I love taking up interesting projects and this is one of them. ‘Search’ is an online short story series. I will come up with single page chapters that are full of twists and turns every week. I present to you Search #1. Hope you enjoy this and wait for the second.
Excerpt from Part-1
Last day, I was listening to Mr. Kunal Shah, founder of Freecharge, when this thought suddenly struck my mind. Is the war for smartphone space so limited? Is it just about Uber vs. Ola, Flipkart vs. Snapdeal vs. Amazon, Freecharge vs. PayTm, BigBasket vs. PepperTap, or similar other e-commerce apps fighting to get each other’s space on a smartphone? The war for space is not limited to similar apps. Technically, every other app on google play store or every other app installed in your smartphone is in direct competition to all the other apps- similar or dissimilar. While Snapdeal is battling with Flipkart on prices, it is technically fighting with every single app on the smartphone, be it Bookmyshow or Zomato or PayTm or even Ola. Space is limited!
Well, the video answers everything. Hear directly from the horse’s mouth.
min: 16:49 (Kunal Shah answers my question)
‘Apps are like bookmarks!’
-Kunal Shah
-Satyagni
I turn on my smartphone, swipe through various screens before I find photo-editing app surrounded by many apps; some of these content based, others payment based. I turn my eyes to the front camera, try to give the best pose possible and press the capture button. But, before I could check the pic, a warning message pops on the screen.
“System memory is low. Try cleaning some stuff. “
If I say this is the problem with every youngster’s cellphone, it may be an understatement. Even the other generation of smartphone users are now facing space issues. Selfies of high definition are taken frequent enough to ensure consuming majority of space. Easy-to-share whatsapp images add to the gallery space consumption. If you are a music lover, you keep a playlist, no matter how much WiFi access you get for free. And a gaming-buff may end up piling voluminous games in his cellphone.
Whatever is left is allotted to the precious apps that serve your purpose, be it saving time or money. Generally, the popular utility- apps are that of e-commerce found on every single individual’s smartphone, thanks to the world of cheap internet and a duniya of coupons! Check on any youth’s smartphone, icons will more or less be the same. Peeping into the smartest invention of the century, one may find e-tail store, taxi-hailing service, e-grocery store, e-recharge shop, booking services, and lots of payment based e-commerce apps (m-commerce). There is a fierce battle for existence among the similar apps, each trying to leverage upon the advantages it have. But is the battle so limited?
Last day, I was hearing to Mr. Kunal Shah, founder of Freecharge, when this thought suddenly struck my mind. Is the war for smartphone space so limited? Is it just about Uber vs. Ola, Flipkart vs. Snapdeal vs. Amazon, Freecharge vs. PayTm, BigBasket vs. PepperTap, or similar other e-commerce apps fighting to get each other’s space on a smartphone? The war for space is not limited to similar apps. Technically, every other app on google play store or every other app installed in your smartphone is in direct competition to all the other apps- similar or dissimilar. While Snapdeal is battling with Flipkart on prices, it is technically fighting with every single app on the smartphone, be it Bookmyshow or Zomato or PayTm or even Ola. Space is limited!
Space war is a cut-throat war. Either you screw others or you screw yourself!
-Satyagni
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Technology is changing. So is the medium of News.
Gone are the days when people used to wait for a copy of newspaper, BBC news broadcast on a radio set, or a prime time News show on DD National. There were times when working members fought over the only copy of newspaper in the morning; times when the male-female groups in the family spat over prime time shows and unluckily Ekta kapoor shows won over news. Gone are those days!
Internet era brought with it the ultimate technological revolution that changed the way the news was served. The dish belonged to all and it served all. News was no longer about availability and time. Availability of news articles on the internet made sure you no longer have to depend on the newspapers. Then came the YouTube. It revolutionized the visuals in News industry and news channels had an alternative. Channels on the TV had now channels on YouTube. Watch all action anytime, anywhere. It was then that the News channels started digressing from presenting news to creating them! Competition changes the game.
