From Fort Kochi to Facebook: Meeting Maanav

I am in the habit of 'meeting' people in social media sites, talking to them, befriending them, and then meeting them in real. I find it interesting. I have got good friends like this.

The first was Supriya Tirkey from Jharkhand. We first spoke online while we both were school kids. Gradually we lost touch, but few years later we got in touch again. She was then pursuing a masters' degree from NID, Ahmedabad, and I had completed my engineering. We met for the first time 2 years back when I was in Gujarat. She, along with her friend, now makes and sells quirky, handcrafted journals under the label Little Green Trunk tucked in a quiet village in Goa, insulated from most tourists and the party noise. I am yet to visit their new home.

In a case of mistaken identity I became 'friends' with Sreelakshmi and Vaishnavi in Facebook. Months later, I met both of them, one in Pune and the other in Madras. One ended up lending me Rs 10,000 when I was setting up DesiTude and the other has started to paint our merchandise on a commission basis.

Then, I have 'met' Apoorva in Facebook. We started talking since both of us were Law students and were also into journalism. When I visited Pune to meet another friend, I met her.

My craze for collecting Swadeshi fountain pens led me to 'meet' on Facebook Sunip sir, a senior lawyer from Bombay. Later, when I was in the city he took me to his farm house and remains one of the most caring hosts I have ever come across!

Midhun chettan has been the most recent one I met after 'meeting' online. Not a week has passed since we met. We share quite a few common interests, and he was very sweet in our first meeting. I get an elder brother vibe from him.

There are many more who I have 'met' but yet to meet. Something reverse and interesting happened few days back. I was in Ernakulam, and when my work was over I was adviced to go and explore Fort Kochi and walk through its bylanes. An island - not literally - in the bustling 'metro' city of Kochi.

I walked for few hours under the sun. Tired as I was, I was thinking of going back to the city and from there to the railway station. But then I saw an open and vacant shed. The shed, roofed with a tarpaulin sheet, offered a good shade from the burning sun and had nicely laid rectangular stones to sit. And the shed had two red flags of the Communist Party tied around it. It was a meeting place of the CITU, the party's labour unit. I felt attracted to the place and decided to sit there and rest for a while. But the while stretched to little over an hour. I was gazing at the people of Fort Kochi as they passed by for and after work, as well as scores of tourists lazily strolling.

One tourist, a young man, stopped upon seeing me, and walked closer to the shed. Can I click a picture, he asked me. Oh yes, I said. He clicked, smiled and walked away.

I thought that my sitting in the party's place in the attire that I was in made him feel like clicking a photograph. I was in my usual full sleeve kurta and mundu/dhoti, both in white Khadi, the thick, old-fashioned spectacles, and the Indian flag pinned on to my kurta. I soon forgot about him clicking my picture and I resumed doing what I was doing - gazing at people.

Almost a week later, today, while I was travelling to Kochi yet again, I received a friend request from one Maanav Suresh on Facebook. I opened his profile and saw that we had two mutual friends. I accepted the friend request. I usually accept all friend requests that I receive. I also send friend requests to a lot of people when I find their work interesting.

No sooner did I accept the friend request, I received a text from that account. 'From a random horrible click to finding you here was quite a thing.' Immediately, a picture came. Of mine sitting under the shed along with the Communist flag. From Fort Kochi to Facebook, Maanav found me!

I was shocked and excited. He said that he had recognized me from a post of mine about planting trees saplings for DesiTude that our mutual friend had shared.

Such a small world. Social media has made it even smaller. 

People who think deeper find this scary. I remember one such friend whom I had 'met' online and then met, refusing a selfie. He said it was risking privacy, because the smartphones are connected to the internet and everything gets tracked.  

Maanav will, however, always be remembered for the interesting way in which we 'met.'

P.S.: I spoke to Maanav over phone and we will be meeting soon. For the second time. But as friends. Not strangers.

Kerala's very own Bismi Pens

The 1970s and 80s in India were times when imported fountain pens like the American Parker and Sheaffer, and the Chinese Hero pens were quite the in-thing. Only one hitch- these were expensive.

Capitalizing on this, few Indians came with cheaper variants, although many mimicked the designs of the imported ones.

One such native brand was the Bismi Pen in Kerala, then a rage among college-going students from the 70s to the late 80s. Established in 1970 at Ernakulam by the late Haji S. Mohammed Bismi, the company introduced beautifully crafted yet economic fountain pens, thereby making it a preferred option for most.

Though acrylic and plastic fountain pens were their forte, once ball-point pens came into the picture, Bismi ventured into manufacturing these too.

But due to an overall decrease in the demand for fountain pens and availability of cheaper imported ball pens, the company soon ran into losses. The production of Bismi Pens thus came to a standstill. 

But even today, the name invokes childhood memories among quite a few of the middle generation. For Deepak Prabhakar who hails from Ernakulam and currently works in the UAE, Bismi was his first pen. 

Speaking to The News Minute, Deepak recalls: "Bismi was my first pen. It was probably in 1979 or 80 that I started using pens and as with all Kochiites, Bismi was the first choice, with Camlin and Jubilee being the other makes available.

