AI
Abhi

Yes, This Time It’s Really Different: How Falling Marriage And Fertility Rates Predict The Coming Job Apocalypse In The Age Of AI

A Response To Marc Andreessen’s ‘Why AI Will Save The World’ — By someone who is both a fintech startup founder and an artist   The world’s a stage and we are all artists – William Shakespeare; And the supreme gift of an artist is the knowledge of when to stop – Sherlock Holmes/Arthur Conan Doyle.   First, a quick little story about me that is relevant to my response. And also because you don’t know me like you know Marc 🙂 I am the founder of a profitable, bootstrapped Indian payment startup SabPaisa. I have also written a couple

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Main Bas Iss Pal Ka Shayar Hoon (Tribute To Sahir)

Main bas iss pal ka shayar hoon, bas iss pal meri kahani hai, Bas iss pal meri hasti hai, bas iss pal meri jawani hai, Main bas iss pal ka shayar hoon. Mere lafzon mein lipti hain, bas iss pal ki kucchh jazbaatein, Kucchh shadaan dil ka alharpan, kucchh hizraan ki sooni raaten, Inn raaton ka main aashiq hoon, Inn khushiyon ka bhi deewana, Jo bas iss pal mein jal ke mitaa, Main hoon woh paagal parwana. Main bas iss pal ka shayar hoon, bas iss pal meri kahani hai, Bas iss pal meri hasti hai, bas iss pal meri

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Fiction
Abhi

The Trump Qard – A Novel I Wrote More Than 2 Years Ago That Predicted Current US Events

So it seems I predicted the current events of the US more than 2 years ago. This is a brief synopsis of the novel ‘The Trump Qard’ I wrote in the 2nd half of 2018 And then I tried to approach literary agents but the replies I got from them mostly said it didn’t fit their existing projects.  Though no one said that upfront, I had the feeling one of the reasons they thought they shouldn’t be taking on a project written by a guy from a foreign nation predicting something important about 2020 elections was that it might be

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An-office
Business
Abhi

12 Hiring Platforms For Indian Startups

A few days ago, I wanted to find new hiring platforms/companies that helped startups hire. We already use Indeed (https://in.indeed.com/hire), IIMJobs (https://recruit.iimjobs.com/login), Hirist (https://recruit.hirist.com/login), Updazz (https://recruit.updazz.com/login) and also have occasional forays on Naukri. We have also tried AngelList in the past, but the results were not encouraging, so we stopped then; and we have not tried Angellist recently. Anyway, I wanted to find more hiring platforms/startups that might help us, so I went on a Google Search spree for 1-2 hours. Here is the result of what my search yielded. Be warned though you have only very skeletal details like Names &

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Books
Abhi

THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL IN THE TIMES OF CORONA – A MEDIUM SERIES

You can read this series on Medium as well: Link To Medium Series   1 YOUR GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL Hey Homo Sapiens, ta-dah! Here I am SARS-CoV-2, known to you as Corona Virus. This is my travelogue. Don’t quite remember when I was born on earth — memory’s a little hazy. But since some time I had been living inside animals like bats, civets, pangolins etc. They didn’t mind, I didn’t mind, we were all good. Then in November of 2019, one of your fellow humans ate a bat. Or was it a pangolin? Not sure. Whichever animal

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Fiction
Abhi

THE BEARD, THE CHEESE, THE DATE

There is an element of trouble involved in many beards. I am not talking about people for whom religion makes it mandatory that they keep one. But those for whom it’s a matter of choice, the world turns slightly complicated when they allow nature to take over their faces; coz a beard brings on many troubles. You don’t realize that at first for it’s a foxy thing. It doesn’t attack you all at once, so that its iniquities hit you with a force, you get irritated and shave it off. No, its manners are too silken for that. But if

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Music
Abhi

MUSIC WAS, IS, AND WILL BE

Music was, is, and will be Like poetry, An anodyne in times of Grief and misery. Like a friend for all times, Always near, never far; A soothing guiding light, on a dark night The lone star. Like faith, when the heart yearns For a drop of hope; And the love everyday with whom, My little dreams elope.

