The Indian state of Assam is going through severe floods since some time now. The calamity has killed more than 80 people and affected as many as 70 lakh.
Despite such enormous numbers, the majority of the national media isn’t giving it much coverage. This isn’t surprising though as this has been the case with the national media which is ready to flash minor floods in Mumbai as ‘Breaking News.’
“Over 70 lakh people have been affected due to Assam floods. People, as well as animals, are being rescued from the affected areas and being shifted to relief camps and safer locations,” said Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to the news agency ANI (Asian News International).
Photo courtesy: The Hindu
What makes the situation even worse is that, like majority of Indian states, Assam too is going through the COVID-19 pandemic.
But thanks to technology and internet, there are ways through which we can help the Assam flood victims.
Here’s how:
NGO: Actionaid Assocition
Account Name: ACTIONAID ASSOCIATION Bank Name: Axis Bank Ltd Branch Name: Bangalore (KT) Account Number: 009010101455298 Address: No 9, M G Road, Block A, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001 RTGS/NEFT/IFSC Code: UTIB0000009 To know more about Actionaid, click HERE
NGO: Rapid Response
Account Name: Rapid Response Account Number: 50200002115108 IFSC Code: HDFC0001038 Account Type: Current Bank: HDFC Bank, Branch: Avadi To know more about Rapid Response, click HERE
Known actor Adil Hussain hails from Assam. Speaking on how Assam has always been ignored, he told the Hindustan Times, “I don’t think anyone has taken it seriously. All the governments since Independence, before we could blame it to the British, I don’t think anyone has actually bothered about it. There were quick-fixes and band-aids, but no research (which I know of) has been done.”
Hussain also wondered at how there hasn’t been any solution despite floods hitting Assam each year. “The flood happens every year, at the same time and the volume of water is almost the same. Even after that if we say we do not have a solution for it, I feel either we are either lying or we are not trying hard.”
Success stories of people are generally narrated when they have lived quite a few decades. But for Sahil Lalwani, an age of 21 is enough to write a lengthy success story. Circumstances forced him to start working when he was in the 9th grade as a vendor post-school and deliver products via Metro. From here on, he went onto own a series of start-ups in the coming years through his company Twelve 10.
But there is much more to it. Sahil scored defence contracts for chemicals and building the internal base for Indian Navy. But along with all this, his major business is into real estate. His current project includes a six-acre township in Kalyan and Kharghar.
We know this might be too much information for you. So we will just let Sahil speak in detail about his success journey.
You are doing a lot of things professionally. What was your aim in life to become when you were a kid? Back when I was a kid, all I wanted to do was travel, visit different countries and meet people from different cultures. When I saw a picture of New York City in one of my general knowledge books back in grade two, I had a drive to explore USA. But being from a middle-class background, the only way to achieve this was to either go there for studies or for a job.
I had an interest in cinematography in grade eight and nine and I got into New York School of Film Academy back in 2015. But then, life happened and if you want to grow, you have to leave your dreams behind and follow the path leading you to success. My dad got ill while I was in 10th grade and I had to take over the reins and support my family alongside my mother.
What was going through you when you started working when you were in 9th grade? I was going through a lot at that time like any normal 15-year-old. I would go to school and see these children arrive in Audis, Porsches and BMWs with VIP number plates. We were given a uniform so that no one feels inferior or superior, but I felt that we, as a family, lacked something. Though I belonged to a normal middle-class family, my dad would buy a luxury car and that pinched me a bit.
I had gone on a school trip to Dubai and the lifestyle there inspired me to make something of myself. As soon as we came back, I started working and formed a Facebook page and started getting references. I still remember the time I used to sell wallets online, followed by different merchandise. My first start-up was called Merchandise and More.
How did you get motivated to create quite a few start-ups at such a young age? Who guided you? Where and how did you learn the tricks of the trade? What were the challenges? There was another instance that inspired me. Every summer we used to spend our holidays at my Nani’s house in Mumbai and while we were there, I used to see cars that my family accountant would drive. He had these huge luxury sedans that would make me a bit jealous, to be honest. It was a life changing moment for me, and I decided that it was time to either go big or go home.
If you have been given a life, make it work. I honestly didn’t have much help because my dad didn’t want me to work at such a young age, but I had the dream to buy my own luxury car. The first few months were tough, but I bought my first car in Grade 10 which was, of course, a second-hand luxury sedan. At that moment, I realised that I was successful and there was no stopping me after that.
Sahil Lalwani
Since my dad got unwell when I was in grade 11, I had to handle his
business. There was no one to teach me the tricks of the trade and I fell on my
knees quite a few times, but I got back up again. Books were the only thing
that helped me learn technical terms and taught me how to deal professionally
with people.
You also used to make defence contracts for Indian Navy. How did this happen? Tell us about your work in this arena. After I finished school, my mom and I moved to Mumbai so we could explore our business options. And that’s when we came across an idea to manufacture household liquids, since they were so expensive. While searching for the breakeven contract, we came across an opening of Karwar Naval Base from where we made Twelve10 chemicals a success and now we supply to all navy and CSD canteens across India.