But the game changer were the smart phones and the world of applications. Every news channel and major newspapers were forced to come up with their news apps and offer news totally free. Customer suddenly became the king! Nobody worried for the evening news because the news were at the fingertips. Daily news were now the instant news!! But with this started the information overload. Notifications pinged like watsapp messages. There was so much to consume for the reader that it lead many early birds deactivate their apps. Are these apps failing?
We have arrived to a new era. The era of processed news. This may be a new term to all the readers. Coining the term ‘Processed News’, it simply means bringing relevant simplified information for the user in the most presentable format so as to suffice the needs and interests of the consumer.
In this domain of Processed news lot of players have entered. These are mostly non-media entities i.e. no news channel or newspaper. The earliest one was DailyHunt or NewsHunt which leveraged on its regional language news delivering capability and association with prominent local newspapers and magazines. E-books and publications make it the strong player in the industry. It doesn’t directly process the content. It processes the publications as per the user preference.
News In shorts (or Inshorts) is proving to be a challenger to DailyHunt in English language news service with its processed news format of 60-70 words and links to the articles of prominent newspapers. One of the first to define Indian market for short news. It is presently changing the game in short news.
NewsBytes steps in as a problem solver sorting out relevant content, presenting with a proper context. The company filters out available news and provide relevant ones in a contextual timeline. one finds bullets and images, timelines and facts – a very attractive format. It provides short form of news and on further peeking, a timeline format. NewsBytes believe, “Every news has a story, we provide you that story.” It is a completely different form of News offering and an engaging one. NewsBytes is a relatively new player and is carving out a niche for itself through its offering.
Way2News is the latest entrant with features combining NewsHunt and Inshorts. It offers news in regional languages, that too in a nutshell. And it has the backing of Way2SMS.
The era for Processed News has just begun. Currently players are playing their way. It’s time to shift our attention to the new domains of the news. Can these players change the dimensions the way YouTube and Firsthand NewsApps did? or is the change ephimeral? Only Time will tell.
-Satyagni
My First Android App. Rakshabandhan Special. Chocolates & Gifts.
Gift your little sisters this app absolutely free.
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Download app: Gift your Sisters.apk
CHALLENGE: THE ASSIGNMENT WAS TO WRITE A STORY AROUND A BUSINESS THEME WITH THE HELP OF CARTOONS.
Prakash completed writing a letter to The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi. Not that he was writing him for the first time. But this one had nothing to do with any of his problems or about his admiration for the PM. This was something large, something very important. He read the entire letter again. Before placing it in the A4 size envelope, he glanced at the subject that read, ‘Make in Andherpur’.
***
Andherpur, a place unknown to most of the Indians, is the hometown of Prakash. The town was named so because of the very fact that electricity was a distant dream a decade back. Now Andherpur enjoys few hours of paid electricity some fine day. Prakash had attained some technical knowledge before returning to Andherpur where he worked at the tea stall. The city was expensive enough to meet the ends. In his hometown, serving a cup of tea at the Dhaba would do.
Tea-stalls were merely a place of gossip and talk for local tea-drinkers. Be it Bollywood or Cricket, Tea-stalls have their own set of experts. Political issues were touched for fun. It was with the beginning of ‘Chai Pe Charcha‘ campaign that these talks turned to serious political discussions. Nobody at the Tea- Stall knew that that would change the game for Narendra Modi. Neither had anybody thought that the same ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ would change Prakash’s life.
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to occasionally serve tea to the customers of his father’s tea-stall. His chaiwala background was mocked by Mani Shankar Aiyer, a senior leader of the Congress Party. Mr. Modi seized this opportunity and emphasized on his humble background by organizing a public discussion campaign called ‘Chai Pe Charcha’.
Prakash would listen to these discussions on radio intently. He would try to picturize himself in Modi’s position. He was amazed by the fact that an ordinary tea-selling boy could stand for the post of PM. He had decided his ballot choice by then. He had also decided that he would change his path. But he had no idea how.
If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.
-Milton Berle
One day while Prakash was listening to a piece of news featuring Modi on a radio hung near a khatiya, the tea-stall owner switched it off. He then turned to Prakash and asked him to focus on tea. He didn’t turn it on even at the request of customers.
