Email- rahul.bist@m2iconsulting.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?

A. The journey so far has been eventful and exciting, to say the least. From the uncertainty about my career option after graduating, to finally finding a path and then treading on it has been adventurous and fulfilling. I started from an NGO, moved on to a consulting company, and then started my own company at an early age. 

I was in the job for hardly 5 years before starting my own company. It was risky, but I never realized the risk at that time in the excitement and youthfulness when I started the venture. I guess a certain level of foolishness to rush in is needed for entrepreneurship. However, I realized that success was not just a function of hard work or smart work but it consists of multiple other factors too. Some of these which they don't teach is the art of just 'hanging in there' when the going gets tough, being thick-skinned when you seek business, being patient when you don't get results, and the ability to choose what is 'right' rather than going for quick success through 'wrong'.

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. I started my career as a Development Professional, moving on to be a credit rating analyst. I did over 50 credit ratings of MFIs in around 10 countries. The variety of institutions I rated gave me the confidence to foray into advisory with my own company. At M2i, we have not just provided various advisory, market research, analytics, and training services but also taken pioneering sectoral initiatives.

We have developed and implemented a risk management framework for MFIs. We have developed a methodology and tool for the Code of Conduct Assessment (COCA) of MFI, which is a global first. COCAs are now an integral part of the industry and all banks need COCA reports. M2i holds the copyright on its methodology. We have also done pioneering work on HR practices and Loan Portfolio Audits. 

Evolving with time and seeing the future requirements, M2i developed an online training platform and content. Currently, we have over 35,000 users on our online training platforms which are used by several prominent MFIs, banks, and other financial institutions. M2i has also developed an online M&E tool that helps in project monitoring and evaluations. Internationally, M2i has developed products and linkage models for various saving groups to avail financial services from formal financial institutions. M2i models helped in financial inclusion in countries like Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire, Rwanda, and Bangladesh.

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?

A. The most satisfying part of my current role is that as advisors, assessors, or as a due diligence agency we get an opportunity to improve the practices in the industry, to challenge the benchmarks, and to push institutions to strive for the standard which may not be the norm. Often when we are advising or assessing some institution, we are invariably told that this is the industry practice, 'everyone does it'. However, we in our role can say to them that 'what everyone is doing could be wrong', industry practice could be wrong. Hence, we as an independent agency can challenge the norms and set standards. I feel that as consultants we have that responsibility and that for me is most satisfying. 

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. I think IIFM has helped in developing an attitude and provided a launch platform. IIFM helped, at least me, in appreciating the fact that I am a professional and I have an opportunity and a role to play. Before IIFM, I never thought of myself more than a 'student'. IIFM gave the environment, peers, and culture which could be utilized by anyone to make a difference if one wishes to.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.

A. My advice to the youngsters would be to be resilient, to have a long-term strategy, and not be wavered or lured by quick gains through wrongful shortcuts. Try to create something that can truly add value. For which one will need to remain updated and on top of things. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. My favorite memories are many. I think IIFM was one of the best phases of my life. I fondly remember our fight for submitting assignments, those group trips, bamboosa parties, field-trip, OTs, walks down the helipad, contemplating on the sunset point, and my room overlooking the lake and the hill. I cannot forget my roomie, and it was all so amazing. It is giving me goosebumps even recalling it.

I guess every boy and girl out there needs to cherish it to the fullest. It may sound cliche but believe me, it feels like yesterday. IIFM is so ingrained, that I can visualize my first day landing at IIFM, Director's welcome speech, each of my faculty, taking tea-break in between classes, going to the library, computer center, tea tapri, going to mess, forming those committees, winning the Director's Prize for Best OT (now called as Summer Internship), Kalpataru - annual fest, everything is so fresh and it shall always remain so!!

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. I think it was the overall environment rather than one or two things. As I said earlier, before IIFM, I was just a 'student', IIFM helped me to become a 'professional'. The environment at IIFM was a real change for me. The infrastructure, the faculty, the assignments & presentations, field trips, student clubs & committees all have their impact on you. On top of that, luckily I had an excellent and a very competent set of batch mates. So you learn a lot from such peers. Even today, I feel very proud of all my batch mates who have done remarkably well in their careers.

Q. The best buddies/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. The tidbits at IIFM are enough to write a book about. But I was very happy as our field trip took us to Dehradun, the place I belonged to. We stayed at FRI, it was winter and the weather was amazing, I remember my parents inviting our entire batch to home and we had a mini-party at my home, it was wonderful and my parents felt very happy hosting my friends. In one of the dinners at FRI with a batch of trainee IFS officers, I played harmonica and everyone appreciated. 

I also remember numerous fun episodes with friends and my room-mate Biplav. Once I had a brightly colored tree-snake on my study desk and I thought Biplav had put it on my desk to scare me. So I tried to poke it with a pencil to show my daredevilry to Biplav. However, Biplav had a laugh of his life looking at my frightened reaction when I finally realized it was a real snake that sneaked into our room. :)

Q. As an alumnus, what's your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?

A. IIFM is a multi-dimensional experience, one should not spoil it by getting obsessed by only one side of it. Try to soak in as much as you can. Be bold, participate in things, experiment, have fun, be mischievous, make friends, make plans, and try to evolve as an individual. Do not be influenced by negativity and nurture that creative instinct.

Q

A. A typical day for me could start in a far-off place visiting a client's office, attending a meeting, delivering training, or visiting communities in the field. Travel is a big part of my job profile, and 50% of the days are like that. However, the rest 50% may start at my own office with me preparing proposals, negotiating with clients, doing team meetings, making presentations, doing data analysis, or writing a report. 

Q. Would you like to share about your typical weekends.. Hobbies.. Family..

A. My hobbies are running, I have done a few Half-marathons. I also listen to music, and I like cooking. In addition to that, I have a weird hobby of watching science videos, General Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics are my favorite subjects. On the family side, I have a wonderful wife and an amazing daughter.

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors, ..

A. Books: 'Kite Runner', Movies: I like all psychological thrillers, horror movies, sci-fi movies, and superhero movies. I can't stand drama and romantic movies.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. I will be available for online or physical lectures, training, or talks. Microfinance, financial analysis, and or other management subjects is what I can take sessions on.

Q.What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

 A. 

Q. Any suggestions on who from our alumni you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A.Neeraj Negi. He is in World Bank, Washington, USA.

Social Media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulbharadwaj/

FB: https://www.instagram.com/rahulb1802/

Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/rahul.bharadwaj.18/

Blogs: https://rahulbharadwaj.wordpress.com/

Email: rahulb83@outlook.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?

A. I was offered a position as Associate Research Manager at IMRB International (now Kantar) during the IIFM Campus Placement Fest. And that organization remained my professional mainstay from 2008 to 2020 (barring a year-long sabbatical which I took in 2012-13 to appear in Civil Services Examination). I have not only learned the tricks of the trade here – thanks to amazing bosses, colleagues, and juniors who I had the fortune of knowing over the years – but was also able to apply that to the satisfaction of many a client. My journey up the responsibility ladder in this organization has been immensely satisfying. In fact, I used to joke around the office corridors that IMRB, in fact, meant “I’m Rahul Bharadwaj”. Ha ha! However, since the past couple of years, I have been wanting to start work as an independent market research and insights consultant and, eventually, I moved out of Kantar at the end of 2020. I am now building my own consulting firm, Ayvole, and hope to bring even more value to my clients through my work.

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. I always used to tell my team (at Kantar) that a couplet from the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara defines a researcher best: “Ankhon Mein Hairaniya Le Kar Chal Rahe Ho To Zinda Ho Tum.” That, I suppose, defines any job – you are bound to do well if you hold the world (professionally, in this case) around you in wonder and are ever ready to learn new things. The moment you decide to stop learning – you die (professionally).

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?

A. There are two things that are absolutely rewarding in a role of a B2B market researcher. The first is the joy of learning new things. As a market researcher, you need to delve into the unknown. There is an excitement to that journey – something akin to an adventure. You must be ready to be surprised! And that is fun – even if many times daunting.

The second is the variety of work that you get to do which never ever allows your learning curve to flatten. During my decade-long experience in this field, I have worked with clients in sectors such as auto, BFSI, biotech & health, building materials, construction & real-estate, e-tech, energy & environment, FMCG, FMCD, industrial tools and machinery, logistics, etc. Within each sector, clients’ central business questions have varied widely. It cannot get more diverse than this.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. While the course structure, content, pedagogy as well as delivery at IIFM was amazing, I think it was the practical experiences that IIFM offered us, through field trips and organizational training, that came in particularly useful for me professionally.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your career? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?

A. The greatest influence on me, professionally, has been my first boss – Mr. V. Sridhar– and my super-boss – Mr. Rathina Kumar. In fact, it was Mr. Rathina Kumar who interviewed me at the IIFM’s Placement Fest. Both of them have been amazing mentors and have been responsible for my development as a B2B market researcher. These are the people whom I still reach out to for any advice in this field. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. Memories at IIFM are like Hermione’s Handbag– you can conjure any type of memory you want and IIFM is sure to provide it. However, it is the friends, which I made for life, which I cherish the most about IIFM. We loved each other, we worked with each other, we played with each other, we fought with each other, and then hated each other before falling in love again. And it was simply an amazing magical time which I experienced there. I can keep talking about this and I am sure what I would say has already been said by the alumni you have interviewed before me and would also be said by those who you would interview after me.

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. All of the I above, I suppose. Brilliant and passionate teachers, a treasure trove of a library, amazing friends, the beautiful campus (which inspires you in its own quaint ways) as well as always-ready-to-help alumni – they have all played a significant role.

Q. The best friends/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable titbits that you like to share.

A. We were fortunate to be taught by the very best of teachers who challenged our limits and helped us achieve those. I would especially like to mention Dr. C.S. Rathore, Dr. Manmohan Yadav, Dr. CVRS, Dr. Patnaik, Dr. Rekha Singhal, Dr. Amitabh Pandey, and many others.

Among the seniors, I was fortunate enough to have done one of my internships under Mr. Ashish Mishra (then at Grasim) where I learned a lot. I have been privileged to know Mr. Akshai Abraham and Mr. Santosh Singh closely while in Chennai. Among the immediate seniors, I interacted the most with Mr. Mayank Chaturvedi who was also a sounding board for me and had many words of great advice which have really helped me a lot.

I had amazing people as my batchmates, and I came to love and respect all of them and am still in touch with many of them. I had a wonderful time with people such as Arjun (you can’t beat his undiminishable energy), Shrey (loved his amazing attitude and his ideals of friendship), Sunil (a genius with unmatched humility), Shailendra, Parul, Pranita, Kallol, Sonal, Varun, Kshitiz, Shweta, Kanika and Garima, and others.

Q. As an alumnus, what is your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?

A. First (and this is advice which I would give anyone at any stage of life), know that you are there because you were meant to be there. So, search for your destiny within and around yourself (in this case IIFM – both its soft and hard infrastructure). Look hard and for sure you will find it.

Be amazed and keep your five senses open to new learning – this is a wonderful life (even if at times it does not seem so)! Make great friends! Have fun! Be loyal – to yourself (most of all) and to others! Take time out to develop yourself – both intellectually and emotionally. Take things seriously – but only to the extent they merit and no more.

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. I would answer this question in two parts: time as an employee and that as an entrepreneur.

I have worked in Delhi NCR for most of my career (except for the initial 3.5 years or so when I was in Chennai; a city I fell in love with). This has meant a long commute to the office (though I also worked from home 1-2 days a week) – between 1.5 to 2 hours one side depending upon the mode of transport I took (car or metro). My typical day at the office, which was around 8-10 hours long, comprised, lately, working with my managers and my team to plan the strategy to achieve our targets and then executing them. This included meeting clients, understanding their research needs, preparing proposals for them, supervising the execution of market research projects, and, obviously, firefighting when things go wrong (which they do and should do; or else how would you learn!).

