Engineering

Message for the Day….” Who is the creator of this Universe ….” ?

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When you wear a wristwatch, and someone asks where it was manufactured, you will state that it was made by a Swiss company. We have neither seen the Swiss company nor the watch manufacturer, but are using the watch. Did this watch appear miraculously or did someone take time to manufacture this? You agree that the knowledge and process of assembling watches must exist somewhere and we readily accept that some individual has assembled this watch. If a watch has a creator, what about the Universe? Who can create all these things which are so permanent and steady? When we ask such a question, people simply push away the question and say that these are natural. They do not recognise the creator who has created all this. Not to accept the existence of such a creator is to be foolish and hard-headed.

A Floating Swimming Pool In Berlin ….!!!

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The Badeschiff is one of Berlin’s most unusual attraction – a floating public swimming pool in the East Harbour section of the River Spree. The Badeschiff allows citizens to swim in a safe and sanitary environment in their river, at least in a figurative sense. The Spree itself is far too polluted to permit safe bathing.

Since its opening in 2004, it has become a true hot spot in town: deep blue swimming pool, wooden boardwalks, an open-air bar, with a stunning view. Each year between November and March the entire area is covered by a translucent shell and transformed into an enclosed wellness area. The Badeschiff was created by local artist, Susanne Lorenz, as an art project organized by the City Art Project Society of Berlin. The pool was converted from the hull of a vessel measuring eight by thirty-two metres.                                                                                                                                                                                         badeschiff (5)[2]Source….www.amusingplanet.com

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” துபாயை உலகத்துக்கே விற்ற கட்டிடம்…” !!!

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துபாயின் ‘உலக வர்த்தக மையம்’ பற்றி ஒரு கதை உண்டு. 70-களின் தொடக்கத்தில் ஒரு தொழிலதிபர் துபாய்க்கு வந்தார். இடம் ஒன்று வாங்கி, கட்டிடம் கட்டிப்போடும் எண்ணத்தில் துபாயின் ஷேக் ரஷீதின் அரண்மனைக்கு அவர் சென்றார். அவருக்கு இடம் விற்பதற்கு ஷேக் இசைந்தார். ஆனால், ஷேக்கின் சர்வேயர் காட்டிய இடம் நகரத்தின் மையத்தை விட்டு விலகியிருந்ததால் அந்தத் தொழிலதிபருக்கு அந்த இடம் பிடிக்கவில்லை. மிகுந்த பணிவுடன் மறுத்துவிட்டார். அதற்குப் பல மாதங்களுக்குப் பிறகு தான் மறுத்த இடம் எவ்வளவு வளர்ச்சி பெற்றிருக்கிறது என்பதைக் கண்ட தொழிலதிபர் சேக்கிடம் சென்றார்.

முதலில் காட்டிய இடத்தை மறுத்ததற்கு மன்னிப்பு கேட்டுவிட்டு, தனக்கு மறுபடியும் அந்த இடம் தேவைப்படுகிறது என்று கேட்டார். அவருக்கு ஷேக் வேறொரு இடத்தைக் காட்டச் செய்தார். அந்த இடத்திலிருந்து பார்த்தால் தூரத்தில் பாலைவனம் தெரிந்தது. அதற்கப்புறம், தொழிலதிபர் துபாய்க்குத் திரும்பி வரவேயில்லை. அவர் கண்டு பயந்து ஓடிய இரண்டாவது இடத்தில்தான் இப்போது ‘உலக வர்த்தக மையம்’ இருக்கிறது.

அந்தத் தொழிலதிபர் மட்டுமல்ல, ‘உலக வர்த்தக மையம்’ வந்த பிறகும் பலரும் துபாயின் வளர்ச்சி குறித்து ஐயமே கொண்டிருந்தனர். ஆனால், இப்போதோ அந்த வர்த்தக மையம்தான் துபாயில் இருமருங்கிலும், வானளாவிய கட்டிடங்களைக் கொண்டு நீளும் ஷேக் ஜயது சாலையின் நுழைவாயிலாக இருக்கிறது.

இதனால் உலக முதலீட்டாளர்கள் சுண்டியிழுக்கப்படுகிறார்கள். ஆக, தீர்க்கதரிசனமாக துபாயின் சேக் ரஷீத் செய்த செயல்தான் துபாயின் கைகாட்டிபோல் ‘உலக வர்த்தக மையம்’ இன்று நின்றுகொண்டிருக்கிறது.

