Friday 6 January 2023

Basic Armament Technology

Basic Armament Technology: Author and Publisher: Ravindra Nathan Vachali, Pp. 159, Price: Paperback Rs. 480/=, Language: English, First edition: July 2021, ISBN: Not mentioned, e-version: not mentioned.

           Defence of any country is the most important issue. If the nation survives, we all will survive. Sometimes offence is the best form of defence. Hence the country should be ever ready to face all such eventualities from the enemy and come out with full glory. We must build our strength of reliable self defence and make people aware of our strength, so that there is less likelihood of taking liberties for attacking our country. The means of fighting have been changing and will continue to change with passage of time. Hence the production units and the connected organizations have to keep pace with the changes taking place. Any armament when used will create destruction, damages and loss of lives, but there is no other option. Every country has to keep itself in readiness for offensive and/or defensive actions. Many times wars prolong for months and years. Even though armament is produced and stored in appropriate conditions but when the war starts, the consumption of armaments is very fast.

           Coming to technical aspects, the book, generally and broadly covers the basic aspects of the arms and ammunition field, along with the other connected areas. Broadly the range of topics included in the book are: initiators, boosters, primers and fuzes, shells, shots, cartridge case fixed and separate ammunition, mortars, mines and grenades, pyro techniques, signal cartridges, guns, recoil arresters, rockets, rocket launchers, recoilless guns and ammunition, small arms ammunition and weapons, mines, demolition charges, grenades, propellants and explosives, improved explosive devices, armoured vehicles and tanks, clouding and cluster ammunitions, preserving packages and storage magazines, age factor and life of the armament. The efficiency also depends on the conditions of storage. This is an important factor. All arms and ammunition and other items are manufactured for keeping them stored for several years and rarely for immediately being put to use in a war. Besides utilization in defence of the country, some items produced are also required for Police, Railways, Mining organizations, Civil trade for sporting purposes, for national and international shooting championships, exports etc. So it has a wide scope. The number and quantity of the items produced is substantially large. Chapter 1 of the book explains the basic and general terminology. Chapter 2 gives a history of development of the armaments starting from the stone as a weapon. Chapter 14 covers various types of bullets etc. in small arms ammunition. Chapter 19 talks about the functioning test for each batch of production. There are number of tests including actual functioning test on sample basis. Each Chapter of the book provides required information in brief.

             In the beginning of the book, the author provides “about the author”, with his photograph, Table of Contents and Preface. The back cover provides author’s photograph and “Disclaimer” with clear caution about the objective of writing the book and possible misuse of the information provided. There are in all 26 Chapters in the book, and all these provide appropriate information about the armament technology. The contents are elementary and basic in nature. The book has a total of 60 figures spread over 14 Chapters. The number of pages in each of the Chapters generally ranges between 2 to 11, but mostly around 5-6. There is no Dedication, Introduction, About the book, Subject index, List of abbreviations, Tables of data, Acknowledgements, etc.  The book cover design is appropriate to the subject of the book. The quality of the paper used is good. The purpose of writing this book is to apprise the general public of all age groups, including the young ones, of the technology, variety and stakes involved, importance of safety, quality control and storage conditions, including the testing at different stages as well as at the final stage, likely risks to those involved in production and connected activities. In all the fields there is continuous development, including in the armament field. However the present book does not offer the latest status for all the aspects.

         The author has taken considerable pains to collect the basic and relevant information, prepare the sketches and present in a proper order. This book is basically an awareness book, for the conventional weapons for the layman in general.   Detailed information about engineering, chemical, explosive and testing etc. is not given here. With this much information, it cannot be put to practical applications. Adequate intimation of caution has been given in the book, for this purpose. This will help the new comers to get an idea. Also it may motivate some of the young persons to think of joining organizations connected with production, quality control, safety, storage and utilization for defence of the country and other relevant areas, to serve their motherland through this means. This book is therefore suitable for such objectives.

