Rohit Sharma

Recently, NITI Aayog has released an Indicator - Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026 - which is an outcome of 8 broader pillars taken into consideration. While the report has been released for the first time, it is a good initiative to understand the differences between the Indian states in terms of absorbing & perpetuating the economic growth. Any modern economy aspire to grow its GDP to improve the lives of the people. As the economic activities increase, the volume of businesses in the region flourishes. This would accelerate the cycle of both demand & supply. As more people would earn from the profitable businesses, their consumption of various articles like food, cloths, gadgets would increase. As people would earn more, it would attract both inter & intra region migration. There would be increased need of infrastructure like – housing, roads & highways, malls, educational institutions, recreational facilities, hospitals and so on. Why so? Because people would...

 Yesterday, I was watching the movie “The trial of Chicago 7”, and I was enchanted by sheer force of it. There is a group of people who come together and plan to protest against ending the US war at Vietnam during the Year 1968. It seems that several US citizens had lost their dear lives. The movie is based on the trial of 8 people in the US court. As someone living within the territorial boundaries of the largest democracy, I am curious - the movie is based on an example from the territory of the oldest democracy. This makes me wonder. The theme runs on course of the freedom of dissent at that point of time in Uniter States. Nowadays, I keep hearing the news of some of the other protests happening across the country and worldwide. If I only see the past 10 years, I could recall several such news. I take cognizance of the Indian freedom struggle and later how the constitution come into force. The articles that gets written come into practicality at the larger challenges thrown ...

It’s Saturday. Mumbai is in rains. I am finally home after 4 long months of tedious work. I am trying to read through an analysis off my Executive MBA.. My mind keeps on wandering. My eyes couldn’t keep myself out of looking at the screen. I am alerted by non-stop WhatsApp notifications and frequent phone calls. Out of the habit of responding in time, I couldn’t keep myself not addressing it. I am into After-sales industry. I wonder, how does this gets inculcated in my productivity and in my own cumulative works? Will someone design an AI bot, who will logically respond to the complex uncoordinated issues that I keep getting from the field? WhatsApp has initiated one such facility. I think it’s not yet mapped enough. You require to know people in the network to address the escalation. The escalation could be of any nature. But it is possible to make a cateagory of it and simulate it in a code. Company demands faster response. A manager is a churning machine, but it is not all of it. We...

People in Mumbai are worried about the delay in the monsoon. Last year, it had already rained in the month of May. The weather was pleasant, and thus the usage of air conditioners was lower. By the middle of this month, we had already installed the number of ACs that were installed during the whole of last June. So, there is increased demand for residential ACs. No wonder, when I stepped outside today, my skin felt like it was burning. Going into the field always helps. For those of us in operations, visiting dealers and interacting with real-time escalated customers is what keeps us grounded in reality. This enables us to channel meaningful feedback back to our teams. That said, I attended a customer site today. I had no clue about the site conditions. It was located in one of Mumbai’s chawl areas. I navigated through the narrow zigzag lanes and came across a house with a floor area of 120 square feet. Going inside the house, I realised it had two storeys. But I couldn’t find where ...

In the Hindu religion, cows are revered. We pray to them for peace of mind, prosperity in life, and happiness. They have long been part of the traditional system. They were largely domesticated within Indian households. Our ancient economy was largely dependent on them. Having a cow at home was considered a source of strength. It would provide milk — one of the greatest vegetarian sources of nutritious food. It would also provide cow dung, which was used as fuel for the traditional chulha — the clay stove. Cow dung is also believed to have anti-bacterial properties, which were utilized for coating old mud houses. In fact, before any auspicious occasion, houses would often be coated with a layer of cow dung paste. Over time, cows became a source of several material benefits, and later became part of rituals and stories in the scriptures. Something that provides material benefit to humans — and in turn social stature — naturally sees its value increase. My interaction with cows has been ...

The internet is filled with contents on why doing an MBA is irrelevant nowadays, or why opting for one would suit you in career betterment, or the talk on its ROI. Having have passed 8-10 years since my graduation in engineering, I was at the edge of seeking a formal education boost. Going back to the Master’s in Engineering, or passing the flag post to a management course was all the question that rang the bell in my ear. I abated, researched and slowly inclined to do a management degree. There is only one person on Earth who knows if it is the right time to start the hunt. Only you know your time commitments after work. Sometimes, you are not ready because you have unquenched thirst of the pending travel plans. Finish them and come back to this!  I scratched the available sources of opinions. More opinions had led to more repeated contents. There were always two sides. There was always the cost. There were always the cons. There were always over-smart super successful people...

