UP: A LAND OF HOPE by APJ Abdul Kalam

APJ Abdul Kalam

Economic development is powered by competitiveness
Competitiveness is powered by knowledge

When I see Uttar Pradesh, I see a land of tremendous opportunities. The largest state by population in India with over 19 crore people has more human capital than most of the nations of the world. In fact, China, United States and Indonesia are the only nations, besides India, which have more population than the state of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has some of the premier educational and research institutions of the nation, and also the holy places to many different religions. It represents vastness of size, diversity of competencies and richness of history. Above all, it has more than 100,000 villages, which can be the engines of vibrant growth in the state. As the new decade ushers in, the development and empowerment of these villages would be the primary action needed for the development of the state and the nation. How can this be done?
This action will need the creation of number of rural enterprises in the state as part of PURA clusters (Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas). Let me now discuss the sustainable development system.

PURA as a Sustainable Development system
In 2010, India turned 63 years old as the largest democracy in the world and we witness a defining period for the nation and its people. We stand ten years away from the goal of achieving the vision for a developed India by 2020, and there has been significant progress in all directions. Each step we take towards a developed nation also opens a fresh challenge to overcome. The need of the hour is the evolution of sustainable systems, which act as ‘enablers’ and bring inclusive growth and integrated development to the nation. One such sustainable development system is the mission of Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA). It means that:
* The villages must be connected within themselves and with main towns and metros through good roads and wherever needed by railway lines. They must have other infrastructure like schools, colleges, hospitals and amenities for the local population and the visitors. This is physical connectivity.
* In the emerging knowledge era, native knowledge has to be preserved and enhanced with latest tools of technology, training and research. The villages have to have access to good education from best teachers wherever they are, must have the benefit of good medical treatment, and must have latest information on their pursuits like agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and food processing. That means they have to have electronic connectivity.
* Once the physical and electronic connectivity are enabled, knowledge connectivity is enabled. That can facilitate the ability to increase the productivity, the utilisation of spare time, awareness of health welfare, ensuring a market for products, increasing quality conscience, interacting with partners, getting the best equipment, increasing transparency and so in general knowledge connectivity.
* Once the three connectivities viz physical, electronic and knowledge connectivity are ensured, they facilitate earning capacity leading to economic connectivity. When we Provide Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA), we can lead to uplift of rural areas, we can attract investors, we can introduce effectively useful systems like Rural BPOs, Micro Finance. The number of PURA for the whole country is estimated to be 7000 covering 600,000 villages where 700 million people live. There are a number of operational PURAs in our country initiated by many educational, healthcare institutions, industry and other institutions. Government of India is already moving ahead with the implementation of PURA on the national scale across several districts of India. Besides the government, the implementation of PURA would also require many other innovative platforms – which are sustainable and replicable. One such platform called PURA Corporation was evolved and is being pursued by one of my students from IIM Ahmedabad, Shri Srijan Pal Singh. This involves creation of local level, vertically integrated enterprises, which share common markets and branding. For vibrant growth of Uttar Pradesh’s villages we would need such intellectually thought out and self-sustainable platforms.
The state of Uttar Pradesh has a tremendous opportunity and a significant role to play, which would contribute not only to the state, but the nation as well. Developed states will make developed India. To achieve developed India, UP has to be developed. For making UP a developed state, the following five criteria have been identified.
* Per-capita income to be tripled
* Literacy rate to be 100%
* IMR rate has to be less than 10
* UP to be polio, leprosy and TB free state
* Minimise the unemployment rate through value added employment generation
Profit with integrity
In a time when the growth of a state will be led by the growth of industry, it is important to realise that only profit with integrity can lead to sustained growth. How is it possible? We need to have state ethics for sustained growth and peace. Where from it starts?
* The state has to have ethics in all its tasks and transactions, for sustained economic prosperity and peace.
* If the state is to have ethics; the society has to promote ethics and value system.
* If the society is to have ethics and a value system, families should adhere to ethics and value system;
* If families have to get evolved with ethics and value system, parenthood should have inbuilt ethics.
* Parental ethics come from great learning, value-based education and creation of clean environment that leads to righteousness in the heart.