                                               --------------------vijaiksharma

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 


Thursday 15 December 2022

Historicity of Padmini (The Maharani of Chittor)

 

Historicity of Padmini (The Maharani of Chittor), Author: Dr. (Ms.) Chandramani Singh and Mr. Surendra Bothara, Translator: Ashok Kumar Mohnot, Publisher: Prakrit Bharati Academy, Jaipur and Rajasthani Granthagar, Jodhpur, Language: English, Pp: 245, Price: Rs.400/=, Year of publication: 2022, ISBN: 978-93-91446-16-1

As human beings we all are proud of, and love our motherland and our clan. In this respect the name of Maharani Padmini (Padmavati), wife of Rawal Ratnasen of Chittor is famous. Whenever we talk of patriotism and national devotion, name of Padmini comes forward. Her supreme sacrifice, that of her family and many others, is respectfully known, all over India and even outside. Instead of surrendering, they all chose “Jauhar”. i.e. laying down their life by self-desire. This is based on the historical research conducted by the historians. However, there are some differences in the minds of some people or historians as to whether such an event took place at all. Some say that there is no such character like Padmini in History and that it is only an imagination of the writer.  

Any historical research needs hard work, unbiased, dispassionate analysis and brainstorming to arrive at the reality.  Also the historians themselves have different approaches and views. The required and confirmed details are generally not available easily and are not in a proper arranged manner. Muslim historians are said to have been scared of Alauddin Khilji and it appears that they have not written clearly. Col. Todd has contributed a lot through his book “Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan”. He has mentioned about Padmini. But he left India in between and worked from England. But there are various ways to arrive at the truth. We should allow some independent researchers to work and also give them due importance. We should examine folk literature; folk arts, traditions etc., find out the links, join the links and arrive at the reality. It is understood that established historians Shyamal das and Gauri shankar Hira chand Ojha have contributed a lot in this case. Also the historians of Rajasthan have collected the information about the parental family of Padmini.       

“Padmini Charitra Chaupai” by Bhanwar Lal Nahta,  was written around 14th century, that is 50 to 70 years after the event or 157-187 years before Malik Mohammed Jayasi. In the opinion of Shri  Lal chand Bhagwan das Gandhi, it is of 15 th century but in the opinion of  Shri Agarchand Nahata it is of 16th century. Shri Narayan das wrote his composition viz. Chittai Charit in 1526 AD, which gives some references of Chittor, Padmini, Ratansen and Alauddin. Malik Mohammed Jayasi wrote in the form of poetry around the year 1540 AD, that is 237 years after the event. He had chosen this popular story, based on the historical events and the main characters viz. Padmawati, Ratansen, Alauddin, Raghav Chetan and Gora Badal. Since the characters in the story of Jayasi are historical and beyond dispute, then to choose one character and call it non-historical is beyond comprehension. Under some pressure, the historians forgot that Padmawati is the heroine of the story. During that period, except for the orders of the King, all other communications were said to be by oral means only, whether personally or through a messenger. So there could be mistakes and/or confusions in the details. However, any effort to disown such main historical events and characters is not justified, just on the basis of opinion, arguments and counter-arguments.  This event was also popular in South India and scripts were written in south also. The writer of Padmavat was a Sufi, so this book generated a demand in the Muslim families also. It is understood that they had kept Padmavat book properly, with honour. In the beginning of twentieth century, many scripts were written on Padmini and Maharana Pratap for their bravery. Also one drama was written & staged also, and a film was made on the historical events of Rajasthan.

The events of Padmavati got into limelight recently, due to the difficulty in clearance of a film on Padmavati, by the Film Censor Board.  The senior author was invited by this Board to see the film at Mumbai and advice about its release. A few other authorities were also invited for this purpose, who also gave their advice to the Film Censor Board. Ultimately the film was cleared for release.

In the beginning of the book, Preface has been written by Shri D R Mehta, Founder and Chief Patron, Prakrit Bharati Academy, Jaipur, detailed Background by the authors and then Contents. There are seven Chapters in the book. These are: History of Padmini, Attack by Allauddin and Jauhar by Padmini, Chittor and sacrifice of Rawal Ratnsen (Ratnsingh) in literature,  Persons of the two sides, Attack on Chittor and Historians, The story of Padmawat, Padmawat in the world of the Art.