Since January 2021, when I started working independently, through my firm Ayvole, I typically work from 8 AM in the morning to around 8 PM in the night (with the usual breaks in between). My workday is more varied now – I spend more time learning, especially the things which I had been putting off, a significant time is spent networking especially on LinkedIn, writing new proposals as well as further developing my offer. The days are more hectic now and though I am nowhere near working 80 hours a week, I can feel what Lori Greiner (Shark Tank fame) meant when she said that “entrepreneurs are the only people who work 80-hour weeks to avoid working 40-hour weeks”. There is always a nagging feeling at the end of the day that I haven’t done enough and, I suppose that is a good thing. It keeps me on my toes.

Q.  And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family, and anything else you want to add

A. Again, this question too I would like to answer in two parts: pre-Covid-19 and through/post-Covid-19 times.

We (me and my wife) largely had a “weekend marriage”, since our marriage, as she works as a government doctor near Dehradun (also a hometown for both of us) and we largely met over the weekends only. Therefore, a workweek for both of us has been strictly working and weekends being strictly fun. Over these many years of marriage, we have cultivated many common hobbies. We love theatre (watching) and spent many Saturday-evenings enjoying the rich Delhi theatre culture. We also love to travel and see new places and ensured that we holidayed (even if for a short 2-4 day period) at least 3 or 4 times a year. Apart from this, we also love watching movies, dining out, and trying out new cuisines.

As soon as Covid-19 became an emergency in India (late March 2020), Kantar declared a mandatory work-from-home for an indefinite period and I shifted my base to Dehradun. In the initial 3-4 months, we remained very vigilant regarding Covid-19 prevention precautions (especially because my wife’s hospital was one of the centre of Covid-19 quarantine/treatment). This meant literally ‘castling’ our house and moving out only when absolutely necessary. However, since late June when the lockdowns eased, I and my wife started exploring Dehradun on our cycles and it has now become a passion. Late last year, we also bought an electronic piano and are slowly learning our way around it. I do hope to play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata someday. So, in a way, Covid-19 has brought a lot of changes to my life and most have been very welcoming. 

Q.  Favourite Books, movies, authors.

I am a voracious reader (though of late I find less time to read) and maintain a good library at home. Therefore, the books are too many to name here. But, in general, I love reading about history and culture, William Dalrymple being my favourite. I have, over the years, come to love the twilight period of Indian history (a 150-year period from the death of Aurangzeb to the 1857 Rebellion). Reading books (and traveling) has allowed my mind to open up (and as Dr. Chinmaya S Rathore sir said once to me, (“opening up is an irreversible process”).

I love a variety of movies except, in general, the horror genre (I have no patience for the ever-angry ghost bent on troubling anyone and everyone but fell in love with the way the ghost stories were humanized in the Netflix twin-series, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’). I love the fantasy genre the most with The Lord of the Rings movies (as also the book) being my all-time favourite. Among the directors, I like movies by Christopher Nolan as well as Quentin Tarantino (I haven’t watched all his movies but fell in love with all the ones which I watched).

I generally like soft music – mostly Indian – but of late have also started listening to Piano pieces (absolutely love Ludovico Einaudi).

Love for poetry, both English and Hindustani, is something which – I believe – I have inherited from my maternal grandfather through my mother. Ramdhari Singh Dinkar remains my, as of so many others’, favourite.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. I would be very happy to help in any way I can to contribute towards IIFM, its students as well as alumni. One of the most immediate things which I can do is mentor students on whatever I have learnt in the corporate world over the years through sessions/lectures. I am also working towards floating, at least one, summer internship this year at my firm Ayvole. I am hoping that it may prove useful for the development of students at IIFM in whatever limited way.

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. Unfortunately, (and this has been largely due to procrastination on my part) I have not visited IIFM since I graduated in 2008. I would love to visit soon – as soon as this pandemic gets over. But I have been in touch with some of the professors, the alumni, and the students. The feedback has been mixed – with the general trend (even if gradual) being of some pessimism over the years. I would be very happy to help, in any way, to make the sentiment, as well as the underlying conditions for that, more positive. 

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. I have mentioned many of my batchmates in one of the questions above. You can profile/interview all of them – they are all amazing people.

Gitesh Gunjan (PFM 2006-08) is currently working as Senior Manager in the Business Consulting vertical of Ernst & Young LLP. While working for the government and public sector advisory practice, his specific area of focus is in the Skill Development & Entrepreneurship consulting space. 

During the initial years of his career, he did manage on-ground execution and implementation of several large-scale skill development programs as a training service provider. While during the latter half of his career, he has been engaged in undertaking various consulting assignments which involved supporting various Central/State Government departments in devising/updating their schemes and policy documents, designing the scheme guidelines & SoPs, providing advisory & program management support, etc.

Email- giteshgunjan@hotmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?

A. Post passing out from IIFM, I did join IMS Learning at their Pro-school division where my role was to manage the business development aspects of various professional development courses. There, I got an opportunity to execute placement-linked vocational training programs for underprivileged rural youth of Gujarat. With that little understanding and experience of implementing skill development programs, my journey in the sector started. I did join IL&FS Clusters thereafter where I had to implement the large-scale skills training programs across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. 

With good exposure and understanding in the skilling space, I had got an opportunity to get into consulting with EY. After working there for good 2 years, I switched to PwCpost which I did also try my luck in entrepreneurship through the opening of a quick-service restaurant at Bhopal, which I had to close in just 6-7 months. Thereafter, I have been with EY for the last 4 years where I lead and manage multiple consulting assignments for many Central & State Govt. departments. 

Apart from working on several research-based studies and providing consulting services to clients, my role is to undertake and manage business development by expanding the existing solutions to new geographical areas & clients and developing new solutions and products in the sector to broaden up the business horizon for the firm.

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. Every project and assignment that I had managed and executed, has given me ample opportunities to learn and can be quoted as a milestone in itself. However, I would like to mention my experience with IL&FS Clusters where I had independently managed various large-scale skill development programs and multiple cluster development programs at the regional level. As a Regional Head, my responsibilities included, hiring and managing 100+ team members, managing the establishment of multiple training centers, developing and maintaining the relationship with the industry players & employers, regular coordination with various govt. officials while meeting the year-on-year business targets.

Such exposure at IL&FS helped me a lot in taking up new roles and responsibilities later in my career. I would also like to mention my learnings at EY where I have been given an opportunity to manage my portfolio of consulting projects and develop new businesses. With extensive work experience in scheme design, policy-making, and delivering advisory services to various Central/State Govts. and multilateral agencies, I have started looking at government schemes, policies, and programs with a different lens.

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?

A. When I look back to the statistics and the impact that has been created on the millions of people through the number of skill development & entrepreneurship initiatives and cluster development programs across India, I feel very happy about it. I feel satisfied with the fact that my little contribution and efforts while working in the sector have created a path for employment and income generation for lakhs of men and women across India.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. It is IIFM that has carved my career path and has given me the very opportunity to kick start my professional journey. The learnings at IIFM have helped me to be a quick decision-maker, deliver time-bound assignments and become a true professional.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?

A. I can proudly say that the IIFM family has been the key influencer, guide, and driver which helped me excel in my professional journey at every stage of my career to date.

As suggested by many of our alumni, I would also like to reiterate that one should identify his/her strengths, weaknesses, and interest areas and focus on continuous self-development. I would like to advise the youngsters that one should be mindful in choosing the career path because we generally get attracted to the track which gives us more financial gain at the start and not the long-term sustainable option. 

Our Alumni are the greatest asset of the IIFM family and I would strongly suggest each one of you to be in continuous touch with them, seek guidance and support at any point in time. I have worked with several colleagues from various institutions and I can confidently say that the way we IIFMights are bonded together, cannot be seen elsewhere.

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. There are many memorable experiences at IIFM which I can recall. Some of them include Birthday bumps, Holi celebration, Tug of War, Cooking litti-chokha and chicken (Abhishek's specialty), adventurous ride in "Bhatt Suar", Snacks at Madhuram Sweets, Ice-Cream at Top n Town New Market, buying second-hand stuff with Kallol, Chicken Lollypop at Sakshi Dhaba, Movie screening by our Movie Club, Sunday Biryani at IIFM Mess, Skits we participate in and many more...

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. I think the courses such as Strategic Management, Financial Management, Quant, and respective elective subjects were very useful. Participating across various IIFM clubs, activities, assignments/projects, field visits and 2 OTs have helped me in overall personal and professional development.

Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. I had a fantastic time with all my batchmates and seniors at IIFM. I cannot forget the Quant classes by CVRS Sir, RD, and Microfinance classes by Biswas Sir at flexible timings proposed by us, IT classes by meticulous CSR Sir, HR&OB Classes by always smiling Rekha Ma'am, very useful lessons in Microeconomics by Madhu Verma ma'am, Ecology classes by Suprava ma'am and forestry classes by Amitabh sir and YD sir.

Q. As an alumnus, what's your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?

A. I would suggest all the newcomers of the IIFM family to learn every lesson, participate in every activity, and cherish every moment at IIFM. I think you may not get another chance in life to experience such a magical life on campus. IIFM has everything that you want to learn, experience, and take away with.

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. I think there is no typical day in consulting. Rather, it's a combination of day and night most of the time. I am just kidding 😊. But yes, it is a regular practice of consultants to work till stretched hours.

My work typically involves meeting various government clients, taking stock of the ongoing projects, number of phone calls, lot of interstate travel, and managing various Bids. I feel that leading a bid/BD proposal is a big event for us and it involves a lot of teamwork, planning, and strategic inputs. Post its submission I generally feel similar relief that one feels after successfully completing his/her child's marriage. But, then comes another child to get married and it goes on and on..... Even with all these, I feel every day is interesting and challenging and it gives me immense opportunities to showcase my abilities and learn further.

Q. Would you like to share about your typical weekends...

A. During weekends, I love cooking and spending time with my family, friends, and relatives. I also love watching movies, TV series (mostly Hindi), playing badminton, etc.

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors,...

A. I have only read "The Alchemist" and "The Ultimate Gift" and so, these two books are my favorites 😊. I love watching almost all Bollywood movies and few select flicks from Hollywood. Some of my favorites are Barfi, Aankhon Dekhi (Sanjay Mishrastarrer), Zakhm, Bheja Fry, Life of Pi, Despicable Me, Ice Age series, and of course Bahubali (fantastic creation by Rajamouli)

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. I would be very happy to contribute in whatever way possible to the IIFM family.

Q.What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. When I studied at IIFM, we used to have 2 different organizational training of 10 weeks each and this gave us an extensive exposure and understanding of the professional world before we came out from the Institute. I think it would be nice if the same can be re-initiated. 

I can see more traction among the alumni now, as compared to when I studied at IIFM. A lot of activities, workshops, newsletters, and forums have been created/undertaken to enhance alumni engagement which I feel is a very positive pursuit. With the newly created Alumni Association and better alumni participation, I am sure we would be able to bring the required positive changes and help our alma-mater to become a sought place for recruiters from across the world to hire budding leaders.

Q. Any suggestions on who from our alumni you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. I want all my batch mates to get profiled here as all of them are doing exceptionally well in their areas of the professional journey. 

We have some alumni who had chosen to contribute to nation-building by joining civil services. Mr. Bhashkar Lakshkar, Mr. Neeraj Bhansod, Mr. Vineet Abhishekare some of them. I would like to get them profiled. We should also profile Mr.Amit Vatsyayan and similar stalwarts who have reached the topmost level in their respective organizations and can share their inspirational journey with us.

