Month: July 2021

BHARATHANATYAM- CLASSICAL DANCE

Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring areas. Let’s take a look at its history, costumes, and exponents.

Bharatanatyam, a pre-eminent Indian classical dance form presumably the oldest classical dance heritage of India is regarded as mother of many other Indian classical dance forms. Conventionally a solo dance performed only by women, it initiated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and eventually flourished in South India. Theoretical base of this form traces back to ‘Natya Shastra’, the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts. A form of illustrative anecdote of Hindu religious themes and spiritual ideas emoted by dancer with excellent footwork and impressive gestures its performance repertoire includes nrita, nritya and natya. Accompanists include a singer, music and particularly the guru who directs and conducts the performance. It also continues to inspire several art forms including paintings and sculptures starting from the spectacular 6th to 9th century CE temple sculptures. 

History & Evolution

According to the Hindu tradition the name of the dance form was derived by joining two words, ‘Bharata’ and Natyam’ where ‘Natyam in Sanskrit means dance and ‘Bharata’ is a mnemonic comprising ‘bha’, ‘ra’ and ‘ta’ which respectively means ‘bhava’ that is emotion and feelings; ‘raga’ that is melody; and ‘tala’ that is rhythm. Thus, traditionally the word refers to a dance form where bhava, raga and tala are expressed. The theoretical base of this dance form, which is also referred as Sadir, trace back to ancient Indian theatrologist and musicologist, Bharata Muni’s Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts called ‘Natya Shastra’. The text’s first complete version was presumably completed between 200 BCE to 200 CE, however such timeframe also varies between 500 BCE and 500 CE. According to legends Lord Brahma revealed Bharatanatyam to the sage Bharata who then encoded this holy dance form in Natya Shastra. The text that consists of thousands of verses structured in different chapters divides dance in two specific forms,namely ‘nrita’ that is pure dance comprising of finesse of hand movements and gestures, and ‘nritya’ that is solo expressive dance that comprises of expressions. According to Russian scholar Natalia Lidova, ‘Natya Shastra’ elucidates several theories of Indian classical dances including that of Tandava dance, standing postures, basic steps, bhava, rasa, methods of acting and gestures.

 One of the five great epics of Tamil Literature, ‘Silappatikaram’ (~2nd century CE) has a direct reference to this dance form. The Shiva temple of Kanchipuram that is decorated with carvings dating back to a period between 6th to 9th centuries CE manifests the development of this dance form by around the mid first millennium CE. Many ancient Hindu temples are embellished with sculptures of Lord Shiva in Bharatanatyam dance poses. The eastern gopuram of the 12th century Thillai Natarajar Temple, Chidambaram, of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Lord Shiva bears sculptures depicting 108 poses of Bharatanatyam, referred as karanas in ‘Natya Shastra’, that are intricately carved in small rectangular panels. Another notable sculpture can be seen in the Cave 1 of Karnataka’s Badami cave temples dating back to the 7th century where a 5 feet tall sculpture of Lord Shiva is depicted as Nataraja doing Tandava dance. The 18 arms of the Shiva sculpture expresses mudras or hand gestures that are part of Bharatanatyam.

Association with Devadasi Culture

Originating in Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and nearby regions, Bharatanatyam soon prospered in other South Indian temples. According to some sources the Devadasi culture dating back to 300 BCE to 300 CE evolved under the auspices of the royals that saw the temple dancers called Devadasis, who were dedicated to serve the Lord as dasis or servants, performing the dance form. Eventually the Devadasi culture became an integral part of rituals in South Indian temples. Although ancient texts and sculptures indicate existence of such culture and presence of dancing girls as also exclusive quarters for women in temple compound, there is no concrete evidence either archaeological or text-based that can manifest  the Devadasis as prostitutes or courtesans as accused by some colonial Indologists. After analysing evidences, Davesh Soneji, a historian on performance arts and an expert on Bharatanatyam, concluded that courtesan dancing phenomenon commenced during the Nayaka period of Tamil Nadu sometime around late 16th or 17th century.

Shruti Iyer: Bharatanatyam performance mermerised audience at Venkat Sabhagruha | Events Movie News - Times of India

Opposition & Ban During Colonial Rule

The 18th century saw emergence of rule of the East India Company followed by setting up of British colonial rule in the 19th century. Such developments saw decline of various classical dance forms which were subjected to contemptuous fun and discouragement including Bharatanatyam that through the 19th century remained exclusive to Hindu temples. Eventually social and economic conditions associated with Devadasi culture added with contempt and despicable attitude from the Christian missionaries and British officials, who held the Devadasis of South India and nautch girls of North India as harlots, disgraced such systems. Furthermore the Christian missionaries launched anti-dance movement in 1892 to stop such practice. The Madras Presidency under the British colonial government banned the custom of dancing in Hindu temples in 1910 and with this the age-old tradition of performing Bharatanatyam in Hindu temples also came to an end.

Revival 

The Indian community disapproved such ban. The Tamilians were worried that such a rich and ancient custom of Hindu temple dancing was getting persecuted on the pretext of social reform. Many classical art revivalists like Indian lawyer, freedom-fighter, activist and classical artist E. Krishna Iyer questioned such discrimination. Iyer who became involved with the Bharatanatyam revival movement was incarcerated on charges of nationalism and imprisoned. During his prison term he convinced the political prisoners to advocate for this age-old classical dance form.  Iyer founded the ‘Madras Music Academy’ and along with Indian theosophist, dancer and Bharatanatyam choreographer Rukmini Devi Arundale, he strived to save Bharatanatyam from dying out. Despite the fact that Hindu temple dances were being suppressed due to laws enforced by the colonial British government, many artists like American dancer Esther Sherman came from the West to learn Indian classical dance forms. She came to India in 1930 and not only learnt classical dances but also adopted the name Ragini Devi and became a part of the ancient dance arts revival movement. As the Indian freedom movement progressed steadily during the early 20th century, an effort to revive Indian culture and  tradition seethed with excitement among Indians. Eminent Bharatanatyam dancers like Arundale and Balasaraswati expanded the dance form out of Hindu temples and established it as a mainstream dance form. Later the Tamil Hindu migrants revived this Hindu temple dancing custom in British Tamil temples during the late 20th century. Today this ancient classical dance form also includes technical performances as also non-religious and fusion based themes.

Classical Dance Photography | Bharatanatyam poses, Dance photography poses, Indian classical dancer

Repertoire

The repertoire of this performance art are categorized into three brackets namely ‘Nritta’, ‘Nritya’ and ‘Natya’ mentioned in ‘Natya Shastra’ and followed by all major Indian classical dance forms. ‘Nritta’ is a technical performance where the dancer presents pure Bharata Natyam movements emphasising on speed, form, pattern, range and rhythmic aspects without any form of enactment or interpretive aspect. In ‘Nritya’ the dancer communicates a story, spiritual themes, message or feelings through expressive gestures and slower body movements harmonised with musical notes. ‘Natyam’ is usually performed by a group or in some cases by a solo dancer who maintains certain body movements for certain characters of the play which is communicated through dance-acting. The dance form typically comprises of certain sections performed in sequence namely Alarippu, Jatiswaram, Shabdam, Varnam, Padam and Thillana.

Costumes

The style of dressing of a Bharatanatyam dancer is more or less similar to that of a Tamil Hindu bride. She wears a gorgeous tailor-made sari that consists of a cloth specially stitched in pleats that falls in the front from the waist and when the dancer performs spectacular footwork that include stretching or bending her knees, the cloth widens up like a hand fan. The sari worn in a special manner is well complimented with traditional jewellery that include the ones that adorn her head, nose, ear and neck and vivid face make-up specially highlighting her eyes so that audience can view her expressions properly. Her hair neatly plaited in conventional way is often beautified with flowers. A jewellery belt adorns her waist while musical anklets called ghunghru made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped in her ankles. Her feet and fingers are often brightened with henna colour so as to highlight gestures of her hands.

Instruments & Music 

The Bharatnatyam dancer is accompanied by a nattuvanar (or taladhari) that is a vocalist who generally conducts the whole performance, a part often executed by the guru. The person can also play the cymbals or any other instrument. The music associated with Bharatanatyam is in South India’s Carnatic style and instruments played comprise of cymbals, the flute, a long pipe horn called nagaswaram, a drum called mridangam and veena. The verses recited during performance are in Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.

