| When TV started becoming popular, it was transmitted via radio waves and the quality wasn’t great. Later came cable and satellite TV, offering better quality, more channels and even smart features like checking a channels scheduled programs. Now, it’s the turn for the next revolution:
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Education
What your Credit Score says about you….?
A commercial on TV shows a person waving his CIBIL Reports and the lenders flock to him to give him a loan; he is treated well, with a lot of respect and of course his loan is sanctioned. So what does the CIBIL Score actually say about a person’s financial profile that opens doors of banks for him; what all do those three digits tell?
Apart from lenders, employers when hiring people for higher management positions and looking for individuals to work in financial sectors can also ask for an applicant’s CIBIL score. This trend is still at a nascent stage in India. In USA, which is heavily credit driven, it is common for utility providers, insurers to ask for a credit report; even when looking for an apartment or a life partner the credit score comes into play! So have you ever wondered what does the CIBIL Score say about me?
Financial health
The most important fact revealed by the credit score is the financial health of an individual. Credit score is calculated based on a lot of information collected from various sources across a considerable time period. It’s not just recent behaviour or one off random action that is reflected in the credit behaviour.
A lot of variables and factors contribute to the final score; repayment behaviour for all types of credit dating back years, type of debt, credit utilisation, loan tenure etc are all considered when calculating the CIBIL score. Thus these three digits give a concise picture of your financial health and behaviour; any randomness is taken care of by the numerous variables and also the time period over which the data is spread.
In case one or two credit card payments are missed over a five year period then it can attributed to genuine reasons and they will not have an overall adverse impact on the credit score. However if credit card payments are missed every few months then they reflect on the poor financial health of the person. It is clear indicator that the person is in the risk of falling into a debt trap.
Risk profile
A low credit score means a high risk profile and a high CIBIL score means a low risk profile.
A financial institution when lending money does it with an understanding that it will get the money (principal and interest) back and ideally get it back on time. This they judge by looking at the CIBIL score which is an indicator of the risk profile of an applicant.
A high risk profile indicates that the chance of the customer defaulting or delaying payments is substantial; the lender may choose to reject such an application or charge a higher interest if sanctioning a loan.
Personality traits
Apart from the financial habits of a person the CIBIL score can also reveal a few traits about an individual’s personality. This is maybe one of the reason employers may want to have a look at it apart from the potential hazards (litigation, fraud) of hiring a person who is debt ridden or in poor financial health.
a. Planning and organisation
A CIBIL score indicates whether a person is organised and plans ahead or not. Financial health is a result of good financial planning and organisation too. Not planning your finances, taking a car loan without figuring out whether you can pay the EMIs or not; not being organised enough to check about a bank’s policies for sanctioning a loan and randomly applying to it are few actions that affect your CIBIL Score.
Careful planning ahead ensures that you are in a position to meet your financial obligations monthly and loan applications (which result in hard credit enquiries) are not rejected.
b. Discipline
Paying EMIs or credit card bills on time is the simplest thing to do in case you have planned your finances well. However not paying on time frequently is a sure indicator of lack of discipline; you are simply forgetful or not disciplined enough to follow the plan. Similarly swiping the credit card without bothering about the payment that needs to be made at the end of the month also reflects lack of restraint and discipline. All organisation and planning can go for a toss if one is not disciplined enough to follow it through.
c. Integrity
Defaulting on loans or credit card payments can also reflect lack of integrity in the person sometimes. It may be the case that the person does not simply intend to pay; s/he does not have the integrity to honor her/his commitment. There are enough cases of wilful defaults especially on credit card payments and personal loans simply because the bank has nothing the repossess.
The CIBIL score is an indicator of a person’s financial robustness, it is indicative of behavioural pattern to some extent and also tells about the risk potential the individual poses.
The author is a credit expert with 10 years of experience in personal finance and consumer banking industry and another 7 years in credit bureau sector. Rajiv was instrumental in setting up India’s first credit bureau, Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL).
Source….Rajiv Raj….www.rediff.com
Natarajan
Message for the Day…” Faith in God Should never Waver…”
You may have immense faith in God. But from time to time, the power of Maya may undermine this faith. So be vigilant. In Mahabharata even staunch devotees of Krishna like Dharmaraja and Arjuna displayed hesitancy in following the advice of Krishna and had to be reminded of their duty through Bhishma and Draupadi respectively. Faith in God should never waver. In no circumstance should anyone go against the injunctions of the Divine. Whatever worship one may offer, however intensely one may meditate, if one transgresses the commands of the Lord, these devotional practices become futile. The reason is that the Lord has no selfish objectives or goals. It is out of small-minded, narrow and selfish motives that people choose to act against the sacred and noble commandments of the Lord. Even small acts of transgression may in due course assume dangerous proportions.
Clear Skies Over the United States… A View from International Space Station
On Sept. 17, 2015, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly captured images and video from the International Space Station during an early morning flyover of the United States. Sharing with his social media followers, Kelly wrote, “Clear skies over much of the USA today. #GoodMorning from @Space_Station! #YearInSpace.”
Tuesday, Sept. 15 marked the midpoint of the one-year mission to the space station for Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. The average International Space Station expedition lasts four to six months. Research enabled by the one-year mission will help scientists better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. This knowledge is critical as NASA looks toward human missions deeper into the solar system, including to and from Mars, which could last 500 days or longer.
Image Credit: NASA
Source…www.nasa.gov
Natarajan
How a farm labourer became a CEO of a Company …. An Inspiring Story…
From earning Rs 5 a day as a farm labourer to starting an IT services company that is worth Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million), Jyoti Reddy’s story of success is nothing short of an inspiring movie plot.
That night she decided to break the rules.