Conclusion
What is the most important ingredient that will enable us to realise sustainable national and state development? My study indicates that the creative leadership is the most important component for attaining success in all missions. I would like to define ‘creative leadership’, based on my experiences:
* Leader must have a vision.
* Leader must have passion to realise the vision.
* Leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path.
* Leader must know how to manage a success and failure.
* Leader must have courage to take decisions.
* Leader should have nobility in management.
* Leader should be transparent in every action.
* Leader must work with integrity and succeed with integrity.
For sustainable growth of any state or nation, the important thrust will be on the generation of a number of creative leaders through nurturing the talent, and promoting innovation in every sector. Emergence of such leaders will facilitate global competitiveness and help India transform into a developed nation. Uttar Pradesh, the state which has given more than half of India’s Prime Ministers since independence has to generate many such creative leaders, especially from the youth. The higher the proportion of creative leaders in a state or nation, the higher the potential of success of visions like “developed India”.

Development profile for UP Prosperity (Box)

For realizing this, mission mode programmes are essential taking into account the core competence of the Uttar Pradesh. The possible missions are:
* Tourism, both spiritual and general
* PURA missions (1100 PURA – Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) – Providing Physical connectivity, electronic connectivity and knowledge connectivity leading to economic connectivity to the cluster of villages.
* Education mission - School drop out to be reduced to zero. Reaching out the quality education through tele-education.
* Healthcare mission – Health care through tele-medicine and mobile medical vans to all the PHCs from the corporate and district hospitals. Introduction of Yashaswini type healthcare scheme.
* Agro – food processing mission
i. Sugar industry & Ethanol
ii. Dairy and milk food Processing
iii. Jatropha cultivation and Bio-disel mission
iv. Food grain production increase to 1.5 times
* De-silting of rivers and Linking water bodies and creating waterways within UP
* Transforming IT into Knowledge products (Value addition) and Setting up of BPO and KPO industries
* Creating all weather roads covering all the rural villages and cities. Infrastructure upgradation to reduce the urban congestion.
* Evolution of enlightened citizens.

(This article has been written exclusively for Hindustan Times).

Let’s make it happen!

A whiff of freshness envelops all of us as we enter the New Year. It is time for new dreams, new resolutions. Fine. But amid all this, we somehow tend to bypass some burning public issues. They get carried over from the past years, till they come back to haunt us again.
These public issues have simple solutions, if WE, the People of the State and City, decide to join hands and resolve them. Is it impossible to provide school buses to children whose travel to school is more of a nightmare than fun? Is it not possible to rectify the dangerous crossings that claim lives day after day? Or is it that difficult for the country and the state that takes pride in being a young nation to save students from short-circuiting their lives? Can’t we have an efficient ambulance service to rush dying patients to the hospitals? Can’t the road users know the simple way of giving way to an ambulance caught in traffic?
They all are doable as the society is full of Good Samaritans.
We at the Hindustan Times have decided to run a series ‘Agenda 2011’, an endeavour to serve the society as a whole. Especially writing for us are former president Dr Abdul Kalam, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and many other eminent personalities from the country and the state. We promise to follow the Agenda throughout the year, but we will need your cooperation to make it possible.
Write to saron@hindustantimes.com
Sunita Aron
Senior Resident Editor

Taj Residency becomes Vivanta by Taj

THE NAME GAME
Deep Saxena
deepsaxena@gmail.com

What’s in a name, you may wonder. A lot, else why Hotel Taj Residency, which falls in deluxe five-star hotel category, be called Vivanta by Taj, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow?
Three days back the Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), that runs the Taj chain of hotels, unveiled the new brand in Bangalore. Presently run in the business hotel category, this property is now being upgraded in the ‘upper-up’ category. Hotel’s general manager Shekhar Walavalkar tells HT City, “It will remain the Taj. The hotel is being upgraded from the present level and that’s a good news for Lucknowites. There are going to be lots of changes in terms of exteriors, menu, servicing and styling. There are some surprise elements in store and probably in the next three- months the result will be there for you to see.”
IHCL now has four categories — Luxury (Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai), Vivanta (19 hotels), Gateway (Taj Ganges Varanasi) and the economy brand Ginger. The word ‘Vivanta’ comes from Latin and signifies life, freshness and vivacity. The new name has evoked diverse reactions.
In a message to HT City, TCS principal consultant Jayant Krishna wrote: “What a shame (sic), we cannot buzz, ideate, energise and evolve at the Taj Residency Lucknow any longer, it is called Vivanta by Taj now. But then, what’s in a name, vive la the city’s romance with its very own Taj...”
Later, he says, “If we go back, when the hotel started in the state capital it was a luxury hotel called Hotel Taj Mahal but it was downgraded to a business hotel. Good that now it will be upgraded to upper-up category.”
HT City’s Facebook friends Somya Tripathi, Kunal Karnik, Abhinav Tewari and Vijay Kumar give the new name a thumbs down with messages like “omg… r u serious” and “is it heading for an Anta”. Some were caught unawares as the change has been done discreetly. Akanksha Dayal reacts, “it sounds very nice..!! btw wen wud it b implemented? (sic).”
Page 3 regular Sudhir Halwasia says, “It’s not connecting with the aura of Taj. The brand has its own identity and goodwill. I think it will only put a question mark on the brand and create confusion. Let’s hope it pans out well!”
(With inputs from Qazi Faraz Ahmad)