At Plan International in Lao PDR, Soumya feels he is privileged to work with and for young people especially girls from different ethnic groups. What makes the work exciting is that he has a wide stakeholder group to discuss, consult, co-create, and scale-up. This includes the Government, the civil society, the UN, corporates, partners including young people's organizations and different donors - individuals and institutions. 

One exciting work, currently he is involved is about developing and actualizing the 'Noi Framework' in partnership with the Government, UN, and civil society partners. 'Noi' is a little girl in the Lao language and represents all adolescent girls in Laos. The Noi Framework is made up of five key indicators from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that best determines the life of Noi. These indicators are child marriage, teenage pregnancy, child labor, adolescent anemia, and out-of-school rates. The idea is to track these indicators over the life of Noi as she grows from a 13-year-old to a 25-year-old confident woman by 2030 - the end date of the SDGs. It is basically to highlight how the development partners and importantly the Government is doing to make Noi optimize her potential. 

At Plan International, he makes sure to highlight, push and prod if the progress is uneven as is often the case. The Lao PDR Government recently used the Noi Framework in its voluntary report to the UN General Assembly. Soumya with his team is also promoting it so that other countries in the Asia Pacific and indeed globally can customize the 'Noi Framework' and use it to mainstream and highlight the unique development challenges and opportunities that adolescent girls and boys face. 

Email - soumya.b.guha@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

A. It's been exciting, at times hard but never dull! I joined UNICEF from the IIFM campus and was working in one of the remotest districts of Madhya Pradesh - Shivpuri - for two years. There were still some Chambal dacoits at that time in Shivpuri! The work was around piloting a child-centered village planning model. We would ask the community about what their aspirations are centering around children. Then look at what they could do, what needs support from the Government, and what has to be fully externally supported. It was a great immersion into participatory processes and decentralized planning. UNICEF's District Planning Model was largely based on the good work that happened in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh during those times. 

From UNICEF Madhya Pradesh I moved to Delhi in ORBIS International. This was following the footsteps of my wife who found a better job than she had in Bhopal. ORBIS International is a brilliant organization whose mission is to eliminate childhood blindness. Their motto is that the most vulnerable should have the best care. Terrific isn't it? If you think about this. It makes complete sense. The most vulnerable need to have the best care as if something goes wrong with say an eye surgery, they don't have the wherewithal to get it right. One learning piece I did with a few colleagues there is to right up ORBIS's approach. You can find it here http://www.vision2020india.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/67_jceh.pdf I have worked in different states of India through ORBIS International and Plan India. This includes Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Orissa, Bihar, Kerala among others. This gave me quite a rich cultural perspective and helped me later in my international work. 

The first international work that I did after was with Plan International in Liberia, West Africa, A completely different context - a country that was never colonized, a country that had the first female and Noble Laureate President in Ellen Johnson Serleaf - but also a country devastated by 14 years of civil war. It was a tough place to work but the people themselves were joyous, humble, and welcoming. They have faced a lot of strife but there is a lot to learn from the way they are trying to build back.

I went to Bangladesh next and again it was different and exciting. My ability to speak the Bengali language - I am from Kolkata - made a huge difference in connecting with the staff and the community as well as with the Government. I have done some of my best work in Bangladesh. Will share with you an example in the next section. So keep reading. I am currently in Laos. It is a beautiful country with the most gentle, welcoming, and nice people you would see. A country largely without Covid-19 too! 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. There are quite a few. However, if there is one that stands out for me. It is this thing about taking a calculated risk and not being fearful about failure. Here's an illustration. We worked with the Prime Minister's Office in Bangladesh to co-create and then nationally scale up a technology-enabled solution to combat child marriage that allows the age verification of a prospective bride or groom through a simple click on a mobile phone application. This will potentially impact the lives of 12 million girls.

When we were trying to conceptualize this, there have been often that people in respected positions of power saying - this won't work, you are taking on too much! why not pilot and then scale? All good advice perhaps but we didn't listen. To listen meant giving up on the lives of so many girls who would get married before they turn 18. What happens to their schooling, to their future, and indeed to their dreams? There was a real urgency here and we decided not to play safe. The project finally got funded. Deep work is happening through it in the districts with the highest prevalence rates of child marriage in Bangladesh. 

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. The fact that we spend most of our working day in thinking, working, and advocating for and with children especially girls from ethnic groups. Their smile, joy, and vibrancy are worth every minute of hard work. The other thing that motivates me is the team members we have. They are all brilliant and exciting to work with. The final thing I like is I do get time to read. I have some control over what I will do and when!

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. Certainly yes. I knew that I have come to the right place since my interview and GD days i.e., the first visit to the IIFM campus. I think the questions they asked in the interview to test for congruence made me feel so. The Professors were all genuine and the coursework meant a lot of time spent in nature through your field visits and the two OTs.

The exposure to rural development and indeed forestry was rich. So I did get a sense of confidence to stand my ground in the complex life that comes after IIFM especially if one chooses development and environment. 

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles. 

A. The biggest influence perhaps is from the books that I read at the IIFM campus but not necessarily from the course !! One such was the insightful work of Robert Chambers titled 'Putting the last first'. Go and have a read of this. It poignantly asks the question 'who is last' and why? and why we need to put them first in development. It is a masterpiece for someone new to participatory rural development.

I learned a lot from my batchmates who in their ways were unique. Niraj Bansod who later went on to become an IAS officer was so humble. Kunal Sharma is such an 'eco sync' as was Sai. Sachin Bansal was so professional and currently a top-notch Financial Analyst. Vishal Arghode was quiet and professional on campus and now a strong professor at IIM Nagpur. We had a diverse and strong PGP batch 2002-2004 and a wonderful M-Phil batch sharing the beautiful campus with us. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A. There are many. Once we were moving to the canteen and the lights went out! By the way, when the light goes out in IIFM, it's actually great. It means that the competition is less as the ones who study too hard have to be in the lawn with the ones who don't. Quite an equalizer! Back to the canteen story. So we were walking and I just instinctively stopped my friend Sachin Badkas from stepping on to something. It was a snake! I knew I had something in sync with the environment that day. 

We were attached to the Rajasthan Forest Department for a month and a half and had a wonderful exposure to wildlife management in that fascinating state. We met Fateh Singh Rathode, one of India's foremost wildlife conservationists at Ranthambore National Park. He used to say that he can't sleep well without seeing a tiger every day. 'Uhoy logh thik he; dekh liye toh acha nind ata he'.....almost his exact words. That's the deep care that man personified for the tiger and through it for the ecosystem. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. I think the diversity of the course is an advantage. So one side you are learning environmental science and forestry and on the other marketing management and quantitative techniques. One also had an opportunity to dig deeper with the specialization. Then you have this chance to test out what you have learned through the two organizational trainings. So it gives you breadth as well as a means to try out what excites you. This was the case definitely in 2002-2004. So I choose to work in Development and others went into the environment and quite a few to the corporate and within it the financial sector.

There was this all-round grooming which gave us a chance to choose what's interests us and what suits one temperament. There is a big likelihood that I will concentrate on combating climate change moving forward in my way and the course at IIFM with its interdisciplinary nature will play an important role in that as well. One additional aspect that worked for me was the practicing of leadership that IIFM provides through its different on-campus activities, student forums, sports, and culture. This provides a good grooming ground for leadership in the future. 

Q.The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. I have shared some of my batch mates from whom I learned in a previous question. Each member of our batch was unique in a way or two. My roommate was Anique Junaid. We jelled well. He is a brilliant professional working in the forestry and allied industries sector internationally.

IIFM has some of the most wonderful professors from whom I have learned the basics of environmental and development management. Prof. Prodyut Bhattacharya and Prof. Rekha Singhal not just for their expertise but also for their personalities; Prof. Rathore for his humbleness in spite of his razor-sharp intellect, Prof. Amitabh Pandey for his deep understanding of anthropology and care for the student community - just a few of our remarkable Professors at IIFM from whom I have learned in class but also by observing them as they went about their work. 

Q. As an alumnus, what's your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?

A. For the once lucky to be at IIFM; I would say immerse, observe, read, converse and reflect around environmental and development management. Go deep into the areas that you like and not be shallow in terms of understanding. Don't get too occupied with the competition. Try to learn the concepts, principles, the perspectives. The grades would follow. 

Develop those friendships and maintain them after campus life is over as it will be. Sorry for that. Choose and try to get the job, research work, or entrepreneurial venture that most interests you, an area that you are most likely to work hard and not feel tired. This is the area that you stand the most chance to master and excel in. The money and career prospects follow for the ones who are good at what they do and not the other way round. For those who are contemplating IIFM; choose it if you have a heart for environmental or development management. 

If you want to work for others and especially for the environment do come to IIFM. You will thrive here and in your career thereafter. If environment or development doesn't ring a bell for you then this is not the B School for you. My advice is then the same. Choose something that you truly care for. 

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. I don't have a typical day and that's great for me. So there will be a week in the month that I will travel to the communities where we have projects. I will interact with young people and perhaps come up with a good idea around what next needs to happen. At times I will be in these big Government and UN meetings. I would hopefully make good sense talks from evidence having visited and interacted with those about whom the policies are being made. Some days are quite like this one; when I am penning down my thoughts about IIFM! 

Q. Would you like to share about your typical weekends.. Hobbies.. Family.. 

A. I love to learn and I am currently doing an online Master's in Sustainable Development from Sussex University. I have two beautiful and engaging twin daughters and they keep both parents busy over the weekend otherwise. 

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors, .. 

A. In my formative years, the Bengali writer Saratchandra Chattayapadhyay had a great influence on me. I think my understanding of equality and empathy for the marginalized were seeded through his writings. If you can, do read Srikanto and Pather Dabi. In recent times I am fascinated by the work of the historian Yuval Noah Harari and his books 'Sapiens', 'Homo Deus' and '21 Lessons for the 21st century'. Read his books or watch his Ted talks.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? 

A. I am happy to have conversations with the current batch. We did one and it felt great and hopefully was useful for the students. I am happy to do direct engagement sessions with the new batch as well as grooming sessions with the passing out batch. This is now easy to do over tech platforms. Happy to also connect in other ways that the students may want. 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. I understand that there are now three clear streams from the beginning. This might have some advantages and there could be some concerns. It's best to have some knowledge management around this. I was impressed with the thoughtfulness, quality of questioning, and sincerity of the current batch at IIFM during the live session I did. It was wonderful and their questions reflect a strong discourse that's happening on campus. 

Q. Any suggestions on who from our alumni you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. Our 2002-2004 batch was brilliant. Biased as I may sound about my batch, here are just some among many others whom you should interview - Kunal Sharma, Sai, Vishal Arghode, Sachin Bansal, Niraj Bansod. Thanks again for this opportunity to fondly remember and reflect on our days @IIFM.

Email - lokesh28@gmail.com

Important and Interesting links on Mr. Lokesh Kumar -

https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/how-dynamite-kills-cauvery-mahseer/articleshow/15782243.cms

https://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?t=4475

http://arunachalepitome.blogspot.com/2010/12/eco-tourism-workshop-organised-at.html?m=1

https://iifm.blogspot.com/2004/07/badminton-tournament-at-iifm.html?m=1

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?

A. It's an amazing journey, nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. I was inclined towards ecotourism and conservation since my early days. Credit for the same goes to Suprava Ma'am, Madhu Ma'am, KNK Sir, Yogesh Sir, Amitabh Sir...all of them motivated me to contribute to ecotourism, conservation, and social development sector. 

I joined various organizations like Leisure Hotels Corbett, ECOSS Sikkim, JLR Karnataka, Pragya, JPS Associates, Gujarat Tourism before going to Yes Bank. While undertaking various assignments I traveled the pristine Himalayan stretch right from Ladakh to Tawang. In various roles I have served I got the opportunity to contribute from all segments-NGO -Government-Corporate. 