With a few friends, whom she referred as akka, she did not return to the orphanage till way past midnight.
It was Sivaratri, the great night of Shiva, when the planets are potently aligned to embrace his cosmic dance.
After visiting the Shiva temple in their village, they decided to do something really daring — go for a movie, a blockbuster love story.
She laughs, a deep throaty laugh, which betrays a teenager’s giggles at the memory of forbidden pleasure.
Anila Jyothi Reddy has travelled very far from that night and her obscure village in Warangal in Telangana.
Her memories though are as fresh as it were yesterday.
“When we returned late in the night, we got a good thrashing from the warden. But I was so enamoured by the movie that I did not much care for the repercussion. I thought I should also marry for love,” she tells me.
Not all dreams come true
But fate — the eternal party spoiler — intervened.
Jyothi was married off exactly a year later at the age of 16 to a man 10 years her senior.
Love did not figure in the arrangement that her parents made for her future.
All her hopes of a better life seemed to recede like the bullock cart in the rear view mirror of a speeding highway truck.
He was a farmer who had not even passed the intermediate.
She was thus doomed to a fate of a daily farm labourer slogging the whole day in the paddy field under the blazing hot Telangana sun.
For all her efforts, Jyothi earned a meagre Rs 5 a day. She did this for five years from 1985 to 1990.
“I became a mother at 17. I had to do all the household chores and then head straight to the fields.
“I would return home at dusk and get down to making dinner.
“We did not have any stove, so I had to cook on a wood fire chulha,” she tells me over the phone from Hyderabad, where she visits at this time of the year from her home in the US.
Today, Jyothi is the CEO of a $15 million IT company, Key Software Solutions, based in Phoenix, Arizona, US.
Her incredible story seems to be the stuff of fiction conjured up by a shrewd novelist inflicting numerous sufferings on his protagonist to eventually make her a winner.
Except here, Jyothi herself altered her destiny.
Unwilling to live a life that was preordained for her, she beat all odds to emerge a winner.
A forced orphan
Jyothi’s aspirations were slowly growing wings.
“I could not stand being poor. I was born poor and was wed into another poor family,” she says.
Those days her dream was to have four plastic boxes full of daal (lentils) and rice.
“I would dream of having more than enough food to feed my children. I did not want to give them the life I was leading.”
Having been married off at the age of 16, Jyothi became a mother at 17 with her first daughter, followed by another girl a year later.
“At 18, I was a mother to two girls. There was never enough money for either medicine or to buy them toys.”
When the time came to admit them in school, she opted for Telugu medium because the fees was Rs 25 a month, while for an English medium school it was Rs 50 per month.
I could educate both my girls at Rs 50 hence I chose to send them to a Telugu medium school.”
Jyothi is the second among her four siblings.
Because of abject poverty at home, her father admitted his two daughters into an orphanage saying that they were motherless.
“I lived in an orphanage for five years from class five to class 10. Life there was tougher. My sister could not manage and would cry the whole time. My father had to take her back home.”
But Jyothi stuck on.
Even though she missed her mother and needed her the most, she finally adjusted to remaining in the orphanage.
“I remember a wealthy man would visit the orphanage every year to distribute sweets and blankets.
“I was a very sickly child then, and I would imagine myself being rich one day and carry a suitcase with 10 new saris in it,” she laughs re-imagining her dreams those days, which she was afraid to share with her hostel mates lest they made fun of her.
Nobody’s children
Jyothi makes it a point to come to India every year on August 29.
It is her birthday and she celebrates it with children in different orphanages in Warangal.
She also sponsors a mentally challenged kids’ home where there are 220 children.
She says passionately, “Two percent of India’s population comprises orphans. They do not have any identification. They are uncared for and unwanted. The people who work in orphanages only work there for the money, and not to give care and love to the orphans.”
She has been pursuing the cause of orphan children for many years now and has met ministers in power to bring the plight of these children to their notice.
She is concerned that though the state government has released data for orphan boys till class 10 who are in child remand homes, there is no data for girl orphans.
Where are the girls? Why are they missing?” she asks and replies to her own question.
“Because they are trafficked; they are forced into prostitution. I visited one home in Hyderabad where six girls in their 10th class had given birth. In the same home, these mother orphans were living with their orphan children.”
Being in a position of power today, Jyothi is voicing her concerns at every forum and making sure that the plight of the orphans does not go unheard.
But there was a time when she had to be a mute spectator to the injustices meted out to her by her own husband and in-laws.
With many mouths to feed and little or no income, life was hard.
“My concern was my children. I had a lot of restrictions. I could not talk to any other men, could not go out besides going to work in the fields.”
But as they say where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Jyothi heard an opportunity knock on her door when she started teaching the other farm hands at a night school.
From a labourer, she became a government teacher.
“I would motivate them to learn the basics. That was my job. I soon got a promotion, and would visit every village in Warangal to train women and youth to learn to stitch clothes.”
She was now earning Rs 120 a month.
“It was as if I had got one lakh rupees. I could now spend on my children’s medicine. It was a lot of money for me.”
The American dream
She completed a vocational course from Ambedkar Open University and wanted to enroll for MA in English at Kakatiya University in Warangal.
“I had often dreamt of having a name plate outside my house with the words ‘Dr Anila Jyothi Reddy.'”
However, she could not pass her course and all her dreams of doing a PhD in English came to an end.
But a chance meeting with a cousin from the US fired her imagination and she knew it in her heart that if she had to escape this vortex of poverty she had to go to the US.
“This is too much, right? This is crazy,” she laughs again with joy in reply to my question on how she managed to go to the US.
Talking about her NRI cousin who inspired her, she says, “She had style. It was so different from my ‘teacher look’. I did not leave my hair loose, I did not wear goggles or drive a car. I asked her can I come to America.”
