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How consumers got consumed into plastic

 
Publicly traded companies are part of a system that binds them to maximizing profit for shareholders. Can the same system hold the companies accountable for taking better care of the environment?

 
This is the big question author Saabira Chaudhuri is asking us in ‘Consumed.' She awakens us to fantastic facts like Germany recycles 60 percent of its plastic waste due to the ‘polluter pays’ principle. For most of the world, it is 'consumer pays', because unknowingly, we pay not only the cost of disposal, but also environmental and social costs.


Here are are our five #BookStrapping insights


1. Who is author Saabira Chaudhuri and why should we take this book seriously? “I’ve covered consumer goods companies for the Wall Street Journal in London since 2015. In 2018, I began writing about how many of these large companies were facing a backlash from consumers who were waking up to the damage that single-use plastic packaging was having on our environment,” Chaudhuri said. Makes sense.


2. Why this book? Chaudhuri explained, “It felt impossible to write a single article in which I could lay out how complex the issue of plastics was: our deep dependency on it (for which there are very good reasons), the way it has rewired our everyday behavior, the deeply fundamental problems that have always plagued plastics recycling." 


Further, she added, "It also includes the conflicts of companies being bound by law to maximize profit for their shareholders, the problems with so-called green alternatives like biodegradables, paper, bio-based plastic, the issues with landfilling, incineration of plastic etc." Makes sense again.


3. The book is pushing for viable solutions. Since the time branded consumer packaging was first launched in 1899, supermarkets have grown to love plastics because it aids ‘eye appeal, attractiveness, the stimulus to impulse buying with transparent wrapping can impart to consumer goods. 


The problem is that even though we are wired to pay for ‘higher performance and convenience’, choosing only convenience became cheaper and cheaper. Choosing convenience without paying more for it, became the biggest selling point for large scale adoption of plastic.


4. So, if the big brands have to fall in line, we have to level the playing field, said Chaudhuri. “We need ‘single-use’ to be as expensive as reusables,” she said. Beyond short term green-publicity, real change happens when returning and re-using is as convenient as single-use plastic. This is a matter of legislation, lobbies etc; and brands will have to spend the same amount of money to ‘unhook’ us, as they did to ‘hook us’ to disposables. True.


5. The power of the consumer to effect change exists. But how potent is it? And to what extent is the consumer trained to study labels like ‘compostable’ and ‘biodegradable’, when there is no way to check whether incinerators are available to compost or which gases are released when 'degradable' items are broken down.


A well-designed cover, earnest data crunching and a plausible narrative of how disposables took over our lives; is what this book offers. Understanding the problem is often the biggest part of solving it. This book dives deep enough to help us do that.


Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/bookstrapping-dream-count-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-68231.htm">Bookstrapping: Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</a>

Bookstrapping: Consumed by Saabira Chaudhuri

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an author that uses the simplest of worlds to convey the most complex of feelings. Like the finest of writers, she offers words to express ‘feelings’ that women suppress regularly. 


‘Dream Count’, her latest novel, is the story of four women held loosely together; each with varied experiences of love, never quite being able to understand what to make of it. The characters are, the travel writer Chiamaka who is also the lead narrator, her best friend Zikora, her cousin Omelogor and her maid Kadiatou. All of them come alive in Adichie's unique voice.

 
Their feelings are rightfully raw. For eg. the character Zikora, who is abandoned by her boyfriend after an unexpected pregnancy, confesses to Chiamaka " it's frightening when somebody you know just changes; completely changes. It is as if an artery burst inside him and his whole body is now wired differently and he is no longer the person he was!" How scary!

 
Here are our five #BookStrapping insights -

 
1. How do women feel when a man who has feelings for them, reveals that he’s married! “I felt ambushed, unfairly and ensnared in a guilt that was not of my own making," is how Chiamaka feels when a man declares that he is married, after a most passionate kiss. He adds that his wife was lovely but his marriage was stale. For a long time after this, Chiamaka could not bear to hear anybody describe bread as stale!


2. At the time of childbirth Zikora is told, "bring your feet up and let your legs fall apart." She wonders.. how can legs fall apart? The nurse looks at her with the resigned expression of a person who had seen all the forms of madness that overtook birthing women, lying on their backs with their bodies open to the world. Zikora could only hear her own frenzied laughter...even as she reasons that 'childbirth could not be this malicious, this gratuitously cruel!"