Famous Exponents

The four Nattuvanars namely Ponaiyah, Vadivelu, Sivanandam and Chinnaiya who are renowned as Tanjaore Bandhu and who thrived in the Durbar of Maratha ruler, Sarfoji-II from 1798 to 1832 shaped up the modern day Bharatanatyam. Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, a dance guru from the village of Pandanallur was a noted exponent of Bharatanatyam who is predominantly known for his style referred as the Pandanallur school of Bharatanatyam. One of his students Rukmini Devi championed and performed the Pandanallur (Kalakshetra) style and also remained one of the leading proponents of the classical dance revival movement. Balasarswati who was regarded as child prodigy by Vidhwans and Pandits also joined hands in reviving the dance form. She was a virtuoso of the Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam. Other imminent Bharatanatyam artists include Mrinalini Sarabhai, her daughter Mallika Sarabhai, Padma Subramanyam, Alarmel Valli, Yamini Krishnamurthy and Anita Ratnam among others.

BHARATHANATYAM- CLASSICAL DANCE

Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring areas. Let’s take a look at its history, costumes, and exponents.

Bharatanatyam, a pre-eminent Indian classical dance form presumably the oldest classical dance heritage of India is regarded as mother of many other Indian classical dance forms. Conventionally a solo dance performed only by women, it initiated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and eventually flourished in South India. Theoretical base of this form traces back to ‘Natya Shastra’, the ancient Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts. A form of illustrative anecdote of Hindu religious themes and spiritual ideas emoted by dancer with excellent footwork and impressive gestures its performance repertoire includes nrita, nritya and natya. Accompanists include a singer, music and particularly the guru who directs and conducts the performance. It also continues to inspire several art forms including paintings and sculptures starting from the spectacular 6th to 9th century CE temple sculptures. 

History & Evolution

According to the Hindu tradition the name of the dance form was derived by joining two words, ‘Bharata’ and Natyam’ where ‘Natyam in Sanskrit means dance and ‘Bharata’ is a mnemonic comprising ‘bha’, ‘ra’ and ‘ta’ which respectively means ‘bhava’ that is emotion and feelings; ‘raga’ that is melody; and ‘tala’ that is rhythm. Thus, traditionally the word refers to a dance form where bhava, raga and tala are expressed. The theoretical base of this dance form, which is also referred as Sadir, trace back to ancient Indian theatrologist and musicologist, Bharata Muni’s Sanskrit Hindu text on the performing arts called ‘Natya Shastra’. The text’s first complete version was presumably completed between 200 BCE to 200 CE, however such timeframe also varies between 500 BCE and 500 CE. According to legends Lord Brahma revealed Bharatanatyam to the sage Bharata who then encoded this holy dance form in Natya Shastra. The text that consists of thousands of verses structured in different chapters divides dance in two specific forms,namely ‘nrita’ that is pure dance comprising of finesse of hand movements and gestures, and ‘nritya’ that is solo expressive dance that comprises of expressions. According to Russian scholar Natalia Lidova, ‘Natya Shastra’ elucidates several theories of Indian classical dances including that of Tandava dance, standing postures, basic steps, bhava, rasa, methods of acting and gestures.

 One of the five great epics of Tamil Literature, ‘Silappatikaram’ (~2nd century CE) has a direct reference to this dance form. The Shiva temple of Kanchipuram that is decorated with carvings dating back to a period between 6th to 9th centuries CE manifests the development of this dance form by around the mid first millennium CE. Many ancient Hindu temples are embellished with sculptures of Lord Shiva in Bharatanatyam dance poses. The eastern gopuram of the 12th century Thillai Natarajar Temple, Chidambaram, of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Lord Shiva bears sculptures depicting 108 poses of Bharatanatyam, referred as karanas in ‘Natya Shastra’, that are intricately carved in small rectangular panels. Another notable sculpture can be seen in the Cave 1 of Karnataka’s Badami cave temples dating back to the 7th century where a 5 feet tall sculpture of Lord Shiva is depicted as Nataraja doing Tandava dance. The 18 arms of the Shiva sculpture expresses mudras or hand gestures that are part of Bharatanatyam.

Association with Devadasi Culture

Originating in Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and nearby regions, Bharatanatyam soon prospered in other South Indian temples. According to some sources the Devadasi culture dating back to 300 BCE to 300 CE evolved under the auspices of the royals that saw the temple dancers called Devadasis, who were dedicated to serve the Lord as dasis or servants, performing the dance form. Eventually the Devadasi culture became an integral part of rituals in South Indian temples. Although ancient texts and sculptures indicate existence of such culture and presence of dancing girls as also exclusive quarters for women in temple compound, there is no concrete evidence either archaeological or text-based that can manifest  the Devadasis as prostitutes or courtesans as accused by some colonial Indologists. After analysing evidences, Davesh Soneji, a historian on performance arts and an expert on Bharatanatyam, concluded that courtesan dancing phenomenon commenced during the Nayaka period of Tamil Nadu sometime around late 16th or 17th century.

Shruti Iyer: Bharatanatyam performance mermerised audience at Venkat Sabhagruha | Events Movie News - Times of India

Opposition & Ban During Colonial Rule

The 18th century saw emergence of rule of the East India Company followed by setting up of British colonial rule in the 19th century. Such developments saw decline of various classical dance forms which were subjected to contemptuous fun and discouragement including Bharatanatyam that through the 19th century remained exclusive to Hindu temples. Eventually social and economic conditions associated with Devadasi culture added with contempt and despicable attitude from the Christian missionaries and British officials, who held the Devadasis of South India and nautch girls of North India as harlots, disgraced such systems. Furthermore the Christian missionaries launched anti-dance movement in 1892 to stop such practice. The Madras Presidency under the British colonial government banned the custom of dancing in Hindu temples in 1910 and with this the age-old tradition of performing Bharatanatyam in Hindu temples also came to an end.

Revival 

The Indian community disapproved such ban. The Tamilians were worried that such a rich and ancient custom of Hindu temple dancing was getting persecuted on the pretext of social reform. Many classical art revivalists like Indian lawyer, freedom-fighter, activist and classical artist E. Krishna Iyer questioned such discrimination. Iyer who became involved with the Bharatanatyam revival movement was incarcerated on charges of nationalism and imprisoned. During his prison term he convinced the political prisoners to advocate for this age-old classical dance form.  Iyer founded the ‘Madras Music Academy’ and along with Indian theosophist, dancer and Bharatanatyam choreographer Rukmini Devi Arundale, he strived to save Bharatanatyam from dying out. Despite the fact that Hindu temple dances were being suppressed due to laws enforced by the colonial British government, many artists like American dancer Esther Sherman came from the West to learn Indian classical dance forms. She came to India in 1930 and not only learnt classical dances but also adopted the name Ragini Devi and became a part of the ancient dance arts revival movement. As the Indian freedom movement progressed steadily during the early 20th century, an effort to revive Indian culture and  tradition seethed with excitement among Indians. Eminent Bharatanatyam dancers like Arundale and Balasaraswati expanded the dance form out of Hindu temples and established it as a mainstream dance form. Later the Tamil Hindu migrants revived this Hindu temple dancing custom in British Tamil temples during the late 20th century. Today this ancient classical dance form also includes technical performances as also non-religious and fusion based themes.

Classical Dance Photography | Bharatanatyam poses, Dance photography poses, Indian classical dancer

Repertoire

The repertoire of this performance art are categorized into three brackets namely ‘Nritta’, ‘Nritya’ and ‘Natya’ mentioned in ‘Natya Shastra’ and followed by all major Indian classical dance forms. ‘Nritta’ is a technical performance where the dancer presents pure Bharata Natyam movements emphasising on speed, form, pattern, range and rhythmic aspects without any form of enactment or interpretive aspect. In ‘Nritya’ the dancer communicates a story, spiritual themes, message or feelings through expressive gestures and slower body movements harmonised with musical notes. ‘Natyam’ is usually performed by a group or in some cases by a solo dancer who maintains certain body movements for certain characters of the play which is communicated through dance-acting. The dance form typically comprises of certain sections performed in sequence namely Alarippu, Jatiswaram, Shabdam, Varnam, Padam and Thillana.

Costumes

The style of dressing of a Bharatanatyam dancer is more or less similar to that of a Tamil Hindu bride. She wears a gorgeous tailor-made sari that consists of a cloth specially stitched in pleats that falls in the front from the waist and when the dancer performs spectacular footwork that include stretching or bending her knees, the cloth widens up like a hand fan. The sari worn in a special manner is well complimented with traditional jewellery that include the ones that adorn her head, nose, ear and neck and vivid face make-up specially highlighting her eyes so that audience can view her expressions properly. Her hair neatly plaited in conventional way is often beautified with flowers. A jewellery belt adorns her waist while musical anklets called ghunghru made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped in her ankles. Her feet and fingers are often brightened with henna colour so as to highlight gestures of her hands.