In Chapter 2, “Attack by Alauddin and Jauhar by Padmini” the authors describe the family details of Alauddin, his qualities especially in warfare and his ambitions etc. Initially, he chose to attack Chittor, for its strategic importance. The war was fought during 28 th January 1303 to 26 th August 1303. Having lost all hopes, the Rajput menfolk embraced SAKA and the women committed Jauhar. When Alauddin entered the fort, there was nothing except the deserted fort. The authors also give details of Padmini and Rawal Ratnasen. These events appear to have been initiated by a tantric Raghav Chetan. Subsequent events like capture of Ratnasen, obtaining his release, subsequent attacks etc. are described by the authors. But the bravery of the persons at that time for devotion and sacrifice for the nation is beyond comparison.

Towards the end of the book, the authors have provided 14 Appendices, list of 30 reference books and 11 essays and articles. The book has a colourful cover design, which is considered appropriate for the subject of the book. The back cover of the book provides “About the book”, though not written so.  The flaps of the cover of the book, give the photos and brief details of the authors and the translator.  The quality of paper used is good. The book provides 25 photos of the relevant paintings. This book is basically useful for the people of India in general and especially for the students of history, to make them aware of the various aspects of the events connected with Padmini. At the same time it is relevant for the students and other interested readers, including those from the foreign countries who do not have much knowledge about the events and would like to be enlightened about the same. Credit goes to the two authors for devoting time for study, research and then coming out with this book, along with the relevant references, evidences for the benefit of the readers, to make the matters clear  In my opinion, considering in an overall way, it is an excellent book for awareness, understanding, and usefulness for people of various age levels.                                                                                              

                                                                                                       ------------------vijaiksharma

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Monday 12 December 2022

The School Journey (Refresh Your Childhood)

 

The School Journey (Refresh Your Childhood), Author and Publisher: Dhanush.S, Pp. print version: 162, e version: 251, Price: Hard cover:$15, Paperback : $8, e version: not mentioned,  Language: English, First edition: Nov 2022, ISBN: Hard cover:979-8362388959, Paperback:979-8362387617, e version:  not mentioned,

Everybody will agree that for every human being, the stress free, interesting and best part of the life is during the school days. The students enjoy and learn many things from teachers, parents, senior students, class mates and others. Generally there are no vested interests, with some exceptions. Lifelong friendship is built with many students and teachers. These lead to mutual help and assistance in times of difficulty. In several cases, these lead to family contacts and relationships also. If one were to record these events, occurring in the childhood, it would become a book. This book has been written by the author based on his observations, dealings and feelings, but all the incidents and narrations are said to be imaginary, though the emotions are said to be real. The author narrates various stories in the school life and childhood days through his young friend Digvijay, who is 21 years of age. The excitement and emotions especially on the first day of the school, meeting the first friend and other friends, misunderstandings and fights with friends, having first ever crush, love of the parents and the family etc. have been narrated, as many children will have similar stories.

I have read the e version of the Book, hence my comments are based on the e-version. However, I have seen the photo of the cover of the book, in the email communication of the author and also seen the posts on social media. The cover design of the book is appropriate, attractive and appealing. Large and bold print has been used in the e version. But I cannot comment about the quality of paper used and the details on the back cover page etc. After providing the normal details of publications, title page and Contents etc., it gives a disclaimer. Towards the end of the book it provides “about the author”, who is a 18 year old teenager from Bangalore. The Contents of the book have been divided as follows: (a) Welcome to the fun world of “Primary” (b) The Roller-Coaster Duel ©My New World (d) My New World – Part 2 (e) The Exam Bonanza (f) The Village Fun.

The book starts with Digvijay’s preparing for going to the school for the first time. In the roller coaster duel, he describes the crowd in the school. He joins Pre-Nursery-B. He meets Bhavana her class friend. He has a feeling of crush on her. They dance together in a programme. Then Ram joins the school. They become friends. Later parents of Bhavana change her school. They both feel bad about it. Bhavana leaves the school. He talks of large playgrounds, sliding gates of school, parking area for school buses, large class rooms etc.  He celebrates his roller coaster birthday. He has a dream where he holds Bhavana’s hand.  Then mention is made of the graduation day. Digvijay completes Primary with Ram. Another girl joins the school, but her name is Bhavana too, though a different person. They talk and discuss about the lost ring of friendship. There is an incident of UNO smash. In the new world part 2, the fun trip with family has been described in detail. Here there are 2 instances depicting innocence of the children. The first part of the trip is to Mumbai and the second part is to Hyderabad. In Mumbai he gets an idea about the Dalal Street, besides visit to the caves. In Hyderabad, they visit Ramoji Rao Film city. Later, there is some problem in the examinations. The family decides to go to their village by train. He visits the big farmland of his grand-father and also visits the temple.

