I remember the day when I was chosen for the GMC program at Mahindra. It was bright and early in the day, when the news came to me regarding being chosen and it filled me with joy, and the excitement since then only increased. So, few months later, there I was, packing my bags and totally ready to have an experience that I felt would shape my future.
I am a firm believer in being early rather than being late to any place or event that I have to go to. So, while my internship was to start on the 2
nd of April 2019, I was in Mumbai - The City of Dreams on 31
st March 2019, deciding I would take the time to settle into the city and the accommodation. When the D-day finally came, I donned my formals and was off to the office in Worli for the internship induction program.
The drive to the office itself was very scenic, with the sea and the rising sun, not to mention the wonderful Sea-Link Bridge, making me feel like a character in the Bollywood movies on her way to work. The office itself was beautiful, but the thing that struck me the most, cemented the feeling of being an official part of the program and made me realize that the internship was very real and not something that existed only in my imagination was the goodies that the GMC team at Mahindra had prepared. Each of the interns had personalized Business cards, ID cards, T-shirts and the trimmings. That moment made me admire not only the hard work but also the effort that the company and the team had put in to make the interns feel like a part of the group. After a wonderful interactive session where all the interns were given an opportunity to know the others better, it was time for the sessions that the team had planned.
The sessions in themselves were extremely enlightening. The interns were fortunate enough to interact with the top brass at Mahindra, from Mr. Hemant Luthra – Chairman at Mahindra CIE, to Mr. Parthasarathy V S – Group CFO and Group CIO Mahindra Group, and Dr. Pawan Goenka, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra. Each one of the leaders was kind enough to spare the time to share their respective experiences, answer our questions and put us at ease. Their experiences helped me understand the true meaning of the RISE philosophy and got me excited to the learning opportunities that were open to me in the next few months.
The icing on the cake was probably the interaction held with the Group Chairman, Mr. Anand Mahindra. One had only heard and read about his charm and aura but sitting at his office and listening and interacting with him made me see why he was the best one around and why the top brass cherished working with him. The interaction with him only strengthened my belief that I was quite fortunate to have got this internship in such an esteemed company which has an extremely charismatic and visionary leader at the helm of its affairs and filled me with hope and excitement for the coming two months. To top it all off, all interns had a fun evening planned with The Board Game Co., which helped us bond more, have a fun time, and win goodies!
Thereafter, we met our respective project guides and heads to get a thorough understanding of our responsibilities, an overview of the structure, the hierarchy and the verticals that we will be going through, the expectations and outcomes and to solve any queries we had in respect thereof. While I had a telephonic discussion and interaction with my guides and mentors regarding the project before I came to Mumbai for my internship, the personal interaction and discussion made it more real and filled me with nervous anxiety. The mentors were quick to judge the same and put me at ease and promised me that while the task may seem daunting, they will help me and assured me that with hard work, I was sure to succeed. Their encouraging words and reassurance helped me feel at ease and made me believe that I would be able to contribute to the program meaningfully and learn new things that I would never have ventured into otherwise.
The final day of the week was the day when it was most expected to put on the thinking caps and use my grey matter to the optimum level. It was a design thinking workshop that encouraged and forced me to think out of the box, to look at and analyze the problem from various angles rather than just quickly jump to the solution without knowing the problem from more angles. It was indeed insightful and would definitely prove to be useful for me in the days to come.
After this fun and eventful week, it is now time to get down to business and ensure that the expectations set our met. As per an old adage, “Well begun is half done”. If the first week is anything to go by, this internship already seems to be at a good start and I hope it will stay the same in the days to come. To summarize the way, I think and feel the two months will go by is best given by the lyrics below:
“It's a new dawn…...It's a new day…..It's a new life….For me…..And I'm feeling good !!”