Coming straight from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, I was prepared for the academic rigour of IIM Udaipur. This institute is particularly known for its focus on academics. Like other b-schools this institute is not working as Monster.com, rather this institute is focused on making “learned manager”. Placement is not the only focus of this institute which makes it unique.
In this article, I would like to highlight one of the best experiences I have had in one of the classrooms of IIM Udaipur which I will cherish for life. One might think that a B-school classroom equals- silence, discipline, class participation, case discussions, too many hands in the air waiting to be called upon to answer, so on and so forth. And let me clearly say that while this is true, people usually forget the fun element of it. I clearly remember that in the first term we had a subject called “MOC” or “Managerial and Oral Communication”. This subject was kind of a prologue, giving us a taste of how classes would be for 2 years here. In this subject (which was mandatory for all) we were asked to make presentations on various topics. Basically, this subject was taught to us in the first week of the first term. So, it was aimed at getting us out of our comfort zones and making us capable enough to speak in front of 59 odd students.
The presentations that we were supposed to make here were given to us just 10 mins before they were due. The presentations were on simple topics. Hence the aim was to get us out of our “shyness bubble” and improve our communication skills.
One such topic for the presentation was “Give a quirky introduction of yourself to the class”. Everybody wanted theirs to be the best (obviously!). Some people talked about their work-experience, others talked about their family, some even talked about their girlfriend and some just froze on stage (poor souls).
I was thinking of what to say in my presentation. I came up with a few alternatives:
- I am a class 10 and 12 topper.
- I am a binge-watcher with more than 40 shows in my kitty.
- I am an introvert trying to make a position for herself in this supposedly extroverted world.
Just before my presentation was due I noticed that everybody in the classroom was bored listening to the same thing again and again. So, I took it upon myself to put a smile on everyone’s face and scrapped all of the above “good” introductions (in my opinion) and went on the stage blank when my name was called upon. I said the following in my introduction: “I am a vegetarian, non-alcoholic Punjabi from Kolkata” hoping I did not make a fool of myself. But hearing my introduction everybody burst out into laughter. This became my catchphrase and my brand here at IIMU. Everybody knows there is only one “non-alcoholic, vegetarian Punjabi” here from “Bengal” and that is: Puja Soni.
ABG company I would like to work for:
The ABG company that I would like to work for is “Van Heusen”. Being a fashion enthusiast, I would love to work for this company. I would love to work with the marketing team of this company. I would like to work under the brand manager of Van Heusen and learn how Van Heusen emerged as a brand in this competitive world. I would like to know about the various strategies that did not work in creating Van Heusen the brand it is now and learn about how they came up with “the” idea that made Van Heusen such a big brand.