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Books
Abhi

‘THE ENGLISH PATIENT’ – A BOOK REVIEW

If ever a book was written to stir your senses to dizzying heights, it’s ‘The English Patient’. Sometimes the lilting touch of a kiss, sometimes the prancing pace of a musical verse, sometimes the piercing stab of a needle, sometimes the burning pain of a hot iron… the book affects you in every imaginable way. The third novel of the Sri Lankan born Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje, it follows the sensual and lyrical but spare style of his earlier novels, and build upon them this time with a passionately pictorial prose and an intricate but tantalizing story. The second world war

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Evolutionary Biology
Abhi

I AM SEX — FRIENDS, HUMANS, EARTHLINGS, LEND ME YOUR EARS

Hi, I am sex. I am around 2 billion years old. Nice to meet you 🙂 I am guessing you know me. Especially if you are a teenager or older, though many children also know about me these days. Good for them… or not. Anyway, I am here to tell my story. I think it’s time I told my story, hopefully in a short and simple way. It’s really important that I do. You know I am afraid. For the first time in my almost two billion of years of existence I am afraid. I look around myself… and what

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Poetry
Abhi

EMILY’S LITTLE WORD

A word is dead When it is said, Some say. I say it just Begins to live That day. Emily Dickinson   It’s my dream It’s my own dream I dreamt it lying on a cot That I was in love with a tot A mite of a word in some gigantic plot Hidden, quailing with broken wings She was a teeny-weeny thing That one day I wanted to sing But she wouldn’t come out Oh! How hard she fought To stay put on the tip Of my tongue There she hung Right in my mouth Then shrinking back from

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Fiction
Abhi

THE GIFT OF A MACHINE — EXCERPT FROM DILLI MUMBAI LOVE STORY

Out below the clouds I rode, waving at the moon. On a black bike I rode, a dream that… We were going to live that dream again. Soon. In a minute. The rain was beating down on us like crazy. The moon was a faint silhouette behind the clouds. You wouldn’t look up and say it was a full moon day. I wanted to hear the wolves howl, the trees creak, the wind rustle through the leaves ominously. But we were in Delhi, so I had to be satisfied with the rain. Cold rain. Pouring rain. Shearing, scalding rain. They

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Poetry
Abhi

WE ARE (2002)

(We are) Like two birds Captive in a room The voices wasted Devoid of words Shorn of melody No more to bloom     (We are) Like two books Dusty, moth eaten Sleeping on a rickety shelf In some forgotten nook The words in a coma As if never been written     (We are) Like two eyes Dazed, expressionless Not even the ruins are visible In the light that dies No more the library of feelings Just a pair of abscess    

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Poetry
Abhi

LOVE — THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE (2003)

Love is the eye of the needle To be smaller is what I want. But the needle pricks me and I grow big So big that I get thrown out of my own room. Tortured, writhing, I seek to get back inside And to become small, Smaller, Into the eye, Vanish.

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My Books
Abhi

INTERVIEW GIVEN TO A MAGAZINE FOR MY BOOK DILLI MUMBAI LOVE STORY

Brief us a little about your novel ‘A Dilli Mumbai Love story.’ ‘A Dilli Mumbai…’ is a humorous and passionate love story that climaxes in Mumbai attacks. Two people from vastly different backgrounds studying in Delhi fall in love, marry against odds, go through the ups and downs of married life, and then one of them gets caught by chance in Mumbai attacks. What happens next, I will leave you to find out. What inspired you to couple the 26/11 terror attacks with romance. How did the entire concept originate? I wanted to write a romantic novel that had passion

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Fiction
Abhi

THE BEAUTIFUL SUICIDE OF MEERA

“Meera!” She is in love. She was in love. She would always be in love. Always. She puts her left palm on her heart as a gesture of promise to him. Always. They can take away her life but they cannot take away that. She looks at the shallow silver cup before her that contains the thick blackish poison, bends down, and curls her fingers around the cold stem. As she picks the cup up in a sweeping gesture her fingers shake a little and the surface of the liquid frizzles creating a little wave. She sees him, a tiny

