In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, a satirical video titled “Rahul vs Modi” debating on India’s potential prime ministerial candidates has gone viral on social networking sites.

The video is a parody on the well-known debate between NDA prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who has become famous for his rallies addressed across the nation, and projected Congress nominee Rahul Gandhi.

The video begins with two surgeons in an operating theatre. A power outage in the building begins the never-ending discussion on ‘Rahul vs Modi’.

While Rahul has painted secularism as Congress’ prime electoral agenda against the communal BJP, Modi has been rehashing his ‘Gujarat model of development’ at every rally he has addressed this year.

Every major subject that has become a dispute between the two biggest political parties has been mocked in the video, which has received more than 1,5 lakh views on Youtube since it was uploaded on Sunday.

From 2002 Gujarat riots to corruption scams that have marred the UPA governance, the political satire compels the viewer to choose between the better of two evils.

The video has been produced by comedy collective “All India Bakchod’, the same group of stand-up comedians who had pushed out “It’s Your Fault” parody on India’s rape culture featuring actress Kalki Koechlin and VJ JuhiPandey.

“It’s Your Fault” had also gone viral on social media, getting around 1, 25,000 hits in less than 48 hours of its release.

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday held Congress-led UPA government responsible for all the problems in the country and accused the BSP and SP of being hand-in-glove.

He also accused the Congress of not fulfilling its promise of curtailing inflation. Gujarat’s CM also took a dig at the food security law. He promised development if voted to power. Although he did not mentionMuzaffarnagar riots but accused the SP of indulging in vote-bank politics by referring to the withdrawal of cases against terror accused. He also took dig at the SP government for poor law and order.

It was Modi’s first rally in UP after being nominated BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

Narendra Modi started by saying “Bharat mata ki jay” and hailed the people of Kanpur who assembled in large numbers to hear him. He said that the Kanpur rally has won his heart. “The way people have welcomed me is overwhelming. They have waited for hours in extreme hot conditions. I salute you all. I will not disappoint anyone,” he said.

Modi said that in 2009, the Congress had promised to control inflation within 90 days after coming to power. “Has it done so … no … now, you will have to punish them,” he said.

The Prime Minister has not uttered a single word on why he has not been able to check inflation, he said. Neither Sonia Gandhi, not Congress’s ‘shehzada’ (Rahul Gandhi) have expressed regret for not being able to control inflation, he added.

Modi said that people should not only punish Congress for making false promises and making people suffer, but also for those parties in UP which have helped UPA to rule for five years by giving backdoor support. He said that in the first war of independence, people from Kanpur fought to throw out British, “now you (people) will have come together to throw out Congress”. “Earlier, the war was for freedom (swaraj), now for good governance (suraj).” he said.

Modi claimed that in the past one year, over 5000 innocent have been killed, but despite that the SP government here is indulging in vote-bank politics. “Now, the SP government is releasing terror accused … it is ok … should the government interfere in trial going in the court … please teach such a government a lesson,” he said.

Modi said that UP has given eight prime ministers to the country but no development has taken place in the state. “As a result, people from UP are going to other states to earn their livelihood. People from all districts of UP are working in different parts of the Gujarat,” he claimed.

Modi said that in UP, law and order is terrible. “When a person boards a train for Gujarat, his mother calls him at regular intervals to inquire about his safety … but as soon as he enters Gujarat, the mother goes to sleep saying that now her son his safe,” he claimed. He said that Congress, BSP and SP have spoiled UP and people need to be free from the evil designs of the trio.

Attacking the opposition for questioning development in Gujarat under BJP’s rule, Modi said that the coming elections are for Lok Sabha and not Gujarat. “I worked for Gujarat, went to people, they voted me back, I passed with distinction. Now, the question is what development Congress’s central government has done in India, so Congress should answer about its rule,” he said.

Modi attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Coalgate. “A retired IAS officer says that PM should be the accused No. 1 in Coalgate … Supreme Court is monitoring the coal scam … but coal files are missing … in my view, the entire government is missing,” he said.

Modi accused Congress government of making a mockery of poverty. “Congress MPs are saying that a meal is available for Rs 12 and Rs 5. Planning Commission says that those earning Rs 26 in villages and Rs 32 in cities are not poor,” he said. The government, he added, should be for the poor and their welfare, and not for rich.