Her cousin told her, “An aggressive woman like you can easily manage in America.”
Jyothi did not waste any time and enrolled for computer software classes.
She would commute to Hyderabad daily because her husband did not like the idea of her living away from home.
She was determined to go to the US. But it was hard to convince her husband.
“I was really greedy to go to the US. That was the only way I thought I could give my children a good life.”
She took the help of relatives and friends to apply for a US visa.
“I make use of every resource and time that I can manage. I never wasted time even while teaching.
“I used to run a chit fund for the other teachers. My salary in 1994-95 was Rs 5,000, I used to earn Rs 25,000 from the chit fund — all this when I was only 23-24 years old.
“I tried to save as much as I could so that I could go to the US.”
Jyothi’s biggest desire was to drive a car, and she knew only if she went to the US, she could drive one.
“There were too many restrictions at home. But one good thing my husband has done is given me two children to fight my life,” she says with a chuckle.
“My girls are like me. They are hard workers and do not waste time.”
Her daughters are software engineers. They are both married now and live in the US.
From poverty to abundance
The American dream is not an easy one.
Though Jyothi fought her fate and reached the land of opportunities, it was a rough ride.
“There was no support for me there. I did not know English very well, and it was a struggle each day.”
She found a PG accommodation with a Gujarati family in New Jersey at $350 per month.
“I did not have a cell phone. I used to walk three miles daily to work.”
She worked as a sales girl, then as a room service person in a motel in South Carolina, as a baby sitter in Phoenix, Arizona, as a gas station attendant, and software recruiter in Virginia.
Finally, she started her own business.
“When I returned to my village after two years, I went to the village temple for Shiv puja and the priest told me, ‘You will not get a job in the US, but if you do business you will become a millionaire.’
She took the help of relatives and friends to apply for a US visa.
“I make use of every resource and time that I can manage. I never wasted time even while teaching.
“I used to run a chit fund for the other teachers. My salary in 1994-95 was Rs 5,000, I used to earn Rs 25,000 from the chit fund — all this when I was only 23-24 years old.
“I tried to save as much as I could so that I could go to the US.”
Jyothi’s biggest desire was to drive a car, and she knew only if she went to the US, she could drive one.
“There were too many restrictions at home. But one good thing my husband has done is given me two children to fight my life,” she says with a chuckle.
“My girls are like me. They are hard workers and do not waste time.”
Her daughters are software engineers. They are both married now and live in the US.
From poverty to abundance
The American dream is not an easy one.
Though Jyothi fought her fate and reached the land of opportunities, it was a rough ride.
“There was no support for me there. I did not know English very well, and it was a struggle each day.”
She found a PG accommodation with a Gujarati family in New Jersey at $350 per month.
“I did not have a cell phone. I used to walk three miles daily to work.”
She worked as a sales girl, then as a room service person in a motel in South Carolina, as a baby sitter in Phoenix, Arizona, as a gas station attendant, and software recruiter in Virginia.
Finally, she started her own business.
“When I returned to my village after two years, I went to the village temple for Shiv puja and the priest told me, ‘You will not get a job in the US, but if you do business you will become a millionaire.’
yothi recalls how she would walk bare feet even during the harsh summer months.
Curious, I ask her how many shoes she owns today?
“I now have 200 pairs. It takes me 10 to 15 minutes to find a matching pair with my clothes.”
And why shouldn’t she indulge.
The first time she bought herself anything was when she was working as a teacher.
“I had only two saris. I badly needed a third one. I bought a sari for myself for Rs 135 and believe it or not, I still have that sari.”
I had to ask her which is the most expensive sari in her wardrobe.
“I spent Rs 1 lakh, 60,000 on a blue and silver sari for my younger daughter’s wedding,” she tells me with a nervous laugh.
She owns six houses in the US and two in India. And yes, she finally made her dream of driving a car come true.
She drives a Mercedes-Benz, sports dark glasses and keeps her hair loose.
Drive to succeed
Such has been her journey that Kakatiya University’s second degree English lesson has a chapter on her.
“Believe me, once I had begged the same university to give me a job and they had refused. Today, a lot of village children read about me and want to know who this living person is.”
She has been speaking to me for more than an hour while she is on her way to a meeting in Hyderabad.
She is going to Delhi the next day to take her case about missing orphan girls to the ruling party.
Life for her is no longer looking into the rear view mirror and following rules made by other people. She is stepping up the accelerator at full speed ahead.
All photographs: Kind courtesy jyothireddy.com
Source…Dipti Nair…www.rediff.com
Natarajan
” Fixing Taps to Save Water In India”…
Author and painter Aabid Surti may have won awards for his writing and art, but he has also made a mark in another field: water conservation. For the last seven years, the 77-year-old has spent his Sundays going to apartments in Mumbai, and volunteering to fix leaking taps.
The Alternative, a Bangalore-based website seeking to chronicle and support social development in India, is currently running a campaign on sustainable water conservation called Catch Every Drop (#catcheverydrop). At The Alternative, Kirti introduces us to Aabid Surti’s work:
The 77-year-old celebrates Sunday like none else, picking a building in Mumbai’s far-flung suburb Mira Road and, with his plumber and a volunteer in tow, searching it for leaking taps to plug. Free of charge. His reward? “A lot of water saved. And sometimes, an offer for lunch,” he says simply. Surti’s non-governmental organisation, Drop Dead, has just one employee – him.
Aabid Surti, from Aalif Surti’s blog (CC BY-NC 3.0).
