People are drawn to a B-school for a multitude of reasons. Be it the fat packages, the exposure, the learning, the networking opportunities, the tag of a prestigious school. While joining IIM Udaipur, there was only one thing that mattered the most to me- the chance to meet and interact interesting people (my batch mates) from different walks of life, and everything else just seemed superfluous to me. And boy, I was not left disappointed after joining this institute. If someone were to ask me how I view IIMU, I would describe it as a melting pot of some of the most talented and diverse set of people I have ever met. An eclectic set of people live out two years of their lives here, and I would like to take some of your time by introducing a few to them.
So, let’s get started (*welcomes you to read the article, in Tulsi Virani style from the title song of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi*).
Some of my friends here are brilliant singers, some of the most formidable pace bowlers I have ever seen, we have a guy whose BMI is less than 15 (yes you read that right, less than 15), an entrepreneur who is trying to shake the education model of the country, a stand-up comedian (that is what he says at least, but he sleeps more than he even stands), a break dancer (as in he breaks into dances quite randomly). Now here is the interesting part. Roll all these qualities into one person, and you get Mridul Sharma. And oh, I forgot to mention that he is also the president of the Entrepreneurship Cell of IIMU. Fondly (this is text-book euphemism) called “Haddi” by us (owing to the fact that he has a very “healthy” body), the self-titled “Creativity ka thekader” is a versatile genius, who to me, drives home the point that you will always find people better than you in at least one field, and here I have a friend who far outshines me in at least 5 different aspects. Way to make me feel overwhelmed.
Moving on, lest I begin to start dwelling on my shortcomings, we have the little guy from Dehradun, Shikhar Mamgain. This young chap, lovingly addressed “Chhotte”, always behaves as if he is surrounded by smart people, and that wherein lies his strength. He observes, learns, and emulates. A Barcelona supporter to the hilt, having him around you is equivalent to always having a good time, as there is never a dull moment with him around you. They say that as you age, you mature; but that saying has lost all validity for me after having met Shikhar. His insights on life, books, music, philosophy, football, people, scarcely do justice to his age. He has made me question my own views on a lot of things, and that is what is magical about this MBA journey, where you have to keep evaluating yourself and re-aligning yourself based on what you learn from your peers.
Now we know that India is a diverse country, but there always has to be a Marathi “maanus” who keeps cribbing about Mumbai and Vada-Pavs (or the lack of it to be more precise) in every friends’ circle to make it complete. Introducing Sanket Vibhandik from Mumbai, a Pharma graduate, who worked in an Operations role at a start-up pre-MBA, and then interned in a Digital Marketing capacity during his Summers. Calm, indifferent to all the randomness around him, Sanket has an aura about him that portrays him as an all-knowing chap (how much does he actually know is another story altogether). With Sanket, you can literally talk about anything under the sun, and there is always something to talk about. But the beautiful part is that, even though we have so much to talk about, the two of us share a comfortable silence that can be found only in the best of friends. In gossip and in silence, it is always fun to have Sanket around.
Last, but definitely not the least, my colleague from the Placement Committee, and my dearest friend, Saloni Vats. How she says people describe here- Quiet, Quaint, and Quirky; but that is just her interpretation of herself. What she really is- loud, contemporary, and…okay, have to hand it to her. The girl does have her quirks, which are enough to drive anyone mad (but as fate would have it, it is pretty much only Yours Truly who is driven mad). Hailing from the small town of Jaipur (yeah that is what she thinks of Jaipur, a small town), Saloni has the noteworthy quality of trying out new things and giving it her best, and she does them pretty darned well as well. She started out college like your everyday quiet and timid girl but has evolved into one of the most confident people in IIMU.
She handles responsibilities like a boss (Placement Committee, Subject Representative, anchoring at major events like the farewell dinner for our senior batch, junior batch orientation, alumni engagement dinner; becoming a football manager), but she does not boss around people when she works and that is a quality to admire in her. The best part about chilling with her is that a conversation with her feels very natural and nothing seems forced about it. There is a certain ease in talking to her, and we talk on topics ranging from, college, college-politics, life, dogs, cats, Friends (referring to the sitcom and not people), friends (referencing to people this time) food, healthy lifestyle (we only talk about it), academics, food again, finance, work, and the list goes on. And oh, we also have our healthy dose of fights that drive us to the breaking point during which time we absolutely hate each other, but soon enough we are back to being besties since that is how life is supposed to be I guess.
Well, that is about it from my side. Thank you for sacrificing your precious time to read this article (*smiles malevolently*), and I hope this brought a few smiles to your face. If not, let us not point fingers, but just blame the Indian Education System (oh the irony), and hope that Mridul does shake things up in that sector so that you have more fun reading such articles in the future.
Which ABG company would I like to work for, and why?
In life, each and every one of us comes across a few serendipitous moments, but we tend to ignore them due to all the other “noise” that percolates into our lives. I started out my educational journey aspiring to become an engineer but ended up an Economics graduate from BITS-Pilani. Whether it was by chance or by choice, this was a truly wonderful event that transpired in my life, as it helped fuel the fire of my MBA ambitions, and in developing a clarity of my post MBA ambitions.
During my time at BITS-Pilani, and at IIM-U, if there was one thing that was crystal clear to me, it was this. That I wished to work in the Finance sector. In the end, life, through all its various twists and turns, has come down to this. That Finance is my calling, and so, quite naturally, I wish to work for Aditya Birla Capital.
Having worked at two startups in the past (being one of only 3 people at the most recent one), I have a certain soft corner for startups, and knowing that one of the domains that Aditya Birla Capital works in is Private Equity, makes it all the more endearing to me. Finance also means getting a chance to work alongside experts from different industries, and rubbing shoulders with some industry giants, and the Private Equity domain would mean getting the opportunity to work in close-cohorts with some of the most promising ideas in the nation. All this is something that I would not like to miss out, and so, reiterating, I would love to be given the chance to work at Aditya Birla Capital, for the above-mentioned reasons.