I have experienced more than 50 national parks and sanctuaries and the tourism model they practice. I have prepared more than 6 state-level tourism policies and implemented more than 15 internationally funded projects in tourism and allied domains. I feel privileged to be a part of IIFM and I am always connected to the faculties to date, who are always willing to support me.

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. In this journey, some of the learnings worth mentioning would be as follows:- 

a. Taking organisational training (Internships) seriously helped me in my career, it had a huge impact on overall report writing skills, communication techniques, analytical approach, etc.

b. Focus on one domain is the key and improvising and scoping in the same is required at all stages of career path.

c. Maintaining a low profile at the initial stages of career, as learning is more important in that period. Post-IIFM life is different and decision making is difficult, consult seniors and faculty before tricky situations. 

d. For better opportunities focus on government and funding institution's priority on sector and projects. This will land you in a better place and organisation. 

At a personal level, my key milestones are that I have contributed to approximately 6 states(UP, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Gujarat, Daman, and Diu UT, Pondicherry, MP, etc) in tourism policies, homestay policy, skill policy, ayush policy, etc. I got the opportunity to work as Chief Operating Officer with SPV of Gujarat Tourism at an early age, which was very enriching.

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?

A. Contributing to states, ministries, and corporates in the field of my passion viz. ecotourism, social development, gives me immense pleasure. Also, the present role has made me travel to the lengths and breadths of India and has given me the opportunity to prepare investment compendiums and project profiles for the state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The present role has also given me a chance to share, present and replicate my experiences in other states, which I find most satisfying.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. Totally, the key learnings at IIFM have always helped in shaping my approach. The way we were trained during field visits, organisational training has helped thoroughly. 

It has improved the way we look at things, the communication techniques for conducting FGDs (Focus Group Discussion), PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal), etc. have helped me in all field-related assignments. During IIFM we were made to give numerous presentations (especially on Mondays) on any topic, and we used to despair it during those days, I am pretty sure that now my batch mates can agree on how that has helped us all in totality.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.

A. IIFM has struck a chord about helping others, throughout my career, my life has gone into thinking and developing enterprises for the needy, underprivileged, vulnerable, and disconnected communities. I consider this as the biggest influence...that through my planning, policy development, presentation to minister or a bureaucrat on tourism/community-based tourism I can directly affect and influence communities for their betterment. 

My only advice to the freshers would be that one should only choose domains based placements, else all IIFMites would end up in a microfinance/banking institution. Please look out for opportunities in other vibrant fields such as - Watershed, Handicrafts, CBET (Community Based Ecotourism), Wildlife Conservation, Enterprise or MSME development, Gender, Social Safeguard...etc. These domains have lots of potentials and all sorts of Big 4 or Consulting Organisations hire people in these fields regularly. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. I was into sports big time (Badminton, TT, Cricket, Volleyball, Football, etc.) and won the Best All-rounder of the year award for both years in Kalptaru ( annual fest). I also had the privilege of representing IIFM in two national forests sports meet at Goa and Raipur respectively. Besides my gang G8* was a mix of all personalities and we were involved in many activities like Biking, Boating, Kayaking, Bird watching, Food, etc. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. IIFM is a great institution with great faculties, and I was blessed to have a really good bunch of colleagues, juniors, and seniors with me at IIFM. It would be an injustice to single out few contributors, as I think all the above have immensely contributed in their own way.

Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. Best Buddies (G8) - Rakesh, Jaggi, Kanishk, Vishu, Akai, Pooja, KT, Billa,  Seniors- Kunal, Induja, Samita, Karmveer, Arif, Sachin Badkas, Juniors - Veerendra, Param, Swapan, Nitu.

Independence Day Football Cup 2004 (Flagship Sports Event): Independence day match has always been very competitive between Senior Batch and Junior Batch at IIFM and for us, this match will surely live in our memories, juniors were very excited to defeat us in the football match and they were trying for pressure tactics by claiming that how easily they will defeat us. On match day I scored an opening goal from left leg free-kick and then the juniors were rattled all over the ground (they lost 4:1, of the only goal we conceded was an own goal)... Humiliation was in the air, and they were reluctant in facing us ;).

Q. As an alumnus, what's your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. Enjoy the course and days at IIFM. The type of opportunity you will get here is unmatched. Be focused and sharpen your skills. Keep interacting with faculties and seniors and make the most out of it.

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. Post lockdown the job is not very interesting. The routine job is to align the team in my geography, do scoping, and finalise priority in meetings. Pitching products to increase the wallet share of the bank. Few con calls each day and chasing the target on a day-to-day basis.

Q. You would like to share about your typical weekends.. Hobbies.. Family..

A. I am blessed with a beautiful daughter Adya, who is 20 months old, very naughty, and talkative. My wife Charu is a CS and we met during my job with JPS Associates in Delhi. 

I like driving and cover long driving expeditions during holidays. Weekends are usually a small outing, good food, and some booze.

Q.  Favorite Books, movies, authors, ..

A.The monk who sold his Ferrari, Connect the Dots, Five Point Someone... Movies - Chak De India, Swades, DDLJ, Sholay, Drishyam, Special Ops, Sacred Games, Baby, Apharan, Mirzapur, etc. Authors - Rashmi Bansal, Robin Sharma.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. 

a. Providing one-to-one sessions in ecotourism, social development, and related opportunities to the interested students.

b. Placements.

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. I guess now the batch strength is much larger as compared to our time. Smaller groups were much cohesive and bonding was much higher. 

Q. Any suggestions on who from our alumni you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A.Rakesh Guran, Pooja Kumar, Akai Mao.

Earlier, he was leading the India Sanitation Coalition Secretariat which is hosted by FICCI. Prior to that, he had a short stint with Sesame as the Director of Programmes. Siddhartha has previously worked with WaterAid where he was leading the policy aspects on Rural WASH. His primary role was to lead and support the advocacy and policy initiatives of WaterAid in close coordination with the Government of India and other leading sector players. He has worked for Fresh Water Action Network South Asia (FANSA) as the Regional Coordinator for South Asia providing policy and advocacy inputs to FANSA programmes across the South Asian region. Siddhartha has also worked for the UNICEF India Country office providing leadership support at the national level for the implementation of the Link Workers Scheme (a rural based HIV prevention programme) across the UNICEF-supported districts. 

Siddhartha has played a key role in the planning and preparation of high-level global advocacy initiatives like Sector Ministers' meetings and Finance Ministers' meetings organised by SWA. He was part of the Working group inputting into the Swachh Bharat Mission guidelines, which has been the flagship programme on sanitation in India. During his stint with the India Sanitation Coalition, the organization was conferred a special award by the Government of India for its initiatives in corporate engagement as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. 

Working on developmental issues has been his passion and he has been able to further harness his skills by being involved in high-level policy initiatives. 

Details of Siddhartha's present organization can be accessed using the website link www.sanitationandwaterforall.org  . Currently, Siddhartha is based in New Delhi.

Social Media: 

Twitter: @ronsid2000

FB: https://www.facebook.com/siddhartha.das.562/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddhartha-das-79b14914/

Email: ronsid2000@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

A. Post my IIFM days, I worked for the Indian Institute of Bio Social Research and Development (IBRAD) and was posted in the Adilabad district of the then Andhra Pradesh. This was followed by a five-year stint with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance working for the BMGF funded Avahan programme which was the world's largest prevention programme on HIV. My stint with Alliance gave me immense learning by being exposed to Monitoring & Evaluation, programme implementation, and social research. This was followed by a stint with UNICEF India Country office with its HIV section giving me an opportunity to work at the policy level and engage closely with the government. From there I got an opportunity to work at the South Asia regional level with FANSA in the field of WASH working closely with country governments in South Asia on WASH Advocacy. 

It was a conscious decision to move out of HIV/AIDS where I had worked for almost 7 years and try out a new field.  I was lucky to join WaterAid almost at the time of the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission which gave me an opportunity to get very closely involved in framing its national guidelines, implementation of the programme and being part of different national committees. 

From WaterAid, I moved to Sesame as its Director of Programmes. While being there, I was offered the opportunity to lead the Secretariat team of the India Sanitation Coalition(ISC)  hosted by FICCI. ISC was founded by the famous investment banker and Padma Shri Awardee, Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai who is also the Chair of the coalition. Working closely under the mentorship of Ms. Kidwai was a great learning experience. All these diverse ranges of experiences in different aspects of development, leadership experience, experience in strategic facilitation levels, high-level policy, and advocacy helped me to get my present role as the Regional Coordinator: Asia and Pacific of SWA. 

My present organisation SWA is a global partnership of over 70 governments, external support agencies, civil society organizations, and other development partners working together to 1) catalyze high-level political leadership and action for sanitation, water, and hygiene, and 2) improve accountability and use human, technical, and financial resources more effectively. Partners work towards a common vision of achieving the SDG 6 targets which deal with water and sanitation. You can get to know more by visiting our website www.sanitationandwaterforall.org .

I work closely with around 18 country governments across the Asia & Pacific region helping them to frame their national programmes in achieving the SDG 6 targets and implementation of SWA framework. This year, we have plans to work with different country governments in integrating WASH and Climate Action.  I am lucky to be part of a brilliant team here in SWA. 

Overall, the combination of my experience in grassroots, implementation, monitoring, social research, and advocacy has given me a strong foundation to work at the strategic facilitation levels and contributing to the highest level of policy. 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. Well, there are many milestones to share but I would like to highlight one which happened very recently (maybe because that is fresh in my memory !). I was recently part of a (virtual) panel discussion which also had the Bangladesh Minister of Rural Development, Local Government and Cooperatives, Mr. Tajul Islam. The topic was focused on WASH Financing. While I have been part of many panel discussions during my professional career, this was the first where I got to share the stage with a senior minister. Obviously, I had some butterflies in my stomach which eventually led me to prepare even better than I normally would! More so, because I had personally met the same minister last year in Dhaka and he came across as a very knowledgeable and focused individual. Finally, the discussion went off well and for the greater part of the discussion, I spoke in my mother tongue, Bengali! The discussions were telecasted live by a leading radio channel in Bangladesh.

Another great learning for me was when I got the opportunity to work with Prof. Robert Chambers whom we all know is a Development stalwart. I was working with him in framing the implementation of Rapid Action and Learning Units (RALU) across few states in India. RALU is the brainchild of Prof. Robert (that's how I address him), something linked to the Swacch Bharat Mission. I was amazed by the dedication, commitment, and clarity of thoughts of this icon who was in his 80s, but his energy levels could be compared with a person in his 20s! I remember once going to meet him at his hotel room at Sundar Nagar in Delhi. He was working on a concept and I was stunned to see hard copies of countless books and publications opened and spread in his bed and parts of the floor! Apparently, he was simultaneously referring to all those while working on his concept. Such is his passion and commitment. I felt so lucky to be working and learning from this legend! I have one of his yellow-colored pencils nicely preserved which he forgot to take back after a meeting in our office. 😊

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. The most satisfying part is the opportunity to work directly with key decision and policymakers in improving the WASH situation across different countries. Engaging with ministers, senior bureaucrats and other key sector players from different countries, knowing and adapting to the country-specific dynamics (and sometimes politics!) is both exciting and challenging. The key thing is learning never stops irrespective of the position you hold and the organization you are working for.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. A Big YES, without any doubt! For any smooth career progression, foundations remain critical and I can't thank IIFM enough for the wonderful platform it has provided me. Interaction with the faculties, batchmates, alumni, and the conducive environment the institute creates has played a big role in my personality development, something which has helped immensely in shaping up my professional career.  