இன்று அதிகார மையமாக இருக்கும் இந்தக் கட்டிடம் சற்றுப் பழமையானதாகவும் இருக்கிறது. 150 மீட்டர் உயரத்தில் அதை வானளாவிய கட்டிடம் என்று சொல்ல முடியாதுதான். ஆனால், பிரபலக் கட்டிடக் கலைஞர் ஒருவர் துபாய்க்கு வருவார் என்றால், துபாயின் கட்டிடக் கலையின் பெருமையாக ‘உலக வர்த்தக மைய’த்தைப் பற்றித்தான் குறிப்பிடுவார்.

ஷேக் ரசீதை ஆங்கில ஊடகங்கள் ‘வியாபாரி இளவரசர்’என்றே குறிப்பிடுகின்றன. உலகின் பொருளாதாரத் தலைநகரங்களுக்கெல்லாம் அவர் பயணித்து அங்கே வர்த்தகச் செயல்பாடுகளெல்லாம் எப்படிப் பொழுதுபோக்குடன் ஒன்றுசேர்கின்றன என்பதைக் கண்டார்.

அவரது நம்பிக்கையான கட்டிடக் கலைஞர் ஜான் ஹாரிஸிடம் வர்த்தகச் சந்தைகளுக்கான மையம் ஒன்றைக் கட்டும்படி பணித்தார். முதலில் பொருட்காட்சி மையமொன்றுக்கான திட்டமாக ஆரம்பித்து இறுதியில் அது ‘உலக வர்த்தக மைய’த்துக்கான திட்டமாக மாறியது.

நியூயார்க், டோக்கியோ போன்ற நகரங்களின் வர்த்தக மையங்களையெல்லாம் பார்வையிட்டு வந்தார் ஜான் ஹாரிஸ். துபாயிலேயே மிகவும் உயரமான ஒரு கட்டிடமாக, 33 மாடிகள் கொண்டதாக ‘உலக வர்த்தக மையம்’ உருவாக ஆரம்பித்தது. இன்னும் உயரம் வேண்டுமே என்று ஷேக் கேட்டுக்கொண்டதற்கு இணங்க, 39 மாடிகள் உயரம் கொண்டதாகக் கட்டப்பட்டது.

வானளாவிய கட்டிடம் ஒன்று உங்கள் நகரத்தை உலகத்தின் கண்களில் முக்கியத்துவம் பொருந்தியதாக மாற்றுமல்லவா, அது போலவே வர்த்தகச் செயல்பாடுகளுக்கு துபாய் தயாராக இருக்கிறது என்று இந்த உலகைத் திரும்பிப் பார்க்க வைத்தது இந்த வர்த்தக மையம்தான். சொகுசு ஹோட்டல், உயர்தர அடுக்ககங்களைக் கொண்ட மூன்று கோபுரங்கள், ஒரு கண்காட்சி மையம், வாகனங்கள் நிறுத்துமிடம், டென்னிஸ் ஆடுகளங்கள் போன்றவற்றைக் கொண்டு ஒரு உலகளாவிய நகரத்தைப் போல உருவானது அந்தக் கட்டிடம். 24 மணி நேரக் கண்காணிப்பு/ நிர்வாகம், பாதுகாப்பு ஊழியர்கள், தொழிலதிபர்களுக்கான கிளப், பயண ஏற்பாட்டு நிறுவனம், அஞ்சல் நிலையம், திரையரங்கம் என்று சுமுகமான வர்த்தகப் பரிவர்த்தனைகளுக்கு ஏற்ற ஒரு சூழலைக் கொண்டு செயல்படுகிறது அந்த மையம். ஜன்னல்களுக்கு வெளியே அவலட்சணமாக ஏ.சி.

பெட்டிகள் தொங்கும் கதைக்கே இங்கே இடமில்லை. எப்போதும் 22 டிகிரி செல்சியஸ் வெப்பநிலை இருக்கும் விதத்தில் அங்கு சூழல் அமைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும்.

நகரத்துக்குள் ஒரு நகரம் என்ற திட்டத்தின் முன்வடிவம்தான் ‘உலக வர்த்தக மையம்’. நாம் அங்கே வசிக்கலாம், வேலை பார்க்கலாம், விளையாடலாம். உள்ளே இருக்கும் ‘பாலைவனச் சோலை’ உள்ளிட்ட ஒவ்வொரு இடத்துக்கும், ஒவ்வொரு அங்குலத்துக்கும் ஆகும் செலவு மேலாண்மைக் கட்டணத்தில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டுவிடும். பொருட்காட்சியின் தரையமைப்பையும் கூட பனிச்சறுக்குத் தளமாகவோ குத்துச்சண்டை தளமாகவோ மாற்றிக்கொள்ள முடியும்.