We at Twelve10, always want to provide products at a reasonable price. For
this, we have also faced a lot of backlash and we’re considered to be a lower
grade brand but what people do not understand is that MNC are over charging
people. Even we want to earn, but we want to earn ethically. FMCG is an
industry where people do not have work ethics at all. The profits sore up to
400% on manufacturing costs.
A major part of your business is real estate. How did you start in this arena and when? Soon after we made money, we started to invest in the builder buying equities and properties on pre-construction basis or advance bookings. This helped us get better prices than properties that were already built. This, again, opened a source of income in the longer run. With my eyes set on construction, we started Twelve10 Construction where we provide an all-in-one solution to developers, right from putting the first brick on the ground, till the lock and key is finalised.
Since it takes off a lot of pressure from the small builders in the
sector, it has helped us grow and become the company we are today. Currently we
are working with SR Group even in lockdown, to make a 6-acre township near
Kalyan and various stand-alone properties in Kharghar.
What is the process of importing avocados from Peru? How and when did you venture in this area? During the lockdown, we came across a term called immunity, which was already there in the market, but nobody cared about it back then. However, COVID-19 opened the eyes of the public and they started looking for products to increase their immunity. At this point, we saw an opportunity to import a superfood, avocados, that contain many nutrients and antioxidants. During this time, the government was only allowing us to import goods from Peru and New Zealand. So, we searched for traders and set up an ecommerce website overnight.
The process starts by contacting a trader in Peru who provides us with
the prices of the product, which then get shipped in a plane with a controlled
atmosphere to our city’s airport and from there, after clearing customs, gets
shipped to our warehouse in the city.
How much has your business been affected because of the COVID-19 lockdown? How hopeful are you of things being back to normal before we reach 2021? During the lockdown, we managed not to take a bad hit. Our constructions business and e-commerce website were doing pretty well, as people started to buy a lot of stuff online. However, our food and beverage subsidiary company called Tithe suffered to make ends meet. We had 25 Outlets to launch in Mumbai, out of which 5 were operational before the lockdown and, as we were still in the initial stages, suffered a few losses.
I believe different industries will react differently to this. Real estate prices, even with the most notable developers in Mumbai, have taken a hit as everyone is trying to liquidate their assets. There is a sense of insecurity about the future in the market, but I believe India has the power and ability to overcome even worse than this. We will get back on our feet. Of course, some losses are not curable but within 6-7 months we will once again be, a profit-making economy.
The phrase ‘reality show’ has been in the vogue since
a decade and a half. But there were a lot of popular reality shows back in the
1990s. The only difference was that they weren’t termed as ‘reality shows.’
Not many would remember that we also had cricket reality shows in the 1990s in which some popular and successful former and current [at that time] cricketers used to perform. One such show was hosted by the great Mohinder Amarnath. It was a quiz show were ex-cricketers like Sandeep Patil, Atul Wassan, Roger Binny, Sayed Kirmani, etc, used to participate.
But one competitive show that excited kids and
adolescents a lot in the 1990s featured Navjot Singh Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja. The
reason this show stood out was that it wasn’t a quiz show.
Interestingly, the show tested indoor cricket skills
of youngsters. It used to air on Sundays before lunch time on Star Plus.
This is how it worked. Sidhu and Jadeja were two
captains whose teams would participate against each other. Each team would have
youngsters who were commoners or cricket enthusiasts or budding cricketers.
Interestingly, players used to wear coloured clothes with one team wearing blue and the other orange. [On a lighter note, whoever thought that Indian players wore orange for the first time in their 2019 World Cup match against England was wrong]
Both teams used to participate in a number of indoor cricket games. This included Chinese cricket, juggling the ball on the bat, trying to hit the stumps from a distance, etc.
But one that I loved the most was a box cricket game with ‘ek tappa out’ rule. It meant that a batsman can be given out even if the fielder catches the ball after one bounce. There was a complete relatability factor since we used to play with the same rules in our colonies.
While batting in the stadium, Sidhu was known for coming down the track to the spinners, including Shane Warne and Muttiah Murlidharan, and lofting them for huge sixes. He used to dance down the track in this format too, but only to play the ball along the ground, as were the rules.
Jadeja was the best Indian fielder in that era. He used to showcase his fielding skills in this show too. Sidhu also became a much better fielder but that was much later; maybe just a year before he announced retirement.
It was a much admired show then among cricket fans. Of course, it was the era when Hindi television had content to offer; much before the saas-bahu pollution ruined it.
What made the show special was that the two cricketers
involved in it weren’t ex-players. Both Sidhu and Jadeja were in form current
players then. They used to somehow take time out of their busy cricketing
schedules to shoot for this show.
I have been trying to remember the name of the show
since few weeks now but to no avail. But a couple of cricket enthusiasts recently
told me it was named ‘Kricket.’
Strangely, not only is there not a single video of this show, I couldn’t even find a mere mention of it in any article or post.
