2. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 2
(A student gets a quarter of his knowledge from his teacher, a quarter by his own intelligence. A quarter from his fellow stu-
dents and a quarter with the passage of time.)
This is the ideology that we follow here at IIM Raipur to create the leaders of tomorrow. From our outstanding faculty and
staff to our diverse and capable students to our distinguished alumni, we have ample human resources to develop the lead-
ers for the future. We strongly believe that, at this level of education, classroom learning is just a part of the overall growth of
the students. They develop by gaining valuable and enriching experiences by interacting with people belonging to various
facets. Thus, curricula of all the programmes in this institute are designed keeping in mind the dynamic and global nature of
the industry. Moving ahead in this direction, Indian Institute of Management Raipur marked a fruitful end with a lot of new
activities and better performing old ones.
The institute’s magazine is another step towards institution building as an output to the creative juices of those who build
it. It provides a stable platform to the students, academics and professional from the industry to come under one roof and
share their knowledge, views and discuss on issues related to management, leadership and any other aspect that becomes a
source of value addition. Talking about the theme of this year’s magazine, in the business environment that we thrive in, it is
very important to think in different and innovative ways to achieve excellence. While government policy has done a lot to help
individuals make their innovative ideas a reality, sustained effort by individuals, institutions and industry could expedite the
growth of start-ups and reduce the number of unsuccessful ventures.
In the end, I would like to add that, India has become a land of the largest youth population in the world. This young popula-
tion is the most powerful asset the country possesses. They can change the way things are today and propel the world to new
heights and brighter lights. All they need is a direction and little thrust to fulfil their dreams, which can be provided through
this and many other platforms in our institution.
Prof. Bharat Bhasker
Director, IIM Raipur
DIRECTOR’S
MESSAGE

3. EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 3
FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK
Brexit, Demonetization in India and Donald Trump becoming the 45th US president:
the 3 major events that a vast population of world did not expect to happen yet they
did. The list of such happenings around us is incessant and the notion of dynamic and
ever changing world holds true today than ever before. On the flip side on account
of this dynamism that we are witnessing, new innovative business models which
address the new challenges emerging from this uncertainty and tackle the old ones
in a manner never thought before. At this juncture of life, we all have a latent entre-
preneurial spark in our heads and keeping in hindsight the creative ideas coming
from young minds, we dedicate this issue to talk about the plethora of opportunities
that lie ahead for each of us and hope this edition offers insights when the rubber
hits the road for each one of us. We have given special emphasis on women entre-
preneurship as women have been entrepreneurs in different ways. The main reason
for most start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures to fail are the operational costs and
overheads thereby directly affecting sustainability and women have been doing this
in every family. Each and every role that she performs since birth is analogous to an
entrepreneur. Therefore, we at Indian Institute of Management Raipur focused this
edition of our magazine on entrepreneurship and tried to inculcate different voices
from the industry on what should be the way ahead and how to learn from previous
mistakes to avoid ending up in the catalogue of dead startups. Effulgence, in essence
is a knowledge-sharing platform and encourages students to put forth their ideas
and opinions.
Editor In Chief
KUMAR ABHISHEK
PGP 2015-17
Editor In Chief
SIDHARTH SACHDEVA
PGP 2015-17
Editor
NIKITA PENDSE
PGP 2016-18
Editor
SHREYASH KEDIA
PGP 2016-18

4. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 4
FEATURES
EXPERTS SPEAK
07 The Power of Networks
Jagrook Dawra
IN CONVERSATION WITH
19 Kulpreet Yadav
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
15 Startup Success Mantras
Sapna Mukherjee
17 How to Start-Up?
K Vaitheeswaran
STUDENT OPINION
05 Unlocking the power of
Women Entrepreneur
Mekhala Karlawad
09 Industry Concerns and
Impacts of GST
Sai Dayitva Gaur
11 HR: Enabler or Disrupter
Monika Vaswani
ALUMNI COLUMN
13 How safe is your Plastic Money
Jason Paul
FICTION
21 The 13th
Pillar
Saurabh Lad

5. EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 5
“How much time will you take off if you get pregnant? Are you planning on getting mar-
ried”? Honestly, I don’t see it coming when faced with such questions by senior officials.
The idea that women are not as good as men is so deeply embedded in the minds of so
many people in powerful positions that it is not even recognized. It leads one to automati-
cally and without awareness, connect‘women’with‘lower standards’and‘woman as good
as a man’with the exception.
Everyone dreams but only a few have the courage and conviction to turn them into
reality. And women do it with panache. Today young and dynamic women executives
are shunning blazers and making bold career leaps to the business. Their relentless zeal,
incessant quench for success and willingness to walk the extra mile has broken all myths
about their inborn limitations that were supposed to be major roadblocks on their success
expressways.
“It’s hard to be a woman: You must think like a man, act like a lady, look like a young girl
and work like a horse”. But nevertheless India has seen its own pool of such bold and
fearless women who have made a mark for themselves both within the country as well
as overseas. I will be talking of two such women who have inspired me and will be an
inspiration to 100’s as they are the ones who defied such steep odds to make it as entre-
preneurs in India. As the saying goes, be the change you wish to see. The two women
profiled below exemplify that adage.
UNLOCKING THE POWER OF WOMEN
ENTREPRENEUR
Everyone dreams
butonlyafewhave
the courage and
conviction to turn
them into reality.
And women do it
with panache.

6. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 6
It’s hard to be a woman:
You must think like a man,
act like a lady, look like a
young girl and work like
a horse”.
Sairee Chahal, founder of Sheroes.in symbolizes the intelligent idealism that a woman
entrepreneur should possess. Sairee Chahal has the quality of empowering women, a trait
that seeps through the fabric of her timeless entrepreneurial career. For a lot of women,
mid-career is a challenging time. That’s when many women begin families, which start taking
precedence over work. Some prefer to look for work from home opportunities, others seek
part-time employment and many others take a few years off before returning to work. To
bridge this gap and empower women, Sairee Chahal in January 2014 co-founded Sheroes.
in, which curates work from home jobs in India, is building a community of working women,
helping them find mentors and resources. The focus is on women who are seeking a career
along with a work-life balance.
The crux behind starting a business is that there should be a need for your product or service
in the market. With that in mind, the Zivame founder Richa Kar’s biography talks of how this
woman saw an opportunity and decided to grab it with both hands.
Known as one of the most influential women entrepreneurs of the country, she has changed
the face of lingerie shopping for women through their first start up, Zivame. Ziva-me implies
‘radiant me’. Richa Kar states that, “My advice to upcoming entrepreneurs is to dream big.
When you are your own boss you have to be ready to do the oddest and smallest of jobs as
and when required. Always hire people who are better at what they do than you because they
will help you grow faster. I believe that if you are strong, focused and passionate about what
you want to do, everything else falls into place”. Having read above the two inspiring women,
let’s talk about what kept them going, what motivated them to innovate and think what the
world hadn’t thought of, what pushed them to face host of challenges. Rewarding challenges,
but harsh challenges nonetheless.
Self-belief -If you don’t believe you can succeed, you won’t get very far. Then comes Ambition
which always strives to push forward. Always aim for the top. Confidence-Confidence will win
people’s respect, earn their trust and gain you a solid reputation. Successful female entre-
preneurs are always passionate about what they do because they tend to create businesses
around the things they enjoy. Find your own passion, believe in it and turn it into something
you can really be proud of.
Humility and a willingness to learn-Ability to never be afraid to admit they don’t know every-
thing and will always strive to boost their skills. Sense of purpose-To be a successful female
entrepreneur you have to believe in yourself and believe that what you are doing is making
a difference. That strong sense of purpose will be reflected in your business, which will only
stand the test of time. Assertiveness -Convey assertiveness by being fearless, speaking with
authority and purpose.
Hard work -Hard work is the secret to success. You have to be prepared to work long hours
and sacrifice your spare time to build up a business. Bravery-take risks and accept that when
things go wrong, you can always survive and turn things around. Be brave and you will never
look back. Persistence-there will be days when you feel like sticking your head in the sand.
Lastly, Melinda Gates states that “If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime,
someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Also remember that
you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.”
MEKHALA KARLAWAD
PGP 2016-18, IIM RAIPUR

7. EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 7
lthough the term
‘Marketing’ saw its origin
in 1100AD, till not very
long ago, marketing simply
meant selling and distribu-
tion. It was in mid 1960s that competition
forced companies to think beyond selling
to activities like advertising and brand
building. This paradigm shift in marketing
emphasised on differentiating the prod-
uct, segment the market and propose
a unique proposition to the customers.
Segmenting, targeting and positioning
became the cornerstone of all marketing
strategy.
The world of commerce is today witness-
ing another paradigm shift – the network
effect. The marketing expertise has gone
beyond activities like branding to creating
large networks. Huge business models
have been built around networks and a
substantial marketing effort is now dedi-
cated around building and retaining these
networks.
Network effect is defined as a phenom-
enon whereby a product gains additional
value when more and more people use
it. Maruti’s endeavour to woo its custom-
ers by boasting its extensive network of
service centres is an example of a very
simple network. All things being equal, a
customer derives more utility/ value by
being a part of Maruti’s network of deal-
ers and service centres because it is large.
A customer desires to be a part of the
Facebook network because all her friends
are on it. When she joins the network, the
network becomes larger and more attrac-
tive to her other friends who were not
on it, growing the network even further.
Apple customers want to keep buying
Apple products because they are a part of
the iTunes network, which offers numer-
ous apps, movies and songs that they
have bought and leaving it would see a
THE POWER OF
NETWORKS
A
FACULTY, IIM RAIPUR
JAGROOK DAWRA
Why network-based companies dominate the market?

8. JAGROOK DAWRA
PROFESSOR, IIM RAIPUR
| EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 8
huge erosion of value.
Network effects are broadly of two types
– Direct network effects and indirect net-
work effects. Under direct network effects,
the consumer derives value from being a
part of the network – larger the network,
greater is the value that the consumer
sees in it. Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn are
all examples direct network effects. Under
indirect network effects, consumers see a
larger incentive to be a part of the network
because of the size of the complementary
products the network offers. iTunes, Xbox
are case in point. The greater the size of
network of apps on iTunes, the greater is
the incentive for a customer to latch on
the iTunes. This large network of custom-
ers prompts more and more people to
device apps for iTunes.
Though the concept of network effects
is not new and was first believed to have
been given by Theodore Vail, the first post
patent president of Bell Telephone, its true
power was understood and exploited by
modern day companies like Facebook,
WhatsApp and LinkedIn. By exploiting a
fundamental need of human beings of
being connected, Facebook grew its net-
work exponentially to become one of the
largest networked companies. It became
one of the fastest companies to enter into
the Fortune 500 club. And it achieved this
by merely selling the idea of connecting
people.
Network size not only creates value for an
incoming customer, but also helps enact
tall exit barriers for its customers. Leaving
the Microsoft network would mean large
monetary loss of investment into software
that the customer might have purchased
for his Windows operating system.
Does this paradigm shift in marketing
strategy come at the cost of earlier strate-
gies that worked for decades? Well not
really. Orkut and Facebook were launched
around the same time in 2004 within a
gap of 11 days. Both were launched with
a concept of connecting people social-
ly. But Facebook realised the power of
targeting the youth and college goers,
who placed more importance on social
connectedness than anything else, Orkut
opened its services to people of all ages.
The result was that Facebook was able to
grow its network faster. Within no time
Facebook’s network was several times
larger than Orkut’s. Once the size of the
network became large enough, network
effect kicked in making Facebook grow
exponentially.
Network effect based companies have
one strange property – they are gener-
ally a dominant player in their markets.
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. do not
have competitors.
Challenge for the next generation of mar-
keters today is to devise ways and means
of giving formidable challenge to these
existing networks and also working on
strategies of retaining their number 1 sta-
tus once they achieve it.
Network effect is
defined as a phenom-
enon whereby a a
product gains addi-
tional value when
more and more peo-
ple use it.”

9. EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 9
he industry has expressed concerns over the com-
plexity of the GST framework and the uncertainty
in the classification of goods and services under
the different tax slabs. It is expecting a final clas-
sification very soon. They are expecting the rollout as soon as pos-
sible to be able to comply with the new regulation before July 1.
While the multiple rate tax structure of the goods has been laid
out, clarification on the rates for the services is still awaited. Some
believe that the levy of cess is against the spirit of GST itself. Many
companies operate in multiple states and the requirement of reg-
istrations in each of these states is a huge burden of complexity.
Prashant Deshpande, Partner at Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP is
hopeful of getting a single tax structure for services. It is being
contemplated that the services sector will be at a standard 18%
rate. Some of the services that enjoy higher abatement may be
put in the lower tax slabs of 12% or 5%, depending on their cur-
rent overall tax incidence. Though this classification would further
complicate the pro-
cess, according to
Finance Secretary,
Ashok Lavasa, it was
done keeping in mind
the protection of con-
sumer interests.
GST will eliminate mul-
tiple levies. It will also
allow deeper penetra-
tion of digital services.
With GST, companies
might require each
center to generate
a separate invoice
to every contracting
party. Duty on manufactured goods is going to go up from exist-
ing 14-15% to 18%, which means the cost of electronics from
mobile phones to laptops- will rise.
Companies can generate significant reduction in logistics and
distribution costs as the need for multiple sales depots will be
eliminated. Their 24-25% inclusive of VAT, excise and entry tax will
be replaced by 17-19% tax under GST. Warehouse rationalization
and reduction of overall tax rates, is expected to generate savings
which could cumulatively range between 200-300bps.
The aerated beverages and tobacco products will see an increase
of up to 20% in prices. The food companies may observe an
increase as they currently enjoy a concessional excise tax.
Automotive players such as Mahindra & Mahindra were surprised
when even the smaller cars were placed in the 26-28% slab. They
were expecting these cars to be placed in the 18% slab.
Now it is not going to make much of a difference for small cars
because small cars today depending on which state you are in and
what kind of fuel getting used attract approximately 20.5% on the
low side to 30-31% on the high side. So, there will be a marginal
if at all a marginal reduction in price of the small cars that should
not make any difference in the consumer sentiment because the
total taxation will be same as what it is today and therefore there
would not be much of a change in price.
But with the GST, the economic activity will go up and if the eco-
nomic activity does go
up we hope the gov-
ernment will look at
rationalizing the taxes
in future after a year,
two year, three years
depending on how
the collection is. Right
now, perhaps there
has been a very con-
servative approach
in terms of assuming
there will not be any
increase in economic
activity and therefore
the tax rate is being
maintained almost same as what it is in the excise and VAT.
For the companies, of course the benefit of GST that we have
always been talking about of making India one market not having
to worry about location in terms of where to put up plants, where
to put stock yards, where to buy from all that simplification that
we were looking forward to will still happen with GST. There is lot
of sort of embedded taxes that become a burden on manufactur-
INDUSTRY CONCERNS
T
WILL GST DELIVER ON THE EXPECTATIONS
The main issues of concern seem to be the
complexity brought by the multiple tax
rate slabs of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per
cent, and 28 per cent, and the uncertainty
about the additional cess that will be lev-
ied on luxury goods and tobacco products.
AND IMPACTS OF GST

10. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 10
ers that will hopefully go away so if you put all of those benefits in
front of you there is lot of benefit coming in terms of the reducing
complexity of doing business.
The e-commerce industry will see a reduction in product costs as the
goods can be easily and cheaply supplied to any part of the coun-
try. At the same time, tax collection at the source (TCS) will lead to
increase in documentation and paper work which will push up costs.
Following options have been accepted in January 2017 by the gov-
ernments:
1. 90% of the assessees with a turnover of less than Rs. 1.5 crore
will be assessed by the stategovernments and the other 10% by
the central administrative machinery.
2. For those with turnover of above Rs. 1.5 crore, 50% will be
assessed by each of the governments.
Now the next step is the categorization of the industries into the
different slabs which is expected to be finalized in the meeting in
February. Also the deadline for the implementation of GST has been
pushed to July 1 which was earlier April 1, 2017. However, the actual
implications of the GST on the industry will be clear once it is imple-
mented. Until then it is as good as anyone’s guess!!
Bottom-line sentimenmt from the industry is that the govern-
ment will have completed a commendable job if the classifica-
tion is completed and passed in this winter session.”
DAYITVA GAUR
PGP 2016-18, IIM RAIPUR

11. EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 11
HR:
ENABLER
OR
DISRUPTER
‘People’- are the core building block of any
organization. It is the workforce that gives any
organization its real identity. Human Resource
Management; the function that deals with the
same, has undergone tremendous transformation over the
decades. We have moved from mere personnel management to
strategic HRM so as to maximize and sustain workforce productiv-
ity.
Talent management has moved far from mere administrative to
a strategic job supporting the B&E and affecting the bottom-line
of businesses. This evolution in the people management domain
was impossible if it weren’t for the support of technology. Big
data analytics has changed the manner a firm executes the vari-
ous HRM functions and the way in which it views its current and
prospective employees.
Today, the HR professionals have innumerable online portals and
sources to access the relevant talent and map the skillset to the
right individuals. It is no more required to analyze the candidate
in person, as many processes are leveraging the use of virtual
arena for hiring. Recruiters can easily visit the social media profiles
of the applicants and make relevant observations regarding their
choices in various walks of life; thereby tracking their behavior
and attitude. Online interviews are not uncommon; and so is the
case with other recruitment tasks. The employee/recruitment
databases constructed once can be easily referred to at any time
in future to access the talent pool as per the requirement.
Moving on to the next HR function, the role played by technol-
ogy in the Training and Development process has been immense.
E-learning sessions and virtual lectures have made learning
possible for employees even at remote locations. The Training
professionals need not spend as much time in training for every-
thing and may contribute more time to very specific areas where
P

12. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 12
employees face issues in understanding
and implementing. More focus can be
given to project based real time on job
learning.
Performance management is another
area where technology has enabled the
managers to track the performance con-
tinually on a real time basis and also
give immediate feedback for accelerated
improvement. With most data available on
cloud, the real time access has been made
convenient for most authorities. Even for
an employee, it is always good to track
the progress on a regular basis. Predictive
analytics surely helps in determining the
expected returns and addressing the
same if need be. With KPMG seeming to
develop a model for enterprise engage-
ment, clearly the process of employee
engagement is being targeted. Models
are already in place where the provision of
benefits and incentives are all automated
for employees and can be easily tracked.
All of this puts productivity and employee
engagement as paramount which eventu-
ally results in fostering staff loyalty.
Any progress doesn’t come without its
own set of demerits and limitations. The
upheaval in the domain of technology
also poses a threat to jobs as automation
takes over. An HR professional needs to
take care of this aspect too. Employees
therefore, need to be kept updated in
every respect through optimum training
solutions focused on skill development
for changed careers and service activities.
Also, while using analytics to determine
the right talent, appropriate checks must
be put in place so as to avoid any biases
and errors must be taken into consider-
ation.
In a nutshell, technology has rendered
the professionals to focus more on sig-
nificant tasks related to leadership devel-
opment and enhancing people’s skillset
and competencies rather than just getting
engrossed in administrative tasks. Here
is an opportunity for the HR Managers
to keep continuous track of growth and
development of employees and interfer-
ing wherever a discrepancy is detected
in the behavior, which might lead to mis-
alignment between the individual and
business goals.
Talent management
has moved far from
mere administra-
tive to a strategic
job, supporting the
Business Execution
and affecting the
bottom-line of busi-
nessThis evolution
in the people man-
agement domain
was impossible if it
weren’t for the sup-
port of technology.”
MONIKA VASWANI
PGP 2016-18, IIM RAIPUR

