14-hour power cuts didn't dim his IAS dream

Shiphony Pavithran Suri, Careers360 

In this ongoing series we bring you 30 stories of struggle, survival and success to inspire you.

This son of a rickshaw puller, who graduated in Mathematics chose entirely new subjects in Civils because he could not afford coaching. Here is his story

On the pot-holed lanes of India's holy city Varanasi, Narayan Jaiswal used to pedal his rickety rickshaw to make a living and send his children to school in nearby Usmanpura.

Sadly, even his meagre means came to a grinding halt when a wound on his foot grew sceptic.

Ailing, and with no other source of income, Jaiswal sold off his small plot of land to finance his son's dream.

His son Govind was fighting a parallel battle.

Day in and day out the deafening noise of power looms, factory machines and generators around the 12x8 feet rented room shared by his father, mother and two sisters made life unbearable.

All the cooking, washing, bathing to studying took place in the dingy room.

To add to the misery the scarce power supply extended to almost 14 hours a day. He grew up with cruel taunts from the neighbourhood kids who mocked him for his devotion to studies. But his determination saw him through.

"It was impossible to divert me. My family was the saving grace. If someone demoralised me, I used to just picture my struggling family."

Today, Govind Jaiswal is an IAS officer, brimming with confidence.

Surprisingly, he doesn't quibble over any inadequacies. 

"I thank my tough days. Life has no worth without struggle. It made me grow and smell the real world."

Govind credits his success to his dad and his sisters, especially the elder one who gave up her studies to look after them when his mother died.

He managed to focus on studies in the hustle and bustle of kids playing just outside his room.

What was the trick? He chose to remain quiet, least interacted with kids and adults.

He laughs, "I was secretive. They mistook me for being a shy guy. In reality, I am an outspoken person."

Ask this chatty boy the cause of his self-control, he shares, "I was cautious of every act. I restrained myself getting carried away in momentary fun. I didn't allow anyone to intrude my privacy."

Up to class 12, he was seen immersed in books. "I used to read a bunch of comic, history books. Gradually, I shifted the focus to ideological books."

At sunrise, the factories in the vicinity burst into activity, making deafening noise throughout day and night.

It was natural for anyone to lose concentration during exams. Interestingly, he remained a topper in school because of his well planned study schedule.

"I used to finish subjects which required a lot of contemplation by December-January and I used to solve objective papers (Maths) in February."

Ask him about the daily study routine and he responds, "During noisy morning hours, I sat on the staircase practising Maths. Since it's a practical subject, we can bear all chaos around," he says with a smile.

As the sound simmers down in the evening, he focussed on the other subjects, Science, History and English.

He was only in class 8 when he ventured into the business of tuitions.

Maths was a breeze for him. By the time he was in 11, students from class 8, 9, 10 and even MBA aspirants among others flocked his room for Maths coaching.

The income came handy as his father's earning was too meagre and he had to support his two sisters as well.

"I used to earn about Rs. 1000 per month. It helped me pay fee and buy books."

A modest fee of Rs 10 in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) aided him easily to acquire his degree.

"I strongly feel if you can show that you have the potential to prove then the world will come to help," he says.

Indeed, his aggressive attitude to achieve was lauded by all.

Many suggested him to do engineering after graduation.

He once gave it a thought but put it off as he could not afford to buy an application form costing Rs. 500. The other option remained IAS, which was a pauper's friend.

The real struggle happened when he enrolled for IAS coaching -- his dad's condition had worsened and he had stopped pedalling his rickshaw.

It was an emotionally shattering phase -- but Govind managed to pull through. There was no other option, but to move to Delhi for IAS coaching.

His struggling father sold the only remaining plot of land for Rs. 30,000 for his expenses in the new city.

For IAS Mains, he ped Maths as an optional paper for Philosophy and History. He read them from scratch to understand the basic nuances.

"No subject on the earth is tough. You should have the will power to crack

His academic journey shows one has to have passion and time management skills to be a winner.

He used to re-read and internalise the respective subjects.