3. The maid Kadiatou has a theory about herself. That there was ‘a bone that birthed courage and she believed she didn’t have it; or if she had it then it was feeble, soft and chewable like biscuit bone.’ So when she receives attention from a man about town, Adichie writes ‘in the blaze of his attention she melted and she never stopped being astonished that he had chosen her!’ When he promises her that he would get the visa lottery, go to America and send for her, she believes him. To the extent that the last time she saw him, she did not know it was the last time she would she him at the time!


4. When Kadiatou is assaulted in a hotel room- newspapers call her an ‘unlikely choice’ for an assault. Specifically newspapers declare that ‘ the hotel maid does not look as one would’ve expected,’ and go on to say that ‘she must’ve agreed to have sex in exchange for the money.’ Adichie painfully asks, whether there are women good enough to be paid for sex but not good enough to be raped!


5. About the relationship between immigrants and America, Adichie has one of her characters saying “ America didn’t owe me restoration and yet I felt that if did, as if it had reneged on a promise it had never made!”
Novels are never really about what they’re about. At least for this writer! 


Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.



Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/the-book-makers-a-history-of-the-book-in-18-remarkable-lives-by-adam-smyth-66223.htm">The Book-Makers: A history of the book in 18 Remarkable Lives by Adam Smyth</a>

Bookstrapping: Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Can you believe it? There was a time when books used to be sold as a folded bundle of sheets, and the customer had to get them bound. Benjamin Franklin - the founding father of America - was a printer.

 
Adam Smyth’s ‘The Bookmakers’ is full of surprises! Smyth’s credentials make the book meaningful; he is a decorated Professor of English Literature and talks about the history of books. Through this book, he fills some gaps in our understanding of the journey of the ‘printed book’ down the ages. And yet this is largely a Western history and not a global one.

 
Fortunately, he’s curious not just about authors & printers, but also about binders, typesetters and paper-makers who are mostly unheard of, over the last 550 years! And before you say Gutenberg, remember that there are many more.
 
Here are our five Bookstrapping insights:


1. Smyth’s descriptions of the workings of a 15th venture printing press are graphic and evocative. He also mentions the machine invented by the Frenchman Nicolas Louis Robert, the 18th century engineer, which could produce up to 50 meters of paper a minute and how that changed the life of workers at the time.


2. There is the tale of Dutchman Wynkyn de Worde who published more than 800 titles in the early 16th century. In fact, he worked for the famous William Caxton for a number of years and took over the business himself on Caxton’s death. He was famous for the use of woodblocks or woodcuts in printing and was a loyal publisher to Tudor poet Stephen Hawes. He is also remembered for for printing an edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/bookstrapping-reading-and-its-positive-effects-on-mental-health-64298.htm">Bookstrapping: Reading and its positive effects on mental health</a> 


3. Adam Smyth also chronicles the 17th century sisters Mary and Anna Collett, who oddly enough, cut up books with knives and scissors and reassembled them with images and additional texts. They even refashioned the Bible which strangely found favor with King Charles I! This eventually led to the idea of including pictures and illustrations to embellish standard print versions.


4. The intriguing Charles Edward Mudie from the 19th century, ran a lending-library that had a strong influence over the public. This was at a time when the cost of novels exceeded the means of most middle-class Englishmen. He was strict about the morality, subject, and scope of the novels he kept in his library and often determined the fate of authors he excluded! Ardent readers will know that Mudie's Library is mentioned in the H. G. Wells classic The Invisible Man. He famously said that "no book carried in his library should make a respectable young woman blush!” It is estimated that he owned 7.5m books by 1890.


5. Last but not the least is 20th century heiress and publisher of the Hours Press, Nancy Cunard. She famously printed works by Ezra Pound, Norman Douglas, Laura Riding, and Samuel Beckett.


Overall, Smyth picks out eighteen unsung, talented individuals whose achievements are exceptional. Do we need a separate book on the history of women in bookmaking ? And another one on ‘heroes’ of the East who contributed to the history of books? You tell me.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/bookstrapping-an-excerpt-on-win-the-battle-of-your-mind-scroll-less-read-more-65350.htm">Bookstrapping: An excerpt on 'Win The Battle of Your Mind, Scroll Less Read More'</a>

The Book-Makers: A history of the book in 18 Remarkable Lives by Adam Smyth

A brand new self-development book is here! The title is Win The Battle Of Your Mind- Scroll Less, Read More. 