தொழில் செயல்பாடுகளுடன் பொழுதுபோக்கும் ஐக்கியமாகிவிடுகிறது இங்கே. கட்டிடம் கட்டும்போதே ஹாரிஸிடம் சேக் இப்படிச் சொல்லியிருந்தார், “வர்த்தகத்தை மனதில் கொண்டே வசதிகள், பொழுதுபோக்கு போன்றவற்றுக்கு நாம் முக்கியத்துவம் கொடுக்க வேண்டும்.”

500 சொகுசு அடுக்ககங்களுடன் ஒரு நகரம் போல அந்தக் கட்டிடம் செயல்பட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கிறது. துபாய் ஷேக்குக்குச் சொந்தமான இந்தக் கட்டிடம் நகரத்தின் ஏனைய பகுதிகளிலிருந்து தனித்து இயங்குகிறது. அரபு உலகின் மையமாக இந்தக் கட்டிடத்தை ஆங்கில ஊடகங்களில் ஷேக் விளம்பரப்படுத்தினார்.

உலகிலேயே உயரமான கட்டிடங்கள் துபாயில் தற்போது கட்டப்பட்டுக்கொண்டிருக்கின்றன. அது மட்டுமல்லாமல் ‘பாம் ஜுமைரா’ போன்ற தீவுக் கட்டமைப்புகளும் உருவாக்கப்பட்டிருக்கின்றன. அவற்றுக்கு முன்னால் ‘உலக வர்த்தக மைய’த்தின் கட்டிடம் சிறு மடுபோலக் காட்சியளிக்கலாம். ஆனால், துபாயை உலகுக்கு விற்றது இந்தக் கட்டிடம்தான் என்பதை மறக்கக் கூடாது.

1981-ல் அபுதாபியிடம் ஆயுதங்களை விற்பதற்காக அப்போதைய இங்கிலாந்து பிரதமர் மார்கரெட் தாட்சர் வந்தபோது துபாயிலும் தலையைக் காட்டிவிட்டுச் சென்றார். அப்போது அவரை ஷேக் ரஷீத் வர்த்தக மையத்தின் கோபுரத்தின் உச்சிக்கு அழைத்துச் சென்றார்.

உலகின் மிகப் பெரிய செயற்கைத் துறைமுகமான ‘போர்ட் ஜெபல் அலி’யை அங்கிருந்து ஷேக் காட்டினார். பிரிட்டனின் பொறியாளர்களும் கடன் நல்கையாளர்களும் சேர்ந்து உதவியதால் உலக அரங்கில் துபாய் மேலே மேலே செல்ல ஆரம்பித்தது. அதற்கான உதாரணமாக ஷேக் அந்தத் துறைமுகத்தை ‘உலக வர்த்தக மைய’த்தின் உச்சியிலிருந்து காட்டினார். துபாயின் ஒரு கட்டிடம் துபாயை உலகுக்கு விற்ற கதை இதுதான்.

தி கார்டியன், சுருக்கமாகத் தமிழில்: ஆசை

Source….www.tamil.thehindu.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day….”God, the universal father,will punish HIS Devotees, when needed, with Love..”..”

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SI_20160503 (1)In order to save His devotees, God takes many GO different actions in several ways. Devotees, unable to recognise and understand the inner meaning of such actions, think that God is giving them unnecessary difficulties. People only have external vision. God has inner vision. Paramatma is always caring for the well-being of His people. Even if a son, who has been brought up with much care by the mother, makes a mistake, the mother will correct the son and punish if appropriate. When we see this, we feel that a mother who has brought up the son with such care, love, and tenderness is harsh in punishing the child; but the mother does so with affection. In the same manner—God, the universal father, will punish His devotees, when needed, with love. Do not mistake it to be God desiring to punish people. God is always full of grace.

Image of the Day…”Sunrays Seen from Chile “

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Sunrays seen from Chile

Crepuscular rays, sometimes called sunrays, above the famous volcano Licancabur on the border between Chile and Bolivia.