"I used to shut my book and contemplate over an historical event or a theory. I loved testing my memory. It's important to be honest about what you study."

He chose one good reference book instead of depending on ten books on the same subject.

Breaking the language barrier

"The problem is not language, it is confidence. My ability to read and express in Hindi made me an achiever.

If you are confident enough to articulate your thoughts, then no one can hinder your success.

No language is superior or inferior. It's an unwanted perception made by the society. Learning languages is not a big deal -- have faith in yourself.

Earlier, I only knew Hindi, I developed a grip on English at the IAS Academy.

Our world is horizontal -- it is the people's perception that makes it vertical where they place some people as superior and others as inferior."

Is it a yacht or an island?

While there are many superyachts that are luxurious, comfortable and really huge, but none come even close to this superyacht.

Let's take a look at this amazing yacht, built by a Swiss architecture firm, MCM Designstudio, that looks more like an island.

Courtesy, MCM Designstudio

Designed by the Swiss pair of Milena Cvijanovich and Dennis Muller, Island(E)Motion is a new concept based on green technologies, advanced sustainable materials and alternative energy solutions, while incorporating the highest standards found on megayachts and in ultra luxury homes.

Photographs: Courtesy, MCM Designstudio 

The concept intends to create a new industry standard for luxury floating residences which can be transported to all parts of the world and which can access major rivers and large lakes as well as ocean bodies.

The new floating technology incorporated into Island(E)Motion allows for comfort and security in all weather conditions. The minimal ecological footprint of it will permit access to natural sites such as national parks and world heritage locations.

Life on the private residence is a new form of responsible luxury living. The vessel is dotted wth sophisticated water and waste management systems as well as solar and wind power for the creation of necessary energy for daily activities. 

The residences can include:

i) Extensive master suite quarters with spa.

ii) VIP suites with private spa.

iii) Several lounge areas each with a different atmosphere.

They can also include:

i) Dining rooms with seating for up to 24.

ii) Indoor and outdoor bars.

iii) Home cinema.

iv) Gym/fitness rooms.

The yacht's volumes are by far larger and more generous than the traditional yacht volumes. The spaces are equivalent to those one can find in a luxury residence.

Above deck volumes are sumptuous and take full advantage of the sun and given land or seascape.

Below deck, the heights of the volumes allow for functions such as indoor sports courts ot theatres, which are more difficult to achieve in a traditional yacht.

The deck upholds and peels open elegantly to reveal various semi-transparent glazed spaces such as a living room, bar and a bedroom suite

World's 10 most beautiful currencies

The Reserve Bank of India is toying with the idea of replacing paper currency with polymer notes.

As a pilot project, the central bank is said to have decided to introduce 100 crore (1 billion) pieces of Rs 10 polymer notes, for which the bank has floated a global tender.

The bank has asked interested parties for 500 pieces of sample banknotes, before the actual global bids for the project go through.

Explaining the rationale behind the possible introduction of polymer notes, an RBI official said that these notes would have an average life span of five years compared to one year for paper currency notes.

Soiled notes too would become history, once polymer notes are in vogue. And even though the initial cost of printing polymer notes is high, in the long run it works out cheaper.

In this slide show, we present a brief history of Indian currency as also the 10 most beautiful currencies of the world.

Click NEXT to read on. . .

Image: A Reserve Bank of Australia employee holds up the new A$100 note in Sydney.
Photographs: David Gray/Reuters

India has been one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world.

Few countries rival India for the sheer diversity of its coinage be it minting techniques, motifs, sizes, shapes, the metals used or for that matter the monetary history arising from the Monetary Standards India has experienced (tri-metallism, bi-metallism, the silver standard, the gold exchange standard as well as fiat money).

In history, Indian coins have played a crucial role in documenting political and economic changes over time.

Paper money was introduced in India in the late 18th century.

Among the early issuers, the General Bank of Bengal and Bahar (1773-75) was a state sponsored institution set up in participation with local expertise. Its notes enjoyed government patronage.