He adds, “A sky-blue Bismi with slotted ink windows occupied a place of pride. Even when the nib turned scratchy or the pen leaked at the threads, Bismi was always the one. God-forbid if someone turned up with a Camlin. Even more sacrilegious to use was the Kunnukulam-made (a place in Thrissur) Jubilee.  The Syed Agencies shop was a literal haven with its smell of acrylic and ink. The friendly owner behind the glass case would let us youngsters gingerly touch the more exotic ones on display.  This love for pens has lingered all through the years, resulting in a collection of more than 100 pens from around the world. But the memory of that blue Bismi still reigns supreme.”

Subbu -an Ernakulam native who works in Abu Dhabi- shares his own association with the brand right from his schooldays. “I too used to frequent Syed Agencies on that by-lane in Broadway. Pens used to be given to us only for important exams. Had we then known that silicone grease could effectively stop leaks, most of the pens that we threw out would have still been around to at least be photographed.”

Speaking to The News Minute, Rifaz Mohammed- grandson of the founder of Bismi Pens- spoke about his father M Abdul Latif who succumbed to a sudden cardiac arrest at Pollachi last week. He was just 57. It was in 1993 that Latif had taken over Bismi Pens from his father.

“Papa used to often express his desire to resume production, but somehow we could not do it while he was still alive. His sudden demise has left us distraught, but we now feel the urge to fulfill his wish. Some sort of a brand-revival will be the best way to bring peace to the departed soul,” says Rifaz.

If such a revival is actually on the cards, several pen-collectors and those who have fond memories associated with the brand would definitely be one happy lot.

(This story appeared first in The News Minute)

When I got to spend some time with Byju sir

Towards the end of  August last, Mrs Shobha Warrier, the Editorial Director of Rediff.com, had interviewed me over phone for DesiTude's story. We spoke for almost an hour. When the interview was over she told me that she was writing a book on entrepreneurs and that she wanted to include this story in it. She said that the manuscript was ready and was already sent to the editor but she would still like to add this. She let out few names whose stories were going to be published in the book. Those were big names. Honestly, when she said she wanted to include the DesiTude story in it, I thought she was just saying it on a light note, for I had myself not come to terms in being called an entrepreneur or anything close to that. Being mentioned alongside such big names and the remarkable institutions they had created was something I couldn't even think of. I told her this but she said it was worth being there.

Few days later, Shobha ma'am called me to inform that she had included my story in the final manuscript. She told me that the book was titled Dreamchasers - Entrepreneurs from the South of Vindhyas. Again, I was not satisfied as to whether my story was worth being there, but I was definitely excited. She went on to mention few more names whose stories would be there in the book and I heard her saying Byju Raveendran. My heart skipped a beat! I asked her again and she said yes it was the same man who runs Byju's Classes.

In 2014, after having failed once in the civil service examination and not having prepared enough for the same's second attempt, I was thinking of studying Law or doing an MBA. Though I was not particular about any college from where I wanted to study Law, I had IIM in mind for the latter. It was neither for the sake of employment nor for having an MBA degree to add in my CV that I wanted to do MBA. I wanted to be in IIM! I think that the exposure it will give me will change me for the better. But to get there is difficult. I decided that I should take some help. I had a look at few free videos of Byju sir on YouTube and had decided of getting enrolled for his CAT tablet course.

Within a week after making the payment I got a Samsung tablet which was locked and only video lectures of Byju's Classes could be seen in it. I was told that every video lecture could be watched thrice and then once the course was over I could either return the tablet and get an equivalent money back or I could keep the tablet and they would unlock it for me. I loved the lectures and was particularly excited and motivated by Byju Sir's lectures. The confidence with which he taught, the clarity with which he explained and the pace at which he spoke; I had become his fan! I remember shedding tears after seeing his inspirational talk that was included at the end of the video lecture series in the tablet course. His energy and passion will elate any person. I started to recommend Byju's Classes to friends and relatives. They have lectures for school going children, too. I started proudly telling people that here was a Malayalee who scored 100 percentile in CAT and yet did not join an IIM but took to helping thousands of aspirants realize their IIM dream.   

Though I could not score well enough to get admitted to an IIM I started following him. I used to look for the news he made, mostly of people investing in Byju's Classes and how it was going. It was then that the big news came. Mr Mark Zuckerberg said on Facebook that as a part of his and his wife's Chan Zuckerberg Initiative they were investing in Byju's Classes. The post had Byju Sir's name in full and it was then the only investment they had made in Asia! This was my teacher whose fan I had become. I was thrilled. 

Since I had started DesiTude by then friends who met me often asked about my business and discussions often widened to different startups and funding. To all of them I spoke of Byju sir's Facebook funding with so much pride as if it was in my business that the funding had come. 

The feeling that I got when Shobha ma'am told me that Byju sir's story is in the book was, therefore, much superior than the excitement it gave me about the DesiTude story being there. I was told that the book was to be launched by the Chief Minister of Kerala Mr Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram. Shobha ma'am asked me to come for the event, and I was excited. But my excitement shot up beyond measure when I was told that Byju sir would be there for the event, too. 