13. Bank credit cards, on Tuesdays for Citi credit
cards and on Wednesdays for Axis Bank credit
cards. BigBasket runs a promotion offer of
25% off on Tuesdays for specific purchases
paid using ICICI Bank cards. SBI cards are now
offering 7,000 rupees cashback on select
models of Macbook and iPhone. Having one
card is not anymore enough. The offers never
end. And if she is to make the most of this
madness out there, she better equip her
financial arsenal with enough plastic power.
Well, as she celebrates the mainstream mate-
rialism and the digital payments era, let us
put some serious thought into her. Wouldn’t
she be worried if she were carrying 3 lakh
rupees in her wallet daily, imagining it is even
physically feasible with adequately denom-
inated rupee notes? Think how wary she
will be of those quick, cunning arms in the
crowd? What about her own carelessness
forgetting her wallet now and then? Are the
cards she carry any different? Are her credit
cards completely out of reach of those pick-
pockets? Beware; pickpockets have evolved
too, with technology. Winter may be coming.
Is she aware?
That’s what I wish to accomplish here. To
make her (and you) aware. To start with,
plastic money comes in two broad forms,
debit cards and credit cards. When it comes
to fraud, the form hardly matters. You might
still be having those cards in your wallet
which come with just a magnetic stripe on
its back. A CVV number may or may not be
ook at a smart, young Indian
Gen Y. She is grateful to walk
the Indian urban soil in this
golden age, as she knows
that a significant quantum of her lifestyle
expenses is willingly bore by extremely opti-
mistic foreign investors trying to woo the
Indian urban consumer cohort. Be it Ola,
Uber, Amazon, Prime Video, Makemytrip,
Swiggy, Flipkart, Snapdeal or Freecharge, she
is bombarded with unbelievable offers. She
brags her knowledge that Amazon made
losses higher than its gross sales last year but
sincerely hopes Jeff Bezos is not worried at all.
Yet she wants more!
Heeding to her wish and recognizing the
optimistic generosity of the online retail
aggregators and market places, aggressive
banks (and online wallet providers) have
tied up with multitude of online retailers for
special offers on credit card purchases. For
instance, Makemytrip has a cashback offer
on Mondays for purchases made by ICICI
EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 13
there. They are often called magstripe cards.
They are the most vulnerable of the cards
out there, prone to what is called credit card
skimming. In credit card skimming, fraudsters
use deceptive devices to intercept the data
stored in the cards’magnetic stripe and make
fake cards using the stolen data. What makes
the magstripe cards vulnerable is that the
data stored in the stripe is static. If an inter-
ceptor could capture this static data while
being transmitted at an ATM or PoS machine,
it could be reused to commit frauds. They
may also plant video cameras to steal the
PIN while being entered at an ATM outlet.
At POS machines, a fraudster cashier may
be directly watching the customer entering
the PIN. Now that they have both the card
information and PIN, the card becomes fully
compromised.
Card skimming, as you may have realized
now, could be carried out quite easily put-
ting a serious question on the security of
magstripe cards. That is the reason why all
the banks are now bragging about their Chip-
and-PIN cards, effectively telling the custom-
ers they are better safe. But only BETTER.
Chip card technology is also known by the
name EMV technology, a tribute to Europay,
MasterCard and Visa- the original network
providers who developed the technology.
While we are here, I think it will be valuable
for you to know that America is the largest
laggard in the transition to Chip-and-PIN
cards. Even if they have a chip on their card, it
HOW SAFE
IS YOUR
PLASTIC
MONMEY?
Decorating one’s wallet
with plethora of cards has
become the new financial
trend. Can it be called
the new financial fashion
statement?
HINT: PROBABLY NOT MUCH
L

14. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 14
Plastic money comes in
two broad forms, debit
cards and credit cards.
When it comes to fraud,
the form hardly matters.
will be most likely a Chip-and-Signature card
where signatures are collected on a digital
screen. Otherwise, it is a magnetic stripe and
signature card – the most vulnerable combi-
nation. Much criticism exists that banks do
not always take the effort for stringent sig-
nature authentication. Why is the supposedly
early-adopter a laggard here? Apparently
because American banks think it will be too
much to ask the customers to remember
their PINs. Also because, America has got very
good connectivity infrastructure which gives
them less incentive to move to Chip cards
which can work offline also. But the main
reason is the huge cost involved for the banks
to issue new cards and for the merchants to
buy new POS machines. As a result, financial
crimes have increased appallingly in the US.
One may wonder at this complacency of
American banks and merchants, especially
because Europe, Canada and Australia have
almost completely moved to Chip-and-PIN
cards.
Now that you have been hearing a lot about
chip cards, how does the chip help to protect
our data? When we dip a chip card, WAIT! Did
I say ‘dip’? Yes, I did. Technically, you swipe a
magnetic stripe card but you only need to
dip the chip on the chip card to read it. So,
when you dip a chip card, it produces a one-
time code and communicates the code with
the network to authorize the transaction. So
even if a fraudster manages to intercept the
encrypted one time code, he cannot use the
code for a second transaction. This makes
making fake/counterfeit cards extremely dif-
ficult. In a Chip-and-PIN card, you have the
additional second factor authentication of
the PIN. Thus, Chip-and-PIN cards apparently
reduces the possibility of financial fraud dras-
tically. Did you smell it? apparently, possibil-
ity, drastically..? Well, you got it right!
One may now be wondering why our Chip-
and-PIN cards still have magnetic stripes on
the back? It is simply because Chip cards have
not yet become ubiquitous and not all the
merchants/countries around the world have
upgraded their systems and PoS machines to
chip-compatibility. Therefore, we are going
to have the black stripes on the back of our
cards for some time. Then, won’t our cards be
vulnerable even now? In fact, yes. Until chip-
compatibility becomes universal and as long
as the magnetic stripe is being used at PoS
machines, you are still at risk. Remember, if
your card is being swiped the magnetic stripe
is being used. Make sure you do not expose
your PIN too. If only the Chip part of your
card is dipped into the PoS machine, you may
sleep peacefully.
What do data speak about fraud trends? Let
us look at UK data as they had adopted Chip-
and-PIN cards much earlier. The following
pie-chats shows the share of total card fraud
losses emerging from five scenarios, namely,
lost/stolen cards, non-receipt of card mailed,
wares and online attacks are sophisticated,
inconspicuous and spooky. Malwares, once it
gets into your system, starts collecting your
browsing history and key-loggers track your
keyboard strokes and relay the data to the
fraudster who could then use this data to
collect your personal information, including
payment information. One can guard oneself
against malwares using internet security soft-
ware and/or anti-virus software. Using virtual
keyboards is also a good precaution.
Last October (2016), the Indian cards industry
panicked on the news that 3.2 million debit
cards were compromised, the biggest finan-
cial data breach ever in India. It was allegedly
caused by a malware introduced in ATM and
PoS systems of Hitachi Payment Services.
Though the banks did immediate damage
control by deactivating the breached cards
and reissuing cards to affected customers,
the incident made one point very clear. The
supposedly complex and secure online pay-
ment systems are not as safe as they seem
to be.
How safe is your plastic money? You are now
better aware.
counterfeit cards, remote/card-not-present
and card ID theft.You will be all the more cau-
tious on finding where the wind is blowing.
How do fraudsters manage to do fraud even
while they do not have physical possession
of cards?
They use broadly two methods:
a)Deception crimes – eg. Phishing, Vishing
b)Online attacks – eg. Malware, Data Hacks
Phishing is when the fraudster attempts to
obtain your account information by making
you enter sensitive information on appar-
ently trustworthy websites/forms/links. You
may be receiving emails disguised as emails
from your bank. You may be redirected to
wrong websites which look exactly like your
bank’s website. Vishing is when the fraudster
has the same intentions, but contacts you
over phone. Generally, uneducated or below-
informed citizens fall prey to vishing calls
whereas even well-educated people fall prey
to phishing.
With a little care at your end and enough
awareness, deception crimes could be tack-
led and contained to a great extent. But mal-
JAYSUN ANTONY ALUMKAL
PGP 2014-16, IIM RAIPUR

15. EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 15
As boring as it may sound, and as tempt-
ed as you might be to start bringing
your idea to reality, it is wise to complete
and finalize the paperwork beforehand.
Choose the right form of legal entity
to avoid any legal hassle and payment
of higher taxes. The registrations, nature of the company, the
Copyrights, the Intellectual Property rights and non-disclosure
Agreements must all be in place before you even meet investors.
It is also important to have a fair idea from legal perspective about
the government regulations, any permissions or undertakings
required depending on the nature of your business so that you
may keep yourself prepared and save from any last minute glitch
STARTUP
SUCCESS
MANTRAS
3.
2.
1.
Another mistake commonly made by startups is not keeping track of their expenses, however big or small they maybe,
throughout the year. Many try and gather all receipts only when tax returns have to be filed! What is not documented is
not deducted, and therefore, it is like leaving money in the open. There are many options available to record and man-
age expenses. Entities can also hire accountants to manage these records, if volumes are high.
Time and money are the biggest investments in a startup, and often the personal and business expenses become indis-
tinguishable. This can be a source of confusion when taxes are being filed, and in some cases, can lead to deductions
being disallowed on an ad-hoc basis by the revenue authorities and higher tax outgo as a result. The company should
therefore have a financial account at the onset and separate records as well.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and so does
no business. There is an immeasurable
amount of thought, dedication, convic-
tion, perseverance and hard-work for a
long period of time that translates into
success. However in this fast replicating
and super competitive world, there is
more to the success formulas than just
all of these.

16. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 16
5.
4.
Every startup may or may not run or be
essentially successful. It is therefore impor-
tant to have a solid founders’agreement in
place, because it is worth thinking about
how you and your co-founders might
deal with failure. The founders’ agreement
should contain all essential clauses such as ownership, vesting
rights, and the roles and responsibilities of each founder, includ-
ing salaries and terms of employment.
When starting with something new, it
is very natural to start with enthusiasm,
which gets chiseled away with time, with
rejections, teething troubles and even fail-
ures. Almost seventy percent of the times,
entrepreneurs gave up just before the
same idea clicked when someone else tried it. Always remember
that the darkest hour is just before the dawn, so always hang in
there for a little more than you would want to, and you might just
cross that rough patch.
It is a basic principle of life too, but is of
greatest importance when it comes to
startups. There might be a lot of tempta-
tion for advertising big and let the world
know of your great product or service,
however it makes sense to take it slow
and spend every penny wisely. Find cheap yet effective ways of
advertising e.g. choose free social media rather than going for
sponsored ads from the very beginning. A new toy store chain
organized a ramp walk camp for kids, with the enrollment criteria
of buying toys worth a certain amount. Many parents who wished
their child to walk the ramp, enrolled. Sales!!! They then organized
a competition for selecting the top ten children who would walk
the ramp how organized in the toy store itself, on the basis of how
many likes they get on the picture of the child posted on the toy
stores Facebook page. It was a very successful campaign and got
the toy store huge visibility in a matter of a week with very less
investment.
You might hold yourself in high regards
in terms of knowledge, potential and
expertise, yet not everything can be done
single-handedly. Having optimistic, like-
minded people, with similar interests and
a positive attitude is what great teams are
made up of and that is what keeps you motivated through the
rough patches. Have people who are risk takers and would intend
to stick through the end and not leave the startup struggle mid-
way with initial rejections. At the same time you need to learn the
art of being humble, understand the importance of relationships
and getting along with the people around you. The happiness or
grumpiness of employees reflects on the customers in long run,
so keep happy.
6.
7.
Nothing appeals to kids, teenagers and
adults alike, and there is never too much of
knowing your customer, even if you feel you
know. Market research helps you understand
the target customer’s sensitivities, shopping
and spending trends, timings of shopping
and things of interest. This gives an edge to understand when and
where to advertise and even if the market research will incur some
additional costs, it will help you save in advertising and get better
sales.
There is no easy way to say this, but some-
times ideas just do not click or the profits
just are not there, or the business model fails
even after a lot of deliberation on each and
every detail. It is always advisable to have a
backup plan when you really have to quit.
Remember still, to hang in there a little longer than you would want
to and then take the decision of giving up, if you have to.
There is not a recipe to start up success, but the ingredients are more
or less the same. Maintaining quality, fulfilling customer’s expecta-
tions in terms of timeliness and value and have the vision of your
venture clear right from the very beginning to help you tread along
the correct path will definitely help you achieve success.
8.
9.
There is no single mantra
that can guarantee you suc-
cess, however it is always
wise to learn from other’s
mistakes rather than making
the same ones yourself and
then learn.”
Author, Sapna Choudhary has worked with
renowned names such as Standard Chartered bank,
ICICI Retail, Deutsche Post Bank Home Finance
and is backed by a strong industry experience in
Finance, and is highly proficient in Sales, Audit &
Operations. She along with her partner and best
friend, Anu have weaved their dream together and
are edging at making big to in the Gift Registry
industry – MakeMyWishes.com

17. EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 17
These are indeed exciting times. Thousands of
Indians are throwing away the security of a job and
starting up. For all those who are planning to start
up, I am sharing some thoughts from my experi-
ence as an entrepreneur of over 15 years. Do keep them in mind
as you begin your adventure.
1. Most entrepreneurs are obsessed with the next big innovative
idea. Do not think about ideas. Instead think of the customer
problem you are trying to solve, think of a customer need you are
fulfilling. This problem-solution should define your startup, not
the idea. Once you are clear about the problem you are solving,
check if this is a new problem you are solving or you have a dif-
ferent solution to an existing problem which is fine. Just ensure
your solution is better, faster or cheaper than existing solutions
(your competition). One is good but try and tick at least two of
the boxes. If you can tick all three, which means your solution
is better and faster and cheaper than competition, you have a
potential winner on your hands. Also remember, your business
must be scalable. So verify through market data that there are
enough customers out there who will need your solution to build
a sustainable business.
2. The next step is to put together a team. There is no specific
rule that you must have a minimum number of co-founders but
anything beyond four may become hard to manage. You can
even be a sole founder if it works for you. The most important
thing though is to make sure that all co-founders have some com-
mon backgrounds: friends, college mates, hostel mates, school
classmates, colleagues or ex-colleagues at work. The experience
of having spent time together earlier will help you when you go
through tough times. Once the co-founders are fixed, work on the
core team. Hire people who bring different skills to the table and
are fundamentally smarter than you. This is a hard challenge but
do not compromise. If you do not surround yourself with people
smarter than you, the entire burden of thinking stuff and solv-
ing problems will be yours alone and this is a definite recipe for
disaster.
3. Next step is to build a business plan. Make this as detailed and
comprehensive as possible with clear numbers and detailed strat-
egies. I have a 2 X 2 X 2 theory to make your plan robust. After you
finish the plan try this: divide your sales by two, divide your gross
margins by 2 and multiply your costs by 2. This is your real plan
because it allows for things to go wrong and rest assured, things
will definitely go wrong. Remember, in a startup, shit happens.
4. The purpose of your business must be to make money and
not raise money. Too many entrepreneurs in India, inspired by
HOW
TO
START-UP?
T
KEY POINTS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
TO THINK ABOUT WHILE STARTING UP
The author K Vaitheeswaran is known as the“father of ecommerce
in India” He co-founded India’s first e-commerce company Fabmart
(later branded Indiaplaza) in 1999. Vaitheeswaran holds an elec-
tronics and communication degree from the Government College of
Engineering, Tirunelveli (Anna University) and is a regular speaker
on retail, ecommerce and startups. He has consulted with top global
brands like Deloitte, Diageo and the Tata group.

18. | EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 18
wrong role models believe that the only
metric for success of a startup is based on
the number of funding rounds you close.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
If you raise lots of funding and still need
more capital to fund your losses, it just
proves that you are incapable of build-
ing and running a sustainable business
and you are an incompetent businessman.
Remember, a business has no business
being called a business if it does not make
money.
5.You will be advised by pundits to fail fast
and pivot. Do not believe this. You should
think hard, evaluate all options, asses the
risks and challenges and then start a ven-
ture. Once you do this, you should perse-
vere with your mind, body, heart and soul
and give your startup the time and respect
it deserves. Too many entrepreneurs start
a venture and after six months decide to
do something else. This is neither pivoting
nor failing fast. It just shows poor thinking
and planning.
6. Keep a tight control on costs and
expenses. Follow this simple rule: till you
achieve break even, do not spend any
money on anything that your customer
will neither see nor experience. Too many
entrepreneurs raise funds from investors
and promptly spend it on buying fancy
personal cars and renting expensive office
spaces which is a bad practice.
7. Last but not the least, right from day one
you should build systems and processes.
Many entrepreneurs push this activity for
later. Unfortunately, later never happens.
Systems and processes must be in place
for a business to scale well.
Go ahead, start up. Remember, business
may fail but entrepreneurs never fail.
Starting up is success in itself. All the best.
The purpose of
your business must
be to make and
not raise money.
Too many entre-
peneurs in India,
inspired by wrong
role models believe
that raising funds
is the only metric
for success.”

19. KULPREET YADAV
KULPREETYADAV IS A BESTSELLING AUTHOR,MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER,STARTUP MENTOR,
AND FOUNDER-EDITOR OF OPEN ROAD REVIEW, SOUTH ASIA’S LEADING ONLINE LITERATURE AND
CULTURE MAGAZINE.KULPREET’S LATEST NOVEL, THE GIRLWHO LOVED A PIRATE,IS INDIA’S FIRST
THRILLER BASED ON MARINE PIRACY&HIJACKING.PASSIONATE ABOUT CREATIVEWRITING,
KULPREET ALSO MENTORS ASPIRINGWRITERS AT SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES AND HAS SPOKEN AT
MANY LITERARY FESTIVALS IN INDIA&ABROAD INCLUDING SINGAPORE,HYDERABAD,DELHI,
BANGALORE,GOA,BANGKOK,GURGAON,PUNE,PANCHKULA,LUCKNOW ETC.AN EX-ARMED
FORCES OFFICER,HE LIVES IN NEW DELHI.
IN CONVERSATION WITH