The young author, who is studying in 12th standard, has taken the initiative to write this book with the objective of sharing the experience and stories of the schooldays, refresh the childhood days for everyone and thus bring a smile on their faces. The author has narrated even the small events, happenings in the home and school, in a detailed manner. However, there are several learning observations/points from this book e.g. (a) Never judge a person just by his actions. (b) Never assume anything before analyzing any situation. (c)Ladies generally take more time for shopping. (d) Never show off in front of others. (e) Never depend on anyone. It is our life and we have to move alone. (f) Laugh at our own silly behaviour. (g) Family is more important. It gives full support in times of difficulty. (h) For a child the world is beautiful and his feelings are innocent.        

But there are a few mistakes of incompleteness/spelling/grammar etc. in the text of the book. Name of the caves near Mumbai has been written wrongly. Large size print has been used in the e version. A lot of Hindi words have been used in the script of this book. However, the book is an interesting read. One is curious to go through it, since firstly it has been written by a teenager and secondly because it enables each one of us to relive our school life days once again. It also motivates other children to write a book on a topic of their own choice or venture into any other field to make an achievement in the early stages of life. The present book is author’s first book. It is of interest to the young children to get knowledge, experience and motivation and to the people in other age groups, to relive their school days once again. We should celebrate our Childhood through "The School Journey" of Digvijay. But the best part is that Digvijay will continue with his stories further.

                                                                                                 ------------------vijaiksharma

Friday 9 December 2022

Rhythm of Life: (A poetic rendition of the Bhagavad Gita)

Rhythm of Life: (A poetic rendition of the Bhagavad Gita), Author: Baroruchi Mishra, Publisher: Notionpress.com, Language: English, Pp: 176, Price: Rs. 555/=, Year of publication: 2021, Reprint 2022, ISBN: 978-1-68563-959-4 (Hard case), 979-8-88503-166-0 (Paperback),

Gita as a book is an important, well-known and most appropriate book so far, to guide us for dealing with the problems of life. Gita has 18 Chapters and each one has its own importance. Every chapter in Gita is the main chapter. There are three sections. The first six chapters are about karma, next six chapters are about bhakti and the final six chapters are about jnana. But as per each Chapter, bhakti is the best. It is essentially the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. There are many works on Gita. In his passion for poetry, the author has rendered all the Chapters in the form of poetry but it is not just a simple translation or conversion.  This work, exploring the truth, involves intellect and spiritual awareness. In the book, presenting in a different and novel way, the author first gives brief commentary on each of the Chapters and then provides the poetic rendition. In my opinion, it is preferable to read both, in sequence, for each Chapter.

      Chapter 1 starts with the scene of the battlefield of Kurukshetra, wherein Pandavas and the Kauravas are locked in the fight for the kingdom, which was taken by the Kauravas by unfair means. Arjuna is the main warrior of the Pandavas, but he is unwilling to fight and kill his cousins and relatives. Lord Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna, counsels him about this fight. A famous part of Gita, is Chapter 2, Verse 47, which reads as follows: (Quote) karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana,  mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi. (Unquote). Its meaning is: You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction. However, in his poetic way, the author describes it as: (Quote) Only to work is your right, To their rewards, not quite.  Nor fruits of action be your motive in the slight, Neither inaction should ever become your rite.#47 (Unquote).  Chapter 14 is a famous Chapter of Gita and it describes the way to attain God.  The last Chapter i.e. number 18, covers the concepts of renunciation of actions, desires and the best form is detachment. Actions should be for purifying the soul. Arjuna is finally convinced, has no doubts and is more inclined to pick up the weapons and fight.

