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LATEST
NEWS |
| 21st
July 2010 / Times of India / Bangalore Edition |
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 It’s a rainbow batch at the IIMs
New Crop Of Students Are A Study In Variety
Bangalore: A Railways TT, a Guinness record holder, a 20-something who founded a college, a teacher in a high school, a Hard Rock Cafe ambassador... these are profiles of a few students who have joined the Indian Institute of Managements’ class of 2010.
The premier B-schools, which strongly believe in diversity, are surely not disappointed with its new crop of students, who have done remarkably well in their areas of interest, besides a commitment to society.
There is Jagadeesh Yathirajula, 25, first-year PGP student from IIMBangalore (IIM-B), who started working at 17, when boys his age were still studying. Fighting all odds, this commerce graduate from Andhra University started working as a ticket collector in the Railways after Class 12. He applied for a BCom through correspondence, and later became a section officer in the Indian Audit and Accounts department. “I opted to work due to financial constraints. Railways was the only job I got then,’’ he says.
Passion for management compelled him to write his MBA in 2008, when he got calls from IIM-B and IIMLucknow, but he “couldn’t convert the calls”. He then appeared for CAT, and Lady Luck nudged him to IIM-B. Jagadeesh resigned as deputy manager at SBI and is “glad to make it after one-and-half years’’.
His batchmate Ranu Khade has two Guinness records to her credit, though both are through group participation. The first Guinness happened while she was studying engineering — she was one of 292 students who skipped simultaneously on a 50-metre rope in 2006. This BTech in computer science from the College of Engineering, Pune, got another record when she participated in a painting competition with many others. The theme ‘Evolution of human life’, won her a Guinness certificate.
“In the skipping competition, we wanted to bring laurels to the college. As far as my second record, I am a gold medalist in elementary and intermediary exams in designing,’’ says this Mumbaiite. These IIM kids can spring surprises
Bangalore: There are writers, rock artists, even teachers, learning up the mantras of management at the premier Indian Institutes of Management around India. Pooja Mishra, first-year PGP student from IIMCalcutta, has gone beyond teaching. Realizing the importance of education, especially in rural areas, Pooja founded her own college. She started by volunteering as a primary teacher, but felt this was not enough — and Gurukul was born in 2006, with the intention of providing quality mass education.
Currently, she has a public school and degree college under the Gurukul umbrella in Rai Bareli district of UP. “Since the focus is on making education accessible to all, we have secured government scholarships for all students in the lower-income bracket. Our students’ results are a testament of our commitment to quality education. While the district pass percentage is around 65%, our college managed 98%.”
David Touthang, another IIMC student, has done his masters in social entrepreneurship and was a teacher. His tenure at Gandhi Memorial High School, Churachandpur, was a good one. “When I left my job, I was much richer in terms of self-realization. Punctuality, patience and understanding are the main areas where I believe I gained,’’ he says. “In fact, much before I started teaching, I had been contemplating business management as a career. My interest in it began during my MSc days at NEHU (2003-2005). However, the whole idea was stalled until now.’’
Gaurav Jindal, his batchmate, represented India as the Hard Rock Cafe Ambassador of Rock at the concert in Hyde Park, London. Since April 2010, the contest of selecting the rock enthusiast to represent Bangalore and later, India, at the HRC Ambassadors of Rock concert was on. Participation for the initial rounds was through Radio Indigo, FaceBook and at Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore. After two months of rounds, it came down to the final 10 in May, when the competition of ‘5 Guitars one amp’ happened. And finally, it was Gaurav who won.
Barely 22, she is already co-author of two bestsellers. Maanvi Ahuja, a first-year PGP student at IIM-Kozhikode, penned her first book Of Course, I Love You when she was in college. Her second book, Now That You Are Rich, is about investment banking. “I worked in a Swiss investment bank for a year. Both my books are written with my friend.’’
Any plans to go solo? “Not now. Maybe after I finish my course,’’ she says.
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