Not sure if it continues to happen now, but during our time we used to have 2 different Organizational Trainings (OT) and one Field trip component. For the field visit component, we were divided into groups of 5-6 people and attached to a state forest department for 2 months. These exposures were immensely helpful both in terms of learning and developing the right attitude. 

Academically, I was pretty average but what has probably helped me is the willingness to learn and being ambitious! The routine presentations and opportunities to interact with external stakeholders given by IIFM made me more self-confident and it helped me in tackling stage fear. 

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles? 

A. My advice to freshers would be to work on their personality development and develop the right attitude. It is ideal to score good marks and CGPAs, but don't run after those. One will always learn on the job and that is never-ending! A professional career is a long-drawn path and what matters a lot, in the long run, is hard work, humbleness, and integrity. The right attitude will allow you to respect people, learn on the job and make you a good professional. It will also allow you to deftly address occasional setbacks. Yes, there could be occasional setbacks in professional life, but always take it head-on as a challenge and deal with it (Remember, dealing with challenging situations unknowingly helps in personality development). 

Regarding influencers, there are many and I am grateful to each one of them. But I would like to mention the contribution and mentorship of two of my former bosses; Mr. Shumon Sengupta and Mr. Neeraj Jain. Shumon is an IIFM alumnus from the PFM 1991 batch and has held several global and regional positions for key developmental organizations and continues to hold one. A very humble person having immense knowledge on a wider range of issues. He was the Director at Alliance while I was working there. He is now leading a major consortium project in Bangladesh having more than 20 organisations through a big funded USAID project. Neeraj is now the Country Director with PATH in India and has held several leadership positions with reputed corporates and INGOs; a perfect example of a person who made a seamless transition from corporate to the development sector. Just watching him on a day-to-day basis helped in my leadership development and honing up my relationship management skills. He was the Chief Executive of WaterAid while I was working there. 

The mentorship I received from both these fantastic individuals have helped me to develop both personally and professionally. I continue to reach out to both Neeraj and Shumon for focused advice as and when required. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A. I have fond memories from my OT-II and its fieldwork in the rural areas of Karnataka. My good friend and batchmate, Vaibhav Gupta was my OT partner and we were attached to SDC-IC in its Watershed project.  We had some wonderful moments together across different rural areas in Karnataka.

We also encountered a scare while we were staying at an NGO campus in the villages of Tavaragera. That campus was in the middle of a forest area and a Cobra had once entered a dormitory of the campus and took the entire campus by storm. The reptile was ultimately dealt with but just can't forget the panic which gripped Vaibhav and myself. Both of us still talk and laugh about it! Vaibhav is now an established professional in the corporate sector. Our seniors, Nelson Royal (PFM-97) and Devanshu Chakraborti (PFM-98) were working with SDC during that time, and both turned out to be great mentors during our OT. 

Another fond memory was the breathtaking view of sighting a tiger inside the Ranthambore National Park during our field visit component with the Rajasthan Forest Department. We were a group of 6 during that field visit and were just spellbound to see a tiger live, walking like a king inside its territory. It was like a dream come true for the entire team comprising of Niraj Bansod, Soumya Guha, Sachin Badkas, Shobhana Boyle, Rita Nag, and myself.  

I remember going to nook and corners of Rajasthan during those 2 months of the field visit component starting from Jaipur, Alwar, Sariska, Udaipur, Banswara,  Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pratapgarh, Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore), Bharatpur (Keoladeo), and then back to Jaipur for the final presentation.

Last but not the least, the wonderful and picturesque eco-friendly IIFM Campus! I believe that it's an absolute fortune to be housed on that campus for 2 full years.

Q. The best friends/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share.

A. Niraj Bansod who is now an IAS and Mission Director with the Chhattisgarh Health department was my roommate. An amazing singer and I remember his melodious voice being viral across our batch and campus. Vaibhav Gupta and Ravi Prakash were in our adjacent rooms and all 4 of us used to have endless chats mixed with lots of fun. 

Pramod Choudhury who is now a General Manager with an established paper manufacturer and I used to exchange some serious banters and we continue to do so through our occasional conversations and WhatsApp chats! A very nice person by heart and a great friend.

Another fond memory was my occasional visits to Chin Chin restaurant with my good friend Alok Dhuria. Chin Chin used to be a very small restaurant serving amazing Chinese cuisines. Don't know if that restaurant still exists. Alok is now with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).  

Q. As an alumnus, what is your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. I would start by saying that the Development Sector is just wonderful! Its diversity and the wide range of choices it gives are very exciting and help a lot in the career progression. It provides ample opportunities for innovation and allows you to exercise your wisdom. Finally, you need to trust your choice and interest, but in case you have even a slight inclination for this sector, just go for it!

My message would be to enjoy your two years in IIFM. The wisdom you will develop at IIFM will remain a lifelong asset. Be ready to deal with the occasional slogs in professional life and keep learning on the job. Like I said before, a positive attitude along with being a good team player are the keys to success. Work on your personality development and self-confidence, interact a lot discussing a wider range of topics among your batchmates, keep improving your presentation skills, have healthy debates, and keep working hard. 

Do not hesitate to reach out to the wonderful group of faculties that IIFM continues to have. My Go-To faculty used to be Dr. Amitabh Pande who was always approachable and willing to share his ideas. I still remember his wonderful pep talk during a short period of struggle after I passed out from IIFM. I was also very comfortable approaching and speaking with Dr. P K Biswas, Dr. Suprava Patnaik, Dr. Rekha Singhal, and Dr. A K Bhattacharya. What helped also was the fact that Dr. Pande, Dr. Biswas, and Dr. Bhattacharya were avid sports lovers; something which gelled very well with me, as I am myself a huge sports fan!

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. Blame it on Covid, my home has been my office for the past year! I start my day responding to emails followed by virtual meetings. Meetings can be very early in the morning if it involves the East Asian and especially Pacific countries. It's a transition between meetings, working on documents, conceptualization, analysis, etc. Time and again I also need to keep myself updated with the policy developments in different countries and therefore reading becomes very crucial. Since my headquarters is based in New York and many of my colleagues are based in Central Europe, internal meetings often get scheduled during my evenings. 

My work involved frequent international travels during pre-Covid days. Visiting new countries used to be exciting but also very hectic. Being confined to work from home for the past few months, I partly miss this travel component. But more important is for all of us to stay safe and continue with our Covid prevention behaviors till the situation normalizes. Overall, I can say that I love my job and feel fortunate to be working with a wonderful set of dedicated colleagues. 

Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add

A. Covid has changed a lot of things. My wife (who is a successful Human Resource professional and is working with a US-based corporate) and I inevitably used to watch at least one Bollywood movie every weekend in one of the multiplexes of Delhi. However, as you can imagine, this has now stopped completely! I love driving and we step out for aimless long drives with occasional stopover at one of the Starbucks. 

I am a huge sports fan and love watching different kinds of sports on television. I am very passionate about football and follow the EPL, Serie A, and La Liga very closely. Sports reminds me of the Badminton court and Table Tennis table at IIFM; two sports I used to play regularly during my stay at IIFM.  

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors?

A. As I said, I love watching Bollywood movies and itching to get back to theatres once things normalise ! Presently I am reading a very interesting book called "Factfulness" authored by Hans Rosling, a book gifted to me by Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, our CEO in SWA. Very interestingly, the book gives reasons how our perceptions about the world can be wrong and that things are better than we think! 

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. The list could be long, but let me zero down on the following three:

Manjeet Singh Saluja from my batch who is now working with WHO as the Environment and Public Health Specialist and has created his own niche in various sectors. Both of us frequently discuss on different developmental aspects and exchange our ideas (of course mixed with some leg pulling and banter 😊).

Vinay Tiwari from MRM-2004 who is an Associate Director with KPMG and attached with the Ministry of Jal Shakti. He has played a key role in Swachh Bharat Mission BCC component and is also known nationally for his work on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). His work has been acknowledged by none other than the former Secretary of the ministry, Mr Parameshwaran Iyer.

Alark Saxena from PFM-03 batch who is a Professor with North Arizona University and a former Professor from Yale University. A successful academician and a wonderful personality.

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

A.  After IIFM, I started with SKS (now BFIL) as an Area Manager and learned Microfinance from field perspective. Then I joined Birla Sun Life Insurance in strategy at HO and gained experience of working at Head Office and of a desk job. 

Later I quit my job at Birla and prepared for IAS (everyone from Prayagraj has to do it once in a life time :), during my last attempt. I joined the Microfinance sector post an unsuccessful attempt of IAS and started as COO of HPPI. Then shifted to few other organizations and now with Midland as Zonal Head taking care of the entire east. 

An unquenchable thirst for "Learning" and "willingness to experiment" made me take decisions without fear. I was on a knowledge acquisition spree during the first 10 years of my career. Now have decided to acquire some wealth also.  

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A.  Working in SKS was a great learning experience from several perspectives as "first". With no prior work ex, it was all learning for almost the first 2 years but in 3rd year it was more like a routine so I switched to Birla in an HO role where again it was quite a good learning from the professional point of view. From a personal perspective also, Mumbai was a great Teacher.

By the third year again I was a bit done with that role and wanted to do something which might sound disastrous so I quit my job and started preparing for IAS. These two years of preparation have shaped me like anything. I became more knowledgeable and confident by the end of even unsuccessful attempts.

I started again as COO which was a completely different experience from the last 3 experiences that I had after IIFM. 

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A.  Working as an "Enabler" at present, I feel is the most satisfying part. When your decisions have repercussions on others at large and you are able to take right decisions (mostly) which helped people and Organizations in positive way, you feel satisfied. 

Working for "Bottom of pyramid" which is the most honest strata of the society who always pay their dues (like Lannister's) makes my sleep better.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A.  No duality, a person is "SAME" so is his approach – there is nothing like personal and professional, I believe. I became much better person, equipped myself in several ways during the two years at IIFM which is and will keep on helping me to tackle diverse situations. Here the learning curve was too steep. 

The three batches with which I had a close interaction during IIFM were the major source of learning while Professors and academics were 2nd and 3rd. 

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles. 

A. What are the biggest influences will be more apt, as "what" makes us choose "who". Neural Plasticity, willingness to experiment and no regret of failure makes me going. 

An action hero might get injured badly but will not hesitate to do the next stunt even in the worst scenario. Least bothered about injuries but focussed on his goal. Prepared to take the situation head-on and belief in his abilities make James Bond. Insane love for your idea makes you Elon Musk.  

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A.  Every day at IIFM is as good as the other day and even after 13 years, it feels like yesterday. Daily room party, formal parties, GBM, inability to study despite knowing the questions of exam, Litti-Chicken party, volleyball, badminton, doing nothing, and it goes on.  I am stopping myself forcefully here ;)

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. The whole process of surviving those 2 years was the biggest contributor. Friends (from three batches), Faculty, Alumni, Library, and Courses, have contributed to the pie exactly in the order as mentioned here in this line. 

Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share? 

A. I have earned several friends from IIFM from my batch, senior batches, and junior batches. As soon as I started writing names, it felt like that radio program of "AKASHVANI" of the late 90's so I will not take names. 

Biswas Sir and CSR Sir were the faculties with whom I have spent most of my time (out of the total time spent with faculties).   

Q. As an alumni, what's your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. Make the most out of these 2 years. Sleep lesser (if you can), participate in everything, be an active part of those things which are there and create one which you like. Do not let that one-second pass by any kind of inactivity. Make sure to wake up early and go to bed late. Do everything, even those things which are restricted. Hang your shoes only when you are 100% drained.  

Q. You will find yourself completely overhauled if you utilize 24 hours of the day for learning during the period of IIFM.

A. Once you will be out of IIFM, you will not be able to get all those things that are being offered at IIFM for almost free, even with too much money. 