Written by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta, the book focuses on 'loss of skills due to lack of reading' and how we are to address the same. Being a scientific book, STP Pune, a Department of Science and Technology initiative, recently organised a book presentation to Gautam Adani. 

The book contains two original poems, praising the reading habit. It outlines effective strategies to rebuild the reading habit for a vast range of benefits like better mental health, career prospects, work-life balance and of course, the capacity to do deep work.


Here's an except from the book with permission from Embassy Publishers.

 
Chapter 24: YOUR INCOME CANNOT 24 EXCEED YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

 
I wrote a poem to explain this.

 
A man once said to me, “If I had extra time I could make more money!”
I said, “There isn't extra time, where would you find any?
When the clock strikes 12 at midnight, the day is done!
Additional time, is available to none!”

 
Dejected, he started to walk away!
I said, “Wait, I do have something to say!
If making money is the point of it all!
Why don’t you charge more per hour? That’s all.”

 
The man laughed, “I get paid for what I do,
How can I charge more, out of the blue?”
He was right, but I wanted to take the chance,
To make him see, even elephants can dance!


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/basketball-will-take-time-to-develop-fan-base-in-india-sonny-vaccaro-sports-marketing-expert-63381.htm">Basketball will take time to develop fan base in India: Sonny Vaccaro, sports marketing expert</a> 

 
“What if you could do more?
Skills you could pick up, but have ignored!
Perhaps you could learn something new!
And then you could offer those skills too!

 
Your wages could be higher;
If you added more value for your hire.
Look around, who gets paid more than you?
What extra work, do they do?”

 
A faint glimmer of hope shone in his eyes
I’m sure he credited me with being wise!
“My boss works the same machine but manages more men!
I guess he gets paid for that then!

 
He does keep his wits about;
I’ve never seen him scream or shout!”
I said “He sounds like a good leader to me,
You can be do too, without a fancy degree!”

 
You can learn from anyone!
Learn quietly, post the setting sun,
Get a good mentor and two books to read.
To be fair, no one has extra time indeed!

 
I think the poem is self-explanatory.


What makes the difference in ‘who gets paid more’ between two people is the value they bring to the table. 
You can’t create more time but you can become more valuable. Because you don't get paid more for your time; you get paid for your value.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/bookstrapping-reading-and-its-positive-effects-on-mental-health-64298.htm">Bookstrapping: Reading and its positive effects on mental health</a>

Bookstrapping: An excerpt on 'Win The Battle of Your Mind, Scroll Less Read More'

At the 2025 edition of the Storyboard18 Delhi Literature Festival, a quietly powerful conversation unfolded between biographer Dr. Thomas Mathew and Storyboard18 Editor Delshad Irani. The subject was not simply a book, but a legacy - Ratan Tata: A Life, a published biography that offers an intimate lens on one of India’s most reserved yet revered industrialists.

Over the course of the discussion, Mathew unraveled the story of a man defined less by his wealth or position than by restraint, resilience, and a deep-seated ethical compass. Ratan Tata, who helmed the Tata Group for over two decades, emerged in the conversation not as a tycoon, but as a man still shaped by childhood trauma and a profound sense of moral duty.

His parents’ separation when he was just six years old left emotional wounds that, Mathew suggests, never fully healed. Raised by his grandmother, Lady Navajbai Tata - a woman of stern but compassionate principles - young Ratan absorbed values that would come to define his life and leadership. “She would even slide apology notes under his door if she felt she had erred,” Mathew recalled, highlighting the household’s quiet adherence to dignity and humility.

These formative experiences, Mathew noted, explain Tata’s emotional reticence and ambivalence toward long-term relationships, despite several meaningful connections. “Each time he took two steps forward, he took two steps back,” Mathew said, pointing to the shadows of abandonment that followed him into adulthood.

Religion, too, was a matter of introspection rather than display. When questioned about why he refrained from donning the traditional Parsi headwear, Tata’s response was characteristically understated: “Why do I need external manifestation?” For him, faith remained internal - a guiding framework of “good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”

One of the most scrutinized chapters of Tata’s career - the launch of the Tata Nano - was also among the most philosophically revealing. Though often labeled a commercial failure, the compact car project was, according to Mathew, never about margins. “Nano wasn’t about profits. It was about purpose,” he said.

