Snigdha Kakkar is an Electrical and Electronics Engineering Graduate from NIT Hamirpur. She is currently pursuing Human Resource Management from XLRI Jamshedpur. Her hobbies are dancing, sketching, painting, playing Basketball, Carom and Badminton. She is a long distance runner and an NCC C Certificate Cadet in Naval wing. The motto of her life has always been – “My best was good for today, tomorrow I will do still better.” She has always expressed herself through art and she has a web page and an online blog for the same where she exhibits and sells her work.
What was high school like for you? How did it contribute to your personality/ the person you are right now?
My high school life was a great learning and enriching experience. It not only gave me an opportunity to enhance my knowledge but also a chance to make mistakes and transform into the person who I am today. It helped me grow, giving me a hands on in several arenas - be it sports or dance or sketching or painting. I did diploma in Kathak and semi-contemporary dancing of 3 years along with my high-school and learnt how to portray and express my views on the topics of my interest. The learning and experiences made me an optimistic confident person. The sports and athletics made me a sportsperson. I learnt an important lesson that it is not winning which is precious but improving ourselves as a team from what we were the previous day.
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f money was no object, what would you do all day?
I have loved my life so far and made choices wisely. If money was no object, I still would have opted for being an HR as my career choice. But yes, if I had got a better platform, I would have chosen painting and contemporary art as my career. I would love to sketch and paint whole day, expressing the beauty around in each granule around us.
What advice would you give to a 5-year-younger you?
I have seen lots of ups and downs in the past 5 years which have taught me that we should not worry a lot about future, instead, we should live in the present because if the present is good, we will face our future hindrances with a positive attitude. Thus, I would advise a 5-year-younger-me to live in present wholeheartedly. I would also advise that we have a lot in ourselves; it is up to us how much we can push ourselves to achieve what we aspire for.
How do you think women are better equipped to deal with problems as compared to men?
In our society, whether people say it is modern now; yet, women face challenges in an early age which men do not really have to. I would not say that life for men is easy but I would say that things which are just given to them may not be available for women in their early life. I had to travel 6 hours to and fro every day in my 11
th standard to take IIT Coaching from Delhi because people in my society did not believe sending out girls for study. Maybe the time has changed now and it is for good. But a girl, a woman still has a lot of perseverance and dedication which she puts in each chore ranging from household work to studies and to their jobs. They take ownership of the work given to them in all phases of life. They are less impulsive and more thoughtful and analytical when it comes to decision making. But, still, as a today’s girl, I would say there is no difference between men and women. It is just a matter of one’s aspirations and dedication and the world is and should be of equals.
Many IIMs and other b-schools award extra points for being a woman. What is your take on that? Do you propagate the concept OR Have you faced any backlash for the same?
Many IIMs and other B-Schools award extra points for being a woman and many IITs keep seats reserved for women. There is a thought process behind that as well. Each industry and sphere requires diversity of thoughts and perspectives these days. There were less of women going for management during past 5-10 years. That’s why these extra brownie points were awarded to a female candidate. But in the long run, once they achieve that balance, I do not think that this added advantage is really required.
Name one incident that you encountered where someone told you, you couldn’t do something because you’re a woman.
I have been a lucky child, grown into a very loving family with a modern outlook for girls. But each parent is scared of sending out their kid for the first time. I wanted to go out for IIT Coaching to Delhi during my 11
th standard. But I was held back by my relatives’ words that how she will stay alone; how she will manage alone in Delhi. My parents got anxious and I was told to stay put. Then, I convinced my father that I would travel every day from Saharanpur for the classes and come back before night. Due to his faith in me that very day, I have reached here almost 9 years hence. I have done my engineering from Himachal which was 14 hrs from my place, first job from Chennai which was in the other corner of India, second job Delhi where I was not allowed to move during my 11
th and now in Jamshedpur. I have never faced that very situation again. But still, I wonder whether it was such a big deal of a girl staying in Delhi to study for an entrance exam. Had I been allowed, I would have saved N number of hours of my life travelling in those trains every day.
If you are out on a date, do you prefer to pay yourself? If you insisted that you want to pay for yourself, how did the other person react?
If I were out on a date, I would prefer to pay for myself as I do not like to take favours. If the other person knows me, I have faced a little reluctance initially but then the other person understands that I take even small things of my life in my hand and not rely on someone else.