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Fiction
Abhi

OF DREAMS AND MULTICOLORED DRAGONS

At other times she was like me. Dreaming strange things and feeling proud about it. She dreamed of a curve once. It was a white curve to begin with, but every time it looped up, it changed colors. When you touched it drops of colors fell on you. She was not very tall and in a single loop the curve outgrew her. All she could touch was the orange colored loop lying just above the white one. She played with the loop and before long she was an orange girl. She wasn’t happy with her color, so she tried to

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Fiction
Abhi

PARTINGS

When I found her I was overjoyed. Or rather she found me. Most of the times it happened that way. She was the active one, doing things, taking decisions, defining boundaries. Let’s go to the beach, we shouldn’t talk right now, let’s part. She was the one who left me. We parted at her insistence. You know partings are not always the same. Some people fade into landscape, slowly but surely. Sadness fills you up and yet you know you won’t raise your voice and call them back. And they will at last blur against the horizon. Some disappear suddenly.

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History
Abhi

TO FOLLOW OR NOT TO FOLLOW (THE CONSTITUTION) — THAT IS THE QUESTION

To Follow or Not to Follow (the Constitution) – That is the Question One of the chief duties of a citizen is to be a nuisance to the government of his state. Thomas Jefferson I remember that my first lesson in mathematics given to me by my brother was a disappointment because he said ‘Now we start with axioms.’ And I said, ‘What are they?’ And he said ‘They’re things we’ve got to admit although you can’t prove them.’ So I said, ‘Why should I admit them if you can’t prove them?’ And he said, ‘Well, if you won’t, we

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Humor
Abhi

A MARKETER’S ADVICE TO A SKEPTICAL SCHOOLBOY – A HUMOROUS POEM WRITTEN IN GRAD SCHOOL (2005)

You say you had no ogre’s wife to make your own Lamenting your poor fortune you have cried (’twas forty lines I say) Well sir, if what you wish you had really done Surely you would now be seeking a place to hide For I have heard the ogres were big (and cruel too) With fearsome fangs and eyes like burning fires And though Hollywood might choose to disagree I doubt they ever spoke as cutely as Mike Myers So be thankful you have no beanstalks to climb Let the imaginary hero do that cumbersome duty For those who keep

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Fiction
Abhi

A STORY DREAMT FROM VIVALDI’S MANDOLIN CONCERTO

The girl got up from her bed. Nimbly she put her step forward. One. Two. Three. Thump. She rose in the air. Four. Thump again. She went up once more. She bounced like a balloon on its exquisitely small buttoned tail, and went up so high she hit her head on the roof. ‘Ouch! That hurt,’ she exclaimed. Bouncing in the room was boring. So she went out of the room and still bouncing, balanced herself in the air before the staircase, her hand on the banisters. Then chuckling she attempted a cartwheel on the stairs. The staircase let out

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Humor
Abhi

FRENCH KISS (2007)

I had a French Kiss Oh with a French miss And her soft French lips Were oh! so piping hot That when she kissed me A little teased me Oh it so pleased me Leave her for a moment I could not!

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Poetry
Abhi

COUPLET FROM A MIR’S GHAZAL

Every leaf is aware, every bud knows Of this love of mine; But for the flower For whom I pine, The whole garden sees my woes Patta patta jaane hai, boota boota jaane hai, Jaane na jaane bas gul hee na jaane, baagh toh saara jaane hai

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Fiction
Abhi

THE BEAUTIFUL EFFECT OF MUSIC

Music makes Firoj Ahmed cryptic – in both body and soul. His words, usually strong, tricky and profuse, an undercurrent of a torrential mountain stream, become sparse in the times he is leaning back in his chair, hearing one of his many cassettes play – cassettes that are kept in three wooden baskets lying on the floor besides the music system. He says it is like eating during a widespread famine, crumbs of cake that have been preserved over years of poverty. So while he is eating those scrumptious crumbs, he wants to savor their every atom. Even when the