Click NEXT to read further. . .

Image: An old 20-rupee note.


 

Wide use of bank notes, however, came with the note issues of the semi-government Presidency Banks, notably the Bank of Bengal which was established in 1806 as the Bank of Calcutta with a capital of 50 lakh sicca rupees.

These banks were established by government charters and had an intimate relationship with the government.

The charter granted to these banks accorded them the privilege of issuing notes for circulation within their circles.

Notes issued by the Bank of Bengal can broadly be categorised in three broad series viz: the 'unifaced' series, the 'commerce' series and the 'Britannia' series.

The early notes of the Bank of Bengal were unifaced and were issued as one gold mohur (sixteen sicca rupees in Calcutta) and in denominations deemed convenient in the early 19th Century, viz., Rs. 100, Rs. 250, Rs. 500, etc.

1. The French Pacific Territories (Franc)

The CFP franc (called the franc in everyday use) is the currency used in the French overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna.

The Franc was created in December 1945, together with the CFA franc, used in Africa.

The reason for the creation of these francs was the weakness of the French franc immediately after the Second World War.

2. The Maldives (Rufiyaa)

The name 'rufiyaa' is derived from the Hindi word rupiyaa.

The most commonly used symbols for the rufiyaa are MRF and Rf. The ISO 4217 code for Maldivian rufiyaa is MVR.

The rufiyaa is subdivided into 100 laari

3. Sao Tome & Principe (Dobras)

The dobra is the currency of Sao Tome and Principe.

It is abbreviated Db and is divided into 100 centimos.

The dobra was introduced in 1977, replacing the escudo at par.

4. Switzerland (Francs)

The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia.

The Swiss National Bank issues banknotes and the federal Swissmint issues coins.

5. Comoros (Comorian Franc)

The franc is the official currency of Comoros.

It is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes.

Before 1798, about 75 entities were making coins in Switzerland, including the 25 cantons and half-cantons, 16 cities, and abbeys, resulting in about 860 different coins in circulation, with different values, denominations and monetary systems.

. New Zealand (New Zealand Dollars)

Sir Edmund Hillary, on this New Zealand $5, ranks as most rugged outdoorsman on world money, with his weather-crinkled eyes, windblown hair, and open-throated shirt.

7. Cook Islands (Cook Island Dollars)

This woman seems tranquil and happy, probably because she is riding a giant shark.

The dollar is the currency of the Cook Islands.

The dollar is subdivided into 100 cents, although some 50 cent coins carry the denomination as '50 tene'.

8. Hong Kong dollars

The Hong Kong dollar is the eighth most traded currency in the world.

In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$.

The Hong Kong dollar is subdivided into 100 cents

9. Iceland (Kronurs)

The krona is technically subdivided into 100 aurar (singular eyrir), but in practice this subdivision is no longer used.

The Danish krone was introduced to Iceland in 1874, replacing the earlier Danish currency, the rigsdaler. In 1885, Iceland began issuing its own banknotes.

10. Faroe Islands (Kronurs)

The krona is the currency of the Faroe Islands.

It is issued by the Danish National Bank. It is not an independent currency but a version of the Danish krone.

Therefore, it does not have an ISO 4217 currency code.

World's hardest banknotes to fake

Counterfeiting is probably as old as money itself. Before the introduction of paper money, the most prevalent method of counterfeiting involved mixing base metals with pure gold or silver.

Let's take a look at some of the hardest banknotes to fake in the world, according to CNBC.

10,000 tenge

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan was one of the last countries of the CIS to introduce a national currency. In 1995, a tenge printing factory was opened in Kazakhstan. The first consignment of tenge was printed abroad, in the United Kingdom. The first coins were minted in Germany.

50 pesos

Mexico

Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 15th󈝿th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, $.

The Mexican peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded in the Americas, and by far the most traded currency in Latin America.

1,000 kronor

Sweden

The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. The currency is sometimes referred to as the "Swedish crown" in English (since krona literally means crown in Swedish).