Instruments & Music 

The Bharatnatyam dancer is accompanied by a nattuvanar (or taladhari) that is a vocalist who generally conducts the whole performance, a part often executed by the guru. The person can also play the cymbals or any other instrument. The music associated with Bharatanatyam is in South India’s Carnatic style and instruments played comprise of cymbals, the flute, a long pipe horn called nagaswaram, a drum called mridangam and veena. The verses recited during performance are in Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.

Famous Exponents

The four Nattuvanars namely Ponaiyah, Vadivelu, Sivanandam and Chinnaiya who are renowned as Tanjaore Bandhu and who thrived in the Durbar of Maratha ruler, Sarfoji-II from 1798 to 1832 shaped up the modern day Bharatanatyam. Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, a dance guru from the village of Pandanallur was a noted exponent of Bharatanatyam who is predominantly known for his style referred as the Pandanallur school of Bharatanatyam. One of his students Rukmini Devi championed and performed the Pandanallur (Kalakshetra) style and also remained one of the leading proponents of the classical dance revival movement. Balasarswati who was regarded as child prodigy by Vidhwans and Pandits also joined hands in reviving the dance form. She was a virtuoso of the Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam. Other imminent Bharatanatyam artists include Mrinalini Sarabhai, her daughter Mallika Sarabhai, Padma Subramanyam, Alarmel Valli, Yamini Krishnamurthy and Anita Ratnam among others.

The need to save the ocean

To paraphrase a line from Ron Burgundy, the ocean is a big thing. Big enough for scientists to point out that the term “Earth” is a misnomer. Water may be a more accurate name for a world that is nearly 3/4 covered in water, with marine plants contributing a whopping 50 percent or more of the oxygen we breathe. With all of that stated, it’s past time (high tide?) for us to band together to save the resource that has been depleted.

Photo by Kellie Churchman on Pexels.com

The state of the ocean is not good

The bad news is that human activity is wreaking havoc on the environment. The good news is that there are several things we can do to help stop (and even reverse!) those detrimental behaviors, which is why this is a message about hope and empowerment rather than doom and gloom.

Plastic pollution is destroying the ocean

A non-profit that works to protect the ocean Every year, 17.6 billion pounds of plastic is estimated to escape into the ocean from land-based sources, according to Oceana. Every 60 seconds, a garbage truck full of plastic is dumped into our waterways. The world’s most renowned (and largest) rubbish dump is located in the ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch covers 1.6 million square kilometres and contains 1.8 trillion bits of plastic in an estimated 80,000 metric tonne landfill. Plastic garbage in the ocean is believed to kill over one million sea animals each year, including sea turtles, sharks, and coral reef (yes, coral reef is an animal!).

Plastics in the ocean will surpass fish in the ocean (!?) by 2050, according to research, and 99 percent of seabirds will have plastics in their GI tract. Plastic pollution is not only destructive to the ocean; there is also evidence that it is harmful to humans.

Acidification in the ocean

Carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the oceans over decades have changed the underlying chemistry of our ocean, resulting in an increase in acidity. Acidification causes small decreases in shell density in small creatures, which support entire ecosystems despite their small size.

As the world’s seas warm, species are moving in large numbers to new locations, posing new challenges or simply failing to develop as they should, while millions of people rely on fish as their primary source of nutrition. It’s also causing the Great Barrier Reef to perish. Coral reefs require all of the protection we can provide, given the disastrous effects of climate change.

Because it has the potential to cause the most apparent and immediate human misery, sea-level rise may be the most well-known of these concerns. Low-lying areas such as Miami and the South Pacific islands are growing increasingly vulnerable; 10% of the world’s population lives on the low-lying coast.

Meanwhile, deoxygenation, which is most typically caused by algal blooms fed by nutrient-rich fertilizer run-off, is causing enormous dead zones and suffocating marine life.

Overfishing

Fishing techniques that are illegal, uncontrolled, and unreported are common. Humans have already brought the giant grouper, several skates and rays, and a dozen or more other sturgeon species to the brink of extinction through fishing.

Bluefin tuna is one of the fish species whose populations may never recover as a result of unsustainable fishing techniques. Other apex predators, such as sharks, are among the most endangered.

Places like Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary have shown how impactful policy changes can be in helping species rebound.

Ocean conservation isn’t just a hobby for those who enjoy the water. You might not be a scuba diver, a fisherman, or a seaside dweller. Perhaps you have a seafood allergy and despise surfers! Even so, chances are you still breathe air and enjoy life when there is less human suffering.

Plants and trees are oxygen-producing powerhouses. But wait till you see what oceanic greens can accomplish! (Hint: it’s not just trees.)  More than half of the oxygen on the earth is produced by marine plants. 

Thoughts famous people have about ocean

Jacques Cousteau: “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Beyoncé Knowles: “I’m always happy when I’m surrounded by water, I think I’m a mermaid or I was a mermaid. The ocean makes me feel really small and it makes me put my whole life into perspective… it humbles you and makes you feel almost like you’ve been baptized. I feel born again when I get out of the ocean.”

William Wordsworth: “The ocean is a mighty harmonist.”

John F. Kennedy: “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch, we are going back from whence we came.”

Photo by Emiliano Arano on Pexels.com

Ways in which you can help save the ocean

  1. EDUCATE YOURSELF

Step 1: Land and sea are far more intertwined than most people think, and activities taken on land have substantial consequences in the ocean. The good news is that there are a plethora of tools available—Pinterest offers a plethora of ocean-saving categorieS.

2. Opt for Ocean and Earth-Friendly Products

Oceana’s is to demand plastic-free alternatives to items such as plastic water bottles, straws, plastic cutlery, coffee cups, bags, balloons, plastic-wrapped produce, and take-out food containers.

References

http://www.growensemble.com

http://www.wikipedia.com

The need to save the ocean

To paraphrase a line from Ron Burgundy, the ocean is a big thing. Big enough for scientists to point out that the term “Earth” is a misnomer. Water may be a more accurate name for a world that is nearly 3/4 covered in water, with marine plants contributing a whopping 50 percent or more of the oxygen we breathe. With all of that stated, it’s past time (high tide?) for us to band together to save the resource that has been depleted.

Photo by Kellie Churchman on Pexels.com

The state of the ocean is not good

The bad news is that human activity is wreaking havoc on the environment. The good news is that there are several things we can do to help stop (and even reverse!) those detrimental behaviors, which is why this is a message about hope and empowerment rather than doom and gloom.

Plastic pollution is destroying the ocean

A non-profit that works to protect the ocean Every year, 17.6 billion pounds of plastic is estimated to escape into the ocean from land-based sources, according to Oceana. Every 60 seconds, a garbage truck full of plastic is dumped into our waterways. The world’s most renowned (and largest) rubbish dump is located in the ocean.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch covers 1.6 million square kilometres and contains 1.8 trillion bits of plastic in an estimated 80,000 metric tonne landfill. Plastic garbage in the ocean is believed to kill over one million sea animals each year, including sea turtles, sharks, and coral reef (yes, coral reef is an animal!).

Plastics in the ocean will surpass fish in the ocean (!?) by 2050, according to research, and 99 percent of seabirds will have plastics in their GI tract. Plastic pollution is not only destructive to the ocean; there is also evidence that it is harmful to humans.

Acidification in the ocean

Carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the oceans over decades have changed the underlying chemistry of our ocean, resulting in an increase in acidity. Acidification causes small decreases in shell density in small creatures, which support entire ecosystems despite their small size.

As the world’s seas warm, species are moving in large numbers to new locations, posing new challenges or simply failing to develop as they should, while millions of people rely on fish as their primary source of nutrition. It’s also causing the Great Barrier Reef to perish. Coral reefs require all of the protection we can provide, given the disastrous effects of climate change.

Because it has the potential to cause the most apparent and immediate human misery, sea-level rise may be the most well-known of these concerns. Low-lying areas such as Miami and the South Pacific islands are growing increasingly vulnerable; 10% of the world’s population lives on the low-lying coast.

Meanwhile, deoxygenation, which is most typically caused by algal blooms fed by nutrient-rich fertilizer run-off, is causing enormous dead zones and suffocating marine life.

Overfishing

Fishing techniques that are illegal, uncontrolled, and unreported are common. Humans have already brought the giant grouper, several skates and rays, and a dozen or more other sturgeon species to the brink of extinction through fishing.