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Entrepreneurship
Abhi

10 REASONS NOT TO DATE AN ENTREPRENEUR – A TONGUE IN CHEEK RESPONSE

A Tongue-In-Cheek response to the article “Ten Reasons To Date An Entrepreneur” doing the rounds of FB. See the original article here: http://love-not-fear.org/2011/12/02/ten-reasons-to-date-an-entrepreneur/Guidelines: 1) This article is not to be taken seriously by either entrepreneurs or sane people 2) Entrepreneurs shall take a pledge of not murdering me before reading this. Full Disclosure: I am an entrepreneur for the last so many years; about the dates, I don’t remember 🙂 Their sense of possibility… To date someone who accepts no limitations means: “Yeah… I can hit on THAT one also… nice eyes… and THAT one… what an ass… and THAT

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Poetry
Abhi

SUICIDE, SYLVIA (2002)

I speak no word   Vainly try In sounds of albino hues Chequered cries Green, red and green Black, red and black Blue, red and blue Interspersed with love, hate and farewell thee sighs And pain that lies Within me, you and all Forever   If I do speak It’s in sounds of breaking wings Unable to cope With the perpetual flight In chase Of an amaranthine dope Called hope Which flying beneath the azure fence In guileless pretense Seeks always The past tense As if The owner can see through the opaque wall A silvery rope To climb and

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Poetry
Abhi

COME WITH ME (2003)

Let me walk in a trance Or come with me to the road’s end For I won’t see the stars When the dusk falls, covering the bluish whole Beyond the embers Burning, swirling Here, And there I see nothing.   Let me drown in the sea Or swim with me to the shore For I won’t climb a boat and lie in the solitude Of the wave’s roar Beyond their feuds Grating on my ear Maddening me I hear nothing.   Let me fall in the abyss Or lead the way to the peak For I won’t rest on the

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Poetry
Abhi

YOU RELIGION, ME MODERNITY? (2003)

He traveled distances Between moon and sun Between harlot and nun Between day and night Between darkness and light And called himself a religion   He is still traveling distances Between lungs and heart Between jogging and art Between love and life Between mistress and wife Between breeze and smoke Between milk and coke   But says he is bridging the distances instead And calls himself The stamp of reality Modernity   Who is he?

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Poetry
Abhi

VASES OF RHYME (2001)

Vases of rhyme Upturned on wavy hills Of chords and strings By a wily cloud Flying on imaginary wings   The rhymes float down On a silvery rill Of words sublime In the eternal Dell of time Lined on the sides By the variegated ream Of emotions Sewn together In flawless seams Swathing his Unspoken dreams Like summer leaves on an evergreen tree   So it seems To an eye Roving, Desultory   But which can And will When he wills Break free From each other And join the flow Together Or separately Leaving words aglow Like sunbeams meet The

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Poetry
Abhi

TIME, THE MOLTEN GLASS (2003)

The heart seeks A brief interlude In the flow of Time the molten glass   To see her reflection As if In the pristine waters of innocence Or through ignorance The hueless lens Without flaws Without anguish Without affection Without noise Without cadence   And not when The chiaroscuro Of love and hate Of joy and pain Obtrude Upon the sense Making it blurred Or intermittent Sometimes just A pregnant absence.

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Poetry
Abhi

THE THORNS OF A ROSE (2003)

The restless doors Close In spring On a budding rose That echoes The cry Of the lonely hunter Passing by   Still the river flows But dark and quiet And not quite As it was In summer A brook Gay and sprite A frothy white And knew not The woes That comes of carrying The thorns of a Rose.

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Poetry
Abhi

WHAT RIVER IS THIS (2002)

What river is this The waters so dark It narrows itself Before embracing the sea What sea is this With a hue that blinds With waves that bind In chains of duality What nectar is this That sucks the bee And snuffs petal by petal The garden’s beauty

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Songs
Abhi

YEH SHAAM MASTAANI (RECREATED LYRICS)