View larger. | Photo by Yuri Beletsky in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Visit Yuri Beletsky Nightscapes.                                                                      crepuscular-rays-Yuri-Beletsky-Nightscapes-Atacama-desert-Chile-e1463485327917

Yuri Beletsky wrote on May 16, 2016:

Erupting volcano? Fire in the mountains? Not really. These are so-called crepuscular rays. We witnessed this amazing view just before sunrise in Atacama desert in Chile. In the center of the image one see famous stratovolcano Licancabur (19,420 feet or 5,920 meters) illuminated by the sun from behind. Beautiful rays spans across the sky and the sun will appear just in seconds.

Source….www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

 

Worlds Safest Airlines …Top 20….” Qantas is in Top of the list for the 3rd Year ” …

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Nervous flyer?  Just want to know you’re traveling with a reliable airline? Find out who are the world’s safest airlines.

AirlineRatings.com, the world’s only safety and product rating website, which was launched in June 2013, has announced its top twenty safest airlines and top ten safest low cost airlines for 2016 from the 407 it monitors.

Top of the list for the third year is Australia’s Qantas, which has a fatality free record in the jet era – an extraordinary record. Making up the remainder of the top twenty in alphabetical order are: Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

AirlineRatings.com’s rating system takes into account a range of factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations as well as government audits and the airline’s fatality record. AirlineRating.com’s editorial team, one of the world’s most awarded and experienced, also examined each airline’s operational history, incident records and operational excellence to arrive at its top twenty safest airlines.

The AirlineRatings.com top twenty have always been at the forefront of safety innovation and launching of new aircraft and these airlines have become a byword for excellence. Responding to public interest, the AirlineRatings.com editors also identified their top ten safest low cost airlines.

They are in alphabetical order: Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, Jetblue, Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly, Virgin America, Volaris and Westjet.

Unlike a number of low cost carriers, these airlines have all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and have excellent safety records.
Of the 407 airlines surveyed, 148 have the top seven-star safety ranking but almost 50 have just three stars or less. There are 10 airlines with only one star and these airlines are from Indonesia, Nepal and Surinam.

In selecting Qantas as the world’s safest airline AirlineRatings.com editors noted that over its 95-year history the world’s oldest continuously operating airline has amassed an extraordinary record of firsts in operations and safety and is now accepted as the industry’s most experienced carrier.

The Australian airline has been a leader in: the development of the Future Air Navigation System; the Flight Data Recorder to monitor plane and later crew performance; automatic landings using Global Navigation Satellite System as well as precision approaches around mountains in cloud using RNP. Qantas was the lead airline with real time monitoring of its engines across its fleet using satellite communications, which has enabled the airline to detect problems before they become a major safety issue.

Last year was a disturbing year for airline safety with some tragic and bizarre accidents such as the high profile GermanWings and Metrojet disasters. However according to Aviation-Safety.net data, the 16 accidents in 2015 with 560 fatalities were below the 10-year average of 31 accidents and 714 fatalities. Last year was also a significant improvement over 2014 when there were 21 fatal accidents with 986 fatalities.

Balancing these numbers the world’s airlines carried a record 3.6 billion passengers on 34 million flights in 2015.

Flashback 50 years and there were a staggering 87 crashes killing 1,597 when airlines carried only 141 million passengers – 5 per cent of today’s number.

– See more at: http://www.airlineratings.com/news/630/who-are-the-worlds-safest-airlines-for-2016#sthash.d2MKORhu.dpuf

Source….www.airlineratings.com

Natarajan

வாரம் ஒரு கவிதை …” தீபத்தின் ஒளியில் ” !!!

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தீபத்தின் ஒளியில் …
……………
ஒளியில் மிளிரும்  தீபம் … அதில் மலரும்    ஒளி   தீப  ஒளி  !
 
விழிக்கு  இமை போல் ஒளிக்கு  தீபம் அன்றோ !….ஒரு  தீபம்  
 
 தரும் ஒளியில்  படிக்கும்  பல விழிகள்! …கையில் தீபம் ஏந்தி அது  
 
காட்டும் வழியில்   நடக்கும்  கால்கள் பல …!   கலங்கரை 
 
தீப ஒளி காட்டும் தடத்தில் கரை சேரும்   கலங்களும்  பலப்  பல !
தீபம் சிறிதானாலும் அதன்  ஒளி  பெரியது ….வலியது !
 
 தீபத்தின்  ஒளியில் ஒருவர் காண்பது   அவர் வாழ்வின் ஒளிவிளக்கை !
 