Bluefin tuna is one of the fish species whose populations may never recover as a result of unsustainable fishing techniques. Other apex predators, such as sharks, are among the most endangered.

Places like Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary have shown how impactful policy changes can be in helping species rebound.

Ocean conservation isn’t just a hobby for those who enjoy the water. You might not be a scuba diver, a fisherman, or a seaside dweller. Perhaps you have a seafood allergy and despise surfers! Even so, chances are you still breathe air and enjoy life when there is less human suffering.

Plants and trees are oxygen-producing powerhouses. But wait till you see what oceanic greens can accomplish! (Hint: it’s not just trees.)  More than half of the oxygen on the earth is produced by marine plants. 

Thoughts famous people have about ocean

Jacques Cousteau: “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Beyoncé Knowles: “I’m always happy when I’m surrounded by water, I think I’m a mermaid or I was a mermaid. The ocean makes me feel really small and it makes me put my whole life into perspective… it humbles you and makes you feel almost like you’ve been baptized. I feel born again when I get out of the ocean.”

William Wordsworth: “The ocean is a mighty harmonist.”

John F. Kennedy: “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch, we are going back from whence we came.”

Photo by Emiliano Arano on Pexels.com

Ways in which you can help save the ocean

  1. EDUCATE YOURSELF

Step 1: Land and sea are far more intertwined than most people think, and activities taken on land have substantial consequences in the ocean. The good news is that there are a plethora of tools available—Pinterest offers a plethora of ocean-saving categorieS.

2. Opt for Ocean and Earth-Friendly Products

Oceana’s is to demand plastic-free alternatives to items such as plastic water bottles, straws, plastic cutlery, coffee cups, bags, balloons, plastic-wrapped produce, and take-out food containers.

References

http://www.growensemble.com

http://www.wikipedia.com

How to choose a book to read for growth

In today’s time, everyone has free and easy access to social media. On some days we keep scrolling all through the day without even realising what are we doing. We say, “I’m bored”. So, what are we doing to get rid of the boredom?

Those in their teens, especially late teens and early 20s are about to go to college. Some are serious about their future. Some are still thinking. Some know what to do. Some are worried about what do to. Some know they want to do something, just don’t know what. Some probably, don’t even think much. For everyone, books are the solution. How?

Well, agreed, there are many courses that one can do. Many podcasts one can listen to. What’s the need for books?! Dead weights! Well, these ‘dead weights’ are what great minds write once they’ve achieved what they wanted to achieve. These weights helped them on their path. Some write to explain their journey and what they learnt so the younger gen can learn and grow. Some help those who know what they want to do, some help the others, who don’t know what they want to do. Some books help you make a path while some help you find your path. Some even help you during your path. But, we can just listen to podcasts of those books!

Well, not every book has been made into a podcast. Also, we listen to podcasts on our phones. And, let’s be honest. One ping is all it takes for our entire focus and concentration to go, poof! So, I guess I’ve made my point.

Moving on, what books should we read to help us grow? And how to develop an interest in boring non-fiction? How do we find out what books to read?

For starters, some people enjoy reading non-fiction. So, let’s rule out the thought that they are all boring and try to keep an open mind.

To know what book to read, try finding out what your goal is. If, for example, you wish to know your superpowers, read books on the subconscious mind, like The Power of your Subconscious Mind by Dr Joseph Murphy. Our subconscious mind is supreme, once you know how to utilise its strengths. If you are lazy and wish to break it and make a healthy habit, you can read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

Similarly, if you know what you want to do, look up books on Google, find out what you like best, which book suits your needs the best and read it. 

Every book is a gem and there are many gems for each person out there. All one has to do is know what do they wish to learn/know and look for a book which suits their needs. 

Here’s a list of books that I would recommend.

  1. The Power of Habit
  2. The Power of your Subconscious Mind
  3. How to Talk to Anyone
  4. Think and Grow Rich
  5. The 80/20 principle
  6. The Power of Now
  7. Don’t Overthink it
  8. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
  9. Everything is F*cked
  10. The Rudest Book Ever

How to choose a book to read for growth

In today’s time, everyone has free and easy access to social media. On some days we keep scrolling all through the day without even realising what are we doing. We say, “I’m bored”. So, what are we doing to get rid of the boredom?

Those in their teens, especially late teens and early 20s are about to go to college. Some are serious about their future. Some are still thinking. Some know what to do. Some are worried about what do to. Some know they want to do something, just don’t know what. Some probably, don’t even think much. For everyone, books are the solution. How?

Well, agreed, there are many courses that one can do. Many podcasts one can listen to. What’s the need for books?! Dead weights! Well, these ‘dead weights’ are what great minds write once they’ve achieved what they wanted to achieve. These weights helped them on their path. Some write to explain their journey and what they learnt so the younger gen can learn and grow. Some help those who know what they want to do, some help the others, who don’t know what they want to do. Some books help you make a path while some help you find your path. Some even help you during your path. But, we can just listen to podcasts of those books!

Well, not every book has been made into a podcast. Also, we listen to podcasts on our phones. And, let’s be honest. One ping is all it takes for our entire focus and concentration to go, poof! So, I guess I’ve made my point.

Moving on, what books should we read to help us grow? And how to develop an interest in boring non-fiction? How do we find out what books to read?

For starters, some people enjoy reading non-fiction. So, let’s rule out the thought that they are all boring and try to keep an open mind.

To know what book to read, try finding out what your goal is. If, for example, you wish to know your superpowers, read books on the subconscious mind, like The Power of your Subconscious Mind by Dr Joseph Murphy. Our subconscious mind is supreme, once you know how to utilise its strengths. If you are lazy and wish to break it and make a healthy habit, you can read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

Similarly, if you know what you want to do, look up books on Google, find out what you like best, which book suits your needs the best and read it. 

Every book is a gem and there are many gems for each person out there. All one has to do is know what do they wish to learn/know and look for a book which suits their needs. 

Here’s a list of books that I would recommend.

  1. The Power of Habit
  2. The Power of your Subconscious Mind
  3. How to Talk to Anyone
  4. Think and Grow Rich
  5. The 80/20 principle
  6. The Power of Now
  7. Don’t Overthink it
  8. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
  9. Everything is F*cked
  10. The Rudest Book Ever

“ELON MUSK” Biography

“Elon Musk” is an Entrepreneur, Engineer and Inventor. He was born in Pretoria South Africa on June 28 1971. His father’s name of Errol musk and mother’s name was Maye Haldeman. His father was a British electrical engineer and mother was a British Canadian model. When they divorced in 1980, Elon stated with his father in South Africa.

A few years later she began teaching himself computer programming and sold his first video game at the age of 12. For his undergraduate education he attended the Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, in 1990. He eventually transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, earning dual degree in physics and economics. In addition to the bachelor’s degrees, he earned in physics and economics, he also holds an honorary doctorate in Design from the “Art Center College of Design” and an honorary doctorate in Aerospace engineering from the “University of Surrey”. He moved to California to attend Stanford for a PhD in applied physics in 1995, but quit within a few of days to pursue his own interest in avenues of technology and entrepreneurship. Later that year, he worked with his brother, Kimbal Musk, to develop the software company”Zip2″, which provided services to high end newspaper clients like “The Newyork Times” and the “Chicago Tribune”. After the successful sale of Zip2 to Compag in 1999, Musk went straight into his next venture an online financial service called “X.com”. Shortly after the company acquired a money transfer service called “PayPal”, through a merger, they began to focus their efforts exclusively on building this Internet payment service.

The Successful off PayPal ID mask to sell his stock in company to eBay for 165 million dollar. Elon Musk has married thirce twice the same woman. His first marriage was to Canadian other Justin Wilson in 2000 they had its children together in 2002. He invested his millions in her third company with in 7 years the company had designed the “Falcon” line of space launch vehicles and the “Dragon line” of multipurpose spacecraft and was making history with their privately funded innovation “SpaveX” received contracts from NASA to create a launch craft to deliver cargo to the International Space Station Tesla Motors was founded with the mission of designing and building electric car musk invested in the company and became its chairman in 2004, a after it Inception taking on an active role in the design of the “Roadster” which won the “Global Green” product award. During the recession when the company was adversely affected he went on to become the CEO and product architect of the company. A role he holds till today. After Designing the initial Concept for “Solar City” Musk remains its biggest shareholder. Today it is the second largest provider of solar energy in the United States with a focus on combating global warming Elon Musk and Justin Wilson divorced in 2008 in 2008 she began dating English actress Tallulah Riley and the two of them got married in 2010. The couple separated in 2012. In 2013 Elon Musk remarried Tallulah Riley really but the couple filed for divorce in 2014 and it was finalized in 2016. On August 12 2013, Musk announced Revolutionary plans for a high-speed travel technology that in theory could replace airplane travel as a faster and cheaper option. His company “SpaveX” is currently working on putting his plants into practice with the design intended to run entirely on solar energy he has envisioned high speed Transportation system known as the Hyperloop it incorporates reduced pressure tube in which pressurized capsules ride on air bearing driven by Linear induction motors and air compressors. Elon Musk for briefly in a relationship with American actress Amber Heard in 2016. But the couples split owing to their conflicting schedules. In July 2017, he announced that first successful test run of Hyperloop has been done in Nevada. He also said that he has got verbal approval to build a Hyperloop from New York city to Washington DC. Elon Musk was heavily involved in the design of Tesla Motors first electric sports car, the “Tesla Roadster” Musk received the 2006 ” Global Green” product design award for this vehicle, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev. “PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE AND I’M LEARNING PATIENCE. IT’S A TOUGH LESSON” Said by “ELON MUSK”.

