In our list of India's Best 50 - the 50 Most Employable Students from the Class of 2021-23, we feature MBA students who have walked that extra mile and done that little more to stand out! One of those featured in today's story, Patkar Sarvesh Shekhar, has shown an incredible amount of passion to achieve his true potential. Read on and find out his story!
The following are Patkar Sarvesh Shekhar’s set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst MBA graduates to determine the top 50 Most Employable MBA Graduates of the Class of 2023. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Avichal's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his own words.
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
Due to his ongoing leg problem, a doctor suggested my father to take a break during his second year of engineering. For two months, our store was shuttered. We were in a bind financially because it was our family's sole source of income. Following that, my mother and I made the decision to operate our firm to the fullest. It was a very challenging effort for me to balance my college hours, assignments, practicals, projects, and our grocery store at that time because I was in my second year of engineering. Many ups and downs occurred throughout that period. As my dad recovered and rejoined the company, everything was eventually managed over the course of the following few months. Due to too many things happening at once, it did not have much of an impact on my academic performance, but I still managed to achieve a respectable CGPA.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act?
I want to write about an event we put on three years ago, just a few days before Diwali. More than dozens of NGOs took part in the three-day exhibition to promote the causes they support and market the goods produced by those who received care from their organizations. The purpose of the event was to close the gap where a segment of society wants to help the poor but is unaware of the resources or organisations doing so. On the other side, there are other NGOs doing fantastic work in various facets of society, whether it be for children with special needs or those who are differently abled, but they do not have enough opportunities to promote their cause and engage a broader segment of society in their work. It was the most fulfilling event I've ever taken part in. Still gives me goosebumps to think of the feedback we got from attendees over the course of those three days, especially from NGOs' staff members.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
When I was working as a treasurer of the college student chapter of ISHRAE (Indian Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers), I always wanted to cover its social wing as well. They had many events through different chapters earlier where they used to contribute to society in some or another way. I decided to cater to this wing and organize events that can benefit some part of society. After that, I discussed with the committee members as well as senior persons of the chapter and organized a science day in Zilha Parishad school for students studying in the 5th-8th standard. We spent an entire day at the school, performed different scientific experiments, introduced some scientific facts and concepts, and had few fun activities. It was an event that everyone cherished and had satisfaction on their face.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative that has led you to do deep work in that field?
I normally come across as a really laid-back person who enjoys having sincere talks and patiently listens to others. I'm perceived as someone who thinks independently and refuses to be influenced by the crowd. That is, in my opinion, the very first impression I give. Today, I have a lot of friends who tell me that they were absolutely certain when we first met that we would become great friends, and most of the time, that is what happened. I have made a lot of friends while taking the local train to the college every day, and we have talked about a wide range of subjects. It can cover anything from a current cricket event to occasionally people revealing their own life stories in depth. I think my natural ability to connect with people has helped me understand people from all walks of life, which has increased my compassion and humbleness. I realised the true value of education and how crucial it is to cooperate in order to improve both society and the individual.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
If I would have no one to judge me around, after my 12th standard, I would have straightaway moved to any village and would have worked on improving the facilities in basic infrastructure. I have visited few villages where I have realized that problem with the people and social structure is that people are not aware of the fact that they are in the problem. From many years they are living in similar conditions and now they have got used to with it. People dont understand that not having good roads, functional and well equipped schools, concrete roads and basic health infrastructure in their village is the problem. There are so many brilliant minds which are growing up in this villages but they are not shaped as they were supposed to be. They are not provided with the opportunities to showcase their talent and expand their horizons. Roads are still not constructed properly and farming business in the villages is not guided with the recent knowledge and technology. I would have like to take this knowledge immediately to the villages and try on making one better village at a time.
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As per government tax payers' data and our assessment, only about 6,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn an annual 'salaried' income of INR 30 lacs or above. And only 11,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn a 'total' income of INR 30 lacs or more.
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