Attacking the secular card played by the opposition, Modi said that “our (BJP) ideology is that people of all religion should develop and do better”. “Government has only one religion — people’s welfare. Vote-bank politics has wasted 60 years after independence. Now, we want to introduce development politics.” he said.

Modi promised the people of UP that he will pay back the people, if they elect BJP to power. He concluded by chanting ‘Vande Mataram’.

Earlier, BJP national president Rajnath Singh asked the over-two lakh people assembled at the rally to bless Modi. He said that the fate of India cannot be changed till UP is won and for that Modi needs the blessing of the people. Kanpur, he said, is a historic city where Jan Sangh (which was later rechristened as BJP) held its first convention. He also mentioned Rani Lakshmi Bai and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his speech.

The new job generation in the city, the IT capital of the nation, during the second quarter of FY 2013-14 surged by 12.3% as against the previous quarter, industry body Assocham has said in a joint study.

“With over 21,000 new job opportunities created in various sectors across Bangalore during Q2 of FY14, the new job generation in city has increased significantly from over 18,700 new jobs generated during Q1,” it said.

The sector-specific analysis on ‘Job Trends Across Cities and Sectors’ was conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India’s Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

The new job generation in the city, the IT capital of the nation, during the second quarter of FY 2013-14 surged by 12.3% as against the previous quarter, industry body Assocham has said in a joint study.

“A total of over 1.36 lakh new jobs were generated in various sectors across India during Q2 of FY14 which increased from over 1.25 lakh new jobs that were generated during Q1. Top five metros like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata and Mumbai together account for about 61% of these new jobs,” Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said releasing the analysis.

“Acquiring a share of over 15% in total number of new jobs generated across cities and sectors in India in Q2, Bangalore has emerged as second-most significant employment hub after Delhi-NCR (national capital region) which remained on top with about 24%. “However new job generation in Delhi-NCR plummeted by over five% during the aforesaid period,” Rawat said.

“Information technology (IT), IT enabled services (ITeS) and IT hardware sector accounted for a lion’s share of 67% in the total new jobs generated in Bangalore as over 14,000 new jobs were created in Q2 as against over 10,600 new jobs generated in the sector in the previous quarter, over 30% quarter-over-quarter growth rate.

Among other tier I centres, registering quarter-over- quarter growth rate of over 11% and nine%, respectively, are Mumbai (14,649 new jobs) and Chennai (8,786 new jobs). They have recorded a surge in job generation during the course of past three months, it said.

Kolkata has registered a decline of about two% as over 6,400 new jobs were generated in Q2 as against 6,500 new jobs in Q1. “With over 58,000 new jobs, IT, ITeS and IT hardware sector has garnered the highest share of over 42 per cent in the new job generation…,” it said.

Disclaimer: This is my personal experience, quite a few people agreed to what I wrote, please feel free to disagree.

If you are from India, have been a part of a regular middle class family and have even thought of starting something of your own, am sure you’d associate with the headline itself! Everything that I’ve mentioned below is based on true incidents. I don’t intend to hurt anyone here, still if you did, sorry about it! Getting to the point, straightaway!

Marriage:

About an year back one of my very close friends told me about a product idea. I liked the idea and told him I could work with him on that if he’s willing to seriously build it. His answer was – “yaar abhi job nahi chhod sakta, 6 mahine mein shaadi hai” [Dude, I can’t quit job right now, getting married in 6 months]. Okay, get married but why do you want give up on an idea you believe in? Your girl will understand, won’t she?

Guess what? Obviously, he never build it and few months back I saw someone (very famous in the startup community) roll exactly that product out and is quite close to getting funded too! Yeah, my friend’s “happily married”, barely at 27!

I know an entrepreneur who literally fights (or used to at some point) with his wife everyday just because she wants another kid and he doesn’t. His company has just come out of startup mode and is heading towards being an SME. ”I have a 4 yr old kid and having another one now would take me 4 years back! I have been slowly planning the financials but this would mean I start planning all over again, save even more and take even fewer risks!” is what he said!

