It's about time we start taking charge of our ownership of India.

If you read the newspaper regularly, you too might be disturbed with the regular news which aim to create disharmony and unrest in nation. Forget about them, they are irrelevant and unimportant. Lets talk about something more important today.

Let's talk about "us" and our ownership of the nation. Yes, you and me, citizens who have the ability and willingness to do something for India. Let's understand that we own India, and as the joint owners it's our responsibility to take it to the top. Just like a CEO or a proud worker would want his company to prosper. Well, let's consider PM Modi as the CEO, who is doing a very good job I must say. I am not sure if you and I are doing a good job as proud workers, as proud Indians.

Our motherland has made us so capable that we can now do well for ourselves. Now its our time to do something for her. I feel sad that some people take no sense of pride in the well-being of our country, India. We have forgotten our traditions, we have forgotten about our heroes. We are always particular about our fundamental rights but never care to perform our fundamental duties.

You should realize that - India is on its way to the top and, as citizens and patriots, we need to help our motherland become the best place to live. This has to happen in our lifetime. To make this happen, we need to work together. Little drops make the mighty ocean. If all of us do just one thing everyday to make India a better place, then I am sure, we will be able to see remarkable difference soon.

I think a good starting point will be to take a note of our fundamental duties first. Let's observe and perform our duties before demanding our rights. Let's help those who can't help themselves -like, help those who have met with an accident, and those who are suffering or in need. Let's keep our home and surrounding clean, and motivate others to do so. If you find
someone throwing a chocolate wrapper on the road, humbly urge them not to do so. Let's not drink and drive and be polite with others. There are a thousand things we can do. Let's start today.
Let's make our country a more livable and lovable place.
Let's make India a better place to live. ______________________________________________

For your convenience, I have listed the fundamental duties in the Indian Constitution here, please take two minutes to
read and understand them.

to abide by the constitution and respect its ideal and institutions;
to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional diversities, to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wild-life and to have compassion for living creatures;
to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement. Further, one more Fundamental duty has been added to the Indian Constitution by 86th Amendment of the constitution in 2002.
who is a parent or guardian , to provide opportunities for education to his child, or as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.

I am sure that most of you will, at some point in time in your life,
get a chance to settle abroad. What I wish is - just like most Indians wish to settle abroad, in future, people from the developed nations wish to settle in India.

Jai Hind.

A check-list to complete before quitting job & starting your own business

This article is for those of you who are going to make a switch from a secured job to a self-owned business. I have prepared a list of things you should know and consider before quitting. There is also a small check-list which would check your business – readiness.

First let me list out the questions you need to answer to yourself before quitting:

        

      Are you quitting because you have figured out what you want to do or you are quitting just because you are not satisfied (or frustrated) with your current job. à If it’s the former reason, then well and good. But if it’s the latter, then you may want to reconsider quitting. I am not at all in the favor of quitting without having a positive and clear outlook about your future prospective. I faced this problem myself & believe me, it’s not a good idea to quit without having a clear plan. It’s not right to quit just because you don’t want to do your current job. It’s like sailing a ship without a compass. You may never reach your destination and may end up on a deserted island. Don’t take such a stupid and immature risk. Take some time out of your job to ponder over the objective of your life. Once you have your objective, think about the means to achieve it. Only if you have a clear cut plan, think about quitting. Quitting without a clear plan would lead you nowhere.

Some people may fool themselves into believing that they have all figured it out. But in actuality they are just frustrated with their jobs. So, they make up stuff to convince themselves that they have a plan. I am not ashamed to mention that I was one of these people. I quit because I could take it no more. I knew the place I was working in was not the right place for me. But at the end of the day, I at least figured out one thing: I figured out what I don’t have to do in my life. Though I was far away from knowing what I want to do.