It’s the month end. During the school days, we would have waited for the final exams to end and the summer vacations to begins. A blackout of 3 months to follow, in which the child in the soul would cherish. As we dragged out of bed with half done sleep, we get ourselves stuck in the mid of a traffic. This commonality of reaching office in time remains with the school. The teachers are replaced by disciplining seniors. Different places, different experiences. They were also new-joinees someday.  It’s lunch time. We prefer to go out of the office premises and leave the building for a while. There is a solitude-adjusted place, that we have found - me and a colleague. It’s a tiny garden. There is green grass and there are few trees with a limited canopy. We depend on that limitedness and irrigate our corporate-caged soul. It isn’t that tough as it seems. Somedays are meant to feel more. We sit for a while. With a head-down over my arms, I would nap for 3-4 minutes. We leave with a lit...

Shiva is agitated. He was being woken up from his deep meditative state. After years, he mated with the gorgeous looking Parvati. It was a cosmic resonance. The pleasure was immeasurable. It went for the whole night. They made tremendous love to eachother. Shiva has got seriously engulfed by his desire. He wants Parvati again. But there is no trace of her. She is not to be found. Caught with the dillemma of future penance and emotional upheaval, she has got into hiding. Shiva is wondering in the forests, skies & oceans and calling the name of his mate. All the animals in the jungle are scared. The ash soaked body of Shiva is lightening with the fire of longing. His linga is hard and wants to be rubbed. It wants to go inside parvati. It's the month of Monsoon. Chilled air is flowing above the Earth surface. Every now and then, tumultuous clouds gather dark in the sky and hold everything at a standstill. They roar and pour heavy. There is no limit. Shiva sees no boundary. He is w...

These hills around are not devious. They neither hide. Its simplicity is as well not that easy to understand, is it? The temple is an open rock structure. It is perspired by sun glares, morning & regular afternoon. At night, dark befalls the sorrounding. Throughout the long day, sparse traffic to-and-fro keep hitting the road. Inside the periphery, there are trees of variety. Donning a white dhoti and a loose upperwear shawl, a quiet thin-looking gentleman could not be seen more calm. Time stands before him, in unrolled butterfly. He does not count his age. No belongings, but all that exists in thoughts and good faith, many wonder. As desireless he can be, he is not a keeper. A devotee, but of what god? Shree Hanuman sparks inside an open garbhagriha, holding a huge mountain in his hand. Some people call the person as baba, some just call him sadhuji. Few roadbikes stopped days ago and took several images of him. They had politely asked for permission. It's not a nuisance. It...

The night was playing. It’s past 1 AM. It’s a weekend. The first ticks of Saturday had begun. A week has just passed. Several other such weeks had similarly passed. What remained the most awaited hours of the week? These few silent hours of the kind nights, if only one is not tired enough to actually meet them. But today, I had met them. The hours were before me. I had an unfinished book in my hand. I had been reading it ever since I had gulped the dinner down my throat. First, I hid beneath one of the staircases of the building and quietly went through twenty pages unblinkingly. That was the first meet with the long-gone friend — a self, this solitude around me, this beautiful book in my hand, and this quiet night.. The air had been calmer when I restarted again. The city is fast asleep. Yeah. What the hell with this city. How the hell I ended up here. These questions are so naughty. One rarely finds oneself observing the breath entering and leaving the lungs. Like many Indian cities,...

Few days back I was interacting with someone who got interviewed online by a startup founder. He had mentioned about his living at Mumbai to which the founder flagged a cautious note of sympathy and potioned a brief good luck, "All the best living Mumbai". It's not so strange as it sounded to the interviewee who got recently shifted here. As the office downtime starts and we get to the heavily chorded highways while slowly driving our vehicles, I observe random ambulances chasing the breath, trying to find a sordid corner to get past, and it continues till the end of the traffic river which flows at no pace at all. Today I was accompanied by two such ambulances, one to the left, another at the right. The loud sirens of both the vehicles echoes in resonance and still they moved as slowly as the rest of us. On my 45 minutes ride home, I was with them for 30 minutes or so. I wonder how does the siren helps..  Maybe there should be a city-specific solution, more in depth acro...