          In the beginning of the book, the author has given Dedication, Contents, Foreword by the famous Swami Avdheshanand Giri and Introduction. Towards the end of the book, Name Index and Subject Index have been provided. The back cover gives few details as “About the author” besides the details of the conversation between the author and one of his friends, about making the people aware about Gita, in a proper way. The book has been printed on good quality paper and has a colourful and appealing cover design. The fact that the book had a reprint in a year of its first publication, and has a Foreword by a well-known and high level spiritual authority, speaks volumes of the quality of this book and the response it received from the public in general. The book is basically and specifically useful for the people having a spiritual background to improve their understanding of Gita, but at the same time, it is useful for those who do not have much knowledge about this great book and would like to be enlightened about it. In this respect, it is very relevant for the school and college students, besides the other interested readers, including those from the foreign countries. Being in the poetic version, it is an added advantage to the readers. Credit goes to the author for providing such a version for the benefit of the readers. It is up to us, to take its advantage. In my opinion, considering in an overall way, it is an excellent book for understanding, usefulness and enjoyment for people of various age levels.

                                                                                                       ------------------vijaiksharma   

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Friday 16 September 2022

The Wisest Owl: (Be your own Financial Planner)

 

The Wisest Owl: (Be your own Financial Planner), Publisher: Penguin Business (An imprint of Penguin Random House), Author: Anupam Gupta, pp: 176, Price: not given, Language: English, E-book, Publ. 2022, ISBN: 9780143455905

Planning of financial investments is a topic in which normally everyone is interested. But it is not so simple a subject. There is uncertainty of various factors and in that condition only, we have to firm up our objectives and requirements, over a long period and take decisions, based on our study, experience, assessment and advice of specialists etc. People in general are rather afraid that the results of the investment may not be beneficial. Every investor wants and aims at gains, irrespective of any factor. But no one can guarantee 100% success in all matters.  

The present book shares with the readers, knowledge and varied experience of the author on the various related matters.  He has also provided the benefit of several other specialists for the readers.  But the author has given a word of caution. He has stated that this book is for education and information only and the investor should study himself and take decisions suitably. The book has six Chapters in all. Their titles are A Brave New World, Kal, Aaj Aur Kal, How Fintechs Changed Personal Finance, The FIRE Dream, A Framework for the Future and Checklists for My Money. At the end of each Chapter, the author has provided the perspectives of one adviser. Thus it has given the perspectives of advice of six Advisers. These advisers have been carefully chosen by the author based on their experience and standing. Their names are Dilshad Billimoria, Harsh Roongta, Lovaii Navlakhi, Melvin Joseph, Suresh Sadagopan, Vishal and Shalini Dhawan. The author has conducted surveys, organized interviews, obtained help from various persons in the field for the Chapters of this book and he has taken care to mention their names. He has also mentioned names of several organizations involved in this work.

As an example, I have chosen Chapter six “Checklists for my Money” for discussion.  It gives some tips for personal finance. There is a Check list of 8 basic financial products with general guidelines and fine print for each one. There are 2 lists, one of 22 questions which one should ask before committing to an investment and the other, a list of 11 questions one should ask before hiring a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). The author discusses a sample financial plan, along with its basics.  It gives two Case studies. For the first one, Financial freedom by Forty, it gives calculations of expenses in say 2037 (after inflation) and estimates of the Corpus required at age 45  (2037-2082). For second Case study, Retirement at age 65, it gives calculations of expenses in the year 2052 (after inflation) and estimates the Corpus required at age 40 till 85 (2052-2072). Of course certain assumptions are made for these calculations. Further in the Adviser’s Perspectives for this Chapter, they say that all steps should be for adding client’s finances and time to their client life. Other points discussed here are financial planning for women, misconceptions of financial planning, starting for a beginner, basic financial products to be considered by all, Stocks vs. MFs, Active vs. Passive, FDs and Debt funds and questions for choosing a financial adviser.

The beginning of the book provides About the author, About the book including disclaimer, Dedication to the full family of the author, followed by 2 quotations. Next are the Contents page & a lengthy Foreword by Shri Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Marcellus Investment Managers, Mumbai.  This is followed by Preface, which gives methodology followed in the book. I have read the e version of the book. Hence I cannot comment about the printed version, if any, brought out by the author, especially about the cover page design, quality of printing & paper used, About the book and About the author on the back cover page, printing errors etc. Towards the end of the book, the author has given Acknowledgements, Notes and References. In 49 links, Notes give, information about sources etc. , Preface & Chapter wise for Chapters 1,2,3,4 and also for Adviser Perspectives for Chapters 2 & 4. Further a total of 77 References are given for Foreword & Chapter 1 to 5.