“Ab apne Prakash ko bhi chaiwale se PM banna hai (Now even our Prakash wants to become a PM from a tea seller)”, he mocked.
But Prakash was silent. He was deeply engrossed in his thoughts. He noticed the customers bickering over the radio being turned off. They wanted to listen to Modi. These customers then started their own discussion on Modi’s chances as PM, while having a cup of chai in their hands.
Prakash started Chai Pe Charcha at his new tea-stall. A stove, kerosene, some milk, water, cups and saucers, and a place by bus station; his tea-stall was ready. It wasn’t so simple but he managed to borrow some money from his landlord. He bought a radio and hung it by his kiosk. He painted the front part of his kiosk black and used it to write NaMo’s campaign news. On the top of all news, he wrote Chai Pe Charcha.
With some capital and an idea, no one can stop a common man turn into a real businessman.
One day, a guy carried a newspaper with him to his tea-stall. Some regular ones started asking for news and the Charcha started. It went longer than the usual ones. There was a kiosk nearby selling newspapers. He saw people engaged in a similar discussion. The next day, he bought a local newspaper. The newspaper service was offered free to the visitors. The idea clicked. And Prakash’s tea-stall was a hit.
On one hand, while Modi was boiling up controversies and addressing rallies after rallies, Prakash kept on boiling water for tea. Prakash kept on trying things. He came up with a special NaMo tea (with extra cardamom and ginger), the strongest one available with Prakash. He attracted a lot of attention then. Several BJP workers came to his shop and offered him money to put BJP flag and a small poster of NaMo in his stall. He agreed. With that money, he bought several NaMo accessories from a nearby city. NaMo T-shirts, kites, keychains etc. left several guys from the regular discussion groups go crazy. Some pro-BJP supporters happily ordered for more as they found it a good way of promotion in Andherpur. He had added an extra kiosk by his side to sell those accessories. He brought in snacks to sell. Prakash was no more just a tea seller. He was a complete businessman.
He realized it sooner that he had opened up several new avenues of doing business for himself. He wanted to dedicate all his success to Mr. Modi. He thought of writing a letter. He knew his letter would go unnoticed. Probability of reading it was hardly any. He stilled posted it.
Modi used the catchphrase ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’, connecting the youth during a rally in Himachal Pradesh. This catchphrase was first used by the Late Captain Vikram Batra during the Kargil war. It is connected with the sentiments of people of Himachal Pradesh. Pepsi had also come up with its commercial in 1999 using the same catchphrase.
Prakash heard those lines and his heart spoke at once ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’. He had thought of expansion. Now he knew the plan. He contacted Pepsi for retailing. He had no idea about this business, but now he was confident of learning any business. He required an investment. A kiosk was not sufficient. He needed money for security deposits to Pepsi,a refrigerator and above all electricity. In electricity-deficient Andherpur, Pepsi’s presence was thus limited. In all shops across Andherpur, freezer was just a formality. Prakash came up with the idea of using charcoal-covered water pots. The temperature inside the pot used to be lower than the room temperature. Prakash’s conventional way worked. No need of electricity. He later bought a freezer from his previous employer in the city where he worked as a technician. But the electricity problem left him thinking.
He addressed his concern over electricity deficiency in his letter to NaMo. It was once again a futile effort.
NaMo said in one of his speeches,
‘Mind is never a problem. Mindset is.’
He pondered over the issue once again. Until then he had never given it a thought. Sleeping in the open was a routine. There was no reason to it so far. From that day onwards, he would stare at the sky for long before sleeping.
***
It was the day of election results. Prakash’s tea-stall was a special attraction. BJP workers had organized a TV screen in front of the tea-stall. Prakash had seized this opportunity and declared that he would offer a free chai for every seat BJP wins. Modi was seizing one seat after the other. For Prakash, it was no less than a dream. He had hundreds of customers at his kiosk, which was by then a converted shop. The radio was silent. The screen was on and so was the celebration. There were two chaiwalas seeing their dreams fulfilled that day. One was the talk of the entire nation, other the talk of the town.
