For someone who always has a backup, choosing to have none was scary. But fear could not stop Aishwarya Maru from reaching IIM Ahmedabad. Today, we bring you a story of someone who hails from the financial capital of the country - Mumbai and loves dancing and writing. From trekking to aptitude to ambidexterity, this individual can't stop challenging herself. Her grit and iron-strong will landed her among India's Best-30 Most Employable MBA Graduates!
The following is Aishwarya Maru's set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst MBA graduates to determine the top-50 most employable MBA graduates of the Class of 2021. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated by the Founder of InsideIIM-Kampus Konversations, Aishwarya Maru's story and profile stood out. Here's her story in her words.
“I hail from Bombay, lived all my life in the city until IIMA happened. I did my graduation from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Bombay and then directly joined IIM Ahmedabad as a fresher. While these are the facts about me, one thing that I would like to add is that I am always looking for new challenges. I completed my first 10 Km marathon in 2017 and have been hooked ever since. Later in 2018, I also took up my first ever trek to Tungnath, which is the highest Shiva Temple in the world, located at the height of 3,680 meters. It was one of the most challenging experiences I have had in my life. I also took up poetry in early 2016 and next I am looking at starting acrylic painting and writing with my left hand. The reason why I am always looking for new challenges is that they always bring immense growth opportunities with them.”
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
"Both these questions, in a way, have the same answer in my case. One of my innate traits, since I was a kid, has been to have a plan B or a backup, so to say, I have needed the security to thrive and maintain mental peace.
When I was in my last year of under-graduation, I was aware of what I wanted to pursue an MBA. I was keen on getting into one of the top 6, i.e., the old IIMs. However, based on my profile so far, which was a textile engineering degree and average grades so far, it seemed like a far-fetched idea. The natural career trajectory that most of the batch undertook was masters in the field abroad, or it was a job for the remaining batch. Given my risk-averse nature, it was natural that I would have applied to masters and the recruitment process along with CAT to be on the safer side.
However, I took the risk and stepped out of my comfort zone and only decided to appear for CAT, no other MBA exams, no placements, no other masters. It was a decision that was not only against my nature, against my comfort zone, but also a risk that could have led to a drop year, something that was beyond my comprehensible imagination. And then to top it I also decided to only apply to the 6 IIMS known as BLACKI and played a shot in the dark. What I wanted to do with this decision was to push me to my limits and ensure that I strived knowing this was the only option that was viable and feasible, and there were no take-backs. And this decision really pushed me to outperform my expectations and eventually landed me at IIMA.
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When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act.
"I believe it need not be a humungous gesture or a large help but even small actions that we undertake daily can bring a change in many ways. I try and consciously undertake small actions that I undertake to ensure I help and treat people right and maybe can bring a small smile on people’s faces. For example, at my campus I make it a point to greet all the watchmen, house helpers, janitors along with my peers and professors. I try and strike small conversations with them whenever possible; this really brings a smile on their faces and that brings a smile on my face. Even when I order food from outside, I tend to order an extra burger or extra dessert and share it with my dorm guard, it really brightens their day! Now that I am at home due to COVID, on festivals and other occasions I convinced my father to bring extra sweets and snacks and share it with the people who were working to keep our society clean and functioning (the cleaners, constructions workers and watchmen). Even small thankyou’s and how are you’s go a long way when it comes to us human beings."
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
"I did my final year undergraduate project in a multidisciplinary field of Food Technology. The project was on Advanced processing of fruit juices where a novel method of processing was to be tested. The fruit chosen for the same was Musk Melon and various aspects of the fruit juice had to be tested including Vitamin content, microbial activity etc. Coming from the fibres and textile department, I had little knowledge in this field but was interested keen to learn.
During the testing phase it came to my notice that the vitamin content of the musk melon did not fall into the desired range and therefore multiple trails and duplicates were generated but the results were not satisfactory. Post this analysis I approached sir and put the point forward that maybe the required vitamin content might be different, but sir did not agree with this analysis and given his in depth knowledge I could not object at that moment. However, I did not agree with his decision to proceed as is and wanted to put my point forward in a better way.
I repeated the experiment a few times more and then eventually on getting the same results I requested a PhD student working under sir to perform the experiment and when he got the same results, I approached sir again with statistical data and then sir considered the analysis, and we made the necessary amends to the project. I felt it pivotal to take heed and respect his knowledge and understanding and at the same time put the point forward and therefore took the statistical way forward.
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What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative which has led you to do deep work in that field?
"There are two things that are very dear to me and I really enjoy them. One is dancing and the other is writing. Both bring immense joy to me and therefore I dedicate my time towards them. While dancing lets me have my moment and dance away my worries, poetry and writing let me vent my heart out and help me express myself. And while I enjoy doing both the activities immensely, I also learn a lot from them, some life lessons, and some lessons for the moment. My two major learnings from them have been:
1) Determination- no one is born knowing how to high kick or pile. You practice you learn and that applies to literally everything we do in our lifetime; we must begin somewhere and take our determination to reach our goals.
2) Expressing is critical to your well-being. Poetry taught me how writing your thoughts and expressing yourself not only gives you peace of mind but it frees you and gives your thoughts and imaginations an open space to run."
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
"If I were given the corpus, I would like to use it in the activities listed below:
1) Buy a house for my parents: I am highly indebted to them and they have undertaken immense sacrifices to help me and my brother reach the stage where we are at currently and they always keep motivating us to perform our best. I would like to gift them a house.
2) Old age home: I lost my grandfather a few months ago and while he lived a good life and had loves ones around him, it just made me realize of the ordeals many other people face and I want to therefore build or help an old age home, making it a happy space for people in need.
3) Education for the underprivileged: I want to help students learn and grow and fulfil their dreams. It will be through, scholarships, educational infrastructure, and emotional support. I want to personally connect and teach the students in the future.
4) Create a corpus fund or something like the Y Combinator specifically for India: In our very own country we have immense potential and great ideas and want to invest in them and help them grow and indirectly this shall help our country grow. The distribution of the fund will depend on the requirements and project plan but these are the ideas I would like to use the corpus for.”