A memorable classroom experience at IIM Trichy
It was the last day of orientation. At last the academies sessions and the real management life at IIM Trichy is starting from the next day. Every one of us is anxious, excited, worried, and optimistic about the journey ahead of us.
We all were eagerly waiting to meet our alumni from IIM Trichy who were our real heroes, who are now excelling in their respective domains outside. The Alumni meet was scheduled at 11:00 am after the snacks break. The room got filled with the energetic crowd in no time. Our director sir, Dr Bhimraya Metri welcomed the guests, 4 charming young personalities entered the class and got seated. Each of them started introducing themselves one by one. Each of them explained their journey so far, why they chose management and IIM Trichy. When it was the turn for the 4
th guest, there was something visibly wrong which disrupted the flow of the event. A lean young man looking down with his hands shaking and body shivering. Most of us assumed it to be a mini panic-attack due to stage fear.
Slowly the person starts speaking still with his eyes fixed on the ground. He says “Hi All, I am Rajeev. Congratulations and welcome to IIM Trichy family! Trust me you are in good hands”. The warmth and love in his few words spread among the crowd like a wildfire.
“I chose to do management so that people at least look at my resume. Even after having excellent academic records in the undergrad no firm even cared to look at my resume because I am visually impaired”. And here we were complaining about the AC timings in our hostel rooms. Just those two lines imparted the sense of perseverance and hard work of this gem. He started narrating his journey starting with how he persuaded and convinced his father who is the pillar of his life, for him to come to join IIM Trichy. As a father, he was really worried for his blind son who never went out of his sight till date.
But the encouragement, care and support the staff and students of IIM Trichy gave him on the date of joining assured his father that his son is in safe hands. But life again gave him shocks, the day before the session starts he got an emergency call with the news of his father’s death. He broke down into tears in front of the whole crowd and all of us resonated his feelings. He continued explaining how everyone around him helped him pass through the phase. He now names IIM Trichy as his father figure. He stressed on the importance of building relationships, sharing love and care.
He again emphasized the need to have humanity and generosity for others. Everything else is materialistic, the human connections we made is all that matters in the end. He paved way for a series of thoughts in my mind. I understood that the true essence of life is not what your qualification is or what your bank balance is, above all, it is the people around you who truly cares for you, it’s the bond that you create and the impressions you leave that matters in the end.
His humbleness, respect for others, care and compassion showed me the other side of the coin, the one most of us forget to see. In the race of achieving the best of everything, we often forget to live imparting the most asset we have- Love and Compassion.
Which ABG company would you want to work for and why?
I would want to work for Abof -the flagship e-commerce website of ABG Groups. With my prior exposure in online fashion segment, I believe I can add value to the company. Now that Abof is set to re-enter the industry with its private labels, I can bring in informed ideas and hypothesis to the table. Abof is in its growth and expansion stage with more omni channels coming up. Being part of benchmarking studies, cohort sizing and opportunity estimations exclusively in the online fashion segment, I understand the dynamics of this industry and can bring in value.
This article is written by Kavya Mohan - Class of 2020