தீபத்தில்  பெரிய தீபம் …. இறைவன்  படைத்தது  …!
 
 என் தீபம் … உன் தீபம்  என்று  சொந்தம் சொல்ல முடியாத 
 
உலகின்  ஒளிவிளக்கு …. கதிரவன்  என்னும்  ஒரு  அற்புத  தீபம் !
 
சொல்லுங்க …இந்த அரிய  தீபத்தில் இல்லாத சக்தி  எந்த மின் சக்தியில் 
 
இருக்கு ?  இறைவன்  கொடுக்கும்  இந்த தீப ஒளி  நம்  வீட்டுக் 
 
கூரையில்  கிடைக்க  …..  “எங்கே   என் 
 
மின்சாரம்”  என்று அங்கும் இங்கும்   நாம் அலைவது  ஏன் ?   
 
நம் கையில் வெண்ணெய்  இருக்க  நெய் தேடி  இலக்கு இல்லாமல் 
 
இனியும்  நாம்  ஓட வேண்டுமா ?  சொல்லுங்க …  
 
இறைவன் படைத்த  அந்த அற்புத தீப  ஒளியின் துணையில்   நல்லதொரு 
 
வழி  தேடுவோம் இன்றே !   “இல்லை  இனிமேல் மின் பற்றாக்குறை “
என்ற   ஒரு  இனிய  விடியலுக்கும்  போடுவோம்  பாதை  உடனே !
Natarajan….. My Kavithai in http://www.dinamani.com on 23 May 2016
 

Image of the Day….” Full Moon and Mars “

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Have you seen Mars?

Best photos of Mars near the moon this weekend.  View larger.   Full moon and Mars over Dallas, Texas, from EarthSky friend Ben Zavala. They were bright enough to be seen from large cities.                                                                                                                            Posted by  in http://www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

mars-moon-5-21-2016-Dalas-TX-Ben-Zavala-sq-e1463905187839

First Recorded public version on a Gramophone Plate…First Sloka in Rig Veda !!!

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Something Surprising..

His Masters Voice (HMV) had once published a pamphlet giving the history of gramophone record.
Gramophone was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in the 19th century.
Edison, who had invented many other gadgets like electric light and the motion picture camera, had become a legend even in his own time.

When he invented the gramophone record, which could record human voice for posterity, he wanted to record the voice of an eminent scholar on his first piece.
For that he chose Prof. Max Muller another great personality of the 19th century.
He wrote to Max Muller saying,
“I want to meet you and record your voice. When should I come?”
Max Muller who had great respect for Edison asked him to come on a suitable time when most of the scholars of the Europe would be gathering in England.

Accordingly, Edison took a ship and went to meet Max Muller .
He was introduced to the audience.
All cheered Edison’s presence.
Later at the request of Edison, Max Muller came on the stage and spoke in front of the instrument.
Then Edison went back to his laboratory and by afternoon came back with a disc.
He played the gramophone disc from his instrument.
The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller from the instrument.
They were glad that voices of great persons like Max Muller could be stored for the benefit of posterity.

After several rounds of applause and congratulations to Thomas Edison, Max Muller came to the stage and addressed the scholars and asked them,
“You heard my original voice in the morning. Then you heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in the afternoon. Do you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard in the afternoon?”

The audience fell silent because they could not understand the language in which Max Muller had spoken.
It was ‘Greek and Latin’ to them as they say.

But had it been Greek or Latin, they would have definitely understood because they were from various parts of Europe.
It was in a language which the European scholars had never heard.

Max Muller then explained what he had spoken.
He said that the language he spoke was Sanskrit and it was the first sloka of Rig Veda, which says “Agni Meele Purohitam”

This was the first recorded public version on the gramophone plate.

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवं रत्वीजम।
होतारं रत्नधातमम।।
(Rig Veda 1.001.01)

Why did Max Muller choose this?

Addressing the audience he said,
“Vedas are the oldest text of the human race. And “Agni Meele Purohitam” is the first verse of Rig Veda.
In the most primordial time, when the people did not know how even to cover their bodies and lived by hunting and housed in caves, Indians had attained high civilization and they gave the world universal philosophies in the form of the Vedas”

When “Agni Meele Purohitam” was replayed, the entire audience stood up in silence as a mark of respect.

The verse means :
“Oh Agni, You who gleam in the darkness, to You we come day by day, with devotion and bearing homage. So be of easy access to us, Agni, as a father to his son, abide with us for our well being.”

