Delhi Diaries- Part 2: The Metro Yatra

Last summer, when it was time for me to pack away my banker's suit and get back to being a simple student back in India, I was happy indeed but I did realize that I'd miss several things that I'd enjoyed in those two months- the company of some great people, exploring islands nearby on weekends and of course the bank balance that would look healthier on the 2nd of each month :). But there was one thing for which I believed there would be no replacement, back in India- the extremely comfortable public transport system. I was in total awe of the well-organized metro & tram systems in Hong Kong and I knew that we Indians, despite all our other lovable qualities, are also prone to be present in large and unruly crowds that make public travel not a very pleasant experience except perhaps for those who take a keen interest in studying human nature through observation.

So, when I reached Delhi, with all my apprehensions of coming to the city which has been tainted in the news reports in the past few months, I was not really excited at the idea of having to travel by public transport daily to work. I was introduced to the Delhi Metro just a few hours after landing here! My views of public transport here took a turn for the better. And it's been getting better since then.

It is no mean feat to achieve in India what has come to be known as world-class transportation. Delhi Metro,  established way back in 2002, shows the world that we can also create good infrastructure in our country to improve people's quality of life, despite the shortcomings we face - an exploding population count, people not used to the idea of not using any public area near them as a dustbin or a spittoon and the lack of technology or skilled manpower to build a robust public transport system.
The metros are crowded. You may not get a seat. Even if you sit, you may have to comply with those irritating requests of "thoda sa shift karo" making three people sit in the space allotted for two. At some key stations, the moment when the metro arrives, you do get the feeling of standing on a battlefield face-to-face with an enemy army, on seeing the people standing inside the metro. And the shoving-hustling war that ensues after the doors open isn't pleasant for either side. Hence, for those who I've seen to complain about its comfort, yes, the metro is definitely not as convenient as going in your chauffered cab whose expenses will be covered by the company you work for. But, for the middle classes who have only had the crowded and dirty buses or the rude and ever-ready-to-loot autowallas as their means of conveyance when they don't own a vehicle, the metro is a Godsend. With the clean compartments, the air-conditioning and the regular commentary on the route and cautionary announcements, the metro is simply the best way for a middle-class professional to travel. And there is the added advantage that no monsoon, however heavy it may be, can delay a metro / cause a jam. Can any BMW or Audi beat that? :)
Well, the metro is not perfect, yet. Yes, there are some routes which can be covered quicker by road. There is work in progress to complete some connections that would make things better for Delhi. However, the example set by Mr. Sreedharan is definitely inspirational and must motivate infrastructure development officials to give their best and contribute to the biggest area where India lags in terms of development.
Yes, I know that last part sounds like a lot of globe that everyone knows wouldn't practically happen. And yes, it might look like a lot of armchair advice on nation-building. But, as Mr. Sreedharan had once been quoted to say, he had just done the work allotted to him sincerely, nothing beyond that. Well, if each of us could do that, we can see some real hope, beyond mere words in blog posts like this.

Delhi Diaries- Part 1: Through the eyes of a Salesman

After a few days of dreaming of starting this- dreams formulated by a combination of raw heat on top of my head and loads of new knowledge beneath the hot surface covered by steadily thinning strands of the remains of what once used to be referred to by my friends as a nice thick brush- I have finally decided to display some Bias for Action as my company would call it and come up with this series of posts. I endeavour to update it as frequently as permitted by the punctured-tire that my body feels like these days whenever the sun decides to bid a short goodbye to this part of the world.

So, I have begun this new chapter in life called "First Job". Technically, it's not a job, yet. I am a Management Trainee, going through the period that many current employees yearn to get back to. And I can already see why. My mind being fresh and blank, as far as aspects of Sales & Marketing are concerned, everyday presents to me an opportunity to learn something new, get dozens of doubts and come up with ideas that probably a mind which has been cultured by knowledge wouldn't think of. 

I am currently going through what is widely known as the stint that would bring you to the ground from wherever you may presume yourself to be floating and teach you the basics of the business. This is the most popular (among the employees) as well as the most feared (by the MTs) stint- Sales. I have started off on the right note, I believe, learning to live a Salesman's life. Starting off the day with a briefing on targets, I ride the pillion on a salesman's bike and do a round of shops till evening, taking orders of stock from them. It is quite amazing to use a different lens to see the kinds of stores that I've been visiting to buy everything I need for survival, since childhood! I get to understand the multitude of issues that the retailers face- things that no course in Sales and Distribution Management can teach you. And most importantly in the course of my learning to sell Sabun to Dhukanwale, I've been learning the one thing I've always been most seriously handicapped in- Hindi!

