Parents.

The Irani Heritage

The food culture of Mumbai is changing. With Indian and International Restaurant chains fast growing, you see a plethora of them in and around the city. But amidst these newbies, resisting this change, the remnants from city's old Culture still stand tall.

And when you talk about the popular hangouts from the bygone era, you simply can't miss the Irani Restaurants.

Kyani and Co. is one such restaurant near Marine Lines which represents the Restaurants of yesteryears.

As you enter the restaurant, you find a septagenerian handling the counter. When he says, "Paanch-Dus minute rukna padega"(You will have to wait for five-ten minutes), a sense of satisfaction is clearly visible in his eyes. A satisfaction that even after being into business for maybe more than hundred years, they are still running full houses.

As you happen to wait for a table to get vacated, you start observing the surroundings. Everything around you seems to be from your History textbook. Be it the wooden tables and chairs or the old Grandpa Clock hanging on the wall (although from lost time, still shows today's time) take you back in time. The antique telephone with round dial on the counter reminds you of Graham Bell.
Forget about the airconditioners, the fans too are not like what you see today.
The old hand painted advertisements of their "No.1" products reveal the efforts that needed to be put in those days when "Ctrl C + Ctrl V" was an alien phenomenon. But the presence of a Lady on these hoardings clarify that alike today olden days marketing too was predomintantly influenced by the Female Power.
Behind the counter, there is a handwritten parchment stuck on a wall which says, "Credit Cards are not accepted". This very line brings your time machine back to today's era as you realize that your wallet is full of plastic cards but you hardly carry any cash.

It is when you are summoned by a waiter, your table is ready. As you search for the menu card, you happen to look at your table and you are surprised to find a menu card under a glass sheet. Looking at over hundered variants of Irani and Parsee cusines, you are now totally confused. You finally settle down for maximum variety of delicacies each of which comes with 'Pav' as complementry. It is not that you like the taste of all the varints but your tastebuds that are accustomed of usually eating Paneer Butter Masala or Veg Kolhapuri or for that matter a burger or a pizza whenever you go out eating get a sense of newness. Gradually you start developing this taste and before you could even realize, you have devoured four odd Pavs. As your plates get empty, the waiter approaches thinking you may ask for a bill, but he doesn't know your capacity and thus eyes you suspiciously when you say, "One Brun Maska, one Irani Chai and two Faloodas".

As you eat, eat and finally reach the climax of this food saga, you find a cold drink being served which you had seen when you were a school kid or a mere toddler, well how often do you find a Dukes being served in the era of Red Bull and Mountain Dew? But as you are already full, now you want to stop and ask for the bill. You have eaten like a monster and now you are asked to pay a meagre 330/- Rupees. You are contented. Since it is far well within your budget, you happen to check out their Bakery. Biscuits, Kharis, Nankatais, Cakes, Pasteries they have them all. You end up buying a few of them home.

One last survey tells you that even if everything here belongs to Bombay but the machinery used for cooking is from Mumbai. The fact that the place is listed on Zomato is a certificate that it's popular even today.

While you move out, you can't stop the photographer in you clicking every possible moment, every possible nuance.

God's own Shoulder

Amidst heavy rains and torturing traffic, manoeuvring their umbrellas as people try to find their way out, I can see this kid hardly a year old, oblivious to this downpour, sleeping peacefully on a strong shoulder under a big umbrella.

Sanguine he is as he knows that come what may this shoulder will never let him fall.

Confident he is as he knows that this strong shoulder will carry him in every thick and thin.

Optimistic he is as he knows that this shoulder belongs to the God Himself, His God whom he Calls “Papa”…

When God could not reach to each one of us, He created His Avatar whom we call "Father"...

You don't belong here

Walking through the plush malls of South Mumbai,

You come across Brands which are not much heard of in your middle class Life.

You come across Foreigners who try to find their home here.

You come across Girls from your own Country wearing bare minimum clothes trying to imitate those Foreigner Ladies.

You come across those Guys whom they call as 'Gays'.

You come across Restaurants which are not really 'Desi'.

You come across every thing that is High Class...

This city is changing, country is changing, this very change is bridging the gap between भारत and 'Indiyeah'.

But some where as the masses try to fall prey to this Westernisation, a voice resonates in your heart,

"You don't belong here..."

"You don't belong here..."

"You don't belong here..."