Aabid Surti’s son Aalif Surti (@SuperAalif) has told the story of how it all began:
“I read an interview of the former UN chief Boutros Boutros Ghali,” Aabid recalls, “who said that by 2025 more than 40 countries are expected to experience water crisis. I remembered my childhood in a ghetto fighting for each bucket of water. I knew that shortage of water is the end of civilized life.” Around the same time, in 2007, he was sitting in a friend’s house and noticed a leaky tap. It bothered him. When he pointed it out, his friend, like others, dismissed it casually: it was too expensive and inconvenient to call a plumber for such a minor job – even plumbers resisted coming to only replace old gaskets. A few days later, he came across a statistic in the newspaper: a tap that drips once every second wastes a thousand litres of water in a month. That triggered an idea. He would take a plumber from door to door and fix taps for free – one apartment complex every weekend.
Of course there was the issue of covering costs:
As a creative artist, he had earned more goodwill than money and the first challenge was funding. “But,” he says, “if you have a noble thought, nature takes care of it.” Within a few days, he got a message that he was unexpectedly being awarded Rs.1,00,000 ($2,000) by the Hindi Sahitya Sansthan for his contribution to Hindi literature [an award from the government of Uttar Pradesh]. And one Sunday morning in 2007, the International Year of Water, he set out with a plumber to fix the problem for his neighbors. He began by simply replacing old O-ring rubber gaskets with new ones, buying new fixtures from the wholesale market. He named his one-man NGO ‘Drop Dead’ and created a tagline: save every drop… or drop dead. Every Sunday, the Drop Dead team – which consisted of Aabid himself, Riyaaz the plumber and a female volunteer Tejal – picked the apartment blocks, got permission from the housing societies, and got to work. A day before, Tejal would hand out pamphlets explaining their mission and paste posters in elevators and apartment lobbies spreading awareness on the looming water crisis. And by Sunday afternoon, they would ensure the buildings were drip-dry. By the end of the first year, they had visited 1533 homes and fixed around 400 taps. Slowly, the news began to spread.
Not only does the project help save water, it empowers the community:
As Aabid rings another door-bell on yet another Sunday in Mira Road, seven years into his one-man mission, he says: “Anyone can launch a water conservation project in his or her area. That’s the beauty of this concept. It doesn’t require much funding or even an office. And most importantly, it puts the power back in our own hands.”
Now Aabid Surti would like similar initiatives to be started in others parts of India, so that as much water as possible is saved.
These Rickshawallahs Know More About Birds Than You Do. For Sure.
There are some 100 odd men plying these quaint three wheeler cycles in Bharatpur. From identifying the near extinct Siberian cranes, to guiding photographers to the best spots within the sanctuary, to speaking at length about the breeding habits of painted storks, these rickshawallahs will amaze you with their stupendous knowledge.
The Keoladeo Ghana National Park, formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, is a famous avifauna sanctuary that plays host to thousands of birds, especially during the winter season. Over 230 species of birds are known to have made this national park their home. It is also a major tourist centre with scores of ornithologists arriving here in the hibernation season. It was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. It is also a declared World Heritage Site.
What is impressive about this sanctuary is the way it is managed. There are many people – foreign tourists, nature lovers, bird watchers, and weekend travellers who visit often as Bharatpur is not very far from Delhi and Jaipur. The place is off-limits for vehicular traffic unlike many other zoo-parks where you can buy a ticket and take the vehicle inside. However, you don’t need to walk long distances to get around in Bharatpur. There are cycles on hire and guides with rickshaws, who charge a very reasonable sum of Rs.100 per hour.
These rickshaw guides have acquired their knowledge of the birds over many years. But it isn’t just experience that makes them such amazing ‘ornithologists.’ Most of them have attended a three-month rigorous course conducted by the forest department of the park and are authorised to be guides.
Amarchand is one such rickshaw guide. He can identify 230 species of birds and he gives a running commentary of the surroundings to his passengers as he ferries them around.
The park management has also arranged for professional binoculars, guide books and more, that are a must to fully understand, watch and enjoy Amarchand’s commentary. –
The rickshaw guide idea is a novel one and definitely needs to be replicated in other sanctuaries too. However, there is a downside to it. There is hardly any work for the rickshawallahs in the summer months. They have to then ply their rickshaws in town or look for alternative employment. –
They would like to become permanent employees of the park. As it is, they say, they pick up trash left by the visitors and help keep the place clean. These rickshawallahs are not just guides, they also help preserve the environment in the parks. –
Nevertheless, whether the park gives them employment or not, these enterprising rickshawallahs have carved a niche for themselves. Besides improving their English speaking skills, they have even learnt some broken French and German to converse with the tourists who come here. These guides may not have been given the status they deserve by the Rajasthan tourism department but those who regularly visit the park have complete faith in their knowledge and even ask for their assistance when making documentaries or researching and writing about migratory birds.
There are very few places like this sanctuary and its unique rickshawallah guides – not just in India but in the world. So the next time you are anywhere near Delhi or Jaipur, please visit this place while it still stands and plays home to several rare migratory birds. Taj Mahal can wait, but beautiful birds cannot! –
About the author: Tejaswi Bhagavatula is a Hyderabad-based writer, poet, painter, biker, photographer, corporate profile-writer, on-the-way-CA, part-time tax consultant – all to fund his passion for travelling! He wishes to work for change through bringing out stories and his dream is to ride to Ladakh on his dear old Bullet, while learning and writing about people he meets all along the way and someday, maybe make it a storybook. Inputs by: Nishi Malhotra –
Source….www.thebetterindia.com
Natarajan
Google is much bigger than you think….!!!