I am also an investor like any other common investor. So I read the book with interest, from that point of view. Also learning is a continuous process. It is very difficult for anyone to give an exact advice or option in this matter. Things keep changing from time to time. Final decision has to be taken by the investor based on his own needs, knowledge and advice of the Adviser. People appear to be now shifting to Stocks and MFs, with active or passive investing, in place of Real Estate and Gold. We should make a realistic assessment of our needs, educate ourselves to improve our knowledge and experience and obtain sound advice from qualified and authorized Advisers. Thing should be done carefully and step by step. In my opinion, this interesting book will be helpful to all of us in educating us about the process of investment, for subsequent implementation and also sharing the knowledge with others.  It is an excellent and very useful book for everyone.

                                                                       ------------------vijaiksharma

 

Sunday 3 July 2022

Life And Success: The Complete Blueprint, Your Companion In your Quest To Be Successful

 

Life And Success: The Complete Blueprint, Your Companion In your Quest To Be Successful: Authors: S P Garg, Neha Sharma, Publisher: Bluerose Publishers, Pp.: 170, Price: INR 300, Overseas $ 15, Language: English, First Edition: April 2022, ISBN:  978-93-5611-520-0

All the human beings are considerably different. They do not have same in born qualities and IQ levels, preferences, likings, education levels, family backgrounds, financial conditions etc. But everyone desires success in life. Repeated failures may also be instrumental in demotivating some of us. The beauty lies in getting over such demotivating factors and thus achieving best possible success. But the age of the person, at which such a success is achieved and the field in which it is achieved, may vary from person to person. For achieving success in our life, we should try to learn from each other, as well as from the lives of some successful celebrities. We should not feel that we need not take help of anybody else. An accomplished person at a senior age level is expected to have learnt a lot, besides having created lot of personal contacts in several fields in his life. Therefore such persons will have many useful observations to share. Success in life includes learning human values, helping other human beings and finding ways and means to be happy as well as making others too, happy in life. With this objective, the author duo, have ventured to bring out this excellent book as a treasure house of information, knowledge and motivational points from the lives of other successful persons.

After the information about the publishing parameters, Dedication by S. P. Garg and Neha Sharma given separately and Preface, the book presents Contents. The book has two parts. Part 1: Unravelling the meaning of life and success, written by Neha Sharma has 11 Chapters in 72 pages. Part 2: Success Blueprint, written by Prof. S P Garg has 4 Chapters in 79 pages. Towards the end of the book, “End Note: Keep on Walking” written by Neha Sharma, Acknowledgements written by Prof. S P Garg and Neha Sharma separately and Author’s Profiles for Prof. S P Garg and Neha Sharma have been provided. In my opinion in Part 1: Chapter numbers 5 and 6 are more important. Chapter 5: Embracing your failures: lays stress on the fact that failures are a part of life, for everybody. One, who has never faced failure, has never tried. We should learn from our failures to try afresh with new ideas and opportunities, better planning, efforts, confidence and patience. We must not hate our failures.  We must know that our efforts may lead to failure or success.  Next stage of failure is certainly success. Chapter 6: I will survive:  lays stress on a fighting spirit. We should observe the happenings around us, foresee the challenges and prepare accordingly. The author provides details of six slices of inspiration, in different fields of activity in life, each of which needs study and examination. These do make us aware of the situations with a view to consistently go on trying with full hope of success though; there may be many more such sources of inspiration in reality.         