One of my ex girlfriend had started talking about marriage barely when we had graduated. I never denied marrying her but I used to tell her lets first achieve something, I want to do a few things in life, be a successful entrepreneur and all this might take a little time, there’s no point in getting married quickly and then allocating funds to expenses that could have been avoided at that age, but no, she wouldn’t listen! Of course, she’s happily married and I, having failed 2 startups in the past, am still building another startup! (I hope this post reaches you, lady!)

Oh! And that concept of getting your kids married at the right age => guys before 30 and gals by 26-27 max! I’ve always stressed, there’s nothing called such as a “right age” – why not just get married when you are ready – 25 or 32 – how does it matter? I hope you’re not thinking about that old shit about retiring and then marrying your kids before that <- That actually is the root problem!

Family:
Sorry to say, but the uncles and the aunts in our (normal middle class) families are the worst. They will keep asking your salary, some of them every single f***ing month. These relatives are probably the ones whose kids would have done “nothing” in their lives, graduated from some (worthless) A league institution in India and landed a fat paying job. And believe me these are absolutely good for nothing folks. If you are a startup guy, you already know that, don’t you  They would join a company through campus placement and would be too scared/complacent/useless that they would spend their entire life within that single organization – without even doing something innovative! These uncles would be happy to show the entire family that the ad in TOI today was done by their kid while all that ad would have is a bollywood diva holding a soap bar in her hand. THATS IT!?! That’s all you learnt in your fancy B School?

What’s the big deal in it? If I pay TOI that much, they will even publish a horse shit pic, they just want money! But no, these are the ones who are valued in your family! Whatever they say areGolden Diamond words. What’s worse is you are always compared to these dumb folks whenever you go to a family gathering. And most, all of them would look at you as if you are the piece of shit lying on the roadside.

To share another case, one such highly respected family member told me to look for a career in animation, back in 2007-08. Recently, I met him at another family gathering a few months back and he said “tum animation me kuch kyu nahi try karte?” [Why don’t you try something in animation?] I was like…dude? You are still the same! Your thoughts are still stuck where they were 4-5 years back! By the way, this member is probably the highest respected person in my family and heads delivery at a multi billion (yes Billion) dollar enterprise and travels abroad every week. Yeah, (sadly) that’s what puts the stamp on his authority! Am quite sure even Steve Jobs or Bill Gates would have spent more time with their families at his age (and still earned much more if that’s what you want to hear).

More problems we face with family/neighbours in this book.

Flat:

The other fantasy about middle class family people is owning a flat! I never get this point. I, really don’t! Why do they want your kid to buy a flat and then spend the rest of his life paying back the loan? Coming from middle class, we’ve never had loads of money to spend. So the way out always is to pay probably a 10th or even less initially and then take a loan for 60% for the next 15-20 years.

And is duly supported by our Financial system! Go and try to raise money for your startup and the same money for a home, you’ll know what I mean!

Once you have a loan on your head, that too a home loan, for not less than 40-50 Lacs, am sure you wouldn’t be willing to take a risk, would you? And that tension of repaying that loan! Anyways, there is very little probability that our kids would stay in that house for long. They’d go places, do stuff in life and make it big themselves! Actually this would connect with Rahul Dewan’s post where he talks how retired people should recede back to smaller towns and do great things. A brilliant thought by the way, go read that!

In another relationship, I told my girl that I don’t earn great right now and that I am trying to build a company and shared the vision. At first she appreciated my honesty but then within a few weeks she asked “Abhinav, hum ghar kab lenge?” [Abhinav, when will we buy a home?] That day itself I knew – she wasn’t the one! No wonder that relationship didn’t last long.(I am quite sure you’re reading this!)

I guess I’ve written, read ranted, too much already or else I won’t be allowed to enter my hometown the next time!

Update: I realized most people, even though agreed to this, say its inconclusive. I must add this: The point is that people who can bear all these pressures and can still build a company, are the ones whom we call SUCCESSFUL!

Originally posted: http://abhinavsahai.com/flat-marriage-and-family-3-reasons-why-young-indians-dont-turn-entrepreneurs/

All of your favorite bloggers are on Twitter constantly because it’s the fastest way to find out about breaking news. That’s our secret. A new experimental Twitter account, @eventparrot, leverages the plethora of news organizations blasting out breaking bits to the world, 140 characters at a time.