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. I am an early riser so always have plenty of time to do things beforehand. Normally in Microfinance, the branches start early at 7 AM so I start getting calls from that time itself and go on till late in the evening. Typically, it is difficult to have funda of personal-professional time here in Microfinance. This can be termed as a 24X7 job. I always reach the office early and leave mostly on time. Days are hectic with less time to do anything else. Also, this job requires a lot of travelling which sometimes is a relief where you get to do few things while travelling.  

Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add?

A. Reading, Binge-watching movies and series, and Driving are for me as Hobbies. Family and Hobby go hand in hand. All these things are fun if done with Family and Friends.

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors 

A. Reading is something that makes me "Anurag". I will read anything on which I will get my hands on. Presently, I am concentrating more on Philosophy and Psychology. I like Hindi Literature as well as non-Hindi. My Favourites are Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, J Krishnamurthy, Karl Gustav Jung, Freud, Harishankar Parsai, Sharat Chandra just to name a few. Also, have an unfathomable interest in Mythology and Indian Philosophy. Advait by Shankar is my favourite one.

Movies help me in creating interest in anything. I like Quentin Tarantino very much. I admire the movies of Daniel Day-Lewis a lot. Then there are several others like Matrix, Inception and all-time favourite Andaz Apna Apna etc. I watch movies more from a learner's perspective.         

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? 

A. From 2016 onwards I have always tried to help IIFM in internships and placements. I have brought Capital Trust, Spandana, Humana, and Midland to campus either for SI or for placements or both. Spandana offered the highest salary while Humana has given internship opportunities to close to dozen students from the 2018 batch. 

My Organisation has a massive plan for coming years so will need a good number of talented human resources and there is no better place to find them than IIFM so will ensure same in coming years also.

Also, I can be approached for anything where I may help. Internship, Placements will always be an area where I will keep on contributing as that is critical for the students and makes a difference to their life ahead. 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A.  Aggressive marketing of the brand IIFM is needed so that we get to attract diverse background Students in terms of geography, work experience, past education, etc. Two OT's or internship was a great idea and should be reinstated. Alumni should contribute more in Placements as well as in interactions – Formal and Informal both.  

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A.Manish Sharma, Atul Singh, Prashant, Kumar Vaibhav, from my batch. Pankaj Singh Chauhan from 2007-09 batch. Rajiv Singh from 2005-07 batch.

Email - ramanshu.ganguly@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

A. The journey since IIFM has been exciting, adventurous and has made me learned tremendously about how the world is significantly different from what we learn in our classrooms. As Professor A.K. Dharni, IFS at IIFM always mentioned, you need to unlearn a lot to make the best out of your professional life.

I guess I did had to do that. I started with Fino Payments Bank (Fino Paytech then) and got placed at different corners of the country trying to convince rural customers to get affixed to formal financial services. Struggling with languages and grappling with targets, I learnt that what we read about concepts are a lot different than what makes sense to a family of six in rural Bihar trying to make ends meet.

I was driven by this desire to channelize these learnings to the implementation. This desire prompted my move to Sambodhi in 2014 and I am happily working here since that time. I have had the excellent chance to look at developmental initiatives (across a wide range of sectors) closely as well as from distance and feed the learnings back to the implementers and policymakers as well. It was at Sambodhi where I got exposed to the USE of quantitative techniques, research methodologies-regressions and it started making sense when I started using them and saw their implication in real life. Sambodhi has helped me groom myself as a professional in this space, appreciate the needs of the space-both downstream and upstream. 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. The key milestones would be: 

a. My exposure to rural India while in FINO.

b. Sambodhi's platform to learn and train people on the use of data in determining strategies is fabulous. It is difficult to isolate a moment here since all projects give you a new lesson which is the best part.

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. My exposure to the development space and the exposure to understand data and churn information out of it. Sambodhi exposes me to an excellent mix of academic and consulting work which makes learning a lot more fun.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. Definitely!! The subjects; the assignments; sudden deadlines; close deadlines-the week-long stressful examination period coupled with a bunch of extracurricular activities. Professional life is just as chaotic. IIFM taught me to have fun in this chaos. Once you start enjoying this chaos, you are a lot more prepared for life later on.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles. 

A. My advice to IIFM graduates will be to focus on understanding and learning thoroughly. We mostly get absorbed in trying to complete an assignment, score good numbers on a test. But rarely do we try to truly understand what we are and why. You need to understand and be thorough with your objective at hand. It will then help you to do your job much better. ALWAYS THINK!!

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A. Overnight bike ride with friends to Panchmarhi apart from the bonfires on the cliff inside IIFM campus are the top two among many happy memories. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. Friends and faculties.

Q. As an alumnus, what's your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?

A. Enjoy your time here. Use the mental space to build yourself as a person - play as much as you can; go around and explore as much as you can, learn as much as you can.

Q. What is your typical day at the office? (We want to know what your day job looks like..) 

A. Well, we start early by having a to-do list and ticking the items off as it goes. I am involved a lot in proposal and report writing. 

Q. You would like to share about your typical weekends.. Hobbies.. Family.. 

A. Roadtrips.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? 

A. I can be involved in talks with IIFM students if need be.

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. I think students are more outward-oriented now. They are better prepared and have a stronger idea of how the professional space looks like.

Q.  Any suggestions on who from our alumni you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A.Arnab Dey, Ph.D. candidate at UCSB; PFM 2012

In her current role at IKEA, Anushree is responsible for globally leading the optimal supplier setup at the best cost for new product development as well as running outdoor range.  

Anushree started her career in 2009 with BILT, where she worked as Sourcing Manager for wood and wood-based raw material at the corporate office in Gurgaon. As part of her work, she implemented the first FSC certified eucalyptus plantations in India in the state of Orissa. This led to BILT being the pioneer in India for the first FSC certified export quality paper. 

After working for close to 5 years in BILT, she was offered the role of Wood Supply and Forestry at IKEA, India, where she led the function for South Asia and the Middle east. In her role at IKEA, she was responsible for ensuring consistency in the supply of ethical wood at optimal cost by the suppliers. She was the main driver for identifying the major wood species and wood sourcing set up in India for use in the IKEA range, and currently being implemented by the suppliers. 

In hex next role, she moved to FSC International in Germany as Business Development / Key Account manager, where she globally led the Timber and NTFP value chains, supporting global brands in day-to-day troubleshooting, marketing FSC, and ensuring a good relationship with the key accounts. Thereafter, she was offered her present position at IKEA of Sweden.

Email - anushree131985@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?

A. So far so good.  It has been almost 12 years since I left college and yet when I retrospect, it seems like yesterday. IIFM had given me, my first steps to reach where I am today, and it has been a really good experience.

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. There is nothing you can't achieve if you believe in yourself and work hard towards it with focus and determination. In our life, there is only a certain amount of time that you have, so you can either think about a million things, and invest yourself in this and that, or gather all your energy, empty your head and focus on making the best version of yourself. 

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?

A. Being at the headquarters of IKEA and working in the heart of IKEA product development, leading it on a global level, and seeing my work contributing to fantastic products and thereby meeting customer expectations.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. Yes, IIFM gave me my first steps in the professional world, and all the good learnings at IIFM have enabled it to happen. My mantra has always been:

Smaller minds discuss people, Average minds discuss events, but great minds discuss ideas. 

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?

A. My mother has been the biggest influence during my formative years, she is a highly educated and forward-thinking woman.

The second biggest influence in my life has been my husband who is my dearest friend, philosopher, mentor, and guide and has been my greatest support and pillar throughout. 

My advice to freshers would be that there is a lot of competition in this world and one must be up to date and continuously add value to oneself in terms of learning new things by on-the-job experience, training, and learning. 

I can suggest reading the Harvard Business Review for developing social, managerial, and leadership skills. Then I suggest reading about current affairs as they help you in striking meaningful conversations. I like The Economist for current updates. Also, it is important to understand that once you land a job in an organization you are in a symbiotic relationship with that organization, as long as you are learning new things and adding value to yourself while contributing to the company, it is a win-win, but when you're learning curve is over, it is time to move on and find better opportunities. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. So many good memories the best would be the field trips of IIFM esp. in the second year.

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional.

A. I feel it is a mixture of all the above.

Q. The best friends / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share.

A. I had a couple of friends I use to hang out with, but I am not much in touch with all of them since our professional paths took all of us to different places. But I am still in touch with some, but mostly due to professional reasons. On the other hand, I have been in touch with the faculties for various collaborations like orientation programs, guest lectures, market research etc.  

Q. As an alumnus, what is your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. My advice would be that IIFM is not a regular MBA institute, it is a forest management institute and that is your strength as a student at this institute.

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. My workdays are super hectic and that is why I have not been able to send a response for this interview for a long time :).

Due to COVID-19 I mostly work from home, but I do go to the office once a week. My day usually starts at 7:30 with checking emails over a cup of coffee. Meetings usually start from 8:00 am with the Asia Pacific team and in the second half of the day with the western hemisphere. Having a day with several meetings is usual, and such meetings could be working meetings in many cases, but after that, I work on my things. My day usually ends by 5:30 or latest 6 pm.

Q.  And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family, and anything else you want to add?

A. On weekends I enjoy hiking as Sweden is an extremely beautiful country. 

My hobbies include learning new things - could be a sport and most recently I learned to ski, learning guitar, a new language, etc., etc. Basically, anything new!!

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors?

A. Favorite Movie directors of all time are Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Coen Brothers (as writers and director).

Almost all movies starring: Al Pacino, Robert Di Nero, Tom Hanks, Leonardo Di Caprio, and Amir Khan.

Authors: Most recently Yuval Noah Harari.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. Happy to contribute in whichever way the students would like me to! 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. The curriculum is a lot more relaxed now and I think it should be more rigorous.

The positive change is that we have added new subjects to the course. Also, the active engagement with alumni has been a remarkable initiative.

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A.Ashish Malik (Olam), Atish Khan (Tetra Tech and Nature Dots), Priyanka Agarwal (KPMG), Pramod Choudhary (International Paper), Hemant Joshi (Mckinsey), Abhinav Shekhar (Aron Global).

In FINO group he has worked in different roles in his 10 years of tenure. He also has the experience of working in the manufacturing and supply chain industry.

Email-id - sunilk.dixit@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

A. Very challenging and exciting journey I would say, working right from the bottom of the product lines servicing the customers to strategy building at the corporate office.

Despite IIFM being a sectoral college, the versatility in the course curriculum gives you a platform to choose your job in the different sectors. I got the campus placement in FINO Paytech who is the pioneer in the financial inclusion space providing tech solutions to extend the financial reach to rural India. I started my journey after IIFM as Management Trainee with FINO Paytech. I remember the very first assignment that I got as a management trainee was to appoint the agents with one of the public sector banks, having the offline handheld devices for accepting the deposits from the bank's customers in the bank's premise itself just because the queue used to be so long that a customer used to wait for hours and hours for making a cash deposit in his bank account. I used to do extensive field visits those days. I visited various villages of western UP to appoint the BC agents as part of this assignment.  It was a realization of the fact for me that the banking facilities were actually not in reach of the rural people, something that we used to study in IIFM. 

In the MT role and thereafter, I got the chance to work in the different departments under different leaderships, at the different locations experiencing the field role and the corporate role as well. I was fortunate that I got the chance to work in 5-6 departments (field operations, systems, finance, reconciliation, cash management, loans) of the organization in the initial 3-4 years of my career which gave me a deeper understanding of the business needs in the financial inclusion space. 

Back then, the reach of the rural people to the financial services was very limited and the financial space was changing very fast with the focus on financial inclusion. The exposure of working in various projects for the various banks over a period of time helped me to understand the core of the business in the initial years. Later on, I was given charge to lead the team of IT support and BC lending business of FINO group's lending wing "Fino Finance". I am thankful to Professor Ashutosh Verma's lectures on microfinance which really helped me in understanding the microfinance concepts. This role allowed me to know the complete in and out of the MF business along with liaising with funders. 

