“And here comes Swami ji”, said one of my co-interns as we were waiting for him to arrive. That was May 25th, when all the interns at Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. got a chance to meet Swami ji (aka Baba Ramdev). Though he interacted with us for a limited time, I still remember every word of that interaction.
Yes! I had my Summers at Patanjali, at its corporate office in Haridwar. When I came to know about my selection in Patanjali, my happiness knew no bounds. It is the fastest growing FMCG Company and one of the most sought after companies in the nation, and to be among the first Summer Interns (since they hired Summer Interns for the 1st time) for the Swadeshi company is a dream come true.
We had our selection process 5-6 months before the Internship, which took place in Haridwar itself. During the process, we got a chance to interact with Acharya Balkrishna Ji, where he told us that management values have been prevalent in our nation, from historic ages. He shared some of his mind-boggling management mantras with us. It was an enriching experience.
Our internship started with an induction process, in which we visited the company’s manufacturing facilities (which were inside the Patanjali Food and Herbal Park along with its corporate office). I was enthralled by witnessing the infrastructure and the scale of production of the company’s products. The quality maintenance standards for these products are also very high.
From the 2nd day onwards, I worked in the Finance and Accounting department of the company. I was looking forward to some good finance work. The major projects on which I worked during my internship are the preparation of projected financial statements of a company and the preparation of Product Cost sheets for some products of the company. I also learnt financial concepts related to 3P (3rd party) accounting. I have some experience of working in the Swadeshi Samridhi Card department as well, which is the loyalty cards program initiated by the company, wherein I was managing the finance-related part.
I learnt a lot during these two months of internship. I got an opportunity to apply the classroom concepts to real-life situations. I got insights into the various financial tasks which are undertaken in an FMCG company. I was lucky to have motivating and very experienced mentors, who always willingly shared their knowledge with me.
During the internship, I was required to present my ongoing work on a regular basis to the company management. My co-interns who were working in other departments also used to do the same. We often used to discuss the strategies in various departments of the company, and often try to predict what the near-future would be like for the company. The company provided us with first-class rooms in Patanjali Yogpeeth, healthy food in Prasaadam (in Yogpeeth itself), and travelling facilities to and fro from the Yogpeeth to the office.
Talking of the corporate culture of the company, I would say it was very intriguing. I didn’t have any corporate experience before, so I was very excited to start my corporate journey with Patanjali. The initial days there surprised me a bit as I was experiencing things which were slightly unusual from other big companies. But later, I came to realise these cultural things have a major role to play in the company’s success.
The common term by which male employees call their male colleagues is Bhai ji (we also got habitual to call our colleagues by the same name). Also, all employees were expected to greet their colleagues by saying Om in the morning. These were some of the things which reflect the cultural order of the company. The sense of brotherhood and equality was prevalent in the company. The employees were motivated by a purpose of providing healthier and better products to the nation. They take their work seriously and consider that they are contributing to benefit of the society. The workload on employees is optimal, and the company provides them with enough opportunities to maintain an effective work-life balance.
To conclude, I would say that my summer internship experience taught me a lot of lessons. I learnt the importance of a good mentor in providing a conducive atmosphere for the interns. I realised the inherent values of a company play a critical role in its success. I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to the company for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity. I am sure this experience of 2 months will surely guide me and help me go a long way in the coming future.