Google Date Centres: Inside the campus network room, routers and switches allow Google’s data centres to talk to each other. The fibre optic networks connecting Google’s sites can run at speeds that are more than 200,000 times faster than a typical home internet connection. The fibre cables run along the yellow cable trays near the ceiling. Image: Google
TO THE average eye, it would seem fairly flawless — you type in a request, Google spits out an answer — but the reality, as the tech company shared this week, is far more complex.
Secrets that have never been shared outside of Google were revealed this week at an engineering conference in Silicon Valley, detailing the “insane” approach behind how its computer software answers your questions in Google Search, directs you on Google Maps, sends your emails and allows you to watch videos on YouTube, for example.
“Behind your simple page of results is a complex system, carefully crafted and tested, to support more than one-hundred billion searches each month,” Google writes in a search explainer.
It’s all thanks to one custom-built, “giant, single shared codebase” at Google, that runs through 10 different Google data centres, Engineering Manager Rachel Potzin revealed.
They call it a “single, monolithic repository model” and unlike most software companies, this one network juggles all of Google’s software, including Google DOCS,Google+ and Gmail, across its vast network. And it’s only available to a select number of “coders” within its organisation.
All the colours of the rainbow: A Google data centre in Douglas County, Georgia. Picture: Connie ZhouSource:AP
Potzin estimated the software that keeps the service intact spans a whopping 2 billion lines of code. Wired compared it to Microsoft’s Windows Operating system, dubbed “one of the most complex software tools ever built for a single computer”, and predicted it ran along some 50 million lines. Google is the equivalent of 40 times that of Microsoft.
To keep up with the rapid evolution of the internet, its engineers modify and update around 15 million codes each week, helped by the use of bots to maintain code health, and keep the search engine running smoothly.
Google Data Centre, South Carolina: these ethernet switches connect Google’s facilities network. Thanks to them, Google is able to communicate with and monitor the main controls for the cooling system in their data centre. Image: GoogleSource:Supplied
“It’s frankly enormous and without being able to prove it, I’d guess this is probably the largest single repository in use anywhere in the world. I’d be very surprised if a larger more heavily modified single repostiry exists anywhere else,” Potzin said.
“In almost eight years our repository has grown by orders of magnitude on almost every dimension.
“There were times in Google’s history where we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to sustain this level of growth.”
In this day and age it seems like a mammoth task to handle such a gigantic bulk of information, but fast-growing, global companies like Facebook are joining the bandwagon.
It’s complex, but it’s an intriguing insight into how companies of today are bracing for the internet of tomorrow, and paving the way for how we, as humans, will interact with the online of the future.
Source…..-youngma@news.com.au…www.news.com.au
Natarajan
From Software Engineer to Beekeeper…
“When I decided to quit, I knew my parents would not understand. That was in the year 2009, when many IT professionals were being laid off their jobs. I used this as an excuse to lie to my parents that I too had lost my job. My father offered to get me a job at the Karur Vysya Bank in Karur, but I refused.”
For someone with a will to succeed, the possibilities are endless. All it takes is hard work and perseverance.
30-year-old Krishnamurthy, founder, Honey Kart, quit his job as a technical programmer at Wipro, and borrowed money from friends to become a beekeeper. Today he is not only debt-free but also processes 500 kilograms of honey every month that sells for Rs 716 per kg.
This, at a time, when he was offered a promotion with an option to travel to the United States for an onsite project.
It was a bold decision for someone with no clear idea of what he wanted to do.
But his determination has paid off, and today this scientific beekeeper has over 800 regular customers and processes half a ton of pure honey every month.
No joy in working in the city
I was born in a small village in Karur district of Tamil Nadu. My father is a farmer. When I was in Std II, he decided that I was not doing well at the village school. He sent me to Fairlawns Home School in Yercaud. Since then, I have always been away from home in hostels. Later I joined the Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, Erode, and graduated in Communications.
There was no particular reason for this choice. I guess I just chose the course that was trending that year.
I did quite well in college. A campus interview got me placed at Wipro. I completed my training in Bangalore and moved to Wipro, Chennai. Everything was exciting at first, a new job in a new city and plenty of friends. But life soon settled into a machine-like existence. I woke up in the morning, took the bus to my office, where I spent the entire day and at times worked well into the night. It was not that I did not enjoy my work, but slowly a sense of dissatisfaction crept in. I felt no sense of accomplishment. City life lost its appeal. The novelty and excitement of the early days had worn off.
About two years into my job, I was offered a promotion. I was given an opportunity to move to United States for a project.
But by then, I was seriously thinking about quitting.
I felt that this was the right time to make a decision.
Do I take the onsite project and see where life takes me, or pursue something that would make me happy. After much thought, I decided to quit.
Finding myself a new career
It took me almost two years to decide, what I eventually wanted to do with my life. I would not call this a period of struggle, it was a period of learning, understanding myself, and understanding society.
When I decided to quit, I knew my parents would not understand. That was in the year 2009, when many IT professionals were being laid off their jobs. I used this as an excuse to lie to my parents that I too had lost my job. My father offered to get me a job at the Karur Vysya Bank in Karur, but I refused.
I moved in with some friends at Tiruppur. I was looking for some low-investment ventures. I first entered into share trading. Within a year, I lost one lakh and decided to quit.
Export was the next option. I stayed for a few weeks with another friend near Ernakulam in Kerala studying cuttlefish bone export; then researched turmeric, coir fibre and even some handicrafts.
I was looking into the export of honey, when I realised there is huge market for honey in our country. The more I learned about it, the more intrigued I became. I knew this was something I would enjoy doing.
The scientific beekeeper
By then, however, I had exhausted all my savings. I borrowed RS 300,000 from my friends and moved to Aravakuruchi, about 30 km from my village.
I purchased all the equipment I needed. There was plenty of bee flora in the area and farmers in the district were more than happy to let me place my hives in their farms. Pollination of bees actually helps boost crop yield by about 30 per cent with no additional labour or cost.