20. Q
Q.
Can you tell us a little bit about your
journey, from being into armed forces
to setting out on the unpredictable
journey of being a writer?
I joined the Naval Officer’s Academy soon
after college. I was very keen to wear the
officer’s uniform and serve my motherland. For twenty years, I
worked very hard and was transferred to almost all the coastal
cities. But slowly, as I became senior in the organisation, I found
myself doing more and more administrative work. To break the
monotony, I began to write novels. I was lucky that my books
were published and the readers appreciated them. Soon after, I
found myself thinking only about writing and realised that it was
not right for me to pretend to work for the government whereas
all I wanted to do was to write novels. Therefore, in 2014 I sought
premature retirement and charted a new course for myself.
You are the founder of the Open Road
Review. What inspired you to start the
international literary magazine?
I found that creative writing is not taught
in the Indian colleges. The only option is
to study English literature. So, for aspir-
ing writers, there is practically no training available. To make
matters worse, we don’t have literary magazines. Even the top
colleges in India don’t have professionally run literary maga-
zines that can be bought at bookshops. In short, there is no
ecosystem in India that can nurture good writing. Not by the
government, or by the private sector. I started Open Road Review
with an Amercian editor in 2011 and now we have editors and
interns in three continents. Our staff is more than 10 and we
have published more than 300 writers from two dozen coun-
tries.
Talking about following your passion,
thousands of young minds in India today
to do so as India slowly transforms into a
nation of Startups. If I ask you to prepare
a checklist for them before they ‘Star-Up’,
what would it be like?
Young Indians are brilliant. But just like writing, there is no ecosys-
tem that can nurture their talent. Yes, there are companies who
are running incubators, but we haven’t made any noteworthy
product of global standards so far. To make matters confusing,
there are many HNIs and fly-by- night fund operators who are
scouting for talent with the sole objective of making a quick buck.
My failsafe checklist for youngsters:
STEP1: Build your product without funding,
STEP 2: Make your model self-sustaining.
STEP 3: When it is stable, go for funding and expand aggressively.
Remember, the best startups in the world were dreamed of and
sustained in garages without even air-conditioning and bath-
rooms.
Q.
Q.
How do you look at the current ‘Star-Up
Ecosystem’in India?
Poor. We have talent, as I said. The govern-
ment has made some guidelines recently
too, but the awareness of the need to have
a healthy environment is missing. There are
a few bright sparks here and there, I mean people and companies,
who are slogging it out to make a difference and I hope with all my
sincerity that they succeed.
Here at IIM Raipur, we are soon coming up
with our own incubation center to help bud-
ding entrepreneurs. How important can that
be according to you?
It’s a good step. I hope the guides who are
selected to nurture raw talent are innovative,
competent and nonconformists themselves.
Any final word of advice to our readers?
Most Indians think that they can better man-
age their personal and professional lives
by reading self-help and business biogra-
phies. While these books do help, the real
change can be experienced by reading fic-
tion. Because only the unreal can teach us how to survive the real.
So yes, please do read my Andy Karan spy thrillers and send me your
reviews.
Q.
Q.
| EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 20

21. THE 13TH
PILLAR
EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 21

22. clan has ever set foot on her banks. From a
distance, she looks just like a simple blue line
drawn on a grey limestone plateau. But here
it’s a gorge dividing the land into two conti-
nents, cutting and shearing through every rock
and stone which dares to come between her
and the sea. Now I somewhat understand the
tablet! It looks a daunting task to cross her with
army though she has a meagre flow. A single
word on the tablet, the sovereignty clause,
is difficult to materialize. Forget crossing the
river! It is rare enough to be a sovereign king
in the South.
But it’s not a problem for me. I am already
crowned as the King of Marathas a decade
ago…
Tick, tick, tick… This ticking sound always
reminds me the flow of time. It takes me
back in my past, showing me the memo-
ries which are trapped in the kaleidoscope of
my mind! My childhood, marriages, teenage
heartbreaks, endless quarrels with my father,
struggle for power, the constant wars-wins-
defeats, deaths! But all this looks distant after
the last year. The year changed my mind-set; it
changed me and my kingdom. Last year, in the
month of February, Alamgir tried to capture
me. Everybody knows him! After all he is the
Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb! I clearly remem-
ber the evening…
We had just suffered a defeat in the Battle of
Wai. Many deserted me. But the actual loss was
my Senapati Hambirrao Mohite. I cried beside
his mortal remains… The blow to my army and
my psyche was unprecedented. We pondered
for a while and decided to hide in the Konkan
instead of fighting on the Desh. People call
| EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 22
he day looks perfect! A
mid-May sunny morn-
ing… the flow of Rewa is
at minimum… And JoshiJi
said the day is auspicious. Except the
scorching sun everything is pleasing. I
am going to cross the mighty Rewa today
along with my 12,000 strong army. It’s
unbelievable.
Much more astonishing if one reads the
petroglyph of Grishneshwar! When I think
about it, it really scares me. Even in my
wildest dreams I can’t imagine destroying
this Mughal Empire singlehandedly!!!
But the tablet says so… ‘The sovereign
king, the one who crosses Narmada, from
South to North, with his army, establishes
an Indian Empire unparalleled in glory,
might and existence. More prosperous
than the wealth of Kubera, more gigantic
than the realm of Indra!’ It is impossible
for my wit to understand… The tablet
goes on to clearly mention the expanse
of the empire. How can I establish an
empire from the shores of Caspian Sea
to The Ocean… I don’t even know where
this Caspian Sea or Kashyapey Samudra
as mentioned in it is! How, in this wanton
world, is a 33 year old king who has been
fighting a guerrilla war for the last 10 years
just to keep his small kingdom alive sup-
posed to imagine his vast domain from
Khorasan to Yunnan, nearly 7000 kilome-
tres in stretch? How the son of a chieftain
could lay the foundation of a new world
order from Papua to the shores of Zhanj!
Who in this world thinks that, me and
my sons will defeat the Mughals and
the Chinese, the Iranians, the Burmese,
the Thai and all the Indo-Chinese tribes
and the nomads beyond the Hindu Kush
and the Himalayas... And all the firangis-
the English, the French, the Dutch, the
Portuguese… At this point I stop thinking!
Tick, tick, tick… I can only hear this sound
when my mind is clear. It’s the clock-
watch.The English call it a pendent. A cou-
ple of years ago my father’s coronation,
the pendent was invented in the English
homeland. Calling this amazing piece of
artistry just a pendant is disrespectful to
the artist and more so to the art itself…
I call it a timepiece, Kalyantra. From the
day I first saw it, I was mesmerised… The
English emissaries in the Rajyabhisheka
of my father presented it to him among
many other gifts. Raje did not have time
just to open the timepiece! Ironic indeed!
He just gave it away to me as jewellery.
The people around me thought that it is
some Kala Jadu. Fools!
From that day Kalyantra is with me. It is
not that accurate as sometimes it errone-
ously shows time of a prahara behind. It
is more useless when I am the only one in
my kingdom who can read the time and
others understand it as the black magic
obsession of Prince. Nevertheless I hope
someday every man and woman in my
country will be able to read and use it as
a timepiece. I have some ideas to improve
it but I have no time. If I were ever permit-
ted to retire by the destiny, surely I will
improve it! But the current task in my hand
is crossing the river.
Rewa!IthinkpeopleherecallherNarmada.
We Marathas call her Rewa. Nobody in my
THE 13TH
PILLAR
T
TIME: MORNING, MAY 14, 1690
SOUTHERN BANKS OF NARMADA, PROVINCE MALWA