Yeh shaam mastaani, madhosh kiye jaayeMujhe dor koi kheenche, teri ore liye jaaye Baahon mein tere, hai ek bheena nashaaRukhsat hoke tu yun, na de mujhe sazaaMeri hansi, meri khushi, teri ek haan se aaj mil jaaye Yeh shaam mastaani, madhosh kiye jaaye,Mujhe dor koi kheenche, teri ore liye jaaye Tera bheega badan, teri behki nazarKatthai aankhen teri, dhaati mujhpe keherChaahun main yeh, dil mere tere, phool-e-mohabbat aaj khil jaaye Yeh shaam mastaani, madhosh kiye jaayeMujhe dor koi kheenche, teri ore liye jaaye

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Songs
Abhi

PAPA KEHTE HAIN (RECREATED LYRICS)

Papa kehte hain badaa naam karegaaBeta hamaaraa aisaa kaam karegaa,Magar yeh toh koii na jaane ki merii manzil hai kahaaN Taaron se aage, main ussko khojuNPariyon se sundar, woh naazneeNBaahon mein usske, milegi jaanatHogi duniyaa mein woh, sabse haseeN Ussko main yaaron ek din dhoondh laaoongaMilke hee usse ab main chain paaoongaa Dil hai usska jahaaN bhi yaaron manzil hai meri ab wahaaN Papa kehte hain badaa naam karegaaBeta hamaaraa aisaa kaam karegaa,Magar yeh toh koii na jaane ki merii manzil hai kahaaN

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Songs
Abhi

AANKHON AANKHON MEIN HAR IK RAAT GUJAR JAATI HAI (RECREATED LYRICS)

AankhoN aankhoN mein har ek raat guzar jaati hai,Tum nahiN aate ho toh yaad bhi kyuN aatii hai AankhoN aankhoN mein har ek raat guzar jaati hai Gham-e-maaNji ko chhupaayeN bhala kaise tumse,Gham-e-maaNji ko chhupaayeN bhala kaise tumse,Har rag-e-khooN-e tumhen dekh yuN jal jaati haiTum nahiN aate ho toh yaad bhi kyuN aatii hai AankhoN aankhoN mein har ek raat guzar jaati hai,Tum nahi aate ho toh yaad bhi kyuN aatii hai Tere hone ke woh lamhen hum kaise bhooleNTere hone ke woh lamhen hum kaise bhooleNDasht-e-tanhaai kab ashkoN mein badal jaati haiTum nahi aate ho toh yaad bhi kyuN aatii hai AankhoN aankhoN mein

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Songs
Abhi

JAANE WOH KAISE LOG THEY JINKE (RECREATED LYRICS)

Jaane woh kaise log they jinke pyaar ko pyaar milaa,Humne toh jab kaliyaaN maaNgii kaatoN kaa haar milaa, Raaton ki khamoshi mein dhal kar,Tanhaa chalte rahe,Jhulas gaye tere bin jo lamheN,Dil mein jalte rahe, Bichhad ke tujhse naa ishwar mujhko naa sansaar milaa,Humne toh jab kaliyaaN maaNgii kaatoN kaa haar milaa Jaane woh kaise log they jinke pyaar ko pyaar mila

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Songs
Abhi

LAG JAA GALE (RECREATED LYRICS)

Lag jaa gale ki phir yeh hansi raat ho na hoShayad phir iss janam mein mulaqaat ho na ho Yaadon ko hum aapke kaise bhulaayengeBaithe hain hum iss aas mein ki ab aap aayengeDil mein magar aapke yeh jazbaat ho na hoShayad phir iss janam mein mulaqaat ho na ho Lag jaa gale ki phir yeh hansi raat ho na hoShayad phir iss janam mein mulaqaat ho na ho

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Humor
Abhi

HIGHBROW VS LOWBROW WRITING

Here is a list of some of the works of great creativity that can be trashed in 1 line: 1. Boy and girl from warring families fall in love, are separated, and commit suicide – trash – Romeo & Juliet 2. Girl dresses up as boy to win her love – trash – As you Like It 3. Highly sexed woman has numerous affairs leading to her downfall – trash – Madam Bovary 4. Rich guy, poor girl have misunderstandings – trash – Pride & Prejudice 5. Change genders – Rich girl, poor guy have misunderstandings – trash – Persuasion