Unfortunately, within weeks I encountered my first major problem. My bees were struck by some disease and this was slowly destroying the entire hive and spreading to other colonies.
I contacted many professional beekeepers, both traditional and those using the latest technology. All of them suggested the use of antibiotics.
I believe that natural honey should not contain any antibiotics. Prolonged use of antibiotics for controlling or preventing the spread of disease in bees often results in accumulation of antibiotic residue in the honey produced.
I was looking for a solution without the use of antibiotics. I started a more comprehensive study on beekeeping. I researched on the problems faced by the beekeepers in our country, the pests and diseases that affect the bees and the reasons behind it.
I understood that natural beehives are never infected by disease. It was only when man started to control it that these problems cropped up. We now needed to go back to the fundamentals; we needed to reverse everything that man did and mimic the natural environment that bees thrived in.
I slowly began to create the ideal environment for my bees — well-aerated pollution free surroundings with a good water source. It took nearly a year for me to understand all the finer nuances of beekeeping. I had lost more than 65 per cent of my bees to disease, but steadily the numbers improved and I recovered them all.
Today, I have disease free colonies producing high quality honey without the use of any antibiotics. If stored in glass bottles at room temperature, my honey has a shelf life of five years.
Over a period, I began to specialise in uni-floral honey. During the flowering season, I direct my bees to a particular flora, namely coriander, drumstick, glory lily, mango, jamun or sunflower. The honey thus collected retains the special flavours and qualities of that particular flora. The taste, smell and colour of every uni-floral honey are unique. Mango honey will be sweeter while coriander is better known for its health benefits.
We have recently introduced a special honey for babies and pregnant women. This is processed from the season’s first harvest ensuring that there are no allergies.
A lot of research went into picking the right flora, identifying its medicinal properties and learning how it can enhance the goodness of honey. This earned me the title of a scientific beekeeper.
Perseverance: The key to success
The local market did not understand the quality of my honey or the efforts I put in. So I started my own website and a Facebook page. I do most of my business online. Initially it was all about trying to survive, but today, I have more than 800 regular customers, mostly from the Southern States. I process about half a ton of honey every month, selling it at Rs 716 per kg.
A year ago, I repaid all my loans. Now I have plans to expand. With the diverse flora available in our country, the possibilities are limitless. Though I have done well for myself, I still feel that my parents don’t approve. They would rather have their son in a white-collar job in the city.
But I did not want to live my life as an IT engineer. I wanted to prove that I could be just as successful in my hometown.
I do not regret any of my decisions. The four years of my education, two years at Wipro and the subsequent years of uncertainty, everything has moulded me to what I am today. We have but one life to live and I don’t believe in living a life of regrets.
In the end, success is all about making the best use of your resources and perseverance. Instead of waiting until your old age to grieve about all that could have been, be bold enough to follow your heart. Find out what makes you happy and never give up.
Photographs: HoneyKart/Facebook
source….S Saraswathi in http://www.rediff.com
Natarajan
” ஆய கலைகள் 64 …எண் 9 ன் தத்துவமும் மகத்துவமும் …”
ஆய கலைகள் அறுபத்து நான்கு எவை தெரியுமா!
1. அக்கரவிலக்கணம்
2. இலிகிதம்
3. கணிதம்
4. வேதம்
5. புராணம்
6. வியாகரணம்
7. நீதி சாத்திரம்
8. சோதிட சாத்திரம்
9. தர்ம சாத்திரம்
10. யோக சாத்திரம்
11. மந்திர சாத்திரம்
12. சகுன சாத்திரம்
13. சிற்ப சாத்திரம்
14. வைத்திய சாத்திரம்
15. உருவ சாத்திரம்
16. இதிகாசம்
17. காவியம்
18. அலங்காரம்
19. மதுரபாடனம்
20. நாடகம்
21. நிருத்தம்
22. சத்தப்பிரமம்
23. வீணை
24. வேணு
25. மிருதங்கம்
26. தாளம்
27. அத்திரப்பரீட்சை
28. கனகபரீட்சை
29. ரத பரீட்சை
30. கசபரீட்சை
31. அசுவபரீட்சை
32. ரத்திரனப்பரீட்சை
33. பூமிபரீட்சை
34. சங்ககிராம இலக்கணம்
35. மல்யுத்தம்
36. ஆகரூடணம்
37. உச்சாடணம்
38. விந்து வேடணம்
39. மதன சாத்திரம்
40. மோகனம்
41. வசீகரணம்
42. ரசவாதம்
43. காந்தருவவாதம்
44. பைபீலவாதம்
45. கவுத்துக வாதம்
46. தாது வாதம்
47. காருடம்
48. நட்டம்
49. முட்டி
50. ஆகாயப் பிரவேசம்
51. ஆகாய கமணம்
52. பரகாயப் பிரவேசம்
53. அதிரிசயம்
54. இந்திரசாபம்
55. மகேந்திரசாபம்
56. அக்கினித்தம்பம்
57. சலத்தம்பம்
58. வாயுத்தம்பம்
59. நிட்டித்தம்பம்
60. வாக்குத்தம்பம்
61. சுக்கிலத்தம்பம்
62. கன்னத்தம்பம்
63. கட்கத் தம்பம்
64. அவத்தைப் பிரயோகம்
……………..
ஒன்பதின் தத்துவம்,என்ன என்பதைத் தெரிந்து கொள்ளுங்கள்
**************************************************
9ன் சிறப்பு தெரியுமா?
எண்களில் விசேஷமான
எண்ணாக கருதப்படுவது
ஒன்பது.
