As my cab drove through the exquisite marvel that is the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, I couldn't help but admire the absolutely glorious skyline utterly visible on a such a bright sunny day across the bright waters in South Mumbai. It was indeed a great day to begin my journey at the ever innovative group of Mahindra & Mahindra. I felt blessed to have been handed this opportunity to become a part of this brilliant family. And yet, here I was - in the cab - dreading about that first moment when I would step into those prestigious premises of Mahindra Towers; what's going to happen next made me feel exhilarated and overwhelmed at the same time!
Once I made it past the security gate, there was this magnificent sight in front of my eyes - and I beheld! It was the group of my fellow interns - the brightest minds of this country and future business world leaders. How wonderful I felt to be a part of this group! I was very much looking forward to pick some of these minds right away. Following this brief and yet enriching encounter, we were greeted by the Corporate HR team - Anisha Saluja, Aakash Parihar, Nandini Bhalla and David Projwal. Only within a few moments, we were made to feel at home by this wonderful team who had planned out our Induction Program for the upcoming week.
We began with a very interesting set of introductions of each other. Everyone certainly enjoyed to learn a few things about each other. The way the HR team carried out this entire session by keeping us thoroughly engaged was remarkable, to say the least. This light-hearted activity was to be followed by a series of interactions with some of the world's most brilliant minds who currently form the Leadership team at Mahindra group. The kind of interaction I had in this week with leaders like Dr. Anish Shah, Mr. Hemant Luthra, Dr. Pawan Goenka etc. was something I'm gonna carry with me for the rest of my life - these are once in a lifetime events you wish could come in your lives again and again!
However, the personal favourite event from all of these was the meet with the man himself - Mr. Anand Mahindra. It was a massive privilege to even be around in the presence of this great human being (I so desperately wanted to ask him whether it was true that he had finally overcome his superstition and started watching India's cricket matches!). He walked in the room with the charisma of a most beloved leader and, at the same time, the humility of a most pious man. Being within inches of distance from Mr. Mahindra, I was over the moon! I consider myself very fortunate to have been given this chance to be a part of the Group Discussion involving him. He inspired us all in this hour-long session and personally, he helped me believe in myself - and that is the testament of a true leader to leave a lasting mark on the coming generation.
We also got to visit the Kandivali office - The Mahindra Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors (AFS) - where we got the chance to interact with the heads of different verticals. Before winding up the week-long induction program, we participated in a most interesting bonding session that the corporate HR team arranged for us. It was a good relaxation program before the start of the second week wherein we'd be at the battlefield - the real world of Business where our projects would begin and we'd be tested against the tides of time to deliver our goals within the next two months.
The closing session of the Induction session was the workshop on the concept of Design Thinking. Let me write this - it was one of the most enriching workshops of my career so far. You learn the tools of the trade here. You are made to realize your true potential. You understand the art of 'thinking out-of-the-box'. In my opinion, if you pay attention enjoy this show of the Design Thinking workshop, it will make you life easier as a GMC intern when you're busting your brains to find solutions to your project problems.
To sum it up, I'd describe my first week at Mahindra & Mahindra as a most mesmerizing experience and I am most grateful to the Corporate HR team for their brilliant induction program of easing up in the Mahindra family and also bringing together these great and inspiring leaders to talk to us. I am very excited about the start of my project at Mahindra now and very much looking forward to it.