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Comfortable with duality

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DQW Bureau
New Update

Patricia Sridhar

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"I look 26 but I'm 50". This comes from Ashok Mirza, Chairman of sitagita.com and makes you give him a second look and then a third and a fourth look in quick succession. There is something unmistakable about the man. A paradox? Well, there is a certain harmonious duality about Ashok Mirza, which explains the portal he heads and the company he represents. And Mirza, like sitagita.com is comfortable with duality. 

Sitagita.com is the Internet venture of Apcom Computers Limited, an established name in the networking industry and which carries on its shoulders four major products of international repute--Dax, Eicon, Pearl and Nordex. Apcom's range of products include simple modems, network interface cards, hubs, switches, routers, WAN products, structure cabling.

So, how and why did Ashok Mirza with a hard networking background venture into something as 'soft' as a portal exclusively for women? "Sitagita.com is driven by the fact that we're adding value somewhere. Nobody doubts the fact that the Internet is like fire. And it's very important for women in particular because they are going to drive the net. This prediction is based on solid reasons. Psychologically, the way the woman thinks and the way the web works are similar. The woman's brain and as a result, her way of thinking is contextual in nature as against the compartmentalized, single-minded approach of the man.

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Further India can draw on her rich heritage-culture, religion. Thus, sitagita.com was conceived as an information portal that can add value to Indian women and to women all over the world."

But what about the choice of name? SitaGita is not an unusual name but for a portal? Well, Mirza explains, "For one it is popular name. My wife suggested it. SitaGita explains the duality of the Indian woman. While a grandmother might come across as a formidable person to her daughter-in-law, she is at once a prankster with the grandchildren. Similarly, the Indian woman knows to differentiate between the protocol required for a temple and that of a discotheque. SitaGita symbolized two different persons with one womanly soul."

A characteristic feature of Ashok Mirza is that he answers questions with interesting anecdotes. Like when he was asked to justify an earlier quote of his, which reads, "The successful portal will in time stand for certain values-like sitagita.com". Mirza replied, "two software guys are in New York. One guy is a Christian and is married to a Hindu, while the other guy is a Muslim married to a Sikh. Both the family are very thick. So, for Ramzan, the Sikhni friend logs on to the net to gather more information about the festival, its history, relevance, rituals, food etc. This is where SitaGita.com will provide value to the user.

We will guide her in her search and provide her with a solution."

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SitaGita.com has a host of sections and offers many value added services. Recognizing the fact that women and shopping are inseparable, sitagita.com has come out with some innovative shopping methods. But Indian women have their own characteristic ways of shopping. When asked how sitagita.com intends to make shopping on the net viable for women in the Indian context, Ashok Mirza said, "At sitagita.com, we are not trying to sell anything. We just ensure that the search ends in just three clicks of the mouse. The Privileged Card allows the user to benefit from the best of deals at various stores. The Compare Shop allows the users to browse through the itinerary of various stores, compare and contrast product availability and price before deciding on where to shop."

What about a commerce model? Ashok Mirza said, "We will get into that a little later. Our primary objective right now is to establish a strong community. And with 200 emails pouring in everyday, we know that we are getting there."

Ashok Mirza handles success with humility, but he sure has his favorites and when talking about them, Ashok Mirza is nothing short of ecstatic. Passionate. 

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When asked about his favorite section at sitagita.com, Ashok Mirza admits that the perspective is his favorite section. "The regular opinion poll with yes/no choice is crap. The user does not get anything about out the activity. At sitagita.com, we ask 4-to-5 questions, each with multiple choice. It gets the user to think; it gets the user involved in the issue. That's valuable for us at

SitaGita.com."

Ashok Mirza is a voracious reader. And he makes no bones about accepting the fact. "Somerset Maughm is my all time favorite; But now, I've stopped reading fiction. I read anything I can lay my hands on--management, history,

religion..anything!"

Ashok Mirza is a busy man. But so is his wife who heads an export house; their daughter works as a financial analyst in Canada and their son is studying in the States. So, how does the family network? With a twinkle in his eyes, Ashok Mirza said, "We're a very close-knit family. Apart from other things, this comes from the fact that both my wife and I had worked for companies (like IBM) that had always stressed the importance of the family. Regarding family networking, we have to thank the Internet. Our daughter mails us six times a week and our son too mails very often in the weak."

Ashok Mirza has come a long way from Kashmir. His mental eye gets cloudy when he remembers his childhood in that once-peaceful valley. Apart from memories, Mirza carries with himself a certain strength and dignity, well earned prided and a fabulous sense of humor.

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