“Don't you ever miss out on a single lecture of Mansi mam” proclaimed a senior as he narrated his 1st year MBA experience to me. As I begin to move to my room after the gyan session, I receive a mail indicating our 1st session with Mansi mam was due tomorrow at 8.00am. Standing at the edge of a hill when I took my eyes up from my phone, I noticed the grandiose view of Pune city and within me, I felt a yearning for knowledge and a mentor. It wasn't till 8.00 am till the next morning that the latter was answered.
Flanking a white flannel kurta and a brown dupatta enters Mansi mam. At the expense of being romantic, I wouldn't shy away from stating that she has an infectious smile. The sort which literally brightens up a room. If not for the smile, I think it is her energy. She moves with a pace quickly taking her seat and telling the class to sit. After a little fiddling from her bag while searching for the marker she asks us in a tone, not of an economist, not even of a consultant and definitely not of a professor
“How are you doing”. She sounded like a friend.
While struggling with the mike, unable to switch it on. She asks for the engineers in the class. 60 percent of the class has their hands up. She places the mike on the palm of Archit and soon discovers that even her marker isn't working. She goes on to declare.
“There are three things in SIBM that don't function Mikes, markers“ and then she goes on draw the letter ”S“ on the board
“Any Guesses”
I reply “Students?”
And lights up the whole class. Like a roar. When Archit isn't able to fix the mike. She funnily questioned her engineering credentials, telling that whenever she went to an engineer with an issue all they have ever come up with is to RESTART the damn thing. She soon becomes animated and apologizes saying that she is turning into a cynic with time and it is from there that she draws her humor from. But like they say every cynic was once an idealist. Mansi mam engagement in government consultancy projects has made her aware of the happenings in the ground level. She shared her consultancy experience stories with students and explained why she is beginning to get close to nihilism. She describes it as a condition of tension, as a disproportion between what we want to value (or need) and how the world appears to operate.
After taking a few questions based on life. We swiftly moved to a roleplay. She chose students and asked them to represent the Government of India, Defence forces, Judiciary, Central bank, citizens etc . And gave thought provoking scenarios, asking questions. She had in turn created a mini India in a classroom and presented the problems facing us today and drilled out solutions from us.
From those suggestions, she went on to explain terminologies like GDP, GNP, An Asset, A Bond, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Inflation, deflation, Income Taxes, Liquidity, Recession and interest rates. The whole class was perplexed by her style. We wondered what the secret was. She eventually spilled the beans.
“I think the biggest disadvantage in our system is that we move from introducing terminologies first and then explain them. Instead what if we tell stories and within them, we might just find terminologies.”
She might be moving towards nihilism but her sense of gaiety, her love of occasion, her appetite for friendship and conversation, fed into what seems like a blinkered kind of sunny optimism. Her class was nothing short of an epiphany for me. Right from economics, philosophy, to theology. She was the professor and mentor I had been looking for and each and every class of hers has become a perennial source of knowledge and motivation. There is never a second of dullness with her. Its like a step closer to realism.
Which ABG company I want to work for and why?
I intend to work for Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail limited as it will allow me not only to experience the most coveted leadership program for interns but also satiate my career desire by venturing into sales. I want to understand the basics of a retail business and its functioning which will in turn provide the most valuable learning in the process. The independence experienced by the employees when they narrate there experience at ABG is also one of the reasons that entices me to work here.
Antriksh Chauhan,
Marketing, SIBM Pune