"ELON MUSK" Biography

“Elon Musk” is an Entrepreneur, Engineer and Inventor. He was born in Pretoria South Africa on June 28 1971. His father’s name of Errol musk and mother’s name was Maye Haldeman. His father was a British electrical engineer and mother was a British Canadian model. When they divorced in 1980, Elon stated with his father in South Africa.

A few years later she began teaching himself computer programming and sold his first video game at the age of 12. For his undergraduate education he attended the Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, in 1990. He eventually transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, earning dual degree in physics and economics. In addition to the bachelor’s degrees, he earned in physics and economics, he also holds an honorary doctorate in Design from the “Art Center College of Design” and an honorary doctorate in Aerospace engineering from the “University of Surrey”. He moved to California to attend Stanford for a PhD in applied physics in 1995, but quit within a few of days to pursue his own interest in avenues of technology and entrepreneurship. Later that year, he worked with his brother, Kimbal Musk, to develop the software company”Zip2″, which provided services to high end newspaper clients like “The Newyork Times” and the “Chicago Tribune”. After the successful sale of Zip2 to Compag in 1999, Musk went straight into his next venture an online financial service called “X.com”. Shortly after the company acquired a money transfer service called “PayPal”, through a merger, they began to focus their efforts exclusively on building this Internet payment service.

The Successful off PayPal ID mask to sell his stock in company to eBay for 165 million dollar. Elon Musk has married thirce twice the same woman. His first marriage was to Canadian other Justin Wilson in 2000 they had its children together in 2002. He invested his millions in her third company with in 7 years the company had designed the “Falcon” line of space launch vehicles and the “Dragon line” of multipurpose spacecraft and was making history with their privately funded innovation “SpaveX” received contracts from NASA to create a launch craft to deliver cargo to the International Space Station Tesla Motors was founded with the mission of designing and building electric car musk invested in the company and became its chairman in 2004, a after it Inception taking on an active role in the design of the “Roadster” which won the “Global Green” product award. During the recession when the company was adversely affected he went on to become the CEO and product architect of the company. A role he holds till today. After Designing the initial Concept for “Solar City” Musk remains its biggest shareholder. Today it is the second largest provider of solar energy in the United States with a focus on combating global warming Elon Musk and Justin Wilson divorced in 2008 in 2008 she began dating English actress Tallulah Riley and the two of them got married in 2010. The couple separated in 2012. In 2013 Elon Musk remarried Tallulah Riley really but the couple filed for divorce in 2014 and it was finalized in 2016. On August 12 2013, Musk announced Revolutionary plans for a high-speed travel technology that in theory could replace airplane travel as a faster and cheaper option. His company “SpaveX” is currently working on putting his plants into practice with the design intended to run entirely on solar energy he has envisioned high speed Transportation system known as the Hyperloop it incorporates reduced pressure tube in which pressurized capsules ride on air bearing driven by Linear induction motors and air compressors. Elon Musk for briefly in a relationship with American actress Amber Heard in 2016. But the couples split owing to their conflicting schedules. In July 2017, he announced that first successful test run of Hyperloop has been done in Nevada. He also said that he has got verbal approval to build a Hyperloop from New York city to Washington DC. Elon Musk was heavily involved in the design of Tesla Motors first electric sports car, the “Tesla Roadster” Musk received the 2006 ” Global Green” product design award for this vehicle, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev. “PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE AND I’M LEARNING PATIENCE. IT’S A TOUGH LESSON” Said by “ELON MUSK”.

MOSQUITO BAT OR LIQUID VAPOURIZER???

Rainy season is on. Many mosquitos gonna form and attack so, it’s better for us to get prepared to fight against mosquitos. Here, I’m going to explain the benefits and drawbacks of each. It will be useful for us to the make right decision in purchasing products.

electric MOSQUITO BAT:

ADVANTAGES:

  1. It does not give off vapors of toxic chemicals like other repellents.
  2. It is cheap, highly effective, handy and reusable.
  3. Some of them have a torch light also. It is not only used for mosquitoes, but also for small insects like bees, house flies, etc. 
  4. It is convenient to use.
  5. The mosquito dies instantly before our eyes.
  6. Not much weight to hold on . It usually feels like you are playing tennis .
  7. No pollution to the environment .
  8. Humans will not get affected by harsh chemicals.

DISADVANTAGES:

  1. All mosquitoes can’t die at a time . Some Mosquitoes can escape from our sight.
  2. Takes time to search and kill.
  3. When a mosquito contacted in the bat. The mosquito bat sounds like a diwali cracker.
  4. Should not be used when gas is leaked in your house. It may explode.
  5. It should also be kept away from the children as it is not a toy.

MOSQUITO LIQUID VAPOURIZER:

ADVANTAGES:

  1. Time consumption less.
  2. All mosquitoes dies at a time.

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Mosquito sprays and liquid vaporizers contain chemicals like pyrethin and diethyl toluimide (DEET) which cause breathing difficulty, respiratory problems, dizziness, stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, skin infections and so on.

2. An one time usage of mosquito-repellent vaporizer and the amount of 100 cigarettes smoked is roughly same. The release of ultrafine grain by the Vaporizer can be retained in the lungs and triggers asthma in the short term and in long term it could cause cancer.

3. It pollutes the environment on a high level.

4. It is costly hence, it has to buy once the liquid gets over.

5. Causes health issues on children , adults and aged people.

6. In rare cases , Prolonged usage and intake can cause even death .

7. Can be used only for mosquitoes .multi usage of it is not possible.

MOSQUITO BAT OR LIQUID VAPOURIZER???

Rainy season is on. Many mosquitos gonna form and attack so, it’s better for us to get prepared to fight against mosquitos. Here, I’m going to explain the benefits and drawbacks of each. It will be useful for us to the make right decision in purchasing products.

electric MOSQUITO BAT:

ADVANTAGES:

  1. It does not give off vapors of toxic chemicals like other repellents.
  2. It is cheap, highly effective, handy and reusable.
  3. Some of them have a torch light also. It is not only used for mosquitoes, but also for small insects like bees, house flies, etc. 
  4. It is convenient to use.
  5. The mosquito dies instantly before our eyes.
  6. Not much weight to hold on . It usually feels like you are playing tennis .
  7. No pollution to the environment .
  8. Humans will not get affected by harsh chemicals.

DISADVANTAGES:

  1. All mosquitoes can’t die at a time . Some Mosquitoes can escape from our sight.
  2. Takes time to search and kill.
  3. When a mosquito contacted in the bat. The mosquito bat sounds like a diwali cracker.
  4. Should not be used when gas is leaked in your house. It may explode.
  5. It should also be kept away from the children as it is not a toy.

MOSQUITO LIQUID VAPOURIZER:

ADVANTAGES:

  1. Time consumption less.
  2. All mosquitoes dies at a time.

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Mosquito sprays and liquid vaporizers contain chemicals like pyrethin and diethyl toluimide (DEET) which cause breathing difficulty, respiratory problems, dizziness, stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, skin infections and so on.

2. An one time usage of mosquito-repellent vaporizer and the amount of 100 cigarettes smoked is roughly same. The release of ultrafine grain by the Vaporizer can be retained in the lungs and triggers asthma in the short term and in long term it could cause cancer.