The vehicle, aimed at providing affordable and safe transport to India’s middle and lower-income families, spurred what industry observers called the “Nano Revolution.” Its legacy - frugal engineering - has since influenced domains far beyond automobiles, including aerospace and medical technology. Today, Nano prototypes sit in design museums around the world, serving as artifacts of innovation rooted in human need rather than corporate ambition.

Mathew also addressed the internal turbulence that followed Tata’s retirement. Reflecting on the appointment of his successor, Cyrus Mistry, Tata later acknowledged a critical lapse. And that was his decision to stay out of the selection process. “I wanted others to feel comfortable… I should have been there,” he told Mathew.

Mistry’s tenure was marked by underperformance across key companies, and, more consequentially, a diminished capacity for the Tata Trusts - which own a controlling stake in Tata Sons - to carry out their philanthropic mission. Disturbed by what he viewed as a drift from the Group’s founding ideals, Tata intervened. “He’s a man of ethical moorings,” Mathew said, noting that the Tata Code of Conduct, introduced in the 90s, predated many similar frameworks in global corporations.

Long dogged by questions about his bloodline, Tata’s identity within the broader Tata legacy was finally affirmed through meticulous research by Mathew. Tracing the lineage back to Bhikka Tata, the biographer confirmed that Ratan Tata is the only chairman of the conglomerate both by name and by blood to its founder, Jamsetji Tata.

Yet despite his stature, Tata lives without ostentation. No diamonds. No extravagant lunches. “Opposite his house, there’s a shabby little pizza joint,” Mathew said with a chuckle. “That’s where he used to get his lunch sometimes. Just pizza and French fries.”

The world often confuses visibility with value. But Ratan Tata’s life offers a different kind of measure. One that favors purpose over power and integrity over image.

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/special-coverage/nalanda-love-letters-ratan-tata-ideas-and-ideals-intersect-at-storyboard18-delhi-literature-festival-64432.htm">Nalanda, love letters, Ratan Tata: Ideas and ideals intersect at Storyboard18 Delhi Literature Festival</a>

Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/gaming-is-a-new-avenue-for-indias-economic-strength-says-bansuri-swaraj-at-dlf-2025-64393.htm">'Gaming is a new avenue for India's economic strength,' says Bansuri Swaraj at DLF 2025</a>

Ethics over empire: At Delhi Lit Fest, Dr. Thomas Mathew peels back the layers of Ratan Tata

At the Storyboard18 Delhi Literature Festival 2025, a compelling panel discussion centered on the newly released anthology Indian Renaissance: The Modi Decade, featuring author Dr. Aishwarya Pandit, Utpal Kumar, Opinion Editor at Firstpost and News18, and Sudesh Verma. The conversation delved into India’s dramatic transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

Published by Westland, Indian Renaissance: The Modi Decade offers a comprehensive exploration of India’s political, economic, social, and cultural evolution over the past decade. Through the lens of global experts, political analysts, and policymakers, the anthology provides a multifaceted perspective on India’s shifting governance model, development trajectory, and evolving position on the world stage.

The book, launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in January 2025, reflects on the significant milestones of Modi’s tenure, prompting reflection on both his domestic policies and his foreign diplomacy.

Kumar, reflecting on the decade from 2014 to 2024, characterized it as a historically pivotal period for India, drawing comparisons to other transformative moments in the nation’s past. He argued that the full import of certain events, such as the abrogation of Article 370, would only be fully understood in hindsight. “We’re living through a chapter that future generations will study. Yet, even now, much of mainstream discourse fails to capture its magnitude,” Kumar remarked.

Dr. Pandit highlighted one of Modi’s defining legacies: a recalibrated foreign policy that is grounded in pragmatic national interests, rather than ideological sentiment or historical baggage. She pointed to India’s neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its increasingly strategic engagement with the Middle East as examples of diplomatic maturity. “Prime Minister Modi evaluates responses in light of historical precedents, including the nature of India-Pakistan relations, and responds with informed, nuanced decision-making,” Dr. Pandit explained.

A central theme of the discussion was India’s evolving cultural and civilizational identity, with both panelists noting a significant shift towards embracing the concept of Bharat as opposed to the colonial-era conception of India. This ideological reorientation, they argued, reflects broader changes in the country’s self-perception and global positioning.

The conversation also touched on Modi’s unconventional approach to governance, with both Kumar and Verma emphasizing the Prime Minister’s outsider status and his ability to bypass traditional power structures in favor of efficient, action-oriented leadership. “He brings implementation to the forefront. Where previous governments would deliberate, Modi acts - whether incrementally or through bold, sweeping reforms,” Verma noted.