This is the center of the marketplace in my native town. The man is a street hawker who is selling kid's play items. The picture is taken one day after the Diwali night. Almost the whole market was closed but in this one place, few food shops were grouped. While eating the Paani-puri there, I had this intriguing gaze put at the flying balloons. I have seen that in small towns during the festives, there are certain traditional days (pareva) where markets are shut and people do not move out much. In big cities, this is not much cared for due to the cosmopolitan behavior of the city.  Anyway, I was checking several posts related to a coconut seller reducing the prices of the coconuts and same time advertising in the cardboard that he is selling at a lesser price than Q-comm sellers like Zepto and Blinkit. To me, it was concerning for some reasons: - first, will it come to this? Let's see.  - although change is a constant, there is a lack of financial cushion at levels of street h...

  मै हठ करूँगा. मुझे नवीनीकारण नहीं अपनाना. मै माटी की भूमि मेँ नंगे पाव घूमना चाहूंगा. मेरे लिबास में मुझे कोरी सफ़ेदी मंज़ूर है. रात होते ही मै लालटेन की रौशनी मे रहना चाहता हूँ. घर हो, घर मेँ खुला आँगन मयस्सर हो, लोग हो. रात की चांदनी रात मे घी लगी रोटी के साथ आम का आचार मुझे जचेगा. बर्गर, पिज़्ज़ा, अन्य कोई व्यंजन की उम्मीद नहीं. घर की पाली हुई गाय का दुग्ध मिलेगा तो मै चूल्हे की लौ मेँ उसे गरम करके खाने मेँ खा लूंगा.  भूखे रहने की आदत छूट गयी है. आदि मानव हमारे पूर्वज रहे और हमें एक घंटे प्यास से नहीं रह पाएंगे, शायद मर ही जाए तो ताज्जुब नहीं. इतनी सुविधाएं किस लिए. भूख का होना ही तो जरूरी है. घंटो भूखे रह लिए तो थाली का एक दाना छोड़ दे कोई तो मै इफरात मानु. अब हम नाजुक है. चार कदम चलना, आठ मिनट भूखे रह पाना, सोलह मिनट गर्मी झेलना यही रह आया है बस. मै हठ करूँगा. कोई तो समय था जब ना रेलगाड़ी थी, हवाईजहाज तो छोडो. क्या दिवाली घर मेँ मनाते, कितने मुसाफिर ही हो गए, कितने साल मुँह ना देखा. अब कहते है की जिंदगी का कोई ठिकाना नहीं, इनसे उनसे सबसे मिल लो, कौन कब जा गुज़रे. गुज़रे...

  हम सब को उड़ने की, अदृश्य होने की, ये दुनिया से दूसरी दुनिया में जा पाने की शक्ति होनी चाहिए. हाँ. मैं किसी भी माया की बाते नहीं कहता. धरती से पलायन करने की बाते है. विशाल अंतरिक्ष में खोने की बात है. धरती में तो हम आज़ादी से देश भी पलायन नहीं कर पाएंगे. अबके यहाँ राजशीय सीमाये है. सीमाओं में आदमी गोला बारूद लिए आपको मार गिराने के लिए तैनात है. उधर ऐसे ही चले जाने में मनाही है. बनी हुई व्यवस्था में संघर्ष अनिवार्य है. हा कुछ ऐसे नियम बने है जिससे सामाजिक और आर्थिक लाभ उठाये जाते है. ये सामूहिक शक्ति की देन है. इसे अनेक पूर्वजो ने अर्जित की है. व्यावहारिक होने के स्वाभाव ने सम्मलित की है. एक के लिए सव्यवहार दूसरे के लिए दुर्व्यवहार भी साबित होना संभव है.  आदमी की आदमियत एक दिन की नहीं है. पहले के लोग खुद नरसंहारी थे, निर्वस्त्र घूमते थे, और अपना डेरा लिए उम्र भर फिरते थे. फिर कथाये, मान्यताये, नैतिक नियम क़ानून समय समय से उभरे और विभिन्न जगहों में क्षेत्रीय समाज आज के रूप है. हिंसा अब भी है. सामाजिक तनाव आज भी है.  यों हज़ारों साल की फेर बदली और उथल पुथल के बाद भी आदमी स...