23. this timidity; I prefer to call it tactics- the Shivsutra. It was not at
all easy… Hiding from the enemy when you have a heart burning
desire to squash enemy heads! But we sustained. For more than a
year we tried to regroup. Men, money, resources and most impor-
tantly the moral of our army! I wandered in the whole
region and gathered all these vitals.
We camped near Sangameshwar. Just outside the village. It is rela-
tively a large village. The villagers respected me as a king. They have
a martial history and a reputation as fierce fighters. They helped us
setup a camp. It was not quite a camp if you compare it with my
current camp site. One can say a campfire of 25-30 soldiers. It had
5 small huts and a fire in the middle. All the huts were the same so
that nobody could guess where I was staying. Besides I changed
my hut periodically. The camp was surrounded by the pristine
Sahyadris, I felt safe and confident. Sahyadri is always like a mother
to me. Many found the high peaks intimidating and unwelcoming.
For me they are the abode of motherly love! It is the actual strength
of my kingdom. No enemy can follow us through these mountains
and nobody can defeat us in its valleys. Actually the real enemy is
the enemy within. And that’s what happened. I was told by my spies
that the Mughals were tracking my position. They roughly knew
my location and when they pinpointed it they would grab me from
these valleys like a hawk taking away fowl… Though such kind of
information always comes once or twice a month, this time the
threat was serious. I was told that the Shirkes are the ones providing
my whereabouts. But I could not act immediately as I had insuf-
ficient manpower. Besides if I had acted against them and the news
had been wrong, I was sure to lose Shirkes’ and many other sardars’
support! But I was curious. If there were anyone other than Shirkes,
I might not have thought this much. But them? Shirkes were my
in-laws! How could they act against their own daughter’s husband?
I was just curious, not disappointed. I know a son can kill his father
for political power. I was a mere son-in- law!
Initially we planned to camp for 5 days. But the alert changed our
plan. We camped for a day.The next morning I met the village chief
and other influential persons in the village. It was imperative to get
assurance of their support for our cause. The villagers were ami-
cable and amenable. We sketched a plan for village defences and
martial training of youth. Work done! We decided to move to the
jungles out of Shirkes’ territory during the night itself. It was very
risky but extraordinary situation demands extraordinary measure…
In the evening many of my men were packing and some were on
vigil. Meanwhile I got some time. I was with my timepiece. Watching
it closely! The hands moved in discipline but sometimes they just
skipped a beat or suddenly moved fast. And all these aberrations
were caught by my keen eyes. It just skipped a beat and I heard a
sound… It was faint and usually unnoticeable. It was more like a
blade slashing flesh! I alerted thesoldier outside my hut and I did
something that is not expected from a future sovereign emperor. I
hid in a ditch just beside the door inside my hut. I covered the ditch
with a small table.The table was hollow and had openings so that one
can have a constant supply of air inside the ditch. This‘ditch and table
strategy’ was devised many days ago. Before hiding, I lit a fuse lead-
ing to a firecracker stash, a tactic born just a few hours ago! I could
see the fuse fire marching ahead. The time till detonation was nearly
20 sec, my wild guess! I was checking my watch nineteen, eighteen,
seventeen… And suddenly a soldier barged in the hut. He wasn’t one
of us! He checked the entire hut. There was no one. He turned around
in a swift manner. I observed him carefully as he walked to the door.
I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check
my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under
my breath. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..." I was holding the
watch and I could feel its motion! It skipped a beat at five; even in this
dire situation I noticed it! The returning soldier had some suspicion
about the table. He approached the table and just as he was about
to displace it, a blast was heard. The sound waves rippled through
my body and surroundings. The soldier was shell-shocked with that
noise. I wasted no time and moved the table and my blade pierced his
stomach. The next moment I slashed apart his head from his torso! He
must have cried with pain but nobody heard, not even I in that sound.
The bang was not actually to distract the enemy, it was to call rein-
forcement. Yesterday as soon as I got the information, throughout the
night we created plans. It was not known when or with how much
force the enemy would strike. We didn’t even know if the villagers
would support us or not! So we created 2 plans. One assuming their
support and another without… Fortunately the next day when I met
the village people, they extended their support. So I finalised the plan
A. In the expedition we always carry some firecrackers. They prove
handy in encounters against beasts. But here we used it as an indica-
tor of threat. During a quiet night, the bang can be easily heard till
the end of the village. That night too it was heard by everyone and
ready pastoral fighters attacked the enemy party. It was a small battle
won without much human loss. We captured Shirkes. They came with
EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR | 23

24. the Mughals to show them our location. I immediately executed
them without any hesitation! This will surely give a message to
everybody.
From that day, the tide changed! After hearing this incidence, the
whole divided Maratha forces were galvanized under my com-
mand. Those who were loyal to me felt the need to support me.
Those who were acrimonious to me understood that I was the real
king who might kill them if they went against me! We attacked
the Mughals, plundered every camp of their army and destroyed
their moral steadily. We threw them out of the Konkan and the
Sahyadris. We lost many forts in the aftermath of the Battle of
Wai. We regained most of our lost forts one by one. I got the
real boost when we captured our lost capital Raigad! I was again
declared Maharaj, the worthy successor to the Maratha throne,
ceremoniously and wholeheartedly by the people. The capture
of Raigad reignited the fire of hope once again in my people. And
then we never turned back! We conquered the Desh, attacked the
Marathwada and even raided the Khandesh. I defeated and killed
Shah Alam, son of Alamgir in the Battle of Ahmednagar! Alamgir
was in total despair! His every move and tactic, at the end of the
day, proved futile. My legions looted his regions and made him
bankrupt.The Mughal economy crumbled under the war expense.
Still he persisted on the war. But till that point of time I made sure
that even if Aurangzeb had won, it would be a pyrrhic victory.
As the months passed, my army became like a flooding river…
Unstoppable! The Mughals were losing their hope, were running
from the battleground and were deserting their well-guarded
forts… The mightiest Mughal army was reduced to a large flock
of coward baboons.
Alamgir completely lost his hopes and started visiting Fakirs
around the region. The epoch occurred when one fine day I
captured Aurangzeb while he was secretly visiting a Fakir near
Khuldabad! The modus operandi was the same as his. But this
time he was the prey! Respecting his age, I gave him a quick
death.
The news of the Badshah’s demise spread across the entire
Mughal Empire like wind. He never appointed his successor.
His many heir started a petty war against each other without
any considerable army at their disposal. So the whole empire
was in disarray! I started my march from Khuldabad-Jalgaoan-
Burhanpur-Khandawa and now I am here at
Omkareshwar. After the retrospection, now I am confident about
my destiny. I escaped my death, killed a sitting emperor and now
am eager to capture Delhi! Still the last part of the petroglyph is
incomprehensible. It mentions a 13th Jyotirlinga – a 13th and
the last pillar which is actually not a pillar or a linga but a person!
‘He will be the one and the last, the 13th pillar of Shiva’ Can I,
Sambhaji, son of Shivaji match that glory?
SAURABH DINESH LAD
PGP 2016-18, IIM RAIPUR
| EFFULGENCE 3.0 | IIM RAIPUR 24