3. It pollutes the environment on a high level.

4. It is costly hence, it has to buy once the liquid gets over.

5. Causes health issues on children , adults and aged people.

6. In rare cases , Prolonged usage and intake can cause even death .

7. Can be used only for mosquitoes .multi usage of it is not possible.

 

Benefits of Investing in Mutual Funds in India

 

(Photo: Bank Bazar)

Investment in any form is considered to be the best way of achieving additional income. It’s like waiting for an extra reward. One such word with which we all are familiar is “equity mutual funds”.There’s a large structural growth in equity mutual funds for Indian industries.  The Indian Mutual Fund AUM/GDP ratio currently stands at 12% vis-à-vis the global average of 60%.

India has seen a significant growth rate in equity mutual funds investment. Indian investors are usually keen on investing in equity mutual funds because of the risk management. Investing in mutual funds has many advantages. Let’s discuss them briefly. 

  •       Return:  Mutual funds involves higher risk but generally the return that it gives is greater than in any other investment plan.
  • Ø  Professional Management: Even a person who does not have professional knowledge can invest. They are assured by the experts. The experts manage and operate mutual funds. They allocate it in different securities thereby assuring them profit.
  • Ø  Flexibility in Investment amount: There’s no fixed amount to be invested. You can invest even with a minimal amount of Rs 100. This is the most important benefit which the investors get in equity mutual funds.
  • Ø  Liquidity: This is also another benefit of investing in mutual funds. It’s not like fixed deposit where you are unable to withdraw amount at any point. You can redeem it at any point. Mutual funds have flexible withdrawal.
  • Ø  Safety & Transparency: All the equity mutual funds have now become safe and transparent after the introduction of SEBI guidelines. They’ve a color coding through which the investors can assess the risk level.
  • Ø  Diversification: Diversification is another factor which reduces the risk involved in building a portfolio.  Mutual Funds consist of many securities, so investor’s interests are safeguarded if there is a downfall in other securities purchased.
  • Ø  Accessibility: Mutual Funds are easily accessible. By accessibility, it means that you can buy mutual funds from anywhere in the world. You don’t require a Demat account for it. Mutual funds are very easy to buy.
  • Ø  Lower cost: In Mutual Fund, funds are collected from many investors, and then the same is used to purchase securities. These funds are however invested in assets which therefore helps one save on transaction and lower its cost. Investors get the savings as lower costs of investing in Mutual Funds.

Mutual Fund is a strong financial tool which has helped in increasing the growth of Indian economy. Mutual Fund have provided financial stability to the Indian economy. The Indian capital market has been increasing significantly during last few years. With the Industrial revolution and reforms of financial sector, the economy has been opened up and many developments have been taking place in the Indian money market and capital market. In order to help the small investors, mutual fund industry has come to occupy an important place in the Indian market.

Although there are many benefits of investing in mutual funds in India, but we must remember that every good thing comes with some flaws. The market condition is very dynamic. Not anyone can invest in mutual funds. One needs to have a proper knowledge to do that.  However, one thing which is certain is that there’s no harm in it. India still has many steps to climb.

Nomophobia: A growing fear in the modern world

 The pandemic has limited our movement and contact with the real world. Smartphones are connecting us with the world right now. There was a drastic increase in the number of hours spent on the phone after the first lockdown in March 2020.  Phone is our source of information, entertainment, socializing virtually and even attending classes. From work to leisure activity, everything is done on our phone. Our daily routine revolves around technology in this “new normal”. We all find it extremely difficult to be detached from our phone these days. 

What is Nomophobia?

People have become so used to the habit of checking their phone constantly that they find it hard to keep their phone aside. Not being able to check the notifications on the phone immediately makes them anxious and builds up stress. We struggle to spend a minute without checking the social media updates. 

Nomophobia refers to the fear, discomfort, or anxiety of being out of contact with the mobile phone. In simpler words it means “No mobile phone phobia”. This fear is normal. But when the fear is severe and continuous, it can be problematic. It can affect our day-to-day behaviour and action. Young adults are the most vulnerable group affected by smartphone addiction. 

The term was coined during a UK based research which aimed to study the possibility of anxiety disorders due to excessive use of mobile phones in 2008. The main cause of their phobia was the fear of losing connectivity with their near and dear ones. 

Nomophobia can impact our body physically and mentally. Physically, it can affect our eyesight, headache, disturbed sleep. A study by the International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science has established a relationship between Nomophobia and physical health. People who had the symptoms and felt anxious without the phone were experiencing headache, disturbance in sleeping and other such problems.

Its mental implications include lack of concentration, stress, irritation and anger. A research by the International Journal of Indian Psychology has found a positive correlation between Nomophobia and anger.   

Developing a “Stopping rule” to limit the hours spent using the phone, replacing some screen time with another hobby, and spending time on meditation are some of the preventive measures suggested in the studies. Some other suggestions include having a “no phone day” once in a week if possible and taking breaks frequently, especially for gamers. 

There is no doubt that a phone is a really useful device that can be used for a variety of purposes. But it is important to be aware of phone addiction because too much dependency on any device has its own consequences . 


CRED's Master Plan – CRED Business Study

Hello everybody, CRED is one of the most fascinating business case studies in the Indian start-up ecosystem. In just 2 years, CRED went from 0 to hitting a $2B valuation and became one of the youngest Indian startups to reach this milestone. Now, the peculiarity of CRED is that in 2020 alone CRED incurred a massive loss of ₹360 crores which is a massive increase of 492% from 2019. And for every rupee of revenue that CRED generated they spent ₹727 which is a massive cashburn. 

We all have seen the result of massive expenditure into creative marketing. *beating noises* So now the question is, even with such massive losses how is it that CRED is getting so much funding ? And what exactly is Kunal Shah’s strategy ? Well, the beauty of this case study is the that if you only understand what CRED is doing you will more or less understand a large chunk of the Indian startup ecosystem because most of the giant companies like Jio, Ola, PharmEasy also operate in a similar fashion. and the most important factor that is common in all of them is that they extensively work on altering the behavioural design of the society. And the anticipation of that behavioural design, is what makes them billion dollar companies. 

This golden strategy works out in 4 discrete steps The first phase is what we call cash burn and here’s where The company, first identifies a major problem in the society, Number two, it designs a system to fix that problem Number three, it raises a million dollars in funding and lastly it entices the customers to use the product by giving out unbelievable offers which are almost too good to be true.

 A very simple example of the same is Jio. First of all, Jio identified internet accessibility as a major problem in the Indian society and then Reliance spent about ₹1.5 lakh crores into building the infrastructure required for Jio. And then in 2016 when Jio got launched, they gave out offers that almost looked impossible. -free sim cards, free calls and free internet. And the moment this announcement happened, millions of people rushed to buy Jio sims. And Jio did everything in it’s capacity to maximise it’s number of it’s users without even bothering about profits. Which is why, on top of the heavy investment that they made they further incurred a loss of Rs. 31 crores in 2016.

 Just like this, when CRED rolled out in 2018 they identified 3 of the biggest pains of a credit card holder which are; number one, hidden charges Number two, late fees due to forgetfulness and number three is the extra interest. And they rolled out massive cashbacks and offers to incentivise the act of on-time payment. And these offers were as amazing as free flight tickets extremely lucrative discounts and ₹1000 cashbacks also Fast foward to 2021, CRED today, has over 30 lakh users and today, CRED is already processing 20% of all the premium credit card transactions. 

So this is how within a short span of time, in Phase 1, companies present incentives in order to get customers to use their product, eventually, to increase their user base. And this is what brings us to Phase 2. Phase 2 is all about habituation. Once you bought a Jio sim, you never bothered about talktime, you never bothered about data. And we all recklessly got habituated to this newfound luxury of Internet Similarly, in case of CRED, the people who have 2-3 credit cards found it so simple to use CRED that they stopped using their conventional method wherein they had to go through this long list of their statements or putting in effort to dig in and find out whether there are hidden charges, on each credit card As a CRED user myself, I can’t even tell you how amazing it feels as compared to having this terrible feeling wherein you have no idea where the hell your money is going. 

In fact, there was a time when I thought that some hacker is stealing my money, alright ? and I’m not even kidding about this. So, this is how in Phase 2, using their super efficient system companies seemlessly get us habituated to new normal wherein we are no longer used to adjusting to the ‘hurdles of the system’. Here’s where we enter the most crucial phase of all, that is, Phase 3 and Phase 3 is what we can call as Irreversibility. 

