Monday, April 14, 2014

Infibeam Is Conferred With 'The Game Changing Idea Of The Year' Award By The Economic Times At Et Retail Award-2014

Infibeam is awarded as The Game Changing Idea of The Year at the fourth edition of the ET Retail Awards 2014. ET Retail Award is an annual initiative under the umbrella of The Economic Times & the Retailers Association of India, and is an initiative of the Times Grey Cell. The Game Changing Idea of the Year was conferred to BuildaBazaar, Infibeam's state-of-art eCommerce technology platform which enables small, medium and large retail brands to host their online store. 


Infibeam is Ahmedabad based one of the leading e-commerce technology company in India and offers B2C retail platform www.infibeam.com to millions of online consumer and technology platform for small, medium and large retailers to host their online store. 

Mr +Sachin Oswal, COO & Co-Founder and +Kartik Jain, VP - Corporate Development (centre) Infibeam received the award for Game Changing Idea of the Year from Chandru L Raheja and R Sundar .

Mr +Sachin Oswal said, "The Game Changing Idea of The Year Award is great recognition by The Economic Times as we strongly felt that BuildaBazaar.com since its launch in 2011 has grown at tremendous rate because of its scalable and robust attributes and has been widely accepted by the  retail brands not in India but also internationally."

Friday, April 11, 2014

Everything Becomes A Myth One Day, Says Anand Neelakantan

Mr. Anand Neelkantan (Author of Ajaya & Asura)While many technology and management professionals venture into fiction writing in India, fame rests upon only a few writers, who can make it big in terms of success and reputation. Anand Neelkantan is a writer, who boasts name and fame in the world of fiction writing. His debut novel Asura: Tale of the Vanquished was a breakout hit and hit the list of bestsellers of 2012. In AJAYA: Epic of the Kaurava Clan - Roll Of The Dice, Neelkantan recreated the magic and this too went on to become a successful story. Indian mythology is a pool of inspiration for Neelkantan, who weaves engaging plots to revisit historical events with a complete new perspective. In this exclusive chat with Infibeam, Anand Neelkantan talks about his love for writing, his passion for Indian mythology and why epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat are great source of inspiration for people today.

Que: Many IITians and IIM graduates become writers today. Do you think that you are following the trend? OR writing has been your passion?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: I am not a graduate from IIT or IIM, I have done my engineering from Government Engineering College, Trichur, Calicut University, Kerala. I believe writing has nothing to do with qualification and writers come from all walks of life. Writing has always been my passion and I did Engineering to get a job and make a living.

AJAYA Book by Anand Neelakantan
Que: Indian Mythology is the flair of the season. After Mehula series, your stories are sold well in book stores.

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: Indian mythology is an ocean of stories and it has always been an inspiration for writers in most Indian languages. A good book will sell irrespective of its genre.

Que: With myth, everything becomes possible. Your comment on Claude Levi Strauss' observation.

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: Everything becomes a myth one day. It is just the play of time.

Que: Bhasa, one of the celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit used to brand villains as heroes in his dramas. How Ajaya is different from plays written by Bhasa?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: Bhasa's Oorubhanga is a one act play, depicting the last scene of Duryodhana's life. Bhasa is always an inspiration for all mythologists. After two thousand years, his take on mythology appears more modern than most of the present day writers. Ajaya is different in the sense that it is Mahabharata seen from the angle of not only Duryodhana, but also other characters like Karna, Ekalavya, Aswathamma and a common man Jara.

Que: What makes you think (or believe) that ancient scriptures like Ramayana and Mahabharata are relevant even after thousands of years?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: Look around and one need not think or believe. It is a fact. Ramayana and Mahabharata are a part of day to day life. Without these epics, all Indian languages will lose its colour.

Que: Do you think that fiction based on mythology strikes a chord with Indian youth?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: A good story will always strike a chord with youth of any time in any country.

Que: What is the biggest challenge before you while writing Asura & Ajaya? Were you apprehensive of themes you have chosen?

ASURA Book by Anand Neelakantan
Mr. Anand Neelakantan: Counter telling or Prati Vada is a part of Indian culture. Hindu mind has the capability to hold opposing concepts and be in home with both. The questions I ask in Asura or Ajaya are the questions that most of the people would have asked in their youth or most of the youth are asking now. I have just put them in a logical pattern. The questioning of our scriptures is a part of our tradition. There is nothing called blasphemy in Hinduism.

Que: What motivated you to write this book?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: My love for mythology, my family back ground, the village I grew up where Puranas are still a living tradition and my fondness for the so called villains.

Que: What do you intend to express through the book?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: If a reader is not able to understand what I am trying to express through the book, it means I have failed as a writer. My book is my expression.

Que: You would like to be remembered as - an engineer or a writer?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: If I wanted to be remembered as an Engineer, would I be writing stories? Writer, obviously.

Que: Any message for Indian readers?

Mr. Anand Neelakantan: Please read my books with an open mind. I am not only aiming for entertainment, so if the book slows down in some chapters, it is because I want you to think with me. It is in the purest Indian tradition of Vada and Prati Vada.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Indian Consumers' Tryst With Online Book Shopping

While the entire world celebrates World Book Day on April 23 (the date happens to be William Shakespeare's death date) every year, this Infographic on Books touches a right chord with our audience as this information reveals some interesting facts on online shopping of books in India. This information is presented through a beautiful Infographic, which serves details like who are the top authors, which are the top selling titles in India, which Indian city browses more number of books, books in which language are sold more, which region of India orders most books and so on.


As we are living in a highly commercial world, sale of books is the one criterion that supports every fact displayed here. For top 10 authors, we have compiled sales of all their books in a month; and for top selling titles, they are stand-alone books, which are sold most in a month. Top ten personalities listed here may not be writers but they are the people on whom other eminent writers have penned reams of papers and those books are sold in large numbers.

Language and books go hand in hand; we have listed top five languages in which books are sold most. These languages are English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. Top ten categories of books are also considered with business topping the list. Last but not the least - price range and payment method. Not only consumers but also some business people would like to know how consumers prefer to pay while they shop for books, and between what price range they love to buy books.

So, here is an excellent information on books. Read it, share it and send in your feedback. This Infographic is designed and developed by Infibeam.com after an extensive research.