Do you have sufficient resources à Before you quit your job to start a business, you should have in cash to pay for at least 6 months of expenses to sustain your family. Apart from the money you are going to invest into your business, you should have enough money to meet 6 months of your expenses. I believe that once you start a business, you won’t make any money for the first few months. The only money you are going to survive on is your savings. Only if you have sufficient savings to run your business, meet its operating cost & your personal expenses for at least 6 months, you should consider quitting. Otherwise, its too dangerous to quit.

   

     Do you have a business plan in place à IF you have figured it all out and you also have sufficient funds to start over with, then you are ready to consider this third step. It’s checking how business ready are you. Have you got a business plan in place? Have your thought about your business and revenue model? Have you done comprehensive and extensive research about marketing, production, competition, market etc? Have you already started working on the legal aspects of starting the business? If not, then you may postpone quitting for a little longer and first complete this homework. All this work, the research and other paper work, can be done along with your regular job. So why reject taking few months of salary while preparing for the business. Just do your research and start marketing while you are still earning the salary. Once you quit, your salary will be all you would have.

      Are you strong enough to take the decision and not turn back later and regret à After going through the first three steps, this is the final and the most crucial step. It’s like taking the final call. Things may turn out very differently than planned. You should take your final decision considering the worst case scenarios, because once you take the decision, there is no turning back. You’ll have to live with it all your life. So, just sit back, relax and think about all the possibilities. Then decide. Have confidence in your capabilities.

Here is your check list before you quit:

1) I know what I want to do!

2) I have my finances in order (6 months personal expense + Business     Investment)

      3) I have prepared a business Plan

      4) I have done my research on:

a.     Market and Competition

b.    Marketing and Sales

c.     Pricing

d.    Production and Services

e.     Financial Management and Funds

f.      Human resources

g.     Timeline

     5) I have confidence in myself. I am going to win. 

Change

	Change

http://wallpapertube.com/photography/beautiful-maldives--beach-wallpaper

 Change

The essay is primarily addressed to all those people who are not doing the things they want to do and are postponing taking decisions.

If you are one of those people who is unsatisfied with your current condition and still have no clue on what to do, you should read this. If you are working in a field where your talent and skill is wasted, you should read this. If you are living with a person you despise, you should read this. If you are spending time doing demeaning work as per you ability, you should read this. If you want to quit smoking, you should read this. If you believe you can spend a better life, you should read this. If you have faith in yourself, but are afraid to take decisions, you should read this. If something is stopping you from doing the right thing, you should read this.

To begin with, let’s define Change.

What is change?

Change, which I am talking about, is making a change within you. It’s doing something new which is out of your comfort zone for the first time. It’s about doing something which you know would be good for you over long term but may be painful in short term. Change is about doing something which you always wanted to do. Change which I am NOT talking about is the external change over which one has no control over. That said I believe there will be few instances in a human’s life where he won’t have a control over the changes happening around him.

Change has two steps:

1)      Deciding/Determining what to change

2)      Taking steps to implement the change

Deciding/Determining what to change:

There could be tens, if not hundreds, of things you may want to change in your life. You may want to change your job; you may want to change your lifestyle, environment, habits, behavior or outlook. The very first thing about change is identifying the core area of change. It’s about identifying the issue that needs addressing. If you have identified it, you are almost half was through. Now you just need to work over step two.

If you have not yet found it, keep searching. Keep thinking. If you are unable to find the cause, it would perhaps be because of your own inability. The inability to identify this causes frustration. The inability to realize that something ought to be changed is the cause of frustration among many people. You may be doing well in everything. You might be earning well, having a great family life, but within yourself you might be frustrated. Unable to identify the cause of frustration leads to more frustration. It causes clashes within your mind. How to sort these out? Well, you need to find out what needs to be changed and the only way to find that out is through introspection. Give yourself some time. Relax and sit down for a while. Sit for a day, for weeks, months to find out that one thing that is frustrating you. Introspect. Note down all the things that you are not happy about in a piece of paper. After noting everything down, arrange them in the decreasing order of their disturbing nature; most disturbing thing first followed by less disturbing. Now look at the first thing. Analyze it. Ask a question to yourself. Can you change anything about it? Is there anything you can possibly do to make it less disturbing? Well, there is always at least one thing that you can change about everything: your attitude towards it.