A classy example of the same is Google Maps Now you might have observed that most of the people of our generation never even bother to remember the name of a landmark, street or chowk In fact, I’ve got so used to Google Maps that in my own city, if you leave me in some street I will start wandering as if I am in some strange jungle. That is how much I have got habituated to Google Maps And by the way, this does not include those superhumans who have this amazing memory to remember any route, even if they have visited that place only once and you know which friend am I talking about… So the point is, 

Google Maps has made our lives so easy that finding a way to a place no longer occupies our headspace and in case of CRED, users no longer have to remember to pay their credit card bills, they no longer have to remember when exactly is their due dates or bother about late fees. Similarly in case of Ola, we are no longer used to finding taxi on the streets In case of Jio, when there is no Internet you all know how you feel So you see, once these companies came in there has been an irreversible change in our behaviour wherein the small acts of booking a cab or paying a credit card bill has changed to such a large extent that we will never ever go back to our past system. 

Now CRED is yet to complete this phase which is why all the numbers that you see about CRED is in the negatives now because CRED is yet to change a significant part of the consumer behaviour. After this we come to Phase 4. Now, this is the goldmine that every investor waits for wherein the company starts making profits and if you look at the numbers, it literally looks like a goldmine. For that matter look at the numbers of Jio. In just 1.5 years, Jio became profitable that is in the 3rd quarter of 2017 with a profit of ₹504 Crores From there onwards it has been on a magnificent run wherein in 2020, Jio has posted a net profit of ₹5,562 crore and the reason why CRED is also sitting on a similar goldmine is because the customers of CRED are by default the richest 1% of the country.

 These people are literally the dream customers of any company. Their incomes are high, so they make expensive purchases on a regular basis which results into massive profit margins for every company And my sense is that in the 4th phase, CRED could leverage it’s golden customer base in three very very powerful ways. 

Number one, CRED could become this must have expense management app which will also allow it’s users to file their income tax and just like it cured the headaches of the credit card users by saving their money from hidden charges. CRED might also might start saving it’s customers a ton of money through their income tax rebate filings by turning the entire process of income tax filing into a very simple and efficient process and if this happens, I don’t think any of us will ever leave the CRED club.

So, Kunal sir if you’re watching this please help us out over here. Number two, CRED has one of the most valuable customer data in terms of purchase preferences For example, CRED clearly knows that Parsh loves to spend ₹20,000 into sports. Ganesh loves to spend ₹10,000 in education and books. So CRED could use this data to show relevant advertisements with exclusive coupons to get people to spend heavily on the things they absolutely love eventually, to make a comission out of it. 

Lastly, CRED could also became a bank for the top 1% of India and the reason why I think so is because there are two important factors that are very very crucial for any bank’s existence.

 Number one, every bank wants customers who have a lot of money deposited in their bank account after all their investment and expenses. And this money is what the bank uses to lend to businesses and customers in the form of home loans, car loans etc. 

Number two, every bank needs borrowers who pay back their loans judiciously. So that they can charge an interest on top of it eventually to make money out of the lending business. And guess what ? CRED literally has these exact people in it’s customer base which is why my sense is, CRED could literally extend itself to become a full fledged bank or maybe even become a full fledged portfolio management system for the top 1%.

 Eventually to become the most revolutionary fintech start-up of India So to put that straight, for ordinary people like you and me CRED might look like a weird idea but in reality it is a revolutionary idea coming from one of the most amazing entrepreneurs in the Indian start-up space. 

And we must consider ourselves to be extremely fortunate that we are getting to witness their processes and we must learn from these revolutionary start-ups that are going to redefine 21st century India forever.  

CRED's Master Plan – CRED Business Study

Hello everybody, CRED is one of the most fascinating business case studies in the Indian start-up ecosystem. In just 2 years, CRED went from 0 to hitting a $2B valuation and became one of the youngest Indian startups to reach this milestone. Now, the peculiarity of CRED is that in 2020 alone CRED incurred a massive loss of ₹360 crores which is a massive increase of 492% from 2019. And for every rupee of revenue that CRED generated they spent ₹727 which is a massive cashburn. 

We all have seen the result of massive expenditure into creative marketing. *beating noises* So now the question is, even with such massive losses how is it that CRED is getting so much funding ? And what exactly is Kunal Shah’s strategy ? Well, the beauty of this case study is the that if you only understand what CRED is doing you will more or less understand a large chunk of the Indian startup ecosystem because most of the giant companies like Jio, Ola, PharmEasy also operate in a similar fashion. and the most important factor that is common in all of them is that they extensively work on altering the behavioural design of the society. And the anticipation of that behavioural design, is what makes them billion dollar companies. 

This golden strategy works out in 4 discrete steps The first phase is what we call cash burn and here’s where The company, first identifies a major problem in the society, Number two, it designs a system to fix that problem Number three, it raises a million dollars in funding and lastly it entices the customers to use the product by giving out unbelievable offers which are almost too good to be true.

 A very simple example of the same is Jio. First of all, Jio identified internet accessibility as a major problem in the Indian society and then Reliance spent about ₹1.5 lakh crores into building the infrastructure required for Jio. And then in 2016 when Jio got launched, they gave out offers that almost looked impossible. -free sim cards, free calls and free internet. And the moment this announcement happened, millions of people rushed to buy Jio sims. And Jio did everything in it’s capacity to maximise it’s number of it’s users without even bothering about profits. Which is why, on top of the heavy investment that they made they further incurred a loss of Rs. 31 crores in 2016.

 Just like this, when CRED rolled out in 2018 they identified 3 of the biggest pains of a credit card holder which are; number one, hidden charges Number two, late fees due to forgetfulness and number three is the extra interest. And they rolled out massive cashbacks and offers to incentivise the act of on-time payment. And these offers were as amazing as free flight tickets extremely lucrative discounts and ₹1000 cashbacks also Fast foward to 2021, CRED today, has over 30 lakh users and today, CRED is already processing 20% of all the premium credit card transactions. 

So this is how within a short span of time, in Phase 1, companies present incentives in order to get customers to use their product, eventually, to increase their user base. And this is what brings us to Phase 2. Phase 2 is all about habituation. Once you bought a Jio sim, you never bothered about talktime, you never bothered about data. And we all recklessly got habituated to this newfound luxury of Internet Similarly, in case of CRED, the people who have 2-3 credit cards found it so simple to use CRED that they stopped using their conventional method wherein they had to go through this long list of their statements or putting in effort to dig in and find out whether there are hidden charges, on each credit card As a CRED user myself, I can’t even tell you how amazing it feels as compared to having this terrible feeling wherein you have no idea where the hell your money is going. 

In fact, there was a time when I thought that some hacker is stealing my money, alright ? and I’m not even kidding about this. So, this is how in Phase 2, using their super efficient system companies seemlessly get us habituated to new normal wherein we are no longer used to adjusting to the ‘hurdles of the system’. Here’s where we enter the most crucial phase of all, that is, Phase 3 and Phase 3 is what we can call as Irreversibility. 

A classy example of the same is Google Maps Now you might have observed that most of the people of our generation never even bother to remember the name of a landmark, street or chowk In fact, I’ve got so used to Google Maps that in my own city, if you leave me in some street I will start wandering as if I am in some strange jungle. That is how much I have got habituated to Google Maps And by the way, this does not include those superhumans who have this amazing memory to remember any route, even if they have visited that place only once and you know which friend am I talking about… So the point is, 

Google Maps has made our lives so easy that finding a way to a place no longer occupies our headspace and in case of CRED, users no longer have to remember to pay their credit card bills, they no longer have to remember when exactly is their due dates or bother about late fees. Similarly in case of Ola, we are no longer used to finding taxi on the streets In case of Jio, when there is no Internet you all know how you feel So you see, once these companies came in there has been an irreversible change in our behaviour wherein the small acts of booking a cab or paying a credit card bill has changed to such a large extent that we will never ever go back to our past system. 

Now CRED is yet to complete this phase which is why all the numbers that you see about CRED is in the negatives now because CRED is yet to change a significant part of the consumer behaviour. After this we come to Phase 4. Now, this is the goldmine that every investor waits for wherein the company starts making profits and if you look at the numbers, it literally looks like a goldmine. For that matter look at the numbers of Jio. In just 1.5 years, Jio became profitable that is in the 3rd quarter of 2017 with a profit of ₹504 Crores From there onwards it has been on a magnificent run wherein in 2020, Jio has posted a net profit of ₹5,562 crore and the reason why CRED is also sitting on a similar goldmine is because the customers of CRED are by default the richest 1% of the country.

 These people are literally the dream customers of any company. Their incomes are high, so they make expensive purchases on a regular basis which results into massive profit margins for every company And my sense is that in the 4th phase, CRED could leverage it’s golden customer base in three very very powerful ways. 

Number one, CRED could become this must have expense management app which will also allow it’s users to file their income tax and just like it cured the headaches of the credit card users by saving their money from hidden charges. CRED might also might start saving it’s customers a ton of money through their income tax rebate filings by turning the entire process of income tax filing into a very simple and efficient process and if this happens, I don’t think any of us will ever leave the CRED club.