10 dollars

Hong Kong

It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. A bank can issue a Hong Kong dollar only if it has the equivalent exchange in US dollars on deposit.

The currency board system ensures that Hong Kong's entire monetary base is backed with US dollars at the linked exchange rate.

10 rupees

Nepal

Between 1945 and 2007 Nepalese banknotes were issued with the portraits of four different kings. Starting in October 2007 the king's portrait was replaced by Mount Everest on all notes which have been issued since.

1,000 dinars

Iraq

In 2003, new banknotes were issued consisting of six denominations: 50, 250, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 25,000 dinar. The notes were similar in design to notes issued by the Central Bank of Iraq in the 1970s and 1980s.

A 500 dinars note was issued a year later, in October 2004.

20 pounds

United Kingdom

Pound Sterling is the fourth most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the US dollar, the euro and the Japanese yen.

Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF Special Drawing Rights, with an 11.3 per cent weighting as of 2011.

Sterling is also the third most held reserve currency in global reserves.

From the slums of Chennai he made it to World Bank

The story of E Sarathbabu, a boy brought up in a slum in Chennai who turned into a successful entrepreneur, passing through, on the way, the corridors of BITS, Pilani and Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has become legendary in India now.

The first time I met E Sarathbabu was in 2006 when he had just graduated out of IIM-A. He had made headlines in the country when he rejected offers from various MNCs to start his own enterprise.

He wanted to follow his heart and what his mother did to bring up her children -- sell idlis in the morning.

In two years' time, he had made his enterprise- Foodking- a successful venture.

This was followed by a foray into politics and two elections in which he stood as an independent candidate and made thousands of speeches at various colleges to inspire children to study and become entrepreneurs. In the process, Foodking was neglected.

Now, he is back on track and ready to make Foodking more successful.

The latest feather to his cap is an invitation by the World Bank to represent South Asia at the Bank's annual event, the Global Youth Conference.

He was among the three young entrepreneurs who were invited from across the globe to speak on "Youth Unemployment: Empowering Solutions through Innovation and Inclusion".

Sarathbabu, founder and CEO of Foodking got back from New York a few days ago. He speaks to rediff.com about the event and also his plans for the future.

Representing the South Asia at the World Bank conference

In February, a month before the Global Youth Conference, I got a call from the secretary of the co-chair of the event, and she said that they were holding an annual youth meet and they wanted me to be one of the speakers.

She said there would be 400 youngsters from 30-40 countries across the world. She also informed me that the conference would be telecast live across the world.

I was thrilled and excited. It was no mean an achievement representing South Asia as an entrepreneur.

Last year, I was in the US on the Legislative Fellowship Program from the US state government. So, this was my second trip to US.

Speaking at the Global Youth forum

I reached New York on March 4 and the address was scheduled for March 7. They told me that each speaker would be given seven to eight minutes to speak on the topic. Besides me, there were two young entrepreneurs at the meet.

We were asked to speak on how we could solve the unemployment problems of our countries. I represented South Asia, while the other speakers were from Mexico and Africa.

I was the second person to speak. I worked hard on my power point presentation, but my speech was extempore. I divided my presentation into three parts, and the first part was about my childhood.

I spoke about my childhood and connected it to the millions of children living in poverty. I sensitised the audience on poverty and hunger.

The second part of my speech was about following my dream of becoming an entreprenuer and what made me start Foodking. I said, by starting Foodking, my desire was to provide employment and alleviate poverty.

The third part was about how young entrepreneurship can change the lives of people and the face of a nation.

I said, we have a population of 100 crore (1 billion) and we needed one person from every 1 crore who had the capacity to start an enterprise and create 1 lakh jobs. I said it was not necessary to have any help from the government to be an entrepreneur.

I also spoke about how I addressed youngsters at various college and industry events on entrepreneurship.

Finally, I said my dream was to see a hunger-free India and that's why I started the Hunger Free India Foundation. I ended my speech by saying, if all of you are with me, 'we can make a hunger-free world; as hunger is the same whether you are from India, Africa or Europe!'