Finally I want to talk about another category of people: those who ignore the frustration. I feel there is one thing that is even worse than the inability to find the cause of frustration. It is ignoring it. You may have already realized what is the cause of clutter in your mind, still you are not giving due importance to it. By doing so, you are not fooling anybody but yourself. This is not the best way to live life; ignoring what you know about life, not doing perhaps the best thing in this world to make your own life better. The betterment of your life is but in your own hands. Better not ignore the facts life presents you with. Accept them. Acknowledge the things that disturb you in the first place. Life is as simple as you make it. Some facts and situations are in front of you. It’s up to you to interpret and comprehend them. You can take out conclusions as per your understanding of things. So rather than ignoring the cause of frustration, why not face it and try to change something about it.

I have a small story to tell you here about one of my friends. My friend, Riya, is a beautiful girl but very sensitive emotionally. Because of her sensitivity she used to be very frustrated with her boyfriend. She was frustrated because he used to hurt her, blame and scold her for petty issues; issues like talking to other boys, not replying to his messages in time. She used to call me every night, crying and sobbing because of her boyfriend. Both of them loved each other a lot but even then there were issues coming up between them. What I was able to realize was that the two of them were simply addicted to each other. They had become habituated to each other. They could not spend a night without talking with each other over phone, for hours. Yet, they were always fighting. Their long hours of chats over phone often ended with her tears. Still, she could not let go of him. She had to talk to her every night. I told her a number of times that the guy is not worth the pain. I tried to help her understand the facts, but she was unable to identify the main cause of her frustration. I felt she was simply ignoring the cause of frustration. It was not her boyfriend, it were her habits and perhaps her own attitude. She had become so used-to him that she could not spend time without thinking about him. She had to change her habits, her attitude towards him, which she did not. I told her a number of times that she needs to break-up with him, which she did not do for the two years. It’s only recently, after three years of suffering that she is out of the hell. She finally left him, only after leaving the city for further studies. Had she not left the city, she would probably still be suffering because of her attitude.

I have a lot of friends who, I believe, can do a lot better than they already are. I don’t know if they know this. They are very talented but are unaware of their talent or are simply afraid to take decisions. Here I am talking about those people who are working in a particular field say IT, and earning great salary but are unsatisfied with their jobs.  They are not enjoying their work. Some of them are aware that they can do better. Still they are afraid of the consequences of taking a wrong decision, which may or may not turn out to be wrong. By wrong decision I mean quitting their jobs to start their own ventures or go for further studies etc. They just can’t decide and hence are continuing with their unsatisfactory positions. To these kinds of people my father would say: “If you don’t get into the water then how will you learn to swim?” Just as you need to get into the water to learn swimming, so you need to change certain things to know your ability. You need to get out of your comfort zone to do something that you have never done. If you don’t come out of your comfort zone, you’ll never be able to do the things you’ve not done before. You need to let go of the things less important to you to follow that ultimate dream of yours. You have but one life.

So, after going through Step 1 of Change, you may not already be pondering over that one thing that needs to be changed. If that is the case then you are on the right track. You should think, ponder over facts. You should think while reading. If you have been able to think of few such things that makes you sad or are to be changed you can move to next step.

Taking steps to implement change:  

The next thing about change is taking the required step forward. The first step may be making up your mind to make the change. Yes, once you have identified the problem, it’s important to decide it within yourself that you’ll fight for it.

The first step is always the hardest to take. It’s hard to let go of your comfortable life to start something new. You don’t want to take the risk with your life, your career and hence you are always afraid to let go of the comfort you are enjoying. You are full of fear of failure. You may be so full of fear of failure that you ignore it. You don’t feel it necessary to acknowledge the fear of failure. For others, it may be simple carelessness about making certain changes. They may be too busy with doing something more important than resolving their own life issues. May be they are busy watching T.V, drinking beers or doing the regular office work. People try to suppress their frustration with booze or work which further accentuates the problem.

