The burning flames rising high to extend its reach towards azure sky awaited in front of me. The street which paved the way towards Goa city from one of the outskirt villages of the beach town happened to be caught with one of these wildfires. The time had come to still, and it allowed me some slack hours to do some thinking amid the deadline run-overs and the scheduled meetings. Yes, it was one of those days when I was out making the sales pitch to a rural school in Goa during my summer internship of the MBA program.
'Ah! You have written some fascinating stuff on sports websites! Tell me more'. The words of the HR from Xpress Minds Edutainment Pvt. Ltd. had brought a smile to inner me. I knew it was an opportunity to create an impression and the rest remains a history in my diary. A Sales & Marketing role was offered to me. Though what came as a surprise was the Goa location on my platter. I couldn't have been more delighted. This cherry on the cake meant that it would be a rather honeymoon period for me over the two months. I knew the gushing waves on the seashore were inevitably going to alleviate the pressure and tension of a day-long work.
The two months of the groundwork was never going to be easy especially for a guy who has devoted three years in an AC cabin drinking machine coffee. The launch of 'Mind Wars' quiz event in New Delhi officially commenced our summer internship. The two days of orientation was loaded with various inspirational speeches, training for the days to follow, CEO's pep talk and a network building opportunity for the future Businessmen and women. These days at the capital caused the ball rolling for 114 summer interns from all the top B-schools in India. The Spice Jet flight to Goa followed by the local transport in a KadaMBA bus marked the beginning of a journey what turned out to be a completely new experience for an IT guy like me. We had to pitch the 'Mind Wars' quiz contest to schools, onboard the students on the learning platform of Zee5 application and build an association with all the interested customers.
The target of 10 schools per day set by the company looked far more ambitious but traveling by beaches certainly reduced the impact of scorching heat and helped achieve it. It was observed that it required 3-4 visits per school to develop a relationship with the schools and only when the Principal started comprehending me personally that the schools got ready to register with us. It included efforts from trying to portray local guy of Goa, articulating a few desi words, citing references of the similar quiz contests and sporadically indeed playing a Narsee Monjee (NMIMS) magic card. The daily report generation, creating beat plans, designing travel plans, strategical thinking to come up with creative solutions, tackling different risks involved was quite a learning for me. When the schools were going to close for vacations in the later stage of the summer internship, we were planned to switch to social media campaigning. One of the solutions we had implemented was meeting with the District Education Office, and it did take many rounds to the Sarkari Babus to ultimately convince them the importance of this 'Mind Wars' program. The fruits we got were - it allowed more authentication since the notification would be released from the Government and it helped onboard schools in mass numbers.
Until now, I had already turned from a stranger in a strange land to a person who can guide you to a cost-efficient Goa travel, Goa stays, Goa tourism, bike renting and yes, help any of the parents to get his child into best of the schools in Goa. I was capable to know the beach town and the Goan people better after traveling not just the urban but also rural areas of Goa. I had the opportunity to interact with locals and well when the networks did not work in the interiors of the villages, social way always remained the high way. My mentor who sat in New Delhi remained continuous support for me when it had not been my hour, day or week. The inspiration to be tenacious in spite of some low registrations in a week or receiving some new ideas to make a pitch helped me make a sale and on top grow in my MBA journey.
I had been too much endorsed in my thinking, waiting on my rented bike for the fire to be extinguished. I woke up to realize that I had to catch a train back home only after a fire brigade came running with its loud bell. The wildfire was completely extinguished, and I was ready to travel the remaining 6 km back to Madgaon railway station. Yes, that was going to be my daily routine for 2 months. I traveled three hours to Goa by a passenger train from my native place Kudal, Maharashtra and back home by Janshatabdi Express. I am certain this long day sweating and the fire incident was all going to fade away once I reach home and taste my Mom's hand made Baingan Bhakari, Chillie Thecha, Curd and Puran Poli.