Yeh pain na hoga kum

Yeh pain na hoga kum

Deep Saxena

This girl knows not how to be diplomatic. Yami Gautam, lead actress of the TV show Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kum, doesn’t like the way the show has taken shape. She is upset with the pain that her onscreen character Laher Mathur has to go through in the show based on Lucknow.
“Who likes to be in pain, or being tortured and live in tough conditions? But I guess, as an actor it’s a good opportunity to show my versatile acting talent,” she says. Yami was in Lucknow to inaugurate Lavanya Spa at Wave West End Mall.
“Initial days in the show were certainly happy. But the Brahmin boy - Kayasth girl theme can’t be stretched too long. The story has to move on to different tracks. Sometimes it works sometime it doesn’t. We do anything for the audience and TRPs,” she says without being mincing words.
Yami, who is also doing the on-going show Meethi Chhoorii on NDTV Imagine, was earlier seen in the recently concluded Kitchen Champion.
“I am loving my stints with reality shows. Such out-of-the-league shows break the regular image and show a different side of you,” she says. Yami, who is mostly dressed in simple salwar-suit or saree, has donned a glamorous avtaar for Imagine’s talk show.
She started with a South Indian film, so any plans to do more films there? “My debut film Ullaha Utsaha (Kannad) did good business and gave me recognition. But presently I have no time for the big screen.”And Bollywood? “To be honest, nothing interesting has come my way and neither am I focused in that direction,” she says.
Looking tired, Yami adds, “Small screen is much tougher than films. It’s work, work and work all the time. There is no personal life at all.”Explaining it further, she says, “I shot till 3 am last night then took the morning flight today and here I am in Lucknow. Will go back in the evening and join the sets straightaway in the night. It’s so exhausting that I can doze off anywhere. The other day my director was giving me a narration when I dozed off for a moment.”
This is her third visit to Lucknow. How does she find it here? “During my first visit no one knew me here. My show was then launched from Lucknow and now it is a good opportunity to take feedback from the place where the show is based. When people talk and cross-question you, one thing is clear that people are watching the show,” she says.

Ganj’s own food story!

These food joints have been there and seen it all. Generations have changed but these places continue to tickle the taste buds of people, writes Deep Saxena