Date was January 5, place Thiruvananthapuram Press Club. The launch was at 3 PM. Shobha ma'am had reached by around 1 and I, along with my friend Hari, reached there 15 minutes past 1. Then two journalist friends of Shobha ma'am also came; so did few police officers. By 2.15 PM a tall man was seen walking towards the hall. Shobha ma'am rushed to him, invited him in and made him sit in the front row. It was Mr Ajit Balakrishnan, the founder and CEO of Rediff.com. Shobha ma'am introduced me to him and we all were talking. He spoke so freely that nobody would ever think he was such a big man. 

Few minutes passed and the door opened again. There he was. Tall and fit, in a black tee-shirt, blue jeans and a brown leather shoe, carrying a black executive bag in his hand, he walked in. It was as if time froze for me. If one goes to the Sree Krishna Temple at Guruvayoor, right in front of the idol of the Lord one can see few intensely devoted people. With their hands together, eyes dilated, in a trance they stand as if they have lost their physical presence. I was in that state when I saw Byju sir walking in. For a moment my thought process was just bleached. 

He came and sat in the front row. Shobha ma'am introduced Ajit sir to him. Next Shobha ma'am introduced me to him. She also said that I was his student. He smiled. He was not as free as Ajit sir; he spoke less, he smiled less. But in some time Ajit sir was engaging both of us in varied discussions from demonetization to startups in Kerala to IIMs and IITs. It was then that I told Byju sir that I had taken his course in 2014 and loved it but I scored poorly. I told him that I still have the wish to study in an IIM. "You will crack it when you don't really want to," he said. I recollected that he often said this during his lectures. He would also say that exams should be taken lightly and one should do it for fun. Only then will one score well.

Between Ajit sir and Byju sir there was one chair that was lying vacant and I was standing in front of them as we were speaking.

Most people were yet to come and I thought this was the time I could ask for a picture with them. I asked both of them and they said why not. I had to sit for the picture but I did not find it right to occupy the middle place and asked Ajit sir if he could sit there so that I could take the side seat. Saying "No, you sit here," he pulled my hands and made me sit in the middle. "Let us take a selfie," he said quickly removing his glasses and by then Byju sir had the selfie camera of his phone ready. "Give me your number, let me send this to you," Byju sir said. 

     

Soon more people started coming and at 3 PM the Chief Minister walked in and the programme started. The first copy of the book was handed over by the Chief Minister to Ajit sir. Shobha ma'am, the Chief Minsiter and Ajit sir spoke. It was then the turn of Byju sir to speak and as soon as he was there he was in his 'class mode.' The exalted level of energy was there, so was, to borrow his own phrase, the "positive aggression." 

He spoke of how he had never addressed even ten students and was now, as a teacher, addressing over 20,000 students in a stadium. "When you take classes in stadiums, teaching gets elevated to become almost like a performance art," he says in the book Dreamchasers. He spoke of the benefits of having grown up in a village (Azhikode, Kannur) and how it helped in building his business. "Village grown people learn sharing resources right from the beginning. They are closely knit and are united." He spoke of how he learnt most things on his own. "I studied in a Malayalam medium school. I learnt to speak English by my self. I will not say that I speak great English but it is above average and I learnt it from listening to cricket commentaries." He also shared the importance of sports in life. "I repeatedly say that one learns more from outside classrooms than inside. I have myself bunked most classes in school and college. I used to play 3 games at the university level. I learnt discipline and how to work as a team by playing games. These cannot be taught in classrooms. There is a lot that outdoor games can teach." He said he capitalized on his love for Math and Science and the learning from sports to get where he is. He also said that with this he even impressed the girl he loved to become his wife! He then spoke of how the education system of today was focusing on "breadth more than depth" and how that was deteriorating the quality. "After a point you get bored making money. It is not about money. It is about making an impact." And what an impact he is making! I have heard positive reviews about the school level lecture videos and application of Byju's Classes. I have myself experienced his CAT lectures. Studying in an IIM is not a small dream and he is helping many realize that dream. He would have spoken for almost ten minutes and almost abruptly ended by saying "Thank you." 

When the programme was over I asked him, "How do you speak so fast and with so much energy, sir?" "That is how you manage time, right? Maximum content in minimum time," he replied. See his lectures on YouTube and you will know what he means. I got his blessings and his autograph in the book. 

When he was about to leave I went with him downstairs to the car. "Do you come to Bangalore?" he asked me. "Not much, sir. But my sister lives there," I replied. "Next time when you come give me a call and come to office." I was thrilled. I feel I should go and meet him again when I go to Bangalore next. At the same time, I also feel otherwise. He is a man who has a lot to do and values time very much. If I go he will have to spend part of his precious time for me, how much ever less it might be. Should I or should I not? I do not know.

(The book DreamChasers - Entrepreneurs from the South of Vindhyas by Mrs Shobha Warrier can be bought here)