जद्दोजहद घर बनाने से लेकर घर बसाने की है, उसे सवारने की है. क्यों ना आदमी ताउम्र बेघर ही रहे. कोई ठिकाना ही ना हो. ऐसा किस हाल में हो जाए. समाज की नीव का विगठन करके सब अस्त व्यस्त करें देते है. क्या बचेगा? आदमी किस लिए कमाने को रुझाएगा? बेघर आदमी का क्या परिवार? ना आदमी ना उसकी औरत ना उसके बच्चे. फिर तो बड़ी अराजकता की बात हुई. समाज किस रूप में देखोगे? समाज को समाज ही बोला जायेगा या जंगल? तो क्या घर का होना समाज मेँ सामाजिकता का होना है? मै जंगल की तलाश एक महानगर में करता हूँ. मै प्रवासी हूँ. मुझे बड़ी ईमारतो के जगह घने पहाड़ और खुला आसमान देखना है. मै खुले पेड़ो के तले बैठ कर, खुली हवा में सास लेने को देखा करता हूँ.  एक प्रवासी की क्या जिम्मेवारी बनाई जाए? की वो प्रवास किये शहर को अपना बना सके? मेरी प्रवसीयता कब तक रहेगी? गर सब सही हुआ तो कभी मै भी इतनी पूँजी इकठ्ठी कर बैठूंगा की अपने प्रवास में एक निश्चित ठिकाना बना लूंगा. उसके बाद उम्र मुझे बची हुई उम्र तक बंदीग्रस्त कर देगी और तभी मुझे अपने प्रवासी होने की याद आएगी.  प्रवासी होने से लेकर मेरे बंदी होने तक मै बनाये हुए समाज...

अब के सर्दिया लगने को आयी है. एक दो दिन की बात नहीं रही. पूरा एक जमाना चाहिए की उड़ा जा सके. उड़ के कही धरती के किसी दूसरे कोने में जा के सोया जाए. कहा.. कही तो भी. आत्मीयता कहा मिलेगी. मन से शांत कहा रह पाओगे? मुझे खाली समय चाहिए. बैठ के नीले आसमान को देखु. वही नींद लग जाए और बिना समय देखे बस सोता रहूँ. सॉरी थोड़ा स्कैम हो गया है. अब तक सब कुछ गलत समझाया बुझाया गया है. करियर और ओहदे वाली बाते. आज़ादी कही तो भी नहीं है. देश की, आदमी की, आदमी के अन्तःकरण की.. सब को फसाया गया है. जब जंगलों को काटा गया, जब पुल बना दिए गए, जब ऊंची ईमारतो का निर्माण किया गया. जब घोड़ो को सारथी बनाया गया, जब इंजन का उपयोग यातायात में लाया गया. जब तलवारे, कट्टे और तोपों में इजाफा हुआ. जब किसी ने किसी के घर में घुस के चोरी की. जब आदमी ने आदमी को बंदी बनाया.  मतलब की आदमी जबसे मॉडर्न बना दिया गया, तबसे.. और उसके पहले का क्या? अच्छा हां. उसके पहले का क्या? कोनसे ज़माने से सोचु! नदिया सूखी तो भूतल से पानी कैसे निकले? हैजा फ़ैल गया तो गाओं के गाओं को कौन बचवा ले? और क्या जद्दोजहद बची.  अरे.. मैंने तो सोचा था के ...