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Songs
Abhi

TUMKO DEKHAA TOH YEH KHAYAAL AAYAA (RECREATED LYRICS)

Tumko dekha toh yeh khayaal aayaaZindagi dhoop tum ghanaa saayaaTumko dekha toh yeh khayaal aayaa Aas thi teri kab se ai dilbarAas thi teri kab se ai dilbarTera hee chehra khwaabon mein aayaaTera hee chehra khwaabon mein aayaaZindagi dhoop tum ghanaa saayaa Tumko dekha toh yeh khayaal aayaa Chah pal pal teri sataati thiChah pal pal teri sataati thiItna kyun tumne humko tadpaayaaItna kyun tumne humko tadpaayaaZindagi dhoop tum ghanaa saayaa Tumko dekha toh yeh khayaal aayaa Baithe hum kab se teri raahon meinBaithe hum kab se teri raahon meinAaye tum ghar jab humko chain aayaaAaye tum ghar jab humko chain aayaaZindagi dhoop tum ghanaa

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Songs
Abhi

NAINON MEIN BADRAA CHHAAYE (RECREATED LYRICS)

Nainon mein badraa chhayeBijlee si chamke haayeAise mein balam moheGarwaa lagaa le… Sapnon mein khoyii raatenTeri hee pyaarii baateinBhanwre si goonje pal palPaagal se mere mann mein Aa phir balam moheBaahon mein chhupaa le Nainon mein badraa chhayeBijlee si chamke haayeAise mein balam moheGarwaa lagaa le… Tujhko main kitna tarsunDekhuN tujhe hee harsunAaye na jab tu sajnaaAkhiyon se asuan barsun Sang mil o preetam ab tohJeevan sajaa de Nainon mein badraa chhayeBijlee si chamke haayeAise mein balam moheGarwaa lagaa le

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Fiction
Abhi

LOVE AND THE ART OF BICYCLE RIDING

Did you ever ride a bicycle on a lonely stretch of road – at midnight in the shadow of trees, when the moon is softly bathing the world in its light like a hallowed sage smiling kindly upon a confused disciple? Well, at first you go leisurely, for you can’t see much further. The breeze softly caresses your cheeks, while the rustling of the leaves jostles with thoughts for space in your consciousness. Sometimes winning, sometimes biting dust when the matter of reflection is very engaging – too beautiful for the fear of an unexpected happening to overcome it. But

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My Books
Abhi

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN ABUNDANCE MINDSET

Intelligent life on a planet comes of age when it knows what in its environment can harm or kill it, and can take adequate measures for its survival. If not, it needs someone to save it. It’s said a carpenter saved mankind on a Friday afternoon about 2000 years ago. On a Sunday night in September 1983, the world was saved once again by a much less famous army-man, Lt. Colonel Stanislav Petrov. During that night, an alarm system told Col. Petrov that America had launched 5 nuclear missiles at Soviet Russia. 40 min… and his country will be in

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Marketing
Abhi

MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS OF THE FUTURE – IMPACT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – PART IV

Internet Of Things Appboy writer Lauren Leonardi describes IoT as a world in which everyday objects—from your phone to your car to your coffee maker to the systems that manage energy consumption in your home to the system that screens bags at the airport, and so on—can exchange data with each other via network connections. The market of IoT is huge. McKinsey Global Institute estimates the total economic impact of IoT could be as high as $11 trillion by 2025. It’s the reason why Google acquired Nest and Samsung acquired SmartThings for large sums of money20. But why should we in

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Marketing
Abhi

MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS OF THE FUTURE – IMPACT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – PART III

AI & Machine Learning In the marketing technology world, Artificial intelligence (AI) is growing by leaps and bounds. Propelling this trend are ingredients like Machine learning and other areas bundled under the AI banner, like deep learning, natural language processing and natural language generation. While enterprises have used some of these technologies since some time, their importance in marketing applications is growing – especially so with machine learning. As established firms like Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM, Salesforce and startups like Adgorithms, Boomtrain, Cognitiv, Kenshoo, Lattice Engines, Rocket Fuel and numerous others continue to showcase the capabilities of their AI-powered applications,