When I ended, theere was complete silence. Nobody said anything, nobody moved. Later, I was told that lot of people were crying listening to my speech. To which, I said, 'that was not my intention at all!'

After the three of us addressed the meet, there was a question and answer session.

Huge applause followed after I finished answering the questions. Needless to say I was thrilled. One of the girls at the event came up to me and said that she was going back to India to start an NGO.

It was an overwhelming experience to share my dreams at such a big platform

Starting Foodking in 2006

I started Foodking (I had decided on the name then itself) from my hostel room with less than Rs 2,000, when I was studying at IIM-A. I knew I was going to be in the food business. So, I didn't want to waste any time. I started out by serving refreshments to the students.

After graduation, I got an offer from big software companies but I rejected them all to start my own enterprise.

I never expected this kind of response from people, but I knew my initiative would have a strong impact on the society.

Right now, we have six units in four places - Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Rajasthan. I am now concentrating on retail units. Our turnover today is Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million) per year.

Jobs for school drop outs

At present, we have 250 employees working for us. I employ school drop outs and poor people, as their families need support. If I wanted, I could have started a software company and employed educated youth, but that was not my intention when I decided to be an entrepreneur.

My dream is to employ one lakh people in my lifetime. That is also the vision of Foodking.

I don't want to be number 1 or even one of the top 100 entrepreneurs in India. Let me be the 10,000th one, but at least a few of those who are above me in the list should say that they became entrepreneurs because of me.

I plan to open 100 units in the next two years, and some investors have also shown interest in the business.

A roller coaster ride

It has been a roller coaster ride in the case of Foodking, as in between I concentrated on my social responsibilities. I felt if I sow many seeds, they would grow with me. I don't think I have to be 45 to support entrepreneurs.

While I took up social reponsibilities, my business got affected. In the last 6 years, I might have spent only 1 and a half years concentrating on my business.

Now, I have changed my strategy and I am going to devote the next five years to my business.

Hunger free Foundation

I started the foundation to spread awareness about a hunger free India. I feel not individuals or government, but the whole country should work towards it.

We declared October 10, 2010 (10-10-10) as hunger free day. With this, we wanted to sensitise the nation. What we want is that everybody should do something at least on that day in their capacity so that nobody stays hungry.

It has to be a collective effort, mainly by the youngsters as they are the future of the country. It can be feeding someone, or helping someone in the education of a child or helping an entrepreneur...you can do anything for the cause.

I have experienced hunger and it's like a disease. I don't want anyone to have that disease.

From the slums of Chennai he made it to World Bank

He started a software company at 18!

Shalin Jain's journey as an entrepreneur started when he was a college going teenager.

Without any academic background in computer science, he designs, codes and develops products.

His successful venture, Tenmiles Corporation develops products that are used worldwide. Shalin Jain, founder and CEO of Tenmiles shares his success story in an interview with Shobha Warrier.

Fascinated by writing code

Though from a well-to-do family, I started working for a multimedia company near my house when I was just 17. The owner was my mother's friend. Since I had been designing websites from the 9th standard, she asked me to help her out.

My inspiration was a neighbour, who was developing software products on his own. Whenever I had time, I used to sit and watch him write code.

After I joined college, I got a part time job as a Flash Developer, web designer and programmer with Software Technologies of the Sanmar group.

I was earning around Rs 5000 as a part-time employee. I also wanted to acquire many skills before I finished my college. But I was forced to quit my job as it affected my college studies.

An entrepreneur at 18

After I quit my job, I became restless and decided to start something on my own. So, I became an entrepreneur by default. At 18, you don't dream about becoming an entrepreneur.

That was the time my friend called me to work with him. I told him, it is ten miles up and down, and I did not want to travel that much.

Why I preferred miles to kilometres was, at that time, all of us were fascinated by anything that was American. In America, they say miles. So, I also calculated the distance in miles! I thought miles sounded interesting and kilometres sounded boring.

