My Journey From Handling My Father's Shop In Haryana To IRMA - Sumit

Not all students in a B-school come from very privileged backgrounds. A lot of them go through the grind of life and face circumstances and challenges that create an empathetic heart in these students when they chart their careers. Sumit Bansal’s story is one such example of undergoing hardships and finding ways to make the best out of circumstances. Born in a Haryanvi family where money was never free-flowing and responsibilities were at the forefront of any choices, Sumit had a difficult time growing up. But, he carved out his path in the journey and ended up getting an admission at IRMA, an institute that he feels is ‘close to his heart’. We spoke to Sumit and tried understanding his journey and what moves him in his life. Here are the excerpts:

Q1. Tell us about your early days. How was life growing up in Haryana?

I was born in Haryana in a typical conservative Haryanvi family. Haryana as we all know is a mix of good and bad people that we have all seen in countless Hindi films till now. But, people are not the same as shown in Movies or videos ( “Drinking all day and Driving a Supercar with lots of girls to flaunt”). They work hard all day on farms and earn their living to run families. Most of my early life went in either school or at my father’s shop, manning it.  I was exposed to the harsh realities of the world in a very early stage, as a small shop in a small city helps a lot in your learning.

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Q2. You chose to take up Food Technology. A rather unfamiliar career track to choose for students. What prompted you to go for this? What sort of challenges were you facing during this time in your life?

 I used to watch a show called, “Food Tech” on the History channel while growing up. I was very much fascinated by the way food is processed. The show grew my interest towards this field and someone close I knew was a food technology graduate. Hence, he motivated me and I ended up choosing Food Technology over any traditional engineering fields. During this time, I was a day scholar and my university was about 30 kms away from my hometown in a different city. I used to travel in a government run bus which had very little space to even put your foot properly.  For a good 2-3 hours I used to travel in a day and as soon as I came back home, my students, who I used to teach, would be ready with their notebooks for tuition. As soon as that used to get done, I used to run to my father’s shop and take over from him.

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Q3. What sort of a shift took place in your life once you were done with your engineering? Did you think of going for further studies at this point?

I always wanted to go for further studies but my family was not financially strong enough to bear the cost of my Master’s degree. So, I got a job which was far away from my hometown. But due to some personal commitments in my family I couldn’t leave home at that point. I was not in a position to leave home at that time. Hence, I started teaching. But that was not going to cut it for me. It was not going to be enough for my higher studies and that made me think about what to do next.

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Q4. Social service has been something that you feel strongly for from the beginning. How did you make sure that you continued to work towards this?

 As I myself in my childhood was deprived of quality studies because of financial issues. I grew up with a thinking that no one should be deprived of quality education for the lack of money. I used to have multiple batches of students including a batch of underprivileged students (I used to charge them a bare minimum amount so that they also feel dignified in asking doubts and study freely). I studied the ‘White Revolution’ during my Food technology days, and I started reading more about Dr. Kurien. I read his book, “I too had a dream” where I learnt how he did miracles for the lowest strata of people. That fascinated me towards Dr. Kurien and IRMA.

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Q5. While you were searching for B-schools, what prompted you to go for IRMA and why did you think it is a right fit for you?

While I was applying for B-schools, I only chose IRMA and TISS. Maybe, because of the social bent that these two institutes have. I already had IRMA in my mind because of its contribution to society by producing great personalities like RS Sodhi, Sanjay Ghosh and many more such barefoot managers who have done wonders. The choice wasn’t really difficult!

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Q6. MBA education comes with a heavy financial bagage. How did you manage to convince your parents for your admission and what followed next?

In my family, we are the first generation to be literate enough to get a Master’s degree. My family wants me to fly freely and pursue my dream without any shackles. They knew that I wanted to pursue higher studies and they were very much in support of it. When the discussion around the MBA fees happened, I told them about the ample number of scholarships offered by IRMA, which provides a level playing field for candidates like us with not so strong financial background to live our dream.

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Q7. Tell us about some of your experiences being part of the 2 year programme here at IRMA? What are some of the learnings that you think will help you in the longer run

 My B-school experience, as many others, started online. Although there used to be difficulty in accessing the internet sometimes and because of the long internet blockage during the farmer protests around our area, it was more difficult. But, IRMA helped me in solving the problem for me. They called me up in the 3rd term on campus where I could easily access the internet. The campus itself feels like home because of the flora and fauna that it holds. Here at IRMA, we don’t just learn to do business. We learn to do the business keeping the Kurien legacy in mind. That is, with a human face. During my time here I learnt a lot about cooperatives, NGOs, private organizations and how rural marketing has an immense potential for the future.

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Q8. How transformative this journey has been so far for you from helping your father at his shop to now looking at a bright future ahead? I consider my parents to be responsible for this transformative journey in my life. From spending my time at the shop, thinking this is going to be my life to now actually living my dream, studying MBA at an institute that keeps its values at the highest pedestal makes me really content. The kind of learning and exposure I have gotten here, be it the Village immersion programme or the able faculty and alumni members, I think I am going to take back a lot of learning and memories that are going to be of immense value in the future. I wish to give back to society and help many such Sumits like me, who dream to have a career of their own liking and choice.

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Q9. What is your message to students like you who come from not so well to do economical backgrounds, but dream big?

Dream big, don’t let your financial  shackles bog you down in a state of education deficit. I am a true believer of the much touted line “when there’s a will there’s a way”, which has been a motto of my life and forever will be.

I would like to wrap up with a quote from the film Kung Fu Panda,

 “ Yesterday is a history,

Tomorrow is a mystery

But

Today is a GIFT”

No matter what phase of your life you are going through, just dream big and follow your path.