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Marketing
Abhi

MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS OF THE FUTURE – IMPACT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – PART II

Big Data & Advanced Analytics There are multiple ways in which Big Data and advanced analytical tools are revolutionizing marketing. From creating new possibilities in areas as diverse as personalization to pricing to customer relationship management to lowering customer acquisition costs, Big Data and associated tools are helping marketers boost innovation, loyalty, business reach, productivity, and marketing effectiveness, while reducing costs. Customer Understanding & Hyper-Personalization In their new book Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment, Michael Smith and Rahul Telang—two professors at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Public Policy and Management – explore how companies like

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Fiction
Abhi

THE LOST WORD

‘I was seeking him on orders from ammi, and saw he was searching for something. Searching vehemently, throwing books from his bookcase upon his bed. He was seldom that impatient with books, always treating them tenderly, making a fuss over them. I knew something was wrong then. So I went and asked him what was the matter. I have lost a word, he said. Lost a word? Yes I am looking for this word. She’s somewhere stuck in here, he said tapping his throat, but she won’t come out. I have to find her, winkle her out. Where’s the blasted

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Fiction
Abhi

AN ARGUMENT ABOUT GOD

Six months went by. The seed sprouted into a young and comely Night Queen with a voice that was musical, quite different from the one in which she had first asked the stone with childlike candor, why was he so hard to rest against so that her head was aching from leaning against him for a day, and could he be a little softer, she would be grateful to him for that. The stone, made unhappy by the request, replied that he was sorry but that was the way how he was made and it was not in his power

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Non-fiction
Abhi

12 DIFFICULT STEPS TO GET PUBLISHED

Since my novel got published about seven months ago, time and again I have been asked how to get published. So here is a simple 10 step way to getting published that I compiled from the answers I gave to the questioners. I hope it is of help to the friends and readers who want to get published someday Read: While this advice may seem frivolous, many aspiring writers don’t read enough. Wanting to write without reading enough is somewhat like wanting to run without walking first. Also, when I say read, I also mean books written on the craft

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Humor
Abhi

24 YOGI BERRA QUOTES AND THE PROFESSIONS THAT SHOULD BE MEDITATING ON THEM

Yogi Berra doesn’t need any introduction. Neither do his legendary quotes which are inevitably funny to almost all of us. But many of those quotes which though funny on the surface, are quite wise once you think deeply about them. And in our opinion, some professions/people should really do that job of thinking deeply about them.So here are 24 of those quotes and the corresponding people/professions who in our opinion should take the quotes and meditate on them like Buddha till they find enlightenment below… the ‘Yogi Berra’ tree. 1. I never said most of the things I said Who

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Non-fiction
Abhi

5 SCIENTISTS’ FEELINGS WHEN THEY MADE THEIR GREATEST DISCOVERIES

We are all awed by the discoveries of these great scientists that changed the world and made modern human civilization possible. Without these giants, science wouldn’t certainly be where it is today. So from a speech of Indian physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, himself a great scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the black holes and his work on the mathematical theory that explains their existence, here are those great scientists and what they felt before or after making their discoveries. Johannes Kepler: Discoverer of the laws of planetary motion that the planets move in elliptical orbit around the

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Fiction
Abhi

THE ART OF GIVING A ROSE

And then there was the matter of the rose. There were nine days more to go when I decided upon the D-day, and I am certain that there would be few generals who would have planned as much even for a battle as I did for the declaration of my love. Truly it was no laughing matter. There were so many things to consider. And of course how to give the rose was the most important of them. To be frank, unlike most people I wasn’t overly fond of that flower or its smell. That is why around the time

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Marketing
Abhi

REVIEW OF INVIDEO – A VIDEO CREATOR PLATFORM

Disclaimer: I am already a paid user of Invideo. However, I am going to get certain additional benefits by posting this review. InVideo is an online video creator platform that is innovative, user-friendly, stylish, and effortless to use. This review aims to make you aware of the key features and benefits that Invideo platform offers and the advantages and disadvantages (not many) that you might face should you decide to use it. It is impossible to overemphasize of the need for video creation and video marketing in today’s marketing landscape. The video format is overwhelmingly popular among content consumers; and it’s