But in Part 2, Chapter numbers 12 and 13 are most important. Chapter 12: Ordinary People: Extraordinary Success (Learnings from success stories): provides 17 examples, with something or the other to learn from these examples. These stories reveal that even some of the ordinary people achieved extraordinary success. The author has randomly selected the stories of such people. Obviously these will lead to inspiration to many readers. We must break our limitations which we might have fixed. Each of these examples discusses failures and struggles faced, success achieved and lessons learned. Cases of many international celebrities have been taken up in this Chapter. Chapter 13: Success Blueprint for Entrepreneurs and Startups: is yet another important Chapter. This particular group of persons and organizations is the backbone of a country. We must dream big, achieve progress even in small but daily steps, so as to obtain long term success. This Chapter provides the common reasons of likely failures, attributes for such organizations for success, some practical tips, learning from other’s stories, converting hindrances to opportunities, celebrating even small successes, going with commitment and loyalty etc. Chapter 15: Ultimately Life is for Happiness: is a key Chapter in the book as “Happiness Matters”. It lays stress on the point that “Success is a journey. Not the destination.” Nothing is permanent in this world. Things come and go. Even a bad situation, and for that matter even a good situation will pass over. So we should no doubt try our best, but accept with thanks, what God gives to us. We have to develop our attitude, also involve ourselves in other than work related activities and feel happy and spread happiness around. This book attempts to provide the ways we can gain Happiness. According to Page 81 of the book, the main purpose of writing this book is achieving Happiness. Exploring the mystery of Happiness is most relevant for all of us.  Many authors, Doctors and others have dealt with and discussed the topic of Happiness. But there is no ideal prescription yet, for happiness.                                                           Quotations, important words, sentences and paragraphs have been printed in bold letters in this book for the purpose of highlighting. The language is easy to understand. The Quality of paper used for the book and also the printing are excellent. It is pleasing to read the book. Also there are brief quotations of various celebrities like George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Vivekananda and many others, at the start of 14 Chapters. There are additional quotations given in 8 Chapters. Number of pages contained in the Chapters of the book, vary from 3 to 38. The Cover design is simple and colourful. The back cover page of the book has brief description about the book along with the details of the bio-data of the two authors along with their photos. The young readers can find several useful guiding points for their own life. The children can be educated or get educated, in spite of inadequate resources like money, education or family members in the family. Based on guidance and hard work, such children can also reach high positions in their life.  We can learn a lot from each other as well as from our elders. There is a lot to learn about achieving success even in unfavourable situations.  Every successful person of today has had several failures before achieving success in his life. No one has had a smooth sailing in his life. If we try to learn from the lives of other persons, we can improve the rate and the quality of our progress in our life. Considering from an overall point of view, this book provides useful and motivational information, guidelines for the benefit of the persons, especially for those at the beginning of their career. It is an excellent and useful book which will be helpful in the journey towards success and excellence. A must read book.  

                                         ----------Reviewer: vijaiksharma

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        


 

 

 


Sunday 22 May 2022

THE INTERNET MOGULS OF THE WORLD: How the planet’s best found their passion and never looked back

 

THE INTERNET MOGULS OF THE WORLD: How the planet’s best found their passion and never looked back: Authors: Avi Arya, Raya Arya, Aviana Arya; Publisher: Happy Self Publishing, Pp. 464, Price: Rs.849/= (Paperback edition), Language-English, First edition 2021, ISBN 978-1-7376170-3-7

 

Success in life is achieved by only a fortunate few, who probably proceeded differently and navigated their efforts suitably, so as to get around or over the expected obstacles. But it is advisable to learn from the successful, experienced, senior and eminent persons and then take decisions, instead of making trials and errors. It is nice on the part of such persons to share their salient points for success. And in case such points for many successful persons can be provided at one place by somebody, it will be very helpful. That is what the present team of Daddy-daughters has exactly done. This team has travelled to several places in the world and used personalized micro-videos to meet and talk to several successful entrepreneurs in current era, about their ways of overcoming their difficulties in real life. Thus we can avoid repeating mistakes made by others in the past. This opportunity of learning has been obtained from the successful real-life internet/web heroes from different fields of profession. During this process, the authors themselves have also balanced work and family life. Broadly the book deals with the main point of answering the question “How to achieve success”. The authors highlight such best practices for starting a new venture or achieving higher growth of existing business, while maintaining availability of adequate time for the family.

