Ashwin Sanghi - 13 Steps to Bloody Good Marks

Ashwin Sanghi

Ashwin Sanghi ranks among Indias highest-selling authors of English fiction. He has written several bestsellers (The Rozabal Line, Chanakyas Chant, The Krishna Key, The Sialkot Saga), a New York Times bestselling crime thriller called Private India (and its sequel Private Delhi), together with James Patterson. Sanghi has also penned a non-fiction title, 13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck and co-authored 13 Steps to Bloody Good Wealth. He was included by Forbes India in their Celebrity 100 and is a winner of the Crossword Popular Choice Award. He was educated at Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai, and St. Xaviers College, Mumbai. He holds a Masters degree in Business Management from Yale University. Ashwin Sanghi lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika, and his son, Raghuvir.

You can connect with Sanghi via the following channels:

Website www.sanghi.in

Facebook www.facebook.com/shawnhaigins

Twitter www.twitter.com/ashwinsanghi

YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/ashwinsanghi

Instagram http://instagram.com/ashwin.sanghi

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashwinsanghi

Ashok Rajani

Ashok L. Rajani was educated in St. Marys High School, Chennai, Loyola College, Chennai, and College of Engineering, Guindy. He joined Andhra Bank as a departmental officer in 1978, took the banking exam (CAIIB), completed an MBA (Finance) and went on to teach in the banks Staff Training College. After retiring, he taught himself the APA guidelines and edited engineering-related technical papers and Ph.D. theses of Indian and international candidates. He also taught freelance classes on communication skills and management for B.B.A. and M.B.A. students while editing several books for Indian, British and American authors.

Ashok speaks five languages and resides in Chennai with his wife, Sulochana, who is a gynaecologist. He has a son, Siddarth and two grandchildren. Teaching is his first love.

You can connect with Ashok via the following channels:

Facebook www.facebook.com/Ashok Lr

LinkedIn http://in.linkedin.com/in/ashok-lr-20769210

westland publications ltd

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93, I Floor, Shamlal Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002

First e-pub edition: 2017

www.westlandbooks.in

Published by westland publications ltd 2017

Copyright Ashwin Sanghi 2017

All rights reserved @Openmind7

Ashwin Sanghi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

978-93-86224-76-7

Inside book formatting and typesetting by SRYA, New Delhi

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by any way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the authors prior written consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews with appropriate citations.

CONTENTS

After I wrote 13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck in 2014, I received many messages from readers saying that the book had helped them in gaining a new perspective regarding their lives. This led to a second book in the series, 13 Steps to Bloody Good Wealth, for which I collaborated with Sunil Dalal, someone who truly has a unique perspective on wealth creation.

Among the messages that I received after the book on luck was one from a student. She wondered whether a book along the 13 Steps pattern could be developed to help students like her study better and thus score better marks. I instantly thought of the person who could write itAshok Rajani.

Many years ago, when I had released a book in my Bharat Series called The Krishna Key, I received a rather long email from a stranger. That stranger pointed out some mistakes that I had committed in terms of logic, research and grammar. This was in spite of three rounds of editing. I immediately contacted him and asked him to fact-check my next book. That stranger was Ashok Rajani. In fact, he went on to become the editor for 13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck.

Ashok has dabbled in many jobs and all of them have involved an element of teaching. During his school days, he taught his nephews and nieces, then participated in group studies while studying for his B.E. He then taught his own son, held lectures in computerization for bank personnel at the Staff Training College, helped colleagues with their banking exams, held classes on various subjects for B.B.A. and M.B.A. students, assisted Ph.D. scholars with their theses, taught his grandchildren the list is endless.

I believe that his diverse and rich experience gives him a far more rounded insight into the topic of studying, learning and scoring than, say, a college professor or a coaching class tutor. Specialists tend to have a narrow vision whereas I wanted us to present a book that was far wider in scope. I think we have succeeded in doing precisely that.

It is said that you dont have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. So, what are you waiting for? Please start!

Ashwin Sanghi

Mumbai, 2017

When Ashwin Sanghi (whom I had never met in person but had only communicated with while editing his 13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck) invited me to co-author 13 Steps to Bloody Good Marks, I jumped at the offer. His invitation brought back memories of my many interactions with my class fellows and students (because I learnt a lot while teaching). Over the years, I have been asked questions and have heard innumerable comments, both from students and parents. Some much-repeated, contradictory and strange questions and comments included:

Why is it necessary to learn this at all?

How can we remember such complicated material?

Each teacher teaches only one subject. We students are expected to learn several subjects. Thats unfair.

Why should we do maths when we have calculators and computers that can do it for us?

A passing grade is enough for children in our family. Dont overburden my child.

I have performed a pooja yesterday at the temple. My child is sure to get good marks.

. I want to be an athlete. So why should I study? I have the advantage of a sports quota.

I plan to be a painter. Why are you making me struggle with science subjects?

If I become an engineer, why would I need history, geography, English or other languages?

I knew this but forgot it. How do you manage to remember so much?

I have saved the best question for last. Its a question for which I actually did not have any reply: Do you have any shortcut to getting great marks without any effort or without having to spend time studying?

Having never been a full-time teacher or a B.Ed., I threw the last question at well-qualified and experienced teachers known to me. They invariably laughed, thinking that I was either joking, crazyor both. When they realized that the question had been asked in all seriousness, they provided assorted replies that included:

Are you joking? If there is indeed a shortcut, then why are we here?