Source…..Input from a friend of mine

Natarajan

An Inspiring Story…. Meet Renuka Aradhya of Bengaluru …

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When he was young, Renuka Aradhya would beg for foodgrains, which he’d sell for a living.

Today, he owns a company that employs 150 people and directs three start-ups.

This is his inspiring story.18renuka-aradhya1

 

IMAGE: Renuka Aradhya grew up in poverty and had to take up several odd jobs to run his family.

Renuka Aradhya’s company today has a turnover of Rs 30 crore and employs 150 people.

This by no means is the finishing line even though the 50-year-old entrepreneur started life’s race with a major handicap.

Renuka was born poor. Very poor. He has seen the kind of poverty that put him on the streets to beg. The poverty that kept him hungry both literally and metaphorically.

Where does one begin to tell this entrepreneur’s story?

From pushing a handcart under a blazing sun to now owning a fleet of 1000 plus cars? Or from transporting 300 dead bodies to ferrying foreign tourists who left tips in dollars? Or from failing to clear Class X exams to now rubbing shoulders with the industry’s who’s who?

Or the fact that with his foresight he was able to ward off Uber and Ola poaching his business, and is making the next generation ready to dream big by bringing his daughter-in-law (who comes from a poor family) into the business.

Ernest Hemingway wrote a long time ago, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

Here’s Renuka’s roller coaster journey in his own words because no other words will do it justice.

Every day is a winding road

I belong to a village called Gopasandra, in Anekal taluk near Bengaluru.

My father was a pujari at a temple allotted by the state government though he did not get any fixed salary.

After conducting the puja, he would go to nearby villages to beg for ragi, jowar, or rice. He would then sell the grains in the market and with the money that he got from the sale he would take care of us. We were three children — two boys and one girl.

I would go begging with my father to these neighbouring villages, which is now Electronic City.

After I finished Class VI, my father thought he would put me in somebody’s home as a domestic help to make ends meet. My school fee till Class X was taken care of by my teachers because they would get me to do their domestic work like washing utensils, dusting and sweeping.

I started working for an old man who had a severe skin ailment. I would tend to him, give him a bath, and apply skin ointment all over his body.

Since I belonged to the pujari clan, I also had to perform puja at a nearby temple. After that, I would go to school. I lived there for one whole year.

Soon after, my father admitted me to a boys’ ashram in Chickpet, where I remained for three years.

The hostel would give us two meals a day, one at 8 am and the other at 8 pm and nothing in between.

I remember I was always hungry. I could not focus on my studies at all and my mind was occupied with trying to find how I could lay my hands on some food.

It was mandatory in this ashram to learn Sanskrit and the Vedas. I quickly picked this up because I realised that if I could accompany the seniors in some naming ceremony, weddings, or pujas I could eat at those events. But it was not very easy to get hold of these opportunities. I had to placate my seniors by offering to do their personal chores like washing their clothes.

As a result, I failed in Class X, passing only in Sanskrit. I then had to return home as my father passed away and the responsibility of my mother fell on me. My older brother was married and not keen on taking care of her or my sister and me.

In poverty, there is no unity. Lack of money can make people selfish and mean. If people lived happily together in the midst of poverty then they are gods.

I soon started working in a factory in Audgodi. I was there for a year.

This was followed by a stint in a plastic manufacturing company and then an ice-making factory.

I then found a job as a sweeper in an AdLabs branch.

My mind is sharp. I soon got a hang of printing and helping out with the work.

I was there for three years and had to quit because I was getting drawn into nefarious activities by some employees, who expected me to join them as well.

I am glad I quit because I heard later that they were found out and sacked.

I joined Shyam Sunder Trading Company where I started working as a helper.

The company was into making and trading in bags and suitcases. I had to load a handcart with suitcases. Another helper and I took turns pushing and pulling it through the city roads and transported them from the factory to the shop. Soon, I was promoted to a sales position.

After working there for a few months, I thought ‘why not start my own business?’

Since I was familiar with this business, I decided to make covers for suitcases and vanity bags.

I would take my bicycle and go around the city shouting for customers who wanted covers stitched for their suitcases and bags. It did not work out well for me and I lost Rs 30,000.

I was back to square one. My brother, who was a security guard, found me a job as one.