After a stint of 9 years with FINO, I got an opportunity to work overseas with Aron Global (AG), a global supply chain company in timber and scrap trading. In AG, I was based in Panama City in Latin America. It was like an entrepreneurial role and a kind of lifetime opportunity one can have in a career wherein you would get a chance the run a company on your own. A great opportunity to know the business at the ground level in the supply chain, understanding the challenges of the supply chain industry and the impact of global events in the trading business. We all know that any company runs with key objectives of minimizing the cost and maximizing the profit, right! But how many of us experience this out of our daily routine jobs, very few. Here, I got to know how this works. If you can get these two objectives met optimally, you have the quality of being a successful entrepreneur. Here, I got to know what an entrepreneur is.

Then I joined back FINO in its Payments Bank entity in IT project management,  another milestone in my career for getting a chance to develop project management skills. I am working in this role for the past 8 months.

In short, 10 years post IIFM have been very enriching and full of diversified experiences. I can proudly say that IIFM has been a founding stone to my career. IIFM teachings played a crucial role in building the professional discipline.

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. The key milestones and learnings are –

• Experiencing the field challenges and need of the financial systems for rural India during the management trainee role in the first year of the job.
• How the customer needs are identified and products are built to cater to their needs being in the corporate office.
• Managing the business development and operations of microfinance business helped me understand how the low ticket size asset business is managed, how important is the discipline for a successful business when I got the chance to work with the microfinance division of FINO.
• Importance of cost minimization and timely decision making to meet the bottom line of the business P&L while working with AG.
• How important the timely deliverables are to keep the edge over the competitors for customer retention while working in my new role of project management.  

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. Banking is changing so fast and so is the use of IT applications. New processes and products are part of it. In the current role, I come to know about all the enhancements going on in the organization which keeps me up to date to the industry as well. 

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. Yes, definitely. Institute is always a founding stone in anyone's career and it is upon the individual how to inculcate these learnings into the professional roles. All of your courses may not be directly linked to your professional role but they will always be of use someday. Apart from learning the fundamentals of finance and operations; IIFM taught me discipline and determination as well as working under strict deadlines (to complete the assignments). All these attributes played a very important role in my professional career.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.

A. In academics, we slog hard to get good grades but that's not the only essential thing for success in the professional world. I will advise freshers to work on personality development along with scoring marks. In professional roles, knowledge is definitely required but to be effective you would need to possess attitude and aptitude towards the work. Hard work, determination, communication, integrity, etc. are some of the key personality traits that would be needed. So focus on overall development.

I believe, our seniors influence us the most once we start working in a selected professional domain. They play an important role in driving your career apart from the fact that you decide the sector in which you want to work.

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. IIFM stay has been full of unforgettable memories. Some can be told here, some can't be. Some of the most memorable experiences includes - the strategy of dividing the course and then discussing in the group (we used to call it harvesting) in the computer lab, field trips, night drives to the railway station for chai-poha, rooftop parties, lunch outside mess, Holi celebrations, Cricket matches in weekends, Bike rides to almost all nearby destination, etc. All this make me feel like I am just passed out from IIFM. Really, really unforgettable.

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. Special mention to our accounting professor Prof. Ashutosh Verma. He made accounting easy for me to understand which became an important skill set required in my career so far.

Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. I had several friends from my batch, senior batch, and junior batch. But I would like to mention my group. We were 8 in our group as best buddies and mostly used to hang out together. Although everyone had a different character there was a special chemistry between us. I wish I can live that time again with all of them.

Among the faculties, Biswas Sir was closest to me. He was always available for everything. 

Q. As an alumni, what's your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A.

• Choose the sector early in which you want to work with, and focus more on the related courses. It's important to choose early and focus in that direction.
• Get yourself updated with the industry changes.
• Library and sports facilities are good in IIFM, use them fully.

Q. What is your typical day at the office?  

A. As it is work from home these days, most of the time goes on meetings on MS teams, conference calls, reviews with team and superiors.

The day generally starts at about 9:30 AM with our daily huddle call with team members and  aligning the work for the day, project reviews, and so on as the day progresses.

Q.  How about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add?

A. Weekends are generally at home now with family in COVID time, else I used to go trekking on weekends or go for a long drive. Trekking has been a stress reliever for me in the last few years.

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors

A. 

• Favorite books: The Tipping point, The Pursuit of Happiness, You Can Win, Rich Dad Poor Dad
• Favorite movies: 3 Idiots, Sholay, The Troy, Pursuit of Happiness, Chak De India.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? 

A. I will be happy to contribute, whatever I can. I am always reachable.

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. Unfortunately, I have not visited IIFM for the last 4 years but I guess a lot of changes have happened over a period of time in the campus with the industry needs. The good thing is that the students are proactive in contacting Alumni. They are oriented towards professional connections since the time they join the institute. 

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A.Himwan Gupta, Sahil Mehta, Manish Singh, Mayank Rai, Ritwajit Das.

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? What were some of the key milestones in this journey?

A. The journey has been so exciting that often I find it difficult to level up. I have always adopted a short-term career view, rather than the typical incremental approach. This has kept me agile and responsive towards my contemporary interests and professional and personal requirements.

I had joined IIFM with a clear goal of entering a sector where I could explore nature – preferably, wildlife conservation or ecotourism. Ashwin sir's (PFM 2009-11) move to Jungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) motivated me to go for the same. I managed ecotourism camps with Rs 1.7-2 crore toplines for a couple of years, while trying to find means to get into wildlife conservation. Although I heard from some of the biggest names in that sector that I couldn't get in, thankfully Advait sir was a constant motivation fuelling my perseverance.

Finally, I managed to land the role of Research Associate with Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) at Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Tiger Reserve, where I prepared the first ten-year Tiger Conservation Plan for the reserve within 2 months. My boss, the Director of the Tiger Reserve, would proudly tell the officers in KFD that he held me as a prisoner at his guest house to get the plan completed and approved from NTCA at the eleventh hour. I also conducted the first scientific, independent camera trapping exercise by KFD across a complete tiger reserve, which led to collaboration with Dr. Sanjay Gubbi, Nature Conservation Foundation for data analysis and culminated into my first and only peer-reviewed journal article. The success led to the deployment of similar working models in other tiger reserves and the implementation of many ideas that we had incubated then, including the formation of a Tiger Cell to undertake tiger monitoring.

By then, the need had aroused for me to move towards a financially sustainable job. I shifted back to JLR to sharpen my functional skills while searching for a corporate job. My BE in Computer Engg and experience in working at the field level with state govt organizations helped me land an IT role with Bosch, where I worked on product development of an app for capturing and maintaining electronic health data and collaborated with 3 implementation partners to conduct health camps to capture the data for more than 6000 students in 30+ schools in rural Telangana. While working there, I felt although I was putting in hours, my impact was limited and I could do more. Therefore, while working (and traveling to remote field locations) from 6.30 am to 7.30 pm on weekdays, I started preparing for my next step towards middle management – an MBA.

I got into the one-year Postgraduate Programme in Management at Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. That one year was as grueling as it was eye-opening. During the paltry minutes of reflection spread across days of sleepless nights (due to heavy coursework), I got a strong intuitive reaffirmation that nature is where my heart lies, and that would be my final destination. I also co-founded Wildlife & Animal Welfare Enthusiasts - the only Special Interest Group related to nature at ISB.

My one year at ISB coincided with the first time the then Ministry of Shipping decided to recruit MBAs from IIM A, B, C, and ISB for the ports sector. The complexity and scale of impact of the sector and the proximity of the New Mangalore Port to the beautiful forests of the Western Ghats led me to my current role.

Mostly, I have worked in strategy, operations, and business development functions, almost always going hand-in-hand with change management, across 4 sectors (ecotourism, wildlife conservation, IT, and ports) now. I've enjoyed most of it, and am looking forward to at least 2 sectoral and 1 functional shift before landing something related to my calling.

Q. What were some of the key learnings in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. You can do anything you want to – When I wanted to get into wildlife conservation, I was told I couldn't. When I wanted to get into a good corporate role, I was told I couldn't. When I wanted to get into ISB with only a couple of months left for preparation before the application cycle, I was told I couldn't. And many other times. As it turns out, I could and I did, only because I really wanted to do each of those. I believe in these words written by Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it". I have experienced that if you feel that focus and commitment to get somewhere, people around you and people who could help you in whatever small way possible to get there can feel it too. And, it makes all the difference.

Therefore, people are very important – Of course, family and friends are always there for you and one should make time for them. I have learned the importance of professional and extra-curricular networking (by not doing great at it), which is extremely important for getting opportunities as well as access to resources. And, for any project in any field, there would be people at the core.

Happiness exists in meaning, not in the comfort zone – Many times we become a prisoner in a golden cage built up by convenience of our comfort zones. It's easy to mistake that convenience with happiness at times. But if you look deeper, you would feel the need to do something meaningful, whether on a professional front or personal, and what you feel when you accomplish such goals is happiness in different forms. I have been on both sides of the line to learn this – Pursue meaning, happiness will come to you!

Quality matters and attitude matters more – Even in workplaces where politics (actual politics), flattery, and credit-hogging are the most important instruments for attaining perceived success, I have thrived well without using any of them only by remaining sincere and delivering what others could not or would not. Although I wouldn't get praise in open forums, everyone knew and did talk well about my work.

Find time to introspect – For all the above, you would have to stop once in a while and talk to yourself to find out how you are feeling, where you are, and what you want. Our emotions and thoughts can act as the fuel to our dreams and as our biggest hindrances too. Introspection helps clear the mind and propel you towards the required action.

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?

A. It would be the amazing mix of learning and impact this role provides. The port, being a critical node in international as well as national trade routes, exposes me to complex supply chains, processes, a myriad of stakeholders, and huge information gaps. The port handles a total of 36-42 million metric tons across more than 100 commodities with a long tail and thus, gives me a platform to create a positive impact on the EXIM trade of India, on multiple sectors/industries and hundreds of businesses (most of them MSMEs) in the port's hinterland, and also, on 25k+ cruise passengers visiting the port every year. The cherry on the top is the constant involvement in brainstorming initiatives and providing inputs on policies and policy-level decisions.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. IIFM was the springboard from which I could launch towards my dream job. I learned immensely in terms of hard skills – basics of management, which are critical for any role in any sector.

I developed a new perspective as a result of exposure to a wide variety of subjects, experiences during the summer internship and field visits, and views of faculty and fellow students in a time-constrained environment. Each faculty member has their individual nuanced views and I learned a great deal from there - about work quality in classes for one subject, application focus in another, critical thinking, storytelling, and many other things. The environment at IIFM helped me learn about and fine-tune various aspects of my thinking – time management, problem solving, risk management, teamwork, bias identification, etc.

Another important behavioral learning was about the importance of interpersonal relationships and outreach. Within a few months of joining JLR, I had learned working in Kannada, a completely new language for a Punjabi, to be able to communicate with my staff, peers, and external stakeholders as well. Even today, people get pleasantly surprised by my Kannada and it always forms a great first impression and naturally makes them more receptive.

Q. Who are the biggest influences in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?

A. I have had the great fortune of finding support everywhere – IIFM batchmates, professors, my bosses, and friends.

My advice to freshers and IIFM graduates would be to set long-term goals based upon what they like doing and not by benchmarking against what others do or what society wants them to do, plot a plan to reach there, and dive in. They must develop a clear understanding of the basic concepts of their subjects (looking beyond marks and grades) and work hard on the skills that would help them no matter what their role or sector is – problem-solving, communication, interpersonal skills, etc. And, enjoy the journey, for it's rare that you enjoy reaching your destination if you haven't enjoyed the journey.