About change, I have one philosophy: If you don’t try something, how can you judge if it’s right (good) or not. If you don’t take a decision, then how will you know if it was right or wrong? If you don’t explore the options, then how will you select the best one?

It’s better to take the things at the face values. Interpret the things as they are and not twist and turn the facts to make some irrelevant conclusions and completely misinterpret the things. Make the required change to make your life more beautiful and exciting.

The most comfortable and safe time in a person’s life to make hard decisions is during their early twenties. During this period, usually people are not burdened under great responsibilities and can afford to do mistakes. So, rather than being timid, you should be bold to take the required step. Take that plunge to discover yourself. Try new stuff. Do what you like. Discover! Explore! Don’t be afraid to fail. You don’t have anything to lose. Be confident. You can always start again. But this time will never return. You may end up regretting not doing certain thing in your life. Now is the time. Just do it.

Top 6 restaurants in Nagpur

Top 6 restaurants in Nagpur

Nan Kings -
A place to have the best Chinese cuisines in Nagpur. It is one of the oldest restaurants in Nagpur. It was established in 1973 and was named as Wonsun then. This little restaurant will come as a surprise package to you. The taste is awesome and the service is very good. The area is relatively small but interior is done pretty well. You will probably have to wait in a queue on weekends. The restaurants have also been issued "A" Grade Certificates by the Health Department of NMC (Nagpur Municipal Corporation).
Address - Residency Road, Sadar, Nagpur- 440001
Food : 9/10
Service : 9/10
Ambience : 8/10

Rhythm & Blues - Rhythm & Blues at Tuli International is modelled to look like an English pub and does a very good job at it. The food is the best part of a visit to RnB! Everything, from the Mughlai “Parluft Kabab” to the Indian “Butter Chicken” and the Continental “Pasta Alfredo” are absolutely amazing! The bar is well equipped with bartenders who capable of whipping up all sorts of exotic cocktails and shots. The orders are dished out pretty fast but if going on a weekend, service is slow and a few goof-ups are bound to happen. It is a small place and a good spot to watch matches and support your favorite team during IPL or Football matches on a big screen.
Address: Hotel Tuli International, Residency Road,Sadar, Nagpur.`
Food : 9/10
Service : 8/10
Ambience : 8/10

Fionaa - Fionaa or Fiona, means “white” or “fair” which perfectly describes the interiors here. White couches, white walls and white floor. There are two separate sections- for the Restaurant and the Lounge. The Restaurant is quiet with soft instrumental music playing in the background and dim lighting, whereas the lounge is where the party people go. Fionaa is among the few places in Nagpur that serves well even on weekends. The staff is polite and the food is served without a lot of waiting time.
Address: 209,Dharampeth Towers, 3rd Floor, W.H.C. Road, Dharampeth,Nagpur-10
Food : 8/10
Service : 7/10
Ambience : 9/10

Barbeque - "Ordinary ambience, Extra Ordinary Taste". This establishment is nearly 15-20 years old. But the thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the quality taste. They serve super best food and you need not be a gourmet to say that. The place is small, but how does that matter to a food lover? It also takes care of your packet. The semi open kitchen and the very attentive staff ensures good quality food is served with minimal fuss and quickly which makes it heavily crowded on weekends. If you are Hard core non vegetarian and only taste is your priority, then this is a DO-NOT-MISS place for you.
Address - Mount Road, Sadar, Nagpur 
Food : 9/10
Service : 8/10
Ambience : 6/10