Benbows (now Changamal), Ranjana (Barista), Krishna (Prince market), Kayz Kozy Korner (new Bata), Silver Oak (model shop), Annapurna (Wajid Hussain Furnishers next to Sahu), Hong Kong (next to Chedilal) and Kwality Restaurant (Mayfair building) together form a list of food joints in the Hazratganj of yore. Although they do not exist today, they have been a part of the glorious past of the majestic Ganj.
These landmarks made way for a new generation with Chowdhury’s Sweets (1882), Capoor’s Hotel (1932) and Jone Hing (1948) becoming the new face of Ganj. Later, Royal Café (earlier on Halwasia Court), Moti Mahal, Marksman and Burma Bakery joined in and are now the very essence of Ganj today.
Hindustan Times takes you on a journey into the history of such food joints that have become synonymous with Hazratganj today.
Capoor’s Hotel
Established in 1932, this hotel has been a witness to the British era in the city.
“I remember my parents telling me that this was the favourite hotel of the British,” says Sanjay Capoor, grandson of founder HR Capoor. He further says, “During World War II, a number of British officials and army men used to come here. More importantly, the headquarters of the Royal British Air Force were also in Ganj. Therefore, a large number of British visited our hotel frequently.”
The restaurant of the hotel that now wears a plush-yet-traditional look then had a revolving bar. “During those days, the bar was open only from 12 noon to 2 pm and then from 6 pm to 11 pm. So, we had a hydraulic revolving bar. When the bar was shut, it used to revolve a 180 degree and its back side, which had a Belgium glass, used to be in the front,” he says. While those who could, enjoyed the luxury of Capoor’s Hotel, the aam-aadmi’s drinking place used to be China Bar (next to Kala Kunj), which had a caged fencing.
During those days, every Tuesday used to be a dry day and the bar would remain closed all day. Several Bollywood names including Mohd Rafi and Keshto Mukherjee have also been guests here. Besides, the hotel also finds its name in All The Prime Minister’s Men — a book on emergency by Janardan Misra.Capoor still remembers his parents telling him that after India achieved independence, they had booked an ear-panel advertisement in a Hindi daily. And now, being a part of the majestic Ganj has booked them a place in history.
Jone Hing
Established in 1936, Jone Hing was a shoe shop back then. Its owner Jude Yep recalls, “In those days, Bata was the only readymade shoe shop in Ganj and we specialised in ‘made to order’ service. We kept some sample shoes and customers used to come to us and place orders.” However, later, half the shop was converted into a beauty parlour.
“After London Beauty Parlour (beside Cheap House), which was also run by a Chinese family, ours was the second parlour which was a huge success. Today also, we have loyal customers who, in their third generation, still come to us.”
The parlour, which earlier covered an area of 100 sq ft, has been shifted to the first floor and is run by Yep’s wife Molly. “In 1972, we opened the Chinese Restaurant which was the city’s second exclusive joint after Samson (beside Capitol Cinema). Hong Kong came a few years after us. We received a lot of success as the young crowd flock at the restaurant,” recalls Yep.Yep also remembers that there were hardly any people who owned scooters or cars during those days. “That was the time when people used to stroll on the road and enjoyed ‘Ganjing’. Now, in this traffic, you can’t do that.” Now that the parlour space is vacant, Yep is expanding the restaurant. This will probably further strengthen his bond with the place that has seen Ganj grow.
King of Chaat
It is common to see groups of people at Arjun Tandon’s chaat shop near KD Singh Babu stadium, as chaat for Rs 18 is more than affordable for people of all classes. However, this was not the case in the 1950s when a ‘patta’ of chaat was priced at 2 anna (12 paisa). Back then, only the elite could afford to savour the delicacy at Arjun’s father SN Tandon’s chaat thela in front of Gangotri showroom.
“I remember my father telling me that not everyone could afford chaat during those days. Prices used to be at the premium in ganj and therefore, even chaat was beyond the reach of the common man. And those who could, they used to savour our chaat and then stroll in Ganj for hours. That was the time when people enjoyed Ganjing in the true sense,” says Arjun Tandon.
The shop was set up much before it came to Ganj. “In 1941, my grandfather, a freedom fighter, started this shop at Zoo gate in Narhi to keep away from the eyes of the British. It was only in 1951 that the thela came up in Ganj. This used to be the only chaat shop in the locality the others in city were Tiwari in Golaganj, one in Chowk and another at Aminabad,” says Tandon. The present location was awarded to them under a beautification scheme during the tenure of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna as the chief minister in 1980.
Royal Cafe
Earlier located at Halwasia Court, Royal Café opened at its present location in Ganj in 1960. Its director Murli Ahuja says, “At Halwasia, the highlight used to be a live band. The present location used to be a Godrej shop run by Pratap Agencies managing director Amar Pratap Singh. He then launched Royal Café under Pratap Foods and Restaurants Pvt Ltd. I joined it as director in 1990.”Royal Café became the first joint in the city to launch basket chat. “In 1985, Moti Mahal was opened and after a few years we took over Marksmen,” he says.
Chowdhury’s Sweets
Established in 1880 by Nandlal T Gurnani, Chaudhury Sweet House is famous for its milk pudding and lal peda. Enter the shop and it wears a traditional look. The counter setting, billing, ambience, huge wall mounted refrigerators, wooden seats and typical service boys all give you a traditional feel. But, what has remained constant, in the little changes that kept happening over the years, is the quality and approach. Says Taran Gurnani, the third generation owner, “This confidence in ourselves is because of a dedicated matrix of karigars with us.”
Another feature of the restaurant was its partitioned cabins that have now been done away with. The first floor has a seating arrangement for a big gathering. That’s why it has been a pre–wedding interaction hub for families. “The concept behind this is that earlier families used to dine together and go on outings in large numbers. The nuclear family concept came much later. We have maintained the traditional ambience at the same time incorporating some cosmetic changes to move with the times,” he says.