The reason I kept moving and starting all over again is because I wanted to achieve something. I did not have any educational background. I was not even a high-school pass. I had no money and no family connection. I did not have any mentors, no one to guide me. But I was always in search of opportunities.

I was around 18 when I got into bad company — drinking and gambling. Thankfully, the older boys I used to hang out with moved out and I escaped a life that would not have taken me anywhere.

When I turned 20, I told my mother I wanted to get married.

I thought that marriage would make me more responsible and focussed. I was earning Rs 600 as a security guard, so to make a few extra bucks I started taking on odd jobs like that of mali (gardener), or climbing coconut trees.

I remember that I charged Rs 15 per tree and I would climb 20 trees per day.

Not satisfied with what I was doing, I decided to become a driver, though I did not know how to drive.

I did not have any money to learn driving and to get a driver’s licence. So I borrowed some money from my brother-in-law and pawned my wedding ring.

All went well and I got my driving licence. But the first day of my driving job was a big nightmare.

I was meant to reverse the car and park it, instead, I banged it into the gate. That job lasted only a few hours. I was back to being a security guard.

It was very depressing. I would go to the temple and bang my head on the steps lamenting my destiny and how God was being so unkind to me. I wanted to drive and yet here I was going back to doing what I thought I had come out of.

Since I was always looking out for an opportunity, I met a taxi operator who decided to give me a break.

He told me not to worry if I banged the car. ‘Just run away from there,’ he told me.

I was so grateful that I told him he needn’t pay me till I can prove myself. I’ll manage with the driver ‘batha’ (per day charges on an outstation trip), I told him.

I remember carrying large stones in the car. Whenever I had to halt at an incline, I would pull the handbrakes and quickly place the stones next to the rear wheels to prevent the car from rolling back.

Imagine how many stones I must have left behind me in a trail (laughs).

I was determined not to go back to being a security guard this time. In the nights, I would practice reversing the car, parking it, and managing inclines on the road without the stones. Slowly, my confidence grew.

My first outstation trip was to Gokarna. I learnt that if you drive slow and steady then everything works out well. So that’s what I did.

I was so nervous that I did not dare press on the accelerator too hard. Imagine my surprise when I got this feedback from the guests saying that I was a very good driver (laughs).

One more thing I learnt was that if you take care of your customers, then you’ve won the battle. I got very good reviews from my customers and because of this, I was always in demand.

I worked at a transport company for four years. Besides ferrying passengers, the company also provided vehicles to hospitals like Nimhans to transport dead bodies back to their homes for the last rites.

I have transported approximately 300 dead bodies across India. And many times, I have done so alone because there was no one from the deceased family to accompany the body.

And look at the irony, immediately after I came back from one of these trips there would be a group waiting to go on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. I would sprinkle some holy water on the vehicle and get on with the next journey.

This also taught me the impermanence of life. That nothing is enduring. That life and death are nothing but two ends of a long journey.

You know the most important learning for me in my journey has been that to earn money you must have a vision. And to make that happen, you must make the best of opportunities that come your way. You must do whatever you are doing with total dedication and keep a good track record.

One day, fortune will surely smile upon you.

Two-way street

 

My wife used to work in the garment industry. First, she was a helper and then she went on to become a tailor. Together, we would earn Rs 900.

I was soon upgraded to another travel company. Here I got an opportunity to drive foreign tourists.

I would get good tips in dollars. Over the four years that I worked there I had a neat sum saved up from these tips.

I got my wife to withdraw her PF money, and together with the amount I had saved I started a company called City Safari with some other people.

Once the company started doing well, I was made the manager.

When I was only a driver, I would often think that one day instead of submitting a trip sheet I should be the one collecting it. And that dream came true with my new post as manager (smiles).

Around this time, I bought my first car. It was an Indica.

 

I had to take a loan from the bank. My older brother refused to be a guarantor, and I had to seek someone else’s help.

In another year-and-a-half, I bought one more car. With these cars, I went to work for two years with Spot City Taxi.

As you can gather, I wanted to build my own travel/transport company.

A company called Indian City Taxi was on a distress sale. I did not have any knowledge of merger and acquisition, justpaisa de do, company le lo (give money, buy the company).

I bought that company in 2006 with Rs 6.5 lakh. I had to sell all the cars that I had by then to produce this money. The company had 35 cabs attached to it and they would make Rs 1000 commission per vehicle, so in a month Rs 35,000 was assured.

I took a lot of risks, which thankfully paid off.