Fountain Sizzlers & Bistro -  'Sizzlers and Bistro' is a vegetarian Family Restaurant. The specialty, as the name suggests, are the 'Sizzlers'. Apart from these, the whole range of Continental cuisine is a treat for the taste buds. Two words that perfectly describe this place are: Serene & Classy. The interior gives you the same feeling as their menu does: Continental! The menu is filled with names you might not have heard before! But be assured they'll explain to you in delightful detail what exactly is it that you wish to order. You wouldn't fail to notice the suavity in their mannerisms.
Address - B-9 orange city towers, Opp. Tilak Patrakar Bhavan, Dhantoli, Nagpur
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10


Mustard - A branch of Bawarchi that is better than Bawarchi itself. Affordable. A very quiet and decent ambience that makes your family-time worth. You can enjoy open roof and indoor dining as well. They even serve free alcohol with the bill of 3k and above, which obviously is an attractive offer to avail. The menu offered for meals gives a wider choice with various preparations in different servings. And unless you specifically ask for less, the quantity offered is pretty good! The taste for veg as well as non veg cuisine is very good. A must-go place if you are planning to dine out with family and friends.
Address - Opp. WnG, Shreeram Towers, Next to NIT building, Sadar, Nagpur
Food: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 7/10

Educational Start-ups that will Change the world

Udemy
Udemy serves as an online platform that allows instructors to build online courses on topics of their choosing. Using Udemy’s content platform, they can upload video, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, audio, zip files and live classes to create courses. Instructors are also allowed to engage and interact with users via online discussion boards.Key features:

• Founded in February 2010.
• Launched in May 2010.
• Launched paid course platform in December 2010.
• Udemy’s top 10 earning instructors earned >$1.6 million in course sales (as of May 2012).

Coursera, Udacity and EdX

Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. It  offers courses in a wide range of topics, spanning the Humanities, Medicine, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Business, Computer Science, and many others. Company is offering massive open online courses (MOOCs) and is founded by computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller from Stanford University. As of March 2012, Coursera was not yet generating revenue. However the company is working on ways to monetize its incredibly valuable and popular programs.It has two close competitiors in MOOC segment: Udacity and EdX.

Udacity: It is similar to Coursera on most aspects. However the most important point of differnce is that its courses are openly available.  There are no start and finish dates, the courses can be taken at any time and you can work at your own pace, completing each unit or module at you own leisure with no time constraints whatsoever. It was founded by Sebastian Thrun, David Stavens, and Mike Sokolsky. The first two courses ever launched on Udacity both started on 20 February 2012.

EdX: EdX is a non-profit created by founding partners Harvard and MIT. The main point of difference for EdX is Certificates of mastery are available for all courses. Proctored certificates also available if exam is taken under proctored conditions. However there is a fee for this.

 

 

KhanAcedamy
The Khan Academy is a non-profit educational website created in 2006 by educator Salman Khan, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School. The stated mission is "providing a high quality education for anyone, anywhere." All of the site's resources are available to anyone. The content available on the website is of top quality and they have made a very innovative website by putting in numerous features. I expect similar websites will burgeon in different countries. The project is funded by donations. Additionally, it earned $2,000 per month from ads on the website in 2010 until Khan Academy ceased to accept advertising.

Skill Share
Skillshare is a global community where you can learn real-world skills from incredible teachers. Teaching and learning topics are based on skills people can use in their everyday lives or jobs, like entrepreneurial skills, culinary specialties, and the arts. Skillshare classes also promotes interaction among students as well as between teachers and students.Since getting off the ground in mid-2011 with the help of almost $4 million in funding, this community marketplace for learning, where visitors can learn (or teach) just about anything for a nominal fee, got a solid start in the online learning market.


 Goal Book
Goalbook is a collaboration platform for teachers, parents, and students centered around the achievement of individual student learning goals. It aims to make tracking of special-needs of students with ILPs and IEPs easier, helping to streamline communication, engage parents, and ensure that students and all who work with them are aware of the educational goals being set. You can create goals and see a summary of progress directly on the student profile. Although the concept is very innovative but its not free.