Everyone was very excited for the foundation course trek. So, we boarded the bus and left for our first destination Mawphlang sacred forest. Reaching there we were divided into groups and given a tour guide. Our guide was Mac. He took us through a path which no other group took, hence we got an opportunity to enjoy the serenity of the sacred forest. Before entering the forest, he informed us about the sacredness of the forest and warned us from doing anything that would harm it. Thus, we entered the forest and were treated by the low sounds of leaves, a bird here or there, nothing else. Now, throughout the trek he kept talking about the forest and the rituals of the tribe there. He took us to the river where they washed the animal carcass after making the sacrifice. After that we encountered a swing, where everyone turned into a gymnast and had a great time. Post that, we were taken to the wishing stone where the leader of the tribe must sit while performing the ritual before he can be crowned the leader of the tribe. Similarly, we encountered the Ekmukhi Rudsraksh tree in our path, where every one of my group wished for whatever they wanted. I don’t believe in any such thing, but, seeing people believe in something, having faith in something is a delightful sight always. All in all, the entire experience was enriching. We learned a lot about sustainability from the villagers. How they have conserved the forest through the 800 years when it was all started by their forefathers, How, they made a world record by planting the highest number of saplings on world environment day, 2017. Finally, if I can summarise my entire experience of the Mawphlang sacred forest in one line, it would be the line Mac said before taking us into the forest, I quote, “The footprints you leave is the memory forest has of you, and the photos you take here is your memory of the forest, except this you take nothing from the forest and you give nothing to the forest”. That’s how a forest should be sustained.
IIM Shillong, when it was started people of India thought with a number of national institutes in the North-East increasing, the North East will not remain the least talked or cared about part of India. These institutes will introduce business and technology to the part of nation that has been sleeping in nature’s warmth and bring prosperity. But, the prosperity is not taking away nature and culture from the locals while giving them business and machines. It is also in learning from them. This is what every day in IIM Shillong brings to its students - an opportunity to learn about India that not many Indians know about. In addition to having students from different cultures, different parts of the nation and learning from which most national level institutes have today, we, at IIM Shillong, have the unique advantage of learning about that part of the nation which has a lot potential in future as it is uncharted territory today.
Which Aditya Birla Group company I’d like to work with?
Among Aditya Birla Group companies, I’d like to work with Aditya Birla Capital Limited(ABCL) which has been placed among the top 5 private diversified NBFCs in India, ranked 3rd largest Asset Management Company in India by domestic AAUM, and as one of top 5 fund managers in India. I have cleared FRM level 1 and finance subjects majorly constitute of my electives which shows my interest in Finance. So, what better place to learn and perform for a finance enthusiast like me than Aditya Birla Capital which has a strong presence across the life insurance, asset management, private equity, corporate lending, structured finance, project finance, general insurance broking, wealth management, equity, currency and commodity broking, online personal finance management, housing finance, pension fund management and health insurance business serving end-to-end financial services needs of its retail and corporate customers.
Satish Parchani
PGP 2nd Year
IIM Shillong