So, Kunal sir if you’re watching this please help us out over here. Number two, CRED has one of the most valuable customer data in terms of purchase preferences For example, CRED clearly knows that Parsh loves to spend ₹20,000 into sports. Ganesh loves to spend ₹10,000 in education and books. So CRED could use this data to show relevant advertisements with exclusive coupons to get people to spend heavily on the things they absolutely love eventually, to make a comission out of it. 

Lastly, CRED could also became a bank for the top 1% of India and the reason why I think so is because there are two important factors that are very very crucial for any bank’s existence.

 Number one, every bank wants customers who have a lot of money deposited in their bank account after all their investment and expenses. And this money is what the bank uses to lend to businesses and customers in the form of home loans, car loans etc. 

Number two, every bank needs borrowers who pay back their loans judiciously. So that they can charge an interest on top of it eventually to make money out of the lending business. And guess what ? CRED literally has these exact people in it’s customer base which is why my sense is, CRED could literally extend itself to become a full fledged bank or maybe even become a full fledged portfolio management system for the top 1%.

 Eventually to become the most revolutionary fintech start-up of India So to put that straight, for ordinary people like you and me CRED might look like a weird idea but in reality it is a revolutionary idea coming from one of the most amazing entrepreneurs in the Indian start-up space. 

And we must consider ourselves to be extremely fortunate that we are getting to witness their processes and we must learn from these revolutionary start-ups that are going to redefine 21st century India forever.  

CRED's Master Plan – CRED Business Study

Hello everybody, CRED is one of the most fascinating business case studies in the Indian start-up ecosystem. In just 2 years, CRED went from 0 to hitting a $2B valuation and became one of the youngest Indian startups to reach this milestone. Now, the peculiarity of CRED is that in 2020 alone CRED incurred a massive loss of ₹360 crores which is a massive increase of 492% from 2019. And for every rupee of revenue that CRED generated they spent ₹727 which is a massive cashburn. 

We all have seen the result of massive expenditure into creative marketing. beating noises So now the question is, even with such massive losses how is it that CRED is getting so much funding ? And what exactly is Kunal Shah’s strategy ? Well, the beauty of this case study is the that if you only understand what CRED is doing you will more or less understand a large chunk of the Indian startup ecosystem because most of the giant companies like Jio, Ola, PharmEasy also operate in a similar fashion. and the most important factor that is common in all of them is that they extensively work on altering the behavioural design of the society. And the anticipation of that behavioural design, is what makes them billion dollar companies. 

This golden strategy works out in 4 discrete steps The first phase is what we call cash burn and here’s where The company, first identifies a major problem in the society, Number two, it designs a system to fix that problem Number three, it raises a million dollars in funding and lastly it entices the customers to use the product by giving out unbelievable offers which are almost too good to be true.

 A very simple example of the same is Jio. First of all, Jio identified internet accessibility as a major problem in the Indian society and then Reliance spent about ₹1.5 lakh crores into building the infrastructure required for Jio. And then in 2016 when Jio got launched, they gave out offers that almost looked impossible. -free sim cards, free calls and free internet. And the moment this announcement happened, millions of people rushed to buy Jio sims. And Jio did everything in it’s capacity to maximise it’s number of it’s users without even bothering about profits. Which is why, on top of the heavy investment that they made they further incurred a loss of Rs. 31 crores in 2016.

 Just like this, when CRED rolled out in 2018 they identified 3 of the biggest pains of a credit card holder which are; number one, hidden charges Number two, late fees due to forgetfulness and number three is the extra interest. And they rolled out massive cashbacks and offers to incentivise the act of on-time payment. And these offers were as amazing as free flight tickets extremely lucrative discounts and ₹1000 cashbacks also Fast foward to 2021, CRED today, has over 30 lakh users and today, CRED is already processing 20% of all the premium credit card transactions. 

So this is how within a short span of time, in Phase 1, companies present incentives in order to get customers to use their product, eventually, to increase their user base. And this is what brings us to Phase 2. Phase 2 is all about habituation. Once you bought a Jio sim, you never bothered about talktime, you never bothered about data. And we all recklessly got habituated to this newfound luxury of Internet Similarly, in case of CRED, the people who have 2-3 credit cards found it so simple to use CRED that they stopped using their conventional method wherein they had to go through this long list of their statements or putting in effort to dig in and find out whether there are hidden charges, on each credit card As a CRED user myself, I can’t even tell you how amazing it feels as compared to having this terrible feeling wherein you have no idea where the hell your money is going. 

In fact, there was a time when I thought that some hacker is stealing my money, alright ? and I’m not even kidding about this. So, this is how in Phase 2, using their super efficient system companies seemlessly get us habituated to new normal wherein we are no longer used to adjusting to the ‘hurdles of the system’. Here’s where we enter the most crucial phase of all, that is, Phase 3 and Phase 3 is what we can call as Irreversibility. 

A classy example of the same is Google Maps Now you might have observed that most of the people of our generation never even bother to remember the name of a landmark, street or chowk In fact, I’ve got so used to Google Maps that in my own city, if you leave me in some street I will start wandering as if I am in some strange jungle. That is how much I have got habituated to Google Maps And by the way, this does not include those superhumans who have this amazing memory to remember any route, even if they have visited that place only once and you know which friend am I talking about… So the point is, 

Google Maps has made our lives so easy that finding a way to a place no longer occupies our headspace and in case of CRED, users no longer have to remember to pay their credit card bills, they no longer have to remember when exactly is their due dates or bother about late fees. Similarly in case of Ola, we are no longer used to finding taxi on the streets In case of Jio, when there is no Internet you all know how you feel So you see, once these companies came in there has been an irreversible change in our behaviour wherein the small acts of booking a cab or paying a credit card bill has changed to such a large extent that we will never ever go back to our past system. 

Now CRED is yet to complete this phase which is why all the numbers that you see about CRED is in the negatives now because CRED is yet to change a significant part of the consumer behaviour. After this we come to Phase 4. Now, this is the goldmine that every investor waits for wherein the company starts making profits and if you look at the numbers, it literally looks like a goldmine. For that matter look at the numbers of Jio. In just 1.5 years, Jio became profitable that is in the 3rd quarter of 2017 with a profit of ₹504 Crores From there onwards it has been on a magnificent run wherein in 2020, Jio has posted a net profit of ₹5,562 crore and the reason why CRED is also sitting on a similar goldmine is because the customers of CRED are by default the richest 1% of the country.

 These people are literally the dream customers of any company. Their incomes are high, so they make expensive purchases on a regular basis which results into massive profit margins for every company And my sense is that in the 4th phase, CRED could leverage it’s golden customer base in three very very powerful ways. 

Number one, CRED could become this must have expense management app which will also allow it’s users to file their income tax and just like it cured the headaches of the credit card users by saving their money from hidden charges. CRED might also might start saving it’s customers a ton of money through their income tax rebate filings by turning the entire process of income tax filing into a very simple and efficient process and if this happens, I don’t think any of us will ever leave the CRED club.

So, Kunal sir if you’re watching this please help us out over here. Number two, CRED has one of the most valuable customer data in terms of purchase preferences For example, CRED clearly knows that Parsh loves to spend ₹20,000 into sports. Ganesh loves to spend ₹10,000 in education and books. So CRED could use this data to show relevant advertisements with exclusive coupons to get people to spend heavily on the things they absolutely love eventually, to make a comission out of it. 

Lastly, CRED could also became a bank for the top 1% of India and the reason why I think so is because there are two important factors that are very very crucial for any bank’s existence.

 Number one, every bank wants customers who have a lot of money deposited in their bank account after all their investment and expenses. And this money is what the bank uses to lend to businesses and customers in the form of home loans, car loans etc. 

Number two, every bank needs borrowers who pay back their loans judiciously. So that they can charge an interest on top of it eventually to make money out of the lending business. And guess what ? CRED literally has these exact people in it’s customer base which is why my sense is, CRED could literally extend itself to become a full fledged bank or maybe even become a full fledged portfolio management system for the top 1%.

 Eventually to become the most revolutionary fintech start-up of India So to put that straight, for ordinary people like you and me CRED might look like a weird idea but in reality it is a revolutionary idea coming from one of the most amazing entrepreneurs in the Indian start-up space. 

And we must consider ourselves to be extremely fortunate that we are getting to witness their processes and we must learn from these revolutionary start-ups that are going to redefine 21st century India forever.