So when I thought of starting an enterprise, I didn't have to think twice. I decided to name it Tenmiles

Starting Tenmiles

In September 2000, Tenmiles was launched at my house with no capital. I had my desktop to work on. I took my father's credit card and launched my website which must have cost him $10. I forced my father to get me a broadband connection too.

Iniatially, I started offering banner design services free of cost because I wanted to build a customer base. I marketed on the internet and my first client was from Canada. I did not charge my first 200 clients. Frankly, I had no idea how a client from the United States or Canada would pay me!

One day, a client from Canada told me, your work is good. It is not a good idea to accept your work for free. You made three banners for me. Tell me how much do you want me to pay you?

I charged him $20 per banner and started a bank account to deposit that cheque. That was the first revenue for Tenmiles.
After that, I started charging $20 for banners. In the first year, I made $1000. It was all profit, as there were no expenses.  Then, the same client asked me to design a website for him.

Designing products

Soon I realised designing banners and websites was not what I wanted to do. I wanted to do something more creative.

Again, my neighbour who was designing products was my inspiration. I hired him as my first employee. Till then, I was running Tenmiles all alone.

First product

Within one hour of him joining, the first idea came to my mind. Back then, screen savers, wall papers, etc. were very popular. I wanted to write a software that would transfer any flash media into an installable screen saver. It was aimed at brand building so that the screen savers remain for a long time.

It took us 16 days to write the program. We named it Screenswift and it became very popular. We put it on the internet and used google ads to promote it. The personal edition was free and the commercial edition was charged.

Big names like Disney bought our product. We have 4000 to 5000 customers. In two years' time, we had almost 2 lakh downloads. It was a big success.

In the second year, the revenue was around $10,000, while building the product, cost us only $3000. We must have had 4 lakh downloads till now. Even after ten years, we still sell the product. 

Moving to an office

In 2002, I finished my graduation. In 2003, I hired two people and moved to an office space, and decided to launch our second product.

From my marketing experience of Screenswift, I understood that gauging the traffic of a website is absolutely essential. We built a product called Livemon. It was a large product and took us one whole year to build it. Then, we found that the performance was not up to the mark.

Second product

Till we developed our second product, Screenswift was funding the company. We have always been profitable.

At that time, we decided to develop a tool for ourselves to look into customer services. Once we wrote that, we found that it was good enough to sell. We targeted small businesses who sell infrastructure products. We called it Helpdesk Pilot and launched it in 2005 at the price of $99. We sold 11 copies in the first month.

A German customer got so fascinated by the product that he translated the interface into German.

The sales went beyond our imagination. It became our flagship product. So far, we must have sold more 2,000 copies

An event registration product

Another successful product is DoAttend, an online event registration product. It is being used by many business organisers including Nasscom. From 2010 when it was launched, we have 4000-5000 event managers using our product worldwide now.  

WonderfulDay

WonderfulDay is an iOS app, which helps you achieve your daily goals by showing you progress chains. The green dots will visually tell you whether you are following your targets like doing yoga or visiting temple or going to the gym or swimming. The red dot will show you when you don't do it.

This will motivate you to stick to your target. It is a self measuring tool.  We launched this product, two and a half months ago and priced it at $1.

In the first two days of its launch, we became the second most sold business productivity tool in the Indian market. In the app market, we are in the top

Today, we have six successful products from Tenmiles. 

US market

Though our products are sold in the US, European and Indian markets, US constitutes 50-60 per cent of our market.

The Indian market, we have found, is a tough one to crack unlike the US market. Our product is available in China also. But US will always remain our primary market.

Revenue

We haven't disclosed the numbers yet. We expect to grow 100 per cent year on year. We have our own office space now. We have a huge customer base in the US. So an office in the US is on the cards.

The advantage I have as a product developer is that my interest is not education driven but passion driven.

I am not an entrepreneur who will build an enterprise and sell it. No amount of money will satisfy me, more than running this company. There is no question of selling my company ever. Tenmiles is my life and I want it to be a solid product company like Adobe.