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Poetry
Abhi

THE WIND – A POEM WRITTEN IN GRAD SCHOOL (2005)

The wind that silently watches you over every night Is but an ember to kindle within you a dream It floats you over a hundred seas; Lazuline as they glow In golden rain; and twirls you over mountains slow Covered in a silken sheet of silvery snow Yes, the wind has life And though for now it may seem That with it all that flows Are pieces of a depressing tapestry Tis but a passing time, an evanescent misery For within these city walls You have forgotten how to dream; tear through the sky How to burn, how to fly

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History
Abhi

HOW I, INDIA, CAME TO BE NAMED (2006)

I will not begin with there existed once upon a time a country because I exist even now; what I am not exactly sure of though is when did I actually start existing. If Nehru is to be believed, I came into being sometime during the Post-Vedic period when the Aryan settlers decided they had enough of the present day Afghanistan and Pakistan and decided to move further south-east into the fertile Gangetic lands. This is the point where my confusion starts, as documented history entangles itself with mythology into terrible knots till the point where you cease to know

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Poetry
Abhi

VRISHTI GEETON KI – A POEM IN HINDI WRITTEN IN GRAD SCHOOL (2005)

Vrishti hai un geeton ki Srot na jinka megh hai Yeh bas man ka udweg hai Jo swar ke kundan feeton se Shrishti karti hai wah dhara Apratim jiska weg hai Tvarit kanth ki vani se Sneh ke nirmal pani se Yeh harti hai har hriday kalush Phir bharke usme sangeet pratyush Ud jati hai wihgon ke sang Nabh ki anth-heen dishaon mein Phailake harson indradhanushi rang Tab sun kar suron ka ye sangam Ho uthta hai pulkit ang ang

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Humor
Abhi

EXAM NIGHT – A HUMOROUS POEM WRITTEN IN GRAD SCHOOL (2005)

Mr. R is angry on a Sunday Night (Not quite unexpected) With bloody exams in full swing So he comes up with a poem That has humour and sting Well if I am not mistaken friends This will maketh Placecom cringe As I see it has puns in plenty And thankfully no senti Advertisements too, for what is worth Young dames please note, he is celibate since birth If that is not enough, please be seated He is in the kitchen, the oven is getting heated And in his quest for dame, oops! fame and glory He will even dish

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Poetry
Abhi

THE BEAUTY SEEKER (2002)

Seek, When you have time A beauty that is perfect But for once Not in reflections Of past, present or morrow Not in feelings Of intense joy Or deep sorrow That has been and will be again In countless things Seen and unseen Or in nature That ephemeral element The azure expanse The emerald spread The figures erect They came and went Just spread your wings within yourself And journey beyond Those realms of faith, reality or truth To that place Unbound Dark and dense Where one can At will Tie knots Or lay carpets Sylvan On the ground or

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Marketing
Abhi

MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS OF THE FUTURE – IMPACT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – PART I

Recently, we entered the seventeenth year of the twenty-first century. If we take a look at the world today and compare it to what we would have found just seventeen years back, we see remarkable changes across the globe, especially in the way emerging technologies has impacted every aspect of our lives. From the rise of social media with its immense power to influence and shape our behaviour, opinions and actions, to the dethroning of desktop computers and the transition to a mobile first world, technological advancements continue to bring about radical shifts in the way we work and live.

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Hiring
Abhi

8 HIRING MISTAKES MADE BY LEADERS IN STARTUPS THAT SINK

Startup founders and early leaders need to hire efficiently to progress to the next level. If they do that well and avoid hiring mistakes, they have won half the battle; a great team can turn even a bad start/strategy/product around and take the baby organization towards a successful adulthood. If they do it badly, they have lost eighty percent of the battle; as any seed stage/angel investor worth his/her salt will tell you, startup = its team. Ideas come dime a dozen, it’s the team that matters. Sample what Mark Suster, the former entrepreneur and now prominent angel investor has

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