After providing the publishing parameters, the book presents systematically organized Index, followed by Bon Voyage, The Backdrop. It has a total of 62 stories from different professions and countries, including the stories of the three authors themselves. Towards the end of the book, In parting, Acknowledgements, About the authors and Thank you have been provided. The book has some unique features. Every story in this book is presented in the form of questions-answers. The format of the interviews is Hero Introduction, The Success Kit, Not just Motivation, Exercise, Your light bulb moments. The number of the questions asked per story by all the interviewers together varies from 4 to 12, but mostly this varies between 5 and 8.  However, most of the questions for the Interviews have been asked by Avi. Several persons interviewed are young achievers of the age level 10, 15, 17, 19 years even. Every person interviewed is called as Hero.  After giving the name, the person is introduced in “Hero Introduction”. Main inspiring action points based on real life experiences are given as “The Success Kit”. The para titled “Not Just Motivation” gives a message from the interviewed person about starting online business. More details of the conversations with each of the experts can be learnt by listening to “Internet Moguls of the World” podcast on Spotify. Also for every story, the reader is required to complete an exercise containing some thought provoking questions, which vary between 2 to 5. This is followed by a page space for “Your light bulb moments” for writing about takeaways which appeal to us. References to some websites are given in 21 stories.  

Brief details from five randomly selected stories from this book are provided to give an idea of the input available to the readers. Story 7 presents the interview of Brad Lea; a leading authority on web based training and the Founder & CEO of Light Speed VT. He talks about first loving ourselves and striking balance between work and family life. We should prepare a solid introduction of our own and then involve through social media. Relationships have to be built with people but relationships come only when we offer something of value to others. We should also learn something or the other, daily. Story 29 presents the interview of Jeremy Ryan Slate. He has made a career on interviewing guests on his podcast, while also staying together with his family. Here the quality and number of interviews, different and interesting questions matter. We may not succeed at first but we should not give up. Things will improve with the use of internet power. We should improve our visibility, collaborate, use networking and keep learning with right tools and right people.  We have to start with a small step and build thereon with the help of homework, patience and creativity.

Story 38 presents the interview of Leslie Samuel for turning his passion into online business by blogging. He teaches people to build business with blogs. We have to decide what we want to do and for which type of audience and create the desired content.  We should create value and provide solutions to the problems through blogging. Collaboration, consistency, motivation, open mind, not giving up and continuously trying are required. Story 49 presents the interview of Rian Rao Narvekar, a 15 year old entrepreneur who tried several ideas especially for running small business. We should keep on thinking of business every minute, go in for what we are passionate about and create business e.g. reselling sneakers. We should build network, look for proper opportunity, assess where the market is likely and utilize social media platforms. We should have faith in ourselves, should not get demotivated, as things do change for better.   Story 60 presents the interview of Tim Schmoyer, who created a massive YouTube business to help others. The title and the first few seconds of the Video are important for the people and business to grow. We must learn and have a plan how to sell. We must decide on the topic of our passion. The people should have an emotional connection with our content. We should continue to learn while doing and also have patience.   

Title of the book creates a curiosity, to know as to who is an Internet Mogul. It is pleasing to read the book. The language in all the Chapters is easy to understand. Printing is excellent. The paper used for the book is of excellent quality. The cover design is attractive and appealing. The cover page and the back cover page have coloured photos, in groups of the interviewed persons, including the 3 authors. About the book (though not titled that way) and the opinion of five persons in brief have also been provided on the back cover page. The key author deserves high praise, in planning and organizing this project successfully and also for providing adequate opportunities to his daughters, whose contribution is highly commendable. It also conveys a message that if the family remains together as one unit and helps each other, a lot can be learnt, as well as done. With my earlier background of having taught “Entrepreneurship”, to the students of M.B.A., in a Management Institute in Jaipur during my earlier years, I found this book very useful. The book provides brief but adequate details of each of the Interviews. It is motivating for the readers to find essential points of advice and guidelines suiting to one’s field. We can make our plans for success, achieve our ambitions and reach high levels in life, including ways to progress in unfavourable situations.

Considering in an overall manner, this well organized resource book or a treasure house of ways and means for achieving success provides enough knowledge and guidelines from experts around the world for the benefit of both men and women at various age levels. I consider it as a useful, helpful and powerful tool-kit created after lot of effort. It will assist in learning world class standards in on-line marketing and in finding roadmap for the journey of entrepreneurs towards success in the digital field. It is also useful for those who find difficulty in work life-family life balancing.  Having the knowledge and adopting hard work and continuous learning, the book will indeed act as a catalyst for our journey and give a boost to our achievements and success. This wonderful book is highly recommended for early studying and examining the points for implementation to become successful in life. An excellent, informative, inspiring, well presented and must read guide book for all persons, especially for the existing and young and budding entrepreneurs.       

                                      ----------------Reviewer: vijaiksharma