The panel also examined the tangible impacts of Modi-era policies, particularly those aimed at empowering women. Verma highlighted initiatives such as the Lakhpati Didi program, direct benefit transfers, and the ban on Triple Talaq as key mechanisms of empowerment and grassroots mobilization. “These are not mere welfare schemes; they are instruments of dignity and self-reliance,” he stated.

As the discussion unfolded, it was clear that the panelists shared a conviction: Modi’s tenure, while controversial, has indelibly shaped India’s political landscape, positioning it as a rising global power with an assertive national identity.


The Modi Decade: Political shifts and cultural recalibration explored at DLF 2025

Reading books is the most underrated pathway to mental health.


NHS UK actually had a program called The Reading Well, where health practitioners used books and bibliotherapy to support the mental health of folks facing various challenges, including anxiety, depression, and grief. 


This subject is moot because we are in May, which is designated as Mental Health Awareness Month. And whether reading alone or with others, when people find connection and meaning between the pages, they give their mental health a boost along the way. 


The intimate connection between reading books and mental health can be explained in the following simple ways.


- Reading engages a number of regions in the brain; it is like an aerobic exercise for the brain and sharpens our neural pathways.


- Reading and discussing books in a group helps people find a starting point to talk about difficult or sensitive issues. At a time when young people are spending all their time on screens that accept or reject them without giving any reason, books and conversations generate connection, creativity and dialogue.


- Reading involves a highway system that connects the back of the brain’s reading network to the front. This highway system is an excellent basis to build new skills. Therefore, by keeping the brain active, reading fosters lifelong brain health.


Here are a few excellent books about mental health itself.


1. It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine


2. Time Is a Mother, a book of poems by Ocean Vuong


3. Together : loneliness, health and what happens when we find connection by Vivek H. Murthy, MD


4. The courage to be disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga


5. Lighter by Yung Pueblo


The above indicative list barely scratches the surface; because whatever you’re dealing with, there’s a book out there for you that can help you navigate your situation better. One must also take note of Jerry Rao’s book on living with a person who has a mental illness. Titled 'A Book of Light', it throws light on the life of caregivers as they face despair, grief, burden, and sometimes, frustration. A compilation of 13 true stories about caregivers for people living with mental illness - bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism, autism, and other mental and developmental disorders- this book can be a friend on a tough day!


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/bookstrapping-t-j-powers-the-dose-effect-62163.htm">Bookstrapping: T.J. Power's "The Dose Effect"</a> 


Summing up, reading offers an avenue for emotional expression, self-reflection, and empathy. Reading for pleasure in childhood is proven to even keep us away from prison! 


It provides an escape, a way to experience other worlds, and a means of finding solace in difficult times.


Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/basketball-will-take-time-to-develop-fan-base-in-india-sonny-vaccaro-sports-marketing-expert-63381.htm">Basketball will take time to develop fan base in India: Sonny Vaccaro, sports marketing expert</a>

Bookstrapping: Reading and its positive effects on mental health

The capital city is set to host one of its most anticipated cultural celebrations — the 13th edition of the Delhi Literature Festival — from May 2 to 4 at Bikaner House, Pandara Road, New Delhi. This year’s theme, 'Delhi Writes: Voices, Visions & Verses', promises to spotlight Delhi's vibrant literary soul alongside powerful national conversations.

The festival will be inaugurated by Gajendra S. Shekhawat, Union Minister for Culture & Tourism, in the presence of leading dignitaries, including Rekha Gupta, Delhi Chief Minister; Vijender Gupta, Speaker, Delhi Vidhan Sabha; Kapil Mishra, Cabinet Minister for Culture & Tourism; Keshav Chandra, Chairman, NDMC; and Tim Curtis, Director & Representative, UNESCO India.

Several key sessions intersecting policy, politics and literature will add political and intellectual gravitas to the festival. A special panel on “Demography, Dialogue & Development” will be delivered by Sushri Bansuri Swaraj, Member of Parliament, delving into youth, governance and nation-building. A fireside chat titled “Flowing Through Time: Healing The Yamuna” features Parvesh Sahib Singh, Cabinet Minister, Delhi, highlighting ecological heritage and sustainable futures.