அந்த எண்ணில்
நீண்ட வாழ்வு எனும்
அர்த்தம் பொதிந்திருப்பதாகச்
சொல்கின்றனர்,
சீனர்களின் சொர்க்க கோபுரம்,
ஒன்பது வளையங்களால்
சூழப்பட்டுள்ளது.
எகிப்து, ஐரோப்பா, கிரீக்
முதலான நாடுகளும்
9-ஆம் எண்ணை
விசேஷமாகப் பயன்படுத்திப்
போற்றுகின்றன.
புத்த மதத்தில்,
மிக முக்கியமான
சடங்குகள் யாவும்
ஒன்பது துறவிகளைக் கொண்டே
நடைபெறும்.
தங்கம், வெள்ளி மற்றும்
பிளாட்டினத்தின்
சுத்தத்தை 999 என்று
மதிப்பிடுவார்கள்.
பெண்களின் கர்ப்பம்,
பூரணமாவது ஒன்பதாம் மாத
நிறைவில்தான்!
ஒன்பது எனும் எண்
இன்னும் மகத்துவங்கள்
கொண்டது.
ஒன்பது என்ற எண்ணுக்கு
வடமொழியில் நவம்
என்று பெயர்.
நவ என்ற சொல்
புதிய, புதுமை எனும்
பொருள் உடையது.
நவ சக்திகள்:
1,வாமை,
2,ஜேஷ்டை,
3,ரவுத்ரி,
4,காளி,
5,கலவிகரணி,
6,பலவிகரணி,
7,பலப்பிரமதனி,
8,சர்வபூததமனி,
9,மனோன்மணி,
நவ தீர்த்தங்கள்:
1,கங்கை,
2,யமுனை,
3,சரஸ்வதி,
4,கோதாவரி,
5,சரயு,
6.நர்மதை,
7,காவிரி,
8,பாலாறு,
9,குமரி
நவ வீரர்கள்:
1,வீரவாகுதேவர்,
2,வீரகேசரி,
3,வீரமகேந்திரன்,
4,வீரமகேசன்,
5,வீரபுரந்திரன்,
6,வீரராக்ஷசன்,
7,வீரமார்த்தாண்டன்,
8,வீரராந்தகன்,
9,வீரதீரன்
நவ அபிஷேகங்கள்:
1,மஞ்சள்,
2,பஞ்சாமிர்தம்,
3,பால்,
4,நெய்,
5,தேன்,
6,தயிர்,
7,சர்க்கரை,
8,சந்தனம்,
9,விபூதி.
நவ ரசம்:
1,இன்பம்,
2,நகை,
3,கருணை,
4,கோபம்,
5,வீரம்,
6,பயம்,
7,அருவருப்பு,
8,அற்புதம்,
9,சாந்தம் ,
நவக்கிரகங்கள்:
1,சூரியன்,
2,சந்திரன்,
3,செவ்வாய்,
4,புதன்,
5,குரு,
6,சுக்கிரன்,
7,சனி,
8,ராகு,
9.கேது
நவமணிகள்:-
நவரத்தினங்கள்:
1,கோமேதகம்,
2,நீலம்,
3,வைரம்,
4,பவளம்,
5,புஸ்பராகம்,
6,மரகதம்,
7,மாணிக்கம்,
8,முத்து,
9,வைடூரியம்
நவ திரவியங்கள்:
1,பிருதிவி,
2,அப்பு,
3,தேயு,
4,வாயு,
5,ஆகாயம்,
6,காலம்,
7, திக்கு,
8,ஆன்மா,
9,மனம்
நவலோகம் (தாது):
1,பொன்,
2,வெள்ளி,
3,செம்பு,
4,பித்தளை,
5,ஈயம்,
6,வெண்கலம்,
7,இரும்பு,
8,தரா,
9,துத்தநாகம்
நவ தானியங்கள்:
1,நெல்,
2,கோதுமை,
3,பாசிப்பயறு,
4,துவரை,
5,மொச்சை,
6,எள்,
7,கொள்ளு,
8,உளுந்து,
9,வேர்க்கடலை
சிவ விரதங்கள் ஒன்பது:
1,சோமவார விரதம்,
2,திருவாதிரை விரதம்,
3,உமாகேச்வர விரதம்,
4,சிவராத்ரி விரதம்,
5,பிரதோஷ விரதம்,
6,கேதார விரதம்,
7,ரிஷப விரதம்,
8,கல்யாணசுந்தர விரதம்,
9,சூல விரதம்
நவசந்தி தாளங்கள்:
1,அரிதாளம்,
2,அருமதாளம்,
3,சமதாளம்,
4,சயதாளம்,
5,சித்திரதாளம்,
6,துருவதாளம்,
7,நிவர்த்திதாளம்,
8,படிமதாளம்,
9,விடதாளம்
அடியார்களின் பண்புகள்:
1,எதிர்கொள்ளல்,
2,பணிதல்,
3,ஆசனம் (இருக்கை) தருதல்,
4,கால் கழுவுதல்,
5,அருச்சித்தல்,
6,தூபம் இடல்,
7,தீபம் சாட்டல்,
8,புகழ்தல்,
9,அமுது அளித்தல்,
(விக்ரமார்க்கனின்
சபையிலிருந்த 9 புலவர்கள்; நவரத்னங்கள் எனச் சிறப்பிக்கப்படுவர்)
1,நவரத்னங்கள் (முனிவர்கள்)தன்வந்த்ரி,
2,க்ஷணபகர்,
3,அமரஸிம்ஹர்,
4,சங்கு,
5,வேதாலபட்டர்,
6,கடகர்ப்பரர்,
7,காளிதாசர்,
8,வராகமிஹிரர்,
9,வரருசி
அடியார்களின் நவகுணங்கள்:
1,அன்பு,
2,இனிமை,
3,உண்மை,
4,நன்மை,
5,மென்மை,
6,சிந்தனை,
7,காலம்,
8,சபை,
9,மவுனம்.
