When I was applying for companies in my college's summer internship recruitment programmes, I always knew I wished to be a part of something aspirational, progressive, innovative and yet enabling for all it's stakeholders. An organisation that not only believes in regularly punching above it's weight in it's relentless pursuit of growth but also cares for it's environment and people whose lives become entwined with the company's culture. Today, I can certainly say destiny couldn't have chosen one better for me. Mahindra all the Way!
The internship began some 15 days prior to the physical reporting at the headquarters in Worli with the project title and description being sent to all the interns. Despite having no experience in automotive sector, I was assigned a project in Mahindra Trucks & Bus Division. My guide and buddy made sure I understood my deliverables and advised me to come with an open mind and lots of energy.
With this started Day 1 at Mahindra Towers, Worli where we were welcomed by the Group HR Team with kits neatly arranged on tables with nameplates. The day kick-started with an activity where everyone had to share a given number of fun facts about them in front of everyone else. We saw many people open up and steal the show here. It was followed by a series of sessions with company's bigwigs who made sure we understood the strong belief system and the philosophy of Mahindra Rise that's ingrained in every innovation the company does. Be it driver-less automated tractors or the pininfarina designed racing car 'Batista' which had been doing rounds in the news circle those days. The ones that I found most insightful and interesting are the ones by Mr. Parthasarathi, CFO & CIO , (M&M) and Mr. Hemant Luthra, Chairman, Mahindra CIE followed by an address by the current GMCs. All sessions were interactive throughout and kept us engaged.
Day 2 also had some very good sessions by the likes of Mr Pawan Goenka, MD (Mahindra & Mahindra) and Mr. Parag Shah, Managing Partners, Mahindra Partners.
It was more of a dream come true when the entire group of interns got to meet Mr. Anand Mahindra in his palatial office in Mahindra House near Gateway of India. It was an engaging session wherein he wanted to interact with us about our beliefs about leadership models, politics and purpose of life. All in all, it was a participative discussion followed by a surprise birthday celebration of one of the interns.
What was common everywhere in Mahindra was mouth the watering delicacies and refreshments served in the breaks. While returning we couldn't help but and enjoy the cool breeze at Marine Drive. It was truly blissful.
Day 3 had sessions at AFS head office in Kandivali by by some other notable dignitaries like Mr Ashok Sharma, President Agri Business, MD & CEO of Mahindra Agri Solutions & Mr. Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric. He put some really good arguments regarding why charging infrastructure isn't an issue for operations of 2 wheeler electric bikes contrary to the opinion many of us had. The sessions were quickly followed by a bout of engaging games and puzzles which were really fun to solve in a team. It was quickly followed by snacks from 'Saboro', Mahindra's very own arm of Agri solutions business.
Day 4 had me reporting at Pune for my induction at Mahindra Trucks and Bus Division in Pune. There, I got to meet my guide and buddy and took a brief glimpse of my project.
Day 5 had a very interesting and engaging workshop by Mr. Suranjan Das, a faculty of SPJIMR, who conduced a one-day workshop on design thinking which actually gave me a sense of looking at a problem with seemingly obvious solutions from different possible angles. I only hope I can apply it to solve some real world issues that I face probably during or after my internship.
This is how my magnificent week of stay at Mahindra Head Office ended.
Hoping to visit soon!