The next day, a newspaper covered an article on chaiwalas of India. The article covered a tea shop owner couple who visited 16 countries because they had a passion for travelling. This couple took loans, visited a country and then sold tea for next three years to repay it. Passion for travelling kept them going. The article presented Laxman Rao, a Chaiwala who authored 24 books in Hindi. His passion for learning brought him to M.A. class at 62 years of age.
Prakash was doing well in his business. But inside his heart, he knew that the conditions in Andherpur were not suitable for business. If he ever wanted to become Dhirubhai Ambani, he had to leave the place. Andherpur was simply not a place for big business. He had his options open. He could move back to the city, but something was preventing him to do so. He wanted to live in his own town. Either he could wait for the government to come to his deprived town and solve the problems or else approach the authority himself. He chose the latter one.
Electricity was the solution to major problems in Andherpur. No amount of written applications to the local government could help the town. Andherpur was dark then, dark now. However, Prakash believed there was only one way out; the highest authority – PM.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had come up with a series of initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojna, Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojna, Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna, Swachha Bharat Abhiyaan, etc. in no time. Prakash actively participated in each of these causes.
But the project that intrigued him the most was Make in India campaign. He didn’t understand it at first. People thought that Make in India was meant for cities, not places like Andherpur. Why would a huge firm invest in Andherpur?
Make in India is an initiative program of the Government of India to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India. It is based on PM’s vision of making India a global manufacturing hub.
***
Solar Energy. The only source of light, the only available source of energy in Andherpur was solar energy, although in the form of sunlight. When firms like SBG Cleantech, SunEdison Inc, ReNew Power Ventures committed huge investment in Renewable energy in India, Prakash thought of the aspect of those investments in Andherpur. ‘What if these companies put up their plants here? Solar energy can be the new lifeline for this town.’ He knew it was time for another letter
There was no reply to any of his letters so far. There were high chances that one more letter might undergo the same treatment. He had to ensure that every word he writes in the letter counts. He had also to ensure that the letter didn’t go unnoticed.
Prakash changed his tea-selling strategy. Instead of glasses, he started selling tea in kullad. With each kullad, he was selling a dream- Make in Andherpur. He wrote about it outside his shop. Every tea-drinker was asked to carry that kullad to house. On the night of Amavasya (New moon), entire town glimmered with lamplights. The atmosphere was no less than that of Diwali.
Thousands of kullad were captured from a high spot in the town. Prakash had called a photographer from the nearby city.
The next day, he wrote a letter to PM.
Dear Shri Narendra Modi ji,
I write this letter to you for the nth time, each time with same conviction, same hope. But today I believe my letter will find you, because this letter is an invitation from thousands of townsmen of Andherpur. I know that you may not have heard of such a town. But then, how can you? There is no town as such. Or, is it? Every town that reflects the state my town is in, is Andherpur. The kullad sent to you represents lamp- a symbol of enlightenment .The photograph sent to you show thousands of these that lit life in the dark Andherpur.
I would like to compliment you for initiating ‘Make in India’ campaign. But the real place where anything needs to be made is Andherpur or places like it. Therefore, I would like you to convey our message to these investing companies, ‘Come, Make in Andherpur’.
I would have liked to tell you how big your admirer I am, but then I would have to attach those n letters with this one. May be some day when you find them, you will definitely know.
Truly,
Your admirer, Prakash
***
Prakash was in his shop making chai when a postman came up to him with a big envelope. On the envelope was written,’ Government of India’. Prakash opened it with his knife to find a letter neatly typed in Hindi. He read it. He read it again to his disbelief. It was a letter from the Prime Minister himself. The body of the letter read,
‘Chai ke liye kab aa rahe ho? (when are you coming for tea?)’
-Satyagni
CREDITS: SHUBHAM CHAUDHARY, ANSHIKA BANSAL, VASUNDHARA, POOJA GOYAL, GAURAV GUPTA, SATYA UDAY
Turn your eyes,
Or get ready to read it twice;
For the mystery is unsolved,
The malady has evolved,
And the love is lost;
But it will cost!