Well my experiences related to Hindi themselves are sufficient to fill in a huge comic book, with the winner being the instance when I actually wrote 18 on my hands to indicate to an auto-driver that I wanted to go to Sector-18! Well, having an auto-driver laugh at you in your face is quite a unique way of ensuring that you'd never forget a word like Attara for life. :) 

But not always do I take such an optimistic view of things in life. It does make me feel bad that I don't perform at my best during sales calls, not being able to learn and understand the entire process as much as I'd have liked to, just on account of something as fundamental as not being conversant in a language. I do see some sense in the company's policy of moulding excellent managers by throwing young entrants into as many uncomfortable situations as possible. But, the fact is that, having it happen to you obviously doesn't feel all that great at all. In retrospect, yes, maybe one does think of how a certain tough situation forced one to do something to overcome that situation and thereby end up gaining some valuable skills for life. But as I am currently going through that tough phase of it, I can only hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon, wherein I can turn back and write a nice and insightful post on how these instances made me something of a better person than I am. Until then, Main hindi seriously pad rahi hoon in the hope of overcoming this obstacle which could actually be the biggest in my path ahead.

Okay now, enough of the pessimistic and serious stuff. There was this one thing that first struck me about this company the day I attended their talk on campus. It was reinforced by the experienced people who spoke to us last week over the induction program and is now very strongly established in my mind, as a result of my experiences over the past few days. Care. I see people showing it to me all the way along. From a nice old salesman (who has been doing sales from even before the time I started to take part in the consumption of the earth's supply of oxygen) who offers to bring me lunch from his home, to managers who ensure I get back home safely in the evenings, people in this organization put care for their fellow employees first. And for someone who enters her first job anxiously and apprehensively, there cannot be a warmer welcome.
Another wonderful aspect about Delhi is the Metro Rail system here. It is so awesome that I have decided to dedicate one whole post to it. So, coming soon- Delhi Diaries- Part 2: The Metro Yatra.. :)

IIM-Bangalored!

Well, now that I can't even fool myself that I'm busy, I guess this long due post is in order. 

A year and ten months. That's how long I've been a student at one of the most coveted dream institutes for Management Studies in India. And I can confidently say that the adjectives used in the previous sentence to describe IIM B are not exaggerated or misplaced. Looking back to the girl in the mirror who was eagerly awaiting the IIM-B admission results two years ago, I see her to have undergone a sea change now. 

At the outset, it is obvious that the pounds have increased to help me contribute more to test the bearing powers of mother Earth and bust myths about growing thin in hostels. But behind the hairline that has receded further, I sense the biggest change in me- in the way I think, act and see the world around me.  

An Apprehensive Start.. 
I entered IIM B on June 19, 2011, as a very apprehensive 21 year old who had no clue of what was in store. The first week was just a trailer, packing in everything that I was to go through in the next two years. I was exhausted and excited, at the same time. Then the classes began. I was new to almost everything that was being taught, except a little bit of Quants and I was baffled. With tough-to-handle academics, awe-inducing competition and a first-time hostel life with no one close enough to guide me properly, it is apt to say that I was lost for the first couple of weeks. I applied to take up posts that wouldn't fit me, didn't apply to a few apt posts and in general did random stuff and was filled with overwhelming insecurity. 

The Good things that did come by me..
Meanwhile, on the positive side, I found a really good friendship blooming between me and my neighbour in class, who, to my good fortune, was also in my hostel wing. We realized that we had very similar backgrounds and hit it off really well together. An illness that hit me a few weeks down the lane made me realize that I had been given very wrong impressions about cut-throat competition and the inability to form true friends at IIMB. Three friends- who have now become family to me- took me to a hospital and stayed with me throughout the few hours it took for an Intra-Venal injection to be given to me late in the night, with exams coming up in a couple of days. That night, I recovered physically as well as started feeling very secure mentally - I had a family on campus! :) A day-scholar all my life, I was introduced to group studies, late night shows at the cinemas and night-outs. I loved them all! 

My Experiments with Finance..
The Summer Internship Placements were gruelling and stressful on most mortals. I fell for the Day-0 craze and took up the first job that came my way, without thinking if I'd really love it. Well, the internship was very useful in two ways: 1. I learnt what I do not want in life- I do have Findamental problems! and, 2. I had an awesome trip of Hong Kong and Macau- my first ever International trip, that too all alone. I gained a great deal of confidence, like never before, in myself through that experience.

No longer a Fresher, gaining a Fresh Outlook..

