Friday 30 August 2013

Rachna Says

Who is an entrepreneur?

Someone who can dream, who has the courage to start fresh, to take risks and capability to grow & succeed.

All these words resonate with the person I am going to introduce now. 


Rachna Parmar [“Sometimes, silence connects in a way words never can!”]

“A professional content writer and an entrepreneur & co-owner of Tranquil Software Solutions. She is also a founder of RachnaSays a personal blog where she shares some part of her life.”

Rachna did Bsc in chemistry, followed by MBA from NMIMS. After which she worked in brand management for few years before taking a sabbatical to be with her kids.

She is a doting mother of 2 boys age 6 and 11. It was during her sabbatical that her blogging journey began.


What is entrepreneurship?

Turning a dream into a clear idea and converting the idea into a successful business.

What was the dream?

The dream was very hazy. It was born on an afternoon dipped in kids’ antics and a need to be free. The dream started as Rachna’s personal blog Rachna Says. A chronicle of her journey, bits and pieces scattered yet saved. Reserved and preserved by her pen. It was a start to a long beautiful journey.

What was the idea?

Pen is mightier than tongue. Words are sharper than knives. Rachna’s pen gave way to her foray in content writing. She was and she is a very successful content writer with many national and international clients. But she did not stop at that. Her penmanship and her marketing experience coupled with her husband’s amazing conviction, confidence and ability gave birth to a unique idea. An idea to break the barriers and to make technology accessible to everyone.

What is the business?


Behind every successful man is a strong woman. Lets us relook at this proverb. Success goes hand in hand with strength, especially when chased with your other half.

Around 3 years back in March 2010 “Tranquil” was born as “Smart Solutions” a sole proprietary.  It was later converted into a company. It was formed with a vision to provide affordable internet solutions that would make many lives easier. Rachna is the Director of the company. She handles content writing, Marketing and accounts including all liaisons for the company.

In recognition of Tranquil's long term goals and in its ability to achieve them, it was accepted as a Microsoft BizSpark Member.

It is an organization dedicated in the endeavour of helping technology reach a common person and to help him/her enhance the quality of his/her life. The company mostly works with employees on contract basis. They employ people and give them flexible options to work from home. They encourage stay at home mothers and other professionals who prefer flexibility and work from home option.

It takes a lot of conviction and courage to convert one simple afternoon dream into something this big.

Rachna stands as an inspiration for all of us struggling OR may be not struggling in our mundane lives, content or not content with our mundane lives, BUT with a dream in our hearts. Her story inspires, her words encourage us to follow our dreams, to shed inhibitions and to push our boundaries.

She is one of the reasons I am blogging right now. I continue to dream because of her and I know there are many more, especially women who look up to her.

She may not be the face of any obvious social change but she is one of the women who are leading subtle revolution in women empowerment.

She has many facets and many achievements I would love to talk about all of it. She is one of my inspirations. I have read almost everything she has written and if I could, I would write endless chapters on her. But I can’t hence I delved in some of her facets; some of the things that I think would describe her.


[Written for the Indiblogeshwaris Ladies Independence Special Contest in association with http://womenentrepreneursinindia.com/]




Lanterns

float in orange hues
under the blue and grey sky
eternal rainbow 

Boat Ride Lanterns





Image credit here

Thursday 29 August 2013

I will wait

I sit at the corner
See you walk by
I see life pass by me
I have been here for eternity
Waiting on you
Waiting for you

You draw closer and closer
And look through me
Your eyes wondering on and around
I wait for them to stop
Stop by me
Halt on me
I want you to look at me
But you move on
One look never enough
One me not enough

The day I saw you,
My eyes were seized
My heart was lost
I was lost in your world
You became my world
My world alone and lonely
With you but without you
You are here
But I am waiting for you

One day you will look at me
Your eyes will see me
Your heart will feel me
My soul will touch yours
I will not bleed or cry
I will not plead or die
Till then
I will wait
On you
I will wait
For you

(C) Juztamom 2013

Shared with dverse poets 

As per the prompt this is an old poem. Have edited, re phrased, revamped it quite a lot.


Obsession

I fall in and out of love
I am born and I die
I travel countries and I fly
I break my heart and I break others’
I live through you, lavish tales in a book

I fall and I get up
I loose and I win
I forgive and I forget
I move and move on
I dance and groove on
I live through you, my little one

You are fiery and you are cool
I cry and I snicker
I am speechless and I talk to you
You shut up and listen
I live through you, my nibbles on a plate

(C) Juztamom 2013


Some of my obsessions for Verse First at Poet's United.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Who wears the pants?


Well this is a rhetorical question right? But we do give a lot of importance to pants..Don’t we? If a person is a professional working in an office he/she has to be in pants and if a person is not in pants/suits but in pajamas or in this case salwar suit playing with a kid, he or in this case specifically she is judged as non-working homely home maker aka housewife. And isn’t it surprising that she has E-MAIL in her mobile??

Oh My Dear Lord!! A salwar suit wearing, playing with her kid type has an E-Mail facility in her mobile. This is shocking!! Yes the advertisement hits a shocking node. This is breaking news...She can afford an E-Mail because it is available only for Rs 1 per day. Oh My Lord..Dear Lord!! What a life saver for homely home maker!




This advertisement gave me goose bumps. Literally I sat up straight and saw it multiple times. Every time it took me to another level of disgust. I normally don’t pay much heed to ads. They are mostly hideous, part of a race, trying to outsell each other. And in the process out-sell every moral and ethic in the book. I have been a part of the process, seen things take shape quite closely and hence I am more disillusioned.

But this ad took being judgmental to a new level. Look at all the elements. The lady who is obviously a working professional gives a skeptical look to the other lady who is homely poor woman with a child, not wearing pants . Literally the look tells us she is already looking down on the other lady for no reason.

Even when the homely lady who doesn’t have anything better to do, offers help; the lady in pants gives an incredulous look and says something that qualifies as a taunt...big time.

And Voila!!

What happens?? The lady in pants is proved wrong because the homely lady [Not in pants] has an e-mail facility in her mobile, which she can easily afford now because it is so cheap. Otherwise how will a homely lady with a child [Not in pants] be able to afford such facility?

Oh My an E Mail!!

This advertisement speaks volumes about the judgements prevalent in our society. We mark people and roles in water tight compartments and refuse to believe otherwise. We follow what is convenient and everything that is different is not convenient. So we pick up stereo types, don’t fight them, rather sell them and sell our products through them.

I know marketers draw their target audience [TG] and define them as a single person. So in this case who was the TG? A 30 something homely home maker playing with her child, who otherwise won’t be able to afford an e mail facility but is now using it because it is cheap. So now she can help an office going professional [in pants]. But my question is what is the basis of this TG definition?

Do they really think there are these two type of women?? And through this ad they are reaching this identified type??

I am not sure how many homely non-pant wearing females would relate to the advertisement but I really really want the marketing brains behind this ad to come and live where I do.

I would love them to see some of us home maker aunties with kids roaming around in hot pants with our i phones/ i pads, checking e mails and FB and speaking in ENGLISH.

Oh My GOD...maybe next they can try and sell some English speaking courses to us. If e mail is so unexpected from us, then English speaking courses are gold mine.


Common teach us English Mr. Marketer!!