நவ நிதிகள்:
1,சங்கம்,
2,பதுமம்,
3,மகாபதுமம்,
4,மகரம்,
5,கச்சபம்,
6,முகுந்தம்,
7,குந்தம்,
8.நீலம்,
9.வரம்
நவ குண்டங்கள்:
யாகசாலையில் அமைக்கப்படும்
ஒன்பது வகையிலான
யாக குண்ட அமைப்புக்கள்:
1,சதுரம்,
2,யோனி,
3,அர்த்த சந்திரன்,
4,திரிகோணம்,
5,விருத்தம் (வட்டம்),
6.அறுகோணம்,
பத்மம்,
எண்கோணம்,
பிரதான விருத்தம்.
1,நவவித பக்தி :
2,சிரவணம்,
3,கீர்த்தனம்,
4,ஸ்மரணம்,
5,பாத சேவனம்அர்ச்சனம்,
6,வந்தனம்,
7,தாஸ்யம்,
8,சக்கியம்,
9,ஆத்ம நிவேதனம்
நவ பிரம்மாக்கள் :
1,குமார பிரம்மன்,
2,அர்க்க பிரம்மன்,
3,வீர பிரம்மன்,
4,பால பிரம்மன்,
5,சுவர்க்க பிரம்மன்,
6,கருட பிரம்மன்,
7,விஸ்வ பிரம்மன்,
8,பத்ம பிரம்மன்,
9,தராக பிரம்மன்
நவக்கிரக தலங்கள் –
1,சூரியனார் கோயிவில்,
2,திங்களூர்,
3,வைத்தீஸ்வரன் கோவில்,
4,திருவெண்காடு,
5,ஆலங்குடி,
6,கஞ்சனூர்,
7,திருநள்ளாறு,
8,திருநாகேஸ்வரம், 9,கீழ்ப்பெரும்பள்ளம்
நவபாஷாணம் –
1,வீரம்,
2, பூரம்,
3, ரசம்,
4,ஜாதிலிங்கம்,
5,கண்டகம்,
6,கவுரி பாஷாணம்,
7,வெள்ளை பாஷாணம்,
8,ம்ருதர்சிங்,
9,சிலாஷத்
நவதுர்க்கா –
1,ஸித்திதத்ரி,
2,கஷ்முந்தா,
3,பிரம்மாச்சாரினி,
5,ஷைலபுத்ரி,
7,மகா கவுரி,
8,சந்திரகாந்தா,
9,ஸ்கந்தமாதா,
6.மகிஷாசுரமர்த்தினி, -,காளராத்ரி
நவ சக்கரங்கள் –
நவ சக்கரங்கள் –
1,த்ரைலோக்ய மோகன சக்கரம்,
2,சர்வசாபுரக சக்கரம்,
3,சர்வ சம்மோகன சக்கரம்,
4,சர்வ சவுபாக்ய சக்கரம்,
5,சர்வார்த்த சாதக சக்கரம்,
6,சர்வ ரக்ஷõகர சக்கரம்,
7,சர்வ ரோஹ ஹர சக்கரம்,
8,சர்வ ஸித்தி ப்ரத சக்கரம்,
9,சர்வனந்தமைய சக்கரம்.
நவநாதர்கள் –
1,ஆதிநாதர்,
2,உதய நாதர்,
3,சத்ய நாதர்,
4,சந்தோஷ நாதர்,
5,ஆச்சாள் அசாம்பயநாதர்,
6,கஜ்வேலி கஜ்கண்டர் நாதர்,
7,சித்த சொவ்றங்கி
8,நாதர், மச்சேந்திர நாதர்,
9,குரு கோரக்க நாதர்
உடலின் நவ துவாரங்கள் :
இரண்டு கண்கள்,
இரண்டு காதுகள்,
இரண்டு மூக்குத் துவாரங்கள்,
ஒரு வாய்,
இரண்டு மலஜல துவாரங்கள்
உடலின் ஒன்பது சக்கரங்கள் :
1,தோல்,
2,ரத்தம்,
3,மாமிசம்,
4,மேதஸ்,
5,எலும்பு,
6,மஜ்ஜை,
7,சுக்கிலம்,
8,தேஜஸ்,
9,ரோமம்
18 புராணங்கள்,
18 படிகள் என அனைத்தும்
9-ன் மூலமாக தான் உள்ளன.
காயத்ரி மந்திரத்தை
108 முறை ஜபிக்க வேண்டும்.
எல்லா தெய்வத்தின்
நாமாவளியும் ஜப மாலையின்
எண்ணிக்கையும்
இதை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்டதுதான்!
புத்த மதத்தினர்
108 முறை மணியடித்து,
புது வருடத்தை வரவேற்றுக்
கொண்டாடுகின்றனர்.
சீனாவில்,
36 மணிகளை
மூன்று பிரிவாகக் கொண்டு,
சு ஸூ எனப்படும்
மாலையைக் கொண்டு
ஜபம் செய்வார்கள்.
ஸ்ரீகிருஷ்ணருக்குப்
பிரியமான மாதம்… மார்கழி.
இது வருடத்தின் 9-வது மாதம்!
மனிதராகப் பிறந்தவன்
எப்படி வாழ வேண்டும் என
வாழ்ந்து காட்டிய
ஸ்ரீராமபிரான் பிறந்தது,
9-ஆம் திதியான
நவமி நாளில்தான்.
Source….input from a friend of mine….
Natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 