The festival will also witness a no-holds-barred conversation with political commentator and author Dr. Anand Ranganathan, titled “Unscripted, Unapologetic, Unfiltered.”

Over the three days, the festival will host some of India’s finest minds and bestselling authors, including Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri (former diplomat), presenting Swallowing the Sun; Amb. Abhay K, with his national bestseller Nalanda – How It Changed The World; Dr. Aishwarya Pandit, exploring Indian Renaissance: The Modi Decade; Ravi Shankar Etteth, Arun Anand, Pavan K. Varma, Taslima Nasrin, Mukul Kumar, and many more.

There is a dedicated session on Hindi Poetry: ‘Itwaar Chhota Pad Gaya’. There will also be a discussion on ‘Can we be strangers again’, national bestseller by Shrijeet Shandilya. Also, Nityananda Misra will talk about his book, ‘Kumbha: The Traditionally Modern Mela’.

The festival will also feature the Delhi Literature Festival Awards 2025, honouring excellence in seven literary categories, and “Writers of the New Century”, an open competition for young writers.

The festival will conclude with a live performance by Meenu Bakshi, presented by Renu Hussain.

Book lovers can explore curated selections at the Kunzum Bookstore, the official Bookstore Partner of the festival. Food and conversation will flow freely at the venue, with gourmet options from Diggin Cafe, L’Opera, Haldiram, and Havemore available on site.

The festival continues its legacy of bringing together thought leaders, literary icons, policymakers and the public to celebrate India’s evolving literary and cultural landscape. The free registration and programme details are available  onwww.delhiliteraturefestival.org

Storyboard18 'Delhi Literature Festival' to kick off on May 2 at Bikaner House

Presenting an exclusive conversation with the legendary sports marketing genius Sonny Vaccaro - the man who convinced Nike to sign Michael Jordan. Vaccaro recently wrote his book ‘Legends and Soles’ with Armen Keteyian. Those who have watched AIR, will remember that Matt Damon played Vaccaro in the film. In this book, Vaccaro famously says, “I’d been more than slightly responsible for turning major college basketball into an unabashed money-making machine.”

 
How did he do this? Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta posed him some questions exclusively for Bookstrapping on Storyboard 18.

 
Building an ecosystem/market for a sport in a country - like you have - what are three top things that are absolutely necessary?

 
Thank you for this question because I had to address that very issue very early in my career. First, start with a younger demographic segment and find a way to create leagues neighborhood by neighborhood, community by community, from the youngest school ages to your version of the American high school.


This requires funding or fundraising to assure that facilities, equipment, uniforms and knowledgeable coaching is available. Also important are volunteers who can organize the structure of the leagues, including accounting, transportation, communications, league schedules and championships. An interest in the game by the public is essential.


Make available to young people an opportunity to play the sport by building courts and starting leagues for all ages. People will know by instinct if they are attracted toward the activity. There are a many ways to participate in a sport without playing – coaching, refereeing, organizing events, etc.


Any parallels on cricket in India and basketball in the US from an ecosystem point of view?

 
Exposure to cricket in India begins at a young age just as basketball exposure happens in America. The mental attachment to any sport is strongest if it starts at young age. I would venture to guess that there is a 99 percent developmental similarity between the two sports in terms of league organization, early introduction and the need for athletic/physical prowess to participate, though the playing facilities for the two sports vary significantly. I would also say that cricket has a decade-long head start on basketball in India, as you know.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/bookstrapping-in-a-conversation-with-scaling-mount-upscs-author-sajjan-yadav-62634.htm">Bookstrapping: In a conversation with Scaling Mount UPSC's author Sajjan Yadav</a> 

 
In your summer basketball days, did you ever have to tell a young athlete- that they're not good enough?</stron


I have never once told a single young or aspiring athlete that they weren’t good enough. If you love anything in life, you’ll find an opening to participate at the level you feel most comfortable. Even those who love the sport but never succeeded as a professional or star player have found other opportunies within the game, in positions like coaching, sponsoring teams or joining companies like Adidas and Nike – still in sports, but in alternate capacities. In general, though, almost all players self-identify their relative performance capabilities in competition with their peers.
 

Have you ever come across a talent from India, in basketball, that you wished to promote?


While over the years, I have come across a fair number of young players from such countries as China, Italy, Australia etc., I must say that India was completely off my radar during those years. I had only thought of India as a nation with renowned Cricket and Soccer/Football players. Someone had mentioned field hockey once, but I am not familiar with that sport. Thus, I’m afraid I wasn’t aware of any emerging basketball talent from the subcontinent.