A Morsel to read,
Chaos to deal,
And footprints we leave-
Indelible it will!
the emperor of all maladies
The Emperor of all Maladies. #CoverPage
A morsel that will leave an indelible mark and chaos within you.
My first short story getting published in Indelible Chaos Morsels.
#IndelibleChaos
Trying my hand over picture-satire!
-satyagni
When people say, they don’t completely read my blogs, I wonder why. But then, I understand they are too long. People dislike reading a message longer than 140 characters. My poetries go beyond 140 words! These days, people are lazy enough to express their anger; “Who the hell are you?” ends up in “WTHRU”! The next generation should therefore be called “TNG”.
Simple reason to console myself.
If you require an entire word to chat, you have not yet seen the world of Internet slangs!
Imagine modern day Romeo texting his love –
“My bounty’s as boundless as d c,
My luv as deep; d more I gv to the,
d more I hv, fr both r ∞.”
(Read c=sea & the= thee)
and Shakespeare would have nearly lost his temper deciphering the slang!
LONG LIVE ENGLISH!
It is not uncommon to find “pics” on “fb” with captions that herald-
‘selfie wid mah bru’
(No full stops. Smileys eliminated from the original text.)
I would have hardly understood it if I weren’t that “fbholic”!
On August 28th, 2013, Oxford Dictionaries Online announced that they would be adding 43 new words, many of which were internet slang terms including “Bitcoin,” “Derp,” “Selfie,” “Twerk”, etc. Between Twitter and Facebook, the announcement was shared more than 750 times. OMG!!
There are plenty of internet slang words that don’t make it in, like “wurfing” (the act of surfing the internet while at work).
One of my friends changed her status on Watsapp, that read something like this-
YOLO mode is ON!
I could have googled it to save myself from any sort of embarrassment, but that was me! Instead I texted her and asked her to explain that. So was the reply-
YOLO= You Only Live Once.
It was so nice of me when I didn’t reply-
YOUI= You Only Understand It.
I have a friend who likes talking to strangers on some social networking site. The usual (conversation) starts with “ASL”. One fine day, this friend of mine came across one such slang, “BTWITIAILWY”. He texted me if I knew what it means. I was smart enough to check it on Google, but before this messiah could help, this friend ended up replying, “WTF. which language is this?” Before this, he knew just 2 slangs – “ASL” and “WTF”; he ended up adding another – “FO”.
(ASL= Age Sex Location. BTWITIAILWY= By The Way, I Think I Am In Love With You. I don’t need to help you out with the other two F-word slangs. Most of you are used to it or have used it!)
With the present Watsapp boom, a wife-cooking-in-the-kitchen might text his husband-sitting-on-the-sofa, HWYD (How Was Your Day)? Whatever the husband might reply, but it definitely seems she is little interested in knowing.
People have even added ‘F’ to OMG! OMGD, that’s ridiculous!
(OMGD= Oh My God Dude)
YDWTK (You Don’t Want to Know) what that F stands for.
If LOL & ROFL are not enough to describe your laughing state, use ROFLMOA.
(ROFLMOA= Rolling on floor laughing like monkey on acid !!) LOLZ.
A lot of people ask, what will happen to the original language? My answer-
IDK (I don’t know). GTG (Got to go). TTYL (Talk to you later). GB (Good Bye).
-Satyagni
Goodbyes are not forever;
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean we miss you
until we meet you again.
While we leave this,
To begin a new journey
Let us not forget Techo
Where we started our prime.
Our memories of yesterday will last,
But, a lifetime!
We were together through the rough
And we were together during the fun.
We stepped in as several,
But we will leave as one!
We remember the days and ponder-
what we would have been without ‘YOU’!
WE HAVE SPENT TOGETHER MANY SPECIAL DAYS
NOW THAT IT IS TIME TO PART
LET US TURN BACK ONCE AGAIN AND SAY “ADIEU”
FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEART !!
Goodbye.
-Satyagni
satyagni 