'Geet gata hoon main…'

Remembering Kishor Kumar on his b'day

Aa chal ke tujhe, mein le ke chaloon, ek aise gagan ke tale… The mellifluous voice of legendary Kishore Kumar truly takes you on a different orbit... Door Gagan Ki Chao Mein.
On the 81st birth anniversary of the celebrated singer today, HT City talks to some of his die-hard fans.“Kishoreda lives in my soul,” says reality show star Harshit Saxena, whose first song on stage at Lucknow Mahotsav was Ek ajnabi hasina se.
Again for his Voice of India audition, Harshit sang Kishore’s Ek hasina thi.
“Initially, my voice was quite soft, but after listening to Kishorda, I carefully modulated it to a different pitch. I like most of his songs and the list is endless. I love O Majhi se (for its calmness), Zindagi ka safar (one of the saddest songs), Dilbar mere (for its passion) and Yeh jo mohabbat hai (for romance),” he says.
According to Harshit, he wouldn’t have been where he is today had Kishore not sung Agar tum na hote…Singer Raj Kumar Chatterjee, who is fondly known as Jr Kishore Kumar, pays tribute to the legend on the eve of his birthday. “Singing Mere Mehboob, Koi Humdam and yodeling Chala Jata Hoon, I have given over 5,000 stage performances throughout the country. Twice I met my idol — in Mumbai and Kanpur where he heard me— and even today at the age of 60 I am performing for him,” he says on a nostalgic note, and then begins to hum Jeevan ke safar main rahi…
Dr Mayank Srivastava, assistant professor with BBD College recalls his college days with Kishore’s Zindagi ke safar me…. woh phir nahi aatey!’
“Singing Kishore’s songs gave me an identity in Lucknow University. His situational songs fit the youths in almost all the stages of their lives, be it Mere samne wali khidki main or Meet na mila re man ka,” he says.
And to make Yeh shaam mastani on his b’day a memorable one, Rang Bharti is organising Ek Shaam Kishore Kumar Ke Naam. Its president Shyam Kumar says, “For the last 49 years, we have been organising Kishore Kumar Nite. We were doing it even when he was alive. At Ravindralaya, on Sunday, ‘Saptarang’ orchestra will play some of Kishore’s evergreen songs, including Koi humdum, Rimjhim gire sawan and so on.” Chalte chalte…, on a parting note, nothing compares to ..kabhi alvida na kehna, which has become the signature ending to almost every musical extravaganza.

PROMO SUPREMO

Making promos for blockbusters is childs play for this Lucknowite

Deep Saxena

What do Bollywood blockbusters Don, Jaane Tu…, Om Shanti Om, Taare Zameen Pe, Ghajni, 3-Idiots, and My Name is Khan have in common? Their Lucknow connection. St Francis College pass-out Amit Chandrra has designed the promos for these movies and both SRK and Aamir Khan have gone on record giving credit for their film’s success to this young professional.
Amit was also associated with Karthik Calling Kartik as associate producer with his partner Lalwani. The two are now gearing up to produce two more films under their banner Magic Beans which they are directing individually. Here HT City catches up with Amit.
Film promos is your forte, how did you get into it?
Anubhav Sinha (currently directing Ra.One) was doing TV shows and was fond of our work. He decided to call upon us for the promo campaign of Dus and we got it on a trial basis. The film got a huge opening weekend and everyone praised the promo campaign hugely.
Then the journey began. From Dus to Khosla ka Ghosla, big films to small films, we were doing them all and successfully.What was the turning point? Farhan Akhtar giving us Don. We became the obvious choice for a lot of producers/ directors thereon. A division under Surge (doing TV contents and films promos) was now a new company Trigger Happy Entertainment exclusively dedicated to film promo campaigns and I got a new partner in that company, a very young talented boy called Mukul Misra who is also from Lucknow.
Amir and Shah Rukh both have praised you promos. How does it feel?
Aamir and SRK have been really kind. It was post Don that Aamir offered me to work on Jaane tu..ya jaane na.. and Taare Zameen Par and SRK wanted me to do Om Shanti Om. We delivered those campaigns to the best of our ability and received huge praise. We have been working on all of AKP and Red Chillies films ever since. Aamir even got us on board for Ghajni and 3-Idiots. But honestly, there has been more to learn with both Aamir and SRK.Tell us something about Magic Bean?By the Grace of God, Surge was doing well and so was Trigger Happy. We were the leading players in the film promo business I decided to now venture into film production. I was then introduced to Vijay Lalwani (writer, director Karthik Calling Karthik) through a common friend. I really liked his work. We set up Magic Beans Films as partners and decided to produce KCK as our first film.