I had earlier registered the name ‘Pravasi Cabs’ when I had three cars of my own. So I called my new company that.

I was an entrepreneur now. The name came to me from the foreign tourists and expatriates I drove around. Pravasi is the Sanskrit word for expatriates.

However, it was not all that easy. There were a lot of complications.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I soon got my first client — Amazon India. When they were setting up their Chennai office, they also helped me expand my business there.

Now the thing with corporates is they pay after three months, and I did not get my payments even after six months. So I took loans, and through the years have ended up paying lakhs as interest.

But mind you, the money was not for me. I would give my wife Rs 20,000 every month to run the house. The rest was all for the company.

I poured my days and nights with hard work. Slowly, revenue started coming in.

I thought of expanding my business and getting more clients.

What if Amazon withdrew? I would end up on the streets. Hence, I slowly got more clients like Walmart, Akamai, General Motors, and others. I did not have a sales team, no marketing team, nothing.

I never lost an opportunity even if my cut was three percent, I did not care. I just wanted to get into operations.

I had to increase my turnover, only then would I get funding from the market or banks. But if I concentrated only on profits, my turnover would decrease.

At this time, we were in on-call service, employee transport service (ETS), and train/bus ticketing (which I left after a year). I owe a lot to Amazon for supporting my growth.

I do not have any barrier to starting operations. I just look for three things: the attitude of the local drivers, their behaviour towards customers, and vehicle availability.

Are we nearly there, yet?

I learnt English by conversing with tourists.

When the car would be parked while the tourists did the sightseeing I would wait in the car either trying to read from an English newspaper or write passages from it.

I did not waste time gossiping with other drivers or smoking. I would either read or catch up on my sleep.

As my business grew, I felt the need to attend networking sessions, workshops and talks on marketing, customer retention or economics of running a business.

A lot of my personal growth happened this way. The other advantage I had was that I am very tech-savvy; I can work any gadget.

Three years ago, I started providing buses to schools.

Initially, the understanding was that we had to manage with the transport fee that the school charged.

The first year, I lost Rs 10 lakh. I made an agreement with the school that I would give them 35 percent for the next 10 years. So I would invest in the buses. This is the first year that I am going to break-even. I started this because I could not rely on only ETS.

And, surely, when Ola and Uber came along, it impacted the taxi industry greatly.

But I escaped because I had around 700 cabs attached to me. I lost about 200 to them. But I was still left with 500.

My idea was if I had more than 500 vehicles then no one can touch me. But if I had 100, 200 cars, then certainly I would have had reason to panic. In fact, many taxi operators had to shut shop when Ola and Uber speed chased them.

I believe that because I dreamt big, I managed to escape. If I had a small cab agency and was satisfied with earning Rs 40,000 a month, my business would certainly have been punctured.

I realised the best solution was to have a new scheme for my drivers, which was an owner-cum-driver scheme.

The deal was that for an advance of Rs 50,000, I would buy them a new car. He had to work for 36 months, and after that, the car would be transferred to his name. Whatever he earns, he keeps, we just deduct the EMI for the vehicle. We now have 300 vehicles like that, and I have the liability of all those vehicles on my head.

Besides this, we also provide training to the drivers regarding behaviour and how to manage their finances.

You know, my growth has been only this much because I wasn’t educated enough. I do not know the planning and strategies like the IIT and IIM guys.

I am also a director in three start-ups. Along with six other directors, I sit on the board of loaddial.com.

It is an aggregator of goods vehicles. I am also a director in a company that will provide affordable housing to people like drivers and garment workers.

I have a few other concepts like having a Foodpanda like app for smaller cities and towns.

In three years, once I cross Rs 100 crore I will go for an IPO.

As a social responsibility, I want to encourage women drivers.

I am ready to even waive the Rs 50,000 advance if women come forward saying they want to become owner-cum-drivers. We have also created an all-women call centre for Pravasi in Karwar.

I believe in the power of the mind. What we think, we become.

How many times will you say ‘I do not have any experience so how will I do this?’

Initially, there will be more criticism and less goodwill.

But slowly the criticism will fade away.

Whatever God has given me, I have shared with everyone. And I firmly believe that because of this I have managed to get myself educated and get rich.

I took my chances and during all those times when I picked up an opportunity even though it was not financially viable, I firmly believed that one day God would give me back double. Otherwise how else can a security guard today drive a Rs 23-lakh car?

 

 Source….DiptiNair in http://www.rediff.com
Natarajan
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