Event Parrot works much like the @magicrecsaccount that recommends tweets and Twitter accounts to its followers through direct messages. Though we haven’t actually gotten a breaking news DM from Event Parrot yet,TechCrunch and others have, and it appears that the tweets it sends out come from accounts like@cnnbrk, which are specifically focused on getting news out to the world as quickly as possible.

It remains to be seen if Twitter will turn Event Parrot into an “official” service, but in the mean time, why not give it a follow to see if you can beat us bloggers at the Internet.

Muskan found out that Ali had blocked her on Facebook after divorcing her.

A US national has been booked by the Oshiwara police in a dowry harassment case, after he allegedly divorced his wife on Facebook. The victim has also alleged that her husband took jewellery and cash to the tune of Rs 80 lakh from her.

Muskan Ali Siraji (21) had been married to Ali Hussain Siraji (25) for almost two years. She, however, first smelt a rat only two months ago when she posted her wedding photographs on Facebook. Soon, as many as four women contacted her and claimed that Siraji promised marriage to them and took money from them as well.

According to Muskan’s complaint, the couple got married on July 26, 2012. It was an arranged marriage and Siraji told her family that he was a doctor in the US.

He returned to America after a month, and left Muskan with his father Kamar Hussain, in Lokhandwala. Allegedly, Hussain misbehaved with Muskan and whenever she complained toSiraji, he consoled her by saying that he will take her to the US soon.

Muskan’s brother Sikander Mirza said, “For the last two years, Siraji has been promising my sister that he would take her to the US. Since their wedding, whenever he came down to Mumbai, he would take jewellery and cash, saying he needed to open an account in her name. In this manner, he siphoned off valuables and cash to a tune of Rs 80 lakh.”

“I found out about the other women through Facebook, who claimed that Siraji had affairs with them and had promised marriage to them as well. Then one day, his FB status message said ‘divorced’. He even blocked my profile,” said Muskan.

Meanwhile, senior inspector Nasir Pathan said, “We have registered a case of harassment under section 498 (a), section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC. We are on a lookout for Siraji, while his father has obtained an anticipatory bail.”

Seven types of guys women can’t resist

Here is a list of different kind of guys that interest a girl. Which is your kind?

Always wondered why some guys always manage to get the best of girls? Well, the secret is not good looks or a well-defined six pack, but the fact that women simply get attracted to certain personality traits and flock to men who possess them.

Below are seven of these “ideal types” of guys that women are drawn to, and an explanation as to why these guys are so appealing, reports Fox News. The list could help you understand what women are looking for, and most importantly, to make sure that you fit the bill.

The intelligent one
He instigates conversations that are intellectually stimulating, and listens to what she has to say in response. He makes her laugh with his clever sense of humour, and has an uncanny ability to make politics interesting. He can shoot the breeze with her for hours, and it will never get boring.

Why he is so irresistible
An intellectual connection is a big part of what sustains a relationship, and if you can show her that you’ve got that, she’ll be hooked pretty quickly.

The confident guy
He is totally secure and sure of himself. He is assertive in public, and gives off an aura of power and control. In a relationship, he doesn’t get jealous of other men; he doesn’t feel threatened by his girlfriend’s male friends or co-workers.

Why he is so irresistible
Women are attracted to confident men. Consider this: If you think you are great, she will probably be influenced to think the same. The confident man doesn’t seek approval from women, and this makes them want him even more.

The artistic guy
The artistic guy is spontaneous and lives for the moment. Often, he will use his creativity to woo her, such as with a song he has written about her or a painting he has made for her.

Why he is so irresistible
Every woman wants to feel unique and special. There is no better way to make her feel this way than to use her as your muse or your source of inspiration. She is intrigued by the artistic guy’s creative mind, and especially by the way he incorporates her into his art.

The exotic element
He comes from a faraway exotic country, and has a cute accent or a unique way of seeing the world. His social customs, and everyday behaviour can be a little quirky, but he always manages to come off as uniquely charming.

Why he is so irresistible
Women often choose this kind of guy if they are curious about the world, but most of the appeal comes down to a fascination with dating someone from another culture.

The considerate guy
He holds open her car door, and pulls out her chair. He foots the bill for dinner, and makes sure to offer her dessert. He always asks her out with reasonable notice, and picks her up at her door. He is generally sensitive to how she is feeling, and when she is ready to go home.