  ये लोकल ट्रेन में बैठे बैठे आदमी जाने किस ख्यालो में खो जाता है. शायद बैठने को मिल गया इसका कोई मर्म एहसास उसे कायल कर देता होगा. या घर और करीब है इसकी अनुभवता पे दिलचस्पी छा जाती होगी. आँखें खोई हुई, चेहरे में कोई सुर्खिया नहीं. और कभी अचानक से चलते सफर को गौर से निहार लेना.  आदमी ख्यालो में गुम है ये बड़ी बात है. आदमी या तो गुमसुम दिखता है या अपने फ़ोन को देखता है. फ़ोन तो कैद है हमारी. हाँ.. हाल में यही महसूस किया. मैंने सोचना छोड़ दिया है. मै अब बस देखता हूँ. फ़ोन की स्क्रीन में. कई कई देर तक. लोकल में बात करने वाले आदमी भी दिख पड़ते है. इनमे बड़ी गहराई होती. इनकी बाते राजनैतिक है, सामाजिक है हर प्रकार से. जैसे अर्थशास्त्री माइक्रो और मैक्रो के स्तर में जाके अर्थव्यवस्था को समझते है, वैसे इन सब बातो में माइक्रो-सामाजिक बाते होती है. लेकिन हाँ भाईचारा देखो तो. आप बोल दे की मेरा बैग प्लीज़ वहा पे रख दो, या प्यार से पुचकारते हुए ज़रा सी जगह बनाने की दरख्वास्त कर दो.. आदमी हो जाते है. एडजस्ट. लड़ाई भी है पर अपनी जगह.  मै तो चाहता हूँ की लोकल ट्रेन टाइम्स के नाम पर कोई ...

सोचता हूँ की रावण का पाप कितना बड़ा होगा की उसकी सजा अब भी ख़तम नहीं होती. हर साल पूरे भारत में और विश्व के कई देशो में हिन्दू धर्म के लोग दशहरा के दिन हज़ारो रावणो का वध करवाते है. हमें नहीं मालूम की रावण कैसा दिखता होगा. मैंने उसकी प्रतिमा और पुतले भयावह ही देखे है. उसकी बड़ी बड़ी मूछे है, उसकी आँखों में ज्वालामुखी फटता है, उसके दस सर है.. ऐसा कुछ.  मुझे कुछ सहानुभूति होती है रावण से. बच्चे से लेकर बूढ़े तक सब लोग उसके जलते हुए पुतले को देख देख खुश और अचंभित होते है. रावण गर कही से देखता होगा तो क्या सोचता होगा. क्या उसका दिल पसीज जाता होगा? क्या उसे ग्लानि मारे डालती होगी? हर दशहरा गुज़र जाने के बाद उसके लिए दोबारा ये दिन आना भी कितना दर्द से होगा. या की ऐसा हो की उसे इतनी नफरत पसंद हो. रावण तो रावण ठहरा? हमें सबको मालूम है की रावण ने घोर पाप किया था. लेकिन उसके पश्चाताप को अब ख़त्म कर देते है ना. उसे अपने नाम से मुक्ति मिल जाए काश. हाँ, कर्म ऐसा किया है की भुलाया ना जा सके. उसे तो श्री राम और उनके लोगों ने कई बार चेतावनी भी दी होगी. क्या उसे इसका एहसास हुआ होगा की वो चिरजीव वर्षो तक यू...

It was a cloudless morning. Everything seemed normal when I was well dressed in formals and choosing to start my day off the door from my place. Out of nowhere it started to rain in peace. There were patches of clouds that can be seen. I chose to wait in hope. Mumbai rain departs in no time. You never know. Starting early is a survival skill, else one can get stuck in crazy traffic. Peak hour was about to start. It was still raining.. After a whole 360 seconds (every minute counts), I decided to check on the Uber. Whush!! It's running on double rates. Perplexed I waited a little more. Thereafter I rolled up my sleeves and quitted my plan to ride to office. I picked up my umbrella in stuffed fear & started for the nearby local station. It's raining in force.  I reached the platform to find a crazy crowd staring at their screens and elsewhere. It seemed that the trains are running late. One unique day, huh? This is 8:30 AM. I am alresdy 30 minutes running behind. One train ca...

 The jackal was not anything and he walked out at night, howling over the greasy dark roads, gazing towards the passing yellow street lights and the sleeping towers. What is to wonder? It didn’t matter.  The rain was not there. It stopped showering. It was the perfect timing. No one was behind and no one that he had to follow ahead. No time constraints either. What is the speed through which he slips onto the ground and race ahead. How are his sights. Is he hungry? By heart, in mind. At this wet dark hour, he will roam..  Happier still he has thoughts running for multiple days. The thoughts, huh! They are constant and hardest to conquer. The night is beautiful and his pace sets him freer all the more. What’s with this city? He wishes directions. It’s hard to understand stuffs, life. What is there to care about? It’s the plentiful seeking. He is put up inside the cave, all day long. He misses his time with the stars and he misses being irresponsible. He has grown mid-aged....