How did you turn associate producer in KCK?

KCK was the first film we wanted to make. Owing to my association with Farhan Akhtar on Don and subsequently Honeymoon Travels, Rock On, Luck by Chance, we went and pitched the film to Farhan to act and produce in partnership with us. He really liked the script and agreed to be associated with us. The film was produced under the banner of Excel Entertainment and Magic Beans Films and released well and we received huge accolades for our first venture.
Why did you miss Lucknow for the promotional campaign of KCK? Is it not a potential market?
Lucknow is definitely a huge market. At the time of release, our distributors were keen on us covering Delhi and Punjab in the North so we had to skip Lucknow. Having said that, I would definitely love to come down to my birthplace to promote my next venture.
Tell us more about your city connection?
I was born in Lucknow at Fatima Hospital, brought up there and completed my schooling up till class 10th at St Francis College before moving to Delhi to finish my plus 2 and college. Subsequently, I moved to Mumbai to do my CA. I lived at Gokhale Marg and then Gomti Nagar before we finally moved out of the city.
Any project for Lucknow?
Well, would love to come and shoot in Lucknow someday provided the script demands it. It is a beautiful city waiting to be explored, I’m glad my friend Roshan Abbas is shooting his debut film there.So what are your upcoming projects? Currently, myself and partner Vijay Lalwani both are working on different scripts. Within two three months the scripts will be ready. First Vijay will direct his script and then I will direct mine. Both films will be produced under our banner Magic Beans. He is now working on the promos of Ra.One, Aamir’s Peepli Life and Karan Johar’s I hate Love Stories.

Mum’s the world
CA Amit’s journey from Lucknow to Bollywood
Deep Saxena
Amit Chandrra’s journey from the state capital to Bollywood is filmy too. “In 1999, I came to Mumbai to have my sister wedded here, and I was pursuing Chartered Accountancy at that time. I applied for internship in a CA firm and dropped in my resume. And, soon got a selection letter,” he goes down memory lane.
But, being brought up by a single parent it was not easy to leave his mother back in Lucknow. “My mom took the bold step as her responsibility and agreed to live all by herself to let me pursue my dreams. I was auditing at a reputed advertising agency and started to realize I really enjoyed the media and all that revolved around it.”
The CA charm was wearing off for him and the media charm became Amit’s new passion as he decided to “move on”.
“I turned a freelance writer, started writing radio shows, scripts for TV promos, turned ghost writer for some people. Assignments kept increasing one after another and then the day of the CA results arrived — I had cleared my Exam.”
Now that biggest hurdle was convincing his mom that he eventually did and he got a year to prove him or move back to CA. “I’ve now realized that all mothers eventually give in to the children's whims because they are just too attached, and I use this to my advantage sometimes. So, I started picking up all the work and by the grace of God started doing pretty well. But, the idea of freelance was a threat. People still thought I was jobless though I was making 3 times more money than any regular job would give me. On top of that I really enjoying my work! So I floated private limited company ‘Surge’ and turned entrepreneur. From scripting promos for TV to dubbing them to editing them, Surge was doing it all... from TV promos to film promos, to producing TV content, we were evolving slowly but surely!”
And, he gives full credit to just one person: “To be honest, I owe it all to my mom who stood by me all through the ups and downs and peer pressure from relatives and friends and she allowed me to live my dream each time.”