Kartik Kansal is from the small town of Gulaothi in the district of Bulandshahr. It has a male literacy rate of 64% and a female literacy rate of 45%. From the early stages of his childhood, he has been a very adaptive child. Due to the lack of basic educational facilities in his town, he pursued his studies from Hapur, a city that is 16 km away from his residence. He used to commute to school daily from home via public transport on his own. There, he engaged in academics as well as extra-curricular activities. He took part in many events ranging from pro dance competitions to athletic events at various functions held in school. He scored 9.6 CGPA in his matriculation examination and 80.5 percentage marks in his Higher Secondary Certificate Examination, being the highest scorer in Hindi by scoring 95 marks. He then joined Zakir Husain College at the University of Delhi and pursued his graduation in Commerce. He has been a consistent performer throughout his academics. He topped the college in B.Com securing 1st, 3rd, and 2nd rank in all three consecutive years respectively and participated in Inter-college Debate and Dialogue competitions.
Karthik's love for the Indian Air Force started from his childhood. He came from a small village and owns an agricultural business. As a result, he met a number of farmers and their children who were serving in the Indian Armed Forces. Their attire, as well as the pride with which they wore it, gave him goosebumps. In addition, the majority of his friends were from military family. After discussing the life of the armed forces with one of his close friends, he became interested in joining the Indian Air Force. He was also the first person pursuing post-graduation in his family as well as being the first to join any kind of service, and that too a Government job. Following his passion to become an officer, he joined the Indian Air Force as an Aircraft Men to increase his chances for officer rank and showed his leadership and organizational skills. Therein he successfully managed the position of Logistics in-charge of trainee cadets of Katre Squadron.
A person who joins any of the military forces faces numerous hurdles. Performing intense physical training was one of the problems Kartik faced. Although he completed physical training to meet the benchmark, the level at which the training was done was of a different degree, and it lasted more than half of the day. Mind over matter became his personal philosophy. “The separation from my friends and family was also very difficult. However, when I look back at that time, the challenges I endured were worthwhile because of the lessons I carry with me now. The forces taught me about discipline, bravery, selfless service, readiness to sacrifice, planning and strategy formation, as well as teamwork, to mention a few,” he shared. He learned how to deal with individuals from various parts of the country and from different walks of life.
“Most importantly, I became confident in myself and determined to face anything. So, when it came time to make the extremely difficult decision of switching over to corporate life, it was a leap of faith, but I was ready.” Kartik engaged in introspection to solve the higher purpose in his life. And, as the result of self-introspection, he found that the Indian Air Force had sown the seeds of management and leadership in him. As he started studying case studies, he found himself perfectly carved out for this path. He found them more engaging than he had expected. He became inclined towards these case studies and understood their deeper implications in the real world and in close connection to the business environment. Therefore, an MBA would further improve the organizational and leadership skills in him.
He wanted to imbibe these skills from one of the best business schools in the country. After getting discharged from service, he gave CAT-2019 and scored a low percentile. That result was an eye-opener for him. He was a target setter and achiever. He realized that he has to toil hard if he wants to get those desired skill sets from one of the best business schools. Therefore, he decided to reappear in CAT. For the whole long year, he worked hard and prepared to get a decent overall percentile and did just that with an increase of 53% in CAT 2020 with an impressive 122% increase in VARC and 100% increase in DILR.
It was a difficult year for Kartik as many of the members of his family were COVID positive. In November, the month of the exam, his father was in the ICU for a harrowing 18 days and his grandmother, unfortunately, passed away just a day before CAT. “I was under tremendous pressure - mentally as well as emotionally. However, I remained calm and composed which led me to excel in the examination.” As a result of his consistency, he got interview calls from 15 IIMs, and his dream was just a few more steps away.
The Indian Air Force had a major role in shaping Kartik into the person he is today. It had a profound impact on his entire life. Now he sees things through different eyes and takes a more objective attitude. He learned how to be cool and composed in the face of adversity. After leaving IAF, he faced many comments from naysayers and unbelievers which made him feel like a failure at times. For two years, the lessons from IAF made the most extreme societal and familial pressure appear like a cakewalk. He kept in mind the IAF slogan, "Touch the Sky with Glory," and he worked hard for 1.5 years. Even after losing a beloved family member just the day before his exam, he still managed to get into one of his dream colleges, IIM Rohtak.
While juggling his MBA commitments, he tutors students for examinations, fosters stray animals, enjoys performing rap songs in his society, and is a dutiful son in a large family of 13 members, helping to run an agriculture produce market committee (APMC). He emphasizes that, “The armed forces can teach us how to persevere in the face of setbacks.”
This is perhaps an understatement for Kartik Kansal; he is not only persevering but thriving, and he is only just getting started, with so much more to accomplish.