 
Any reason basketball hasn't taken off in a really large sports market like India? 


I’m guessing the reason may be related to the former British Imperial Empire and the two sports which migrated to India from Britain. With a cultural affinity for football/soccer and cricket and to a lesser degree rugby, there was simply no origin point or basis of interest in India for the America-grown sport of basketball. 


Until recently, basketball has been absent from India’s sports scene and consciousness. Just as soccer took many decades to take root and grow in popularity in America, basketball, while growing in popularity in India will take time to develop a fan base and reach critical mass (televised or broadcast games at the high school, collegiate and professional levels) in India. It’s simplicity and low equipment requirements, however, mean that it can grow quickly once it “catches on.”

 
Any message to young basketball players in India?

Basketball is an interesting game - you can play it by yourself – one on one – or five on five. Put a hoop up near a smooth surface, dribble the ball, passing the ball, playing defense, shooting and developing your “moves” and scoring skills. It’s infectious, challenging and very competitive fun. It’s also easy to understand and follow because its limited to a small space, a 94’ x 50’ court and a simple scoring system. The internet and television have exposed Indian culture to the NBA and American college basketball, so the sport is not unknown. 


AI informs me that basketball is not in the top 4 sports in India. Even a groundswell effort to install basketball backboards with hoops at local playgrounds would begin to help establish the sport in neighborhoods. I got connected to basketball in an improbable way. Players in India may find the same attraction for the game very quickly once they begin to see how fast moving and enjoyable, even a one-on-one game can be.

 
Sports marketing, much like basketball, clearly is a game of passion. 


Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.

Basketball will take time to develop fan base in India: Sonny Vaccaro, sports marketing expert

Ahead of 21st April, National Civil Services Day, which commemorates the day when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 we review ‘Scaling Mount UPSC.’ The book is written by Sajjan Yadav, Additional Secretary, Department of Expenditure, MoF.

 
To become an IAS officer, the pre-requisite is to crack one of the world's most competitive and arduous exams! Almost a million people attempt this in three stages: the prelims, the mains, and the interviews where as the success rate is less than one percent. This coveted position is a road in to the governance system of the country. The IAS have famously been considered the framework of Indian governance. Sajjan Yadav recounts not only his own story but highlights unique journeys of seven aspirants who made it. 


Our five Bookstrapping insights, from a conversation with Sajjan Yadav are as follows:

 
1. The range of UPSC success stories include; a visually impaired girl, the son of a beekeeper from Kashmir, an economically challenged 21 year old who had just got rejected by both IIT and NDA, a mother of a 2 year old, the ward of a servant to an IAS officer and lastly, a privileged US based IITian, who chose to give up a cushy job and pursue the UPSC.


2. People are known to move their cities to prepare for IAS. “I cleared my exams in the pre-internet days. I was from Hisar, Haryana and I went to Jawahar Book Depot and asked for the IAS books. That’s all. Today, the internet is making it easier, but people who want to join a preparatory course, often move cities,” Yadav notes.


3. Its not just clearing the exam. “There is a two year training program after you clear the UPSC exam at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration,” explains Yadav. “It is a rigorous course, which includes not just classroom training but also a Bharat Darshan themed study tour and attachments to various national service organizations such as the military, public sector, private sector, NGOs etc.”


4. So what’s the profile of each batch, we asked. “A majority of the children of IAS officers do not want to become IAS officers. The long hours, sudden transfers, demands of the job are a major challenge. Hence, a majority of those who clear the exams are from non-IAS backgrounds. Even today, the IAS service is a major attraction for children from poor backgrounds. Women may also be under-represented in a sense,” Yadav adds.


5. The first few years are tough. Family takes a backseat. “The first 15 years of service, I would say, are tough. You have to be passionate about service itself,” cautions Yadav. In the long term, its more than worth it.


This is Yadav’s second book. He’s a learning-ogre of sorts, having finished his Doctorate in Public Health from London and then came up with his first book ‘India’s Vaccine story.’ “I am very fortunate and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My boss supports my desire to learn,” sums up Yadav.


Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/bookstrapping-t-j-powers-the-dose-effect-62163.htm">Bookstrapping: T.J. Power's "The Dose Effect"</a> 


Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.

BOOKSTRAPPING