Why he is so irresistible
Once a woman has gone through her share of the bad guy, the rude guy and the not-calling-her-back guy, she will likely re-evaluate her priorities. It takes a bit of maturity on her part to realize this, but eventually most girls come around and realize that they want a guy who will treat them well in the long run. But, think twice before copying any of the above character types, for women can know when you are faking it.

Eternal romantic
He believes in classic romance. He is constantly bringing her flowers, chocolate and lighting candles during dinner. He calls her often to let her know he is thinking about her, and looks into her eyes and tells her how he feels.

Why he is so irresistible
A woman loves to feel appreciated, and the romantic guy makes this happen. He uses romantic gestures to show her he is thinking about her. As an added bonus, she feels free to reciprocate and act on her own romantic tendencies.

The free spirit guy (aka the Bad Boy)
The free spirit guy goes where the wind takes him, and the wind usually takes him on some kind of whacky adventure. He might ride a motorcycle, or he might skip work to take her on a last-minute road trip, but this guy doesn’t worry too much about the consequences – he just sees where his own devices take him.

Why he is so irresistible
Every woman wants a bit of a rebel. She loves his carefree attitude and hopes that it will rub off on her too. The bad boy spirit adds an element of youthfulness to the relationship, and she loves to try taming him, although she knows she’ll never actually succeed.

This may be an odd time for Twitter to go public. In lifting the veil on its financial performance as part of its planned IPO, Twitter announced that while sales are improving, losses persist. In its Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Twitter reported $317 million in revenue in 2012, up from $106 million in 2011, and net losses of $80 million in 2012, an improvement over a $164 million shortfall in 2011.

So things are looking up? Maybe not. In the first six months of 2013, Twitter’s losses increased by 41 percent compared to the same period the year before, to $69.3 million. The social media company is spending more than twice as much on sales and marketing as it did last year. And research and development costs are multiplying quickly as well.

This troubling picture becomes even more disconcerting when Twitter’s operating performance ratio is examined. By this metric, which compares how much money a company makes against how many people it employs, Twitter is in much worse shape than comparable social media and Internet companies like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD). Most analysts say that operating performance ratio is a good indicator of a company’s efficiency.

Twitter reported $158,500 in revenue for each of its 2,000 employees in 2012. In comparison, Facebook took in $960,370 per employee, while LinkedIn’s sales equaled $231,502 per employee. Twitter lost $40,000 per employee in 2012.

This chart compares Twitter’s revenue per employee and profit per employee against those of six other publicly held social media and internet companies

In the near future, anyone with an Internet connection and some lunch money will be able to invest in one of Silicon Valley’s hottest tech companies. But after big brother Facebook’s IPO debacle, should America’s armchair investors pin their hopes and dreams on Silicon Valley’s younger sibling? We help you compare in one easy chart.

The difference between the two is Twitter’s glaring negative sign on its net income. That’s right – Twitter is losing money, where at least Facebook was turning a profit at their IPO.

Other than the sheer size of Facebook’s user base, the companies are wildly divergent: Facebook went public at a valuation in and around $100 billion, and Twitter is expected to price its shares at a level that will value it at under $20 billion.

Facebook, quite simply, was much larger at the time of its IPO. In fact, looking at Twitter’s filing documents, you almost wonder why it is going public now. It has ample cash reserves but accelerating losses, as it invests in its research and development budget and builds out its sales team.

The reason, we think, is that investor pressure has built to the point that Twitter needed a large liquidity event to break free from some of its oldest invested capital. For a company of its scale, there were only two options: sell or IPO. And for Twitter, that meant it only had one option. Hence its S-1. We do not say all that to indicate that Twitter is not a valuable, interesting company. It is both. But the bent of its filing docs feels more like a company heading toward an offering and not the numbers of a firm ready to enact one.

Notes: Twitter’s full-year data is 2012. Facebook’s full-year data is 2011. Facebook two-quarter revenue figure is not listed in its S-1, and so was calculated by deducting its third-quarter 2012 revenue from its nine-month tally that was provided in that release. The initial Facebook S-1 had a lower monthly active user count, but the quoted figure is the number listed in its amended S-1.