Second year was much more fun- being on the other side during the freshers' orientation week, organizing fests, running a store on campus and much more! I learnt how to manage time, stress, people, multiple tasks and still have loads of fun, thanks to my wonderful group of friends. I was totally surprised in the first week when I received a phone call from my friend informing me that I was to be awarded for being in the top 5% of the Batch (the Director's Merit List) at the end of the 1st year. My surprise was no act of modesty- it was genuine because I had simply not expected this small-town girl from a relatively less-known college to excel in academics when compared with some of the best minds in India. This is not to say that only those in the DML were talented in IIMB or that academic excellence is the only indicator of one's talent or measure of one's success. But, to me, it was this award that brought out the confidence from within that I could achieve things I'd previously imagined myself incapable of, if I could put the right amount of efforts towards them. My self-esteem got a boost and my insecurity vanished. 

Learning outside the classrooms..
There is a lot that I gained through the work I did for the clubs on campus. While one Sunday afternoon was spent in escorting the elegant CEO of JP Morgan India to the Vista Media Conclave, the following Sunday afternoon was spent in navigating through the bumpy and rain-sloshed narrow streets of a wholesale market, negotiating with stationery vendors in Hindi (yes, I learnt quite a decent bit of Hindi too :) ) for supply to our student-run store on campus. This is just an instance of the wide spectrum of learning that I was lucky to get! Getting to interact with people you have seen only in newspapers and television, gives you a perspective like never before. The small-town girl who used to be awed by celebrities on screen got to know how to hold her own ground with them. I am no longer awed the way I used to be. I see them as normal human beings just like me, whom I simply classify as those who are good, simple and grounded  and those who are not. I am lucky to have gotten the opportunity to interact with people of both categories- it has taught me a lot.
And I am one of the lucky few on campus who learnt MBA practically hands-on, running a store! It isn't as simple as one imagines and in a campus where people are hard-pressed for time, ensuring that stock-outs do not happen, estimating what is to be bought at the next purchase and how much, taking care of seasonal demands and bringing deals for the IIMB-branded mercahndise that all of us just love to flout- T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Jackets and making students' lives easier through facilitating things like Photos and Suits for placements... The list here isn't exhaustive! Planet MARS on campus is the place where you learn to do all these and more importantly, you learn to do these in a group of 20 very different people, where each one's contribution is important and therefore team spirit is of essence!
In addition, I also took up Case-writing in my favourite area of Marketing- whether the outcome of that is any good remains to be seen!

Change of my "Unemployed" status..
Soon enough, it was time to start bothering our seniors again with our resumes to be beautified for the Final Placements. Having chosen a relatively relaxed set of courses in my final term, I had enough time to give my resume a proper spa treatment to ensure it looked pretty and fit. Well, I guess it did and I was shortlisted for interviews by the firms I was hoping to work for. I was guided very well by some good friends and some amazing seniors who took time out from their busy schedules. 
But, as luck would have it, after a few interviews- some excellent, some good and some vague, I realized that I was not destined to become a Consultant. I wouldn't say I wasn't disappointed. Well, long-term career sustainability and all those common-sensical things notwithstanding, it does hurt when you see that you have prepared for something for about 1-2 months and you don't get to see your efforts translated into results and randomness taking over. I was hurt but I was able to see clearly through the haze. I denied to yield to the Day-0 craze again by appearing for interviews for Finance roles. I knew my options clearly. If I ever made it on Day-0, I never wanted it to be in a Fin role where I knew wouldn't be happy. After a gruelling day full of Group Discussions for the Marketing and General Management roles, I was exhilarated to be offered a role by Unilever in Marketing and Sales. I then realized that this was the kind of firm I wanted to join after about a couple of years, even if I were to enter Consulting. Well, no harm with an early start!  
One of my most important learnings in IIMB came out during this time, when I saw many friends- batchmates as well as juniors, coming to tell me that they knew my worth from their personal interactions with me and that it was not something that a firm could decide in twenty minutes. And when I got my job offer, they came in hordes to hug me and tell me how happy they were. I saw genuine happiness there. That showed me how I had, unknowingly, left an impression on so many people. Ultimately, it is this set of cherished relationships that I carry as my biggest takeaway from IIMB. Not the textbooks, not the frameworks, not even the job. These relationships will last through my lifetime and the memories, even beyond that.

The Vote of Thanks..
Well, my dear IIM-B, I shall not thank you for everything you have given me- the wonderful relationships I have been lucky to form within your stone walls and forested grounds, the academic knowledge I have gained and the life lessons I have learned through various activities on campus - because, Thank You is simply insufficient. I shall remain indebted to you for life, for all that you have given me - it is definitely more than what I came to you for. I shall hope to make you proud of me- that will be my way of showing you my gratitude. 
Adieu!