 (The IIFM Stay.. relive the nostalgia)

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. There are so many amazing memories from those days and most of them are still so vivid – my stupid answers to some questions during my IIFM interview, entering the mess the first time, making friendships for a lifetime, playing football, the meeting with Angam Niumai to create a football league, nature walks, the first time I went alone to the grasslands behind the football ground, watching sunsets sitting with the campus dogs, and the night walks and bonfires in the campus.

Q In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. Of course, it's the whole ecosystem that I tapped into. But, the friends I made during IIFM are the biggest takeaway. They have always been there to guide and support me in both - personal and professional matters. Apart from them, it would be the perspective that I developed, that has become a part of my intuition.

Q. The best buddies/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. Since playing football was one of my favorite things to do at IIFM, the list of friends would be a long one and would include my batch mates, seniors, and juniors. Darshan Patil, Mradul Choubey, Karthik, Vijit, and Varun Dutt from my batch were my best friends at IIFM. Among the faculty, Advait sirand Ujjal sir were always of great support.

I can write a long book on the tidbits – a Saw-scaled viper refusing to bite my chappal-clad feet on a moonless night in the grasslands, Zeeshan and I walking right into a cave during a leopard capture operation by the MP Forest Department inside the campus, the ghostly experience we had on a Friday the 13th night in Andheri Gali, the time I slept off next to 5 dogs in the grasslands and woke up to find 2 jackals near me, and the crazy times during my SI – Karthik, Ramanshu and I walking for more than half an hour in pitch dark to reach our accommodation inside Periyar Tiger Reserve, and many others. I can just keep going on and on.

Q. As an alumnus, what's your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?

A. First and foremost, do not go to IIFM due to a lack of other opportunities. Come to IIFM IFF what IIFM provides aligns with your purpose. If you are not clear about your purpose, then come to IIFM if you would be open to explore and figure out things as you go through the journey while being at peace with what IIFM provides. IIFM is a beautifully unique place that blends lots of things into the experience it provides. It would be a waste if you join IIFM and then criticize the programme solely because it is not the same as the other MBAs.

Second, get into everything – study, play, network, party, have passion projects, because it's the combination of all these that would give you wide exposure and develop cross-functional skills. Every subject, every interaction, every occasion where you put yourself out there is a great opportunity – for learning and for having fun.

Enjoy your time there. Also, be gentle to the dogs, and take care of the grasslands – they are lively and the best place to meditate.

Q. What is your typical day at the office?  

A. Even during covid-induced lockdowns, a day at the office starts at 9.30 am with quick visits to my whiteboard to check the major works and timelines, and to my daily schedule in excel to plan the workday. This is the only fixed part of the day, as the rest of the day involves planned external and unplanned internal meetings related to a broad range of topics, calls with key accounts, working on new business proposals or following up about the old ones, replying to the Ministry with inputs, comments or action plans, preparing collaterals (mostly, PPTs) for important meetings, and keeping a tab on the latest happenings related to trade and supply chains locally as well as on national and international levels, and planning to react to them when required. The day typically ends at 7.30 pm.

Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add

A. I live alone in Mangaluru, which is an amazing travel destination. Although mostly I head out for herping in monsoons and bird watching during the rest of the year, I also go on long drives to some of the most beautiful places in the Western Ghats near me - Coorg, Chikmagaluru, Agumbe, Kudremukha, etc and along the coast too. I do some amateur photography, generally of birds, spiders, frogs and insects as well.

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors

A. I am an avid book collector but haven't read much. The Alchemist and Atlas Shrugged are my favorite books, and Birds of the Indian Subcontinent would be my most referred book.

I love the works of Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino. Denzel Washington, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Christian Bale, Keanu Reeves, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Hardy,  are among favorite actors. Snatch, The Departed, Pulp Fiction, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Kirik Party (Kannada) are among my favorite movies. Breaking Bad, Suits, The Mentalist, Sherlock, Peaky Blinders and Vikings are my favorite series.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. I am always available for interactions regarding career-related topics, specific functions or skills that I have, and also, life in general. I would be keen on collaborating for any startups/startup ideas, as a passion project, and I am sector-agnostic about that.

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. I haven't visited IIFM for long. I do know a couple of things though. Right after I passed out, IIFM started getting wildlife conservation organizations for placement and I feel envious.

Also, I heard that companies such as Byju's are visiting for campus placements, which I have a mixed feeling about. It is a good value-add for a typical MBA college, but not in line with the core profile of IIFM.

A great positive change is a recently heightened focus on alumni engagement and brand enhancement. Given the impending disengagement by MoEFCC, there would be a new direction the institute would take and new opportunities that would arise.

(Who is next?)

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/ interviewed here?

A. Among the alumni that haven't been interviewed yet, I am really impressed by three alumni's careers in particular – Kunal Sharma (worked with Keystone Foundation, JLR, GIZ, WTI and now Assistant Professor with Azim Premji University), Salma Nahid (been working with JLR in remote locations under difficult circumstances for more than a decade) and Mradul Choubey (worked with MP Forest Department, TERI, EY, Deloitte and now working with The Nature Conservancy).

Email - rajiv.manocha@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?

A. The journey so far has been largely balanced evenly with ups and downs. Being an engineer with little functional expertise across finance, p/l and b/s was largely an academic experience to me. ICICI Bank was like the first temple of learning where the academic understanding evolved to take the shape of practical/functional expertise. Thankfully, I have always been blessed with great team members/friends who make the journey smooth across the rough edges. Though ICICI was great in terms of learning, it was a highly demanding institution resulting in some unmet expectations vs. your inputs. 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. Frankly, key Milestones are yet to come. Otherwise, moving from being a full-time student at IIFM to ICICI Bank was a key milestone and also the decision to leave ICICI Bank. Though leaving ICICI was difficult, leaving my 2nd employer wasn't and so was the case with 3rd and so-on. Key Learnings for me across my limited experience is that one needs to be a very fast learner - not just for advancement but also for survival. The difficulty these days is largely to filter and navigate through the massive information overload that one is subjected to. Also, stay humble, open to change, and do your best to help your friends/team members even if it is not reciprocated. 

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?

A. Though financial rewards are great and loved by all, appreciation by key stakeholders (not line-manager) is something that's more satisfying to me personally. 

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. IIFM definitely has a large role to play in making me what I am today. Some of the most wonderful people I know today are from the institute and a great inspiration in multiple ways. Like the saying that "you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with", your professional-life/thought process is also some complex average/permutation of the institutions you attend. 

Q. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.

A. IIFM Graduates should not restrict themselves to any specific roles. Be proactive, passionate about your domain, open to learn, and be open to talk to people at all levels. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?

A. Many actually. Right from unending rants/speeches in the GBMs to awesome adventure activities from the nature club to the one-night crash course before the D-Day to the volleyball matches and the Field Trip/OT1 etc. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. Friends and faculty. 

Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. Birthday celebrations were something to remember at IIFM. I had a reputation for my high-kicks for the birthday boys and was amply rewarded on my turn. Remember Satya from our batch was carried to the pool and had a nice dip in the mineral water. 

Q. As an alumni, what's your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. Understand your strengths and work towards developing the right attitude. Develop strong lifelong connect with faculty, alumni, and batchmates. 

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. My day starts early around 6'ish with office reporting at 7:45 AM. Always try to close by 5'ish though 6 is the usual timeline. The work requires going through reports, financials, legal docs, discussions with business units to arrive at some consensus, etc.

Q. You would like share about your typical weekends.. Hobbies.. Family..

A. Relax and outdoors with family. Finish any pending housework etc. 

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors, ..

A. I have to read a lot given the nature of my work. Outside of work, I am reading mostly about capital markets and organic farming these days so favorites are all from that world including books by Jesse Livermore, Jack Schwager, Ray Dalio, Subhash Palekar. Otherwise love to read Premchand, Paulo Coelho, Khalid Hosseini, Robert Ludlum. 

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. Happy to be involved in initiatives where I can help current students on the basis of my experience. 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. Frankly, I am not very much in touch with the current batch/activities/event being organized. Though the initiatives to develop strong alumni and have a continual dialogue with stakeholders at various levels is a very positive change. 

Q. Any suggestions on who from our alumni you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. Pradyuman Singh Rawat, Sudeep Rathee.

Remembering my dear friend Sourabh Rohit

"Life is too short to hold grudges or be sad, we must embrace all what is thrown at us and try to create a difference, to find meaning to our existence" ~ Sourabh Rohit

I can't gather enough words to express my grief over the fact that our dear friend Sourabh Rohit is not with us anymore. He had a stroke on the 29th of March which put him under surgery the same day for brain Hemorrhage, things started to look bleak when he contracted the Coronavirus while he was still recovering from the surgery and on 11th April, he finally gave up his battle and departed to a better place. My heart goes to all of his friends and family, who had to bear such a loss in these testing times.

I met Sourabh while preparing for CAT 2019, we sat together in the first class and we immediately connected. He was a determined and smart man for all I've known him for, part of us joining IIFM was also due to the reason that it was the only institute where both of us secured admission in the same course. The other part was, of course, our love for the environment and being able to make something out of ourselves in the next two years which puts us at the driving seat to make decisions that positively impact our cause.

We've always done all our projects together, like whenever the professor said that this is a group project, we already had each other in the team and for some reason always ended up compiling the worst content and yet delivering the best presentation. Everything I ever did with him, be it good or bad, I've enjoyed every bit of it.

Sourabh was into photography and had a very vibrant perception of even the most ordinary things in life. One of his favorite evenings would include a walk to a nearby creek or park and click dozens of pictures whilst enjoying the setting sun. His zeal for adventure and challenge was immense and contagious, he used to be that one friend who used to get others pumped up about something which was wildly scary for them just minutes ago.

He loved anime, he had watched tons of them and was one of the only few guys capable enough to settle an argument of "who is better than whom and why". He remembered the entire storylines of popular anime such as Naruto, One Piece, etc. and a major part of our conversations would be around one of the characters from our popular anime.

Sourabh was one of the guys who sought solutions and not just crib about the problems, his calm demeanor and maturity always helped him make sense out of problems to come up with a feasible solution. He was that friendly face who was always there for his friends and family and literally anyone who needs him. In a world where no one does anything if not for themselves, he used to treasure happiness in the little things by helping others.

Sourabh will live on in our hearts and the best way to do that is to remember him in our choices and actions, by smiling a little and not holding grudges over pity things, by helping others even when we have absolutely nothing to gain from it, by being curious about our purpose which gives meaning to our existence and by facing the challenges with a big smile plastered on our face. 

Thank you Sourabh, for being such an amazing soul, who taught us a lot of lessons in your short life, but didn't you always used to say "Zindagi lambi nahi Badi honi chahiye", I guess this is what you truly meant by it. May your humble soul rest in peace and may God give us all strength to bear with your absence in all our lives and bless us with the courage to carry your will through our actions.

A Journey to Remember: Nikhil Tiwari (1992-2021)

Both Nikhil and Akhil were fascinated by the Indian Armed Forces since their childhood. Nikhil joined the National Defence Academy after school but he was unable to continue after a year due to personal reasons. He then completed his graduation from MIST, Indore in Information Technology. Akhil is now a Flight Lieutenant in the Indian Air Force. 

Nikhil began his IIFM journey in 2015, from Room no. 20, Nilgiri Hostel. A room that did not just remain as brick and mortar walls but surpassed to become an abode for Nikhil and his friends.

He knew each and every nook and corner of Bhopal and Indore for his tea and food delights. His tea stories took a turn when he was posted in a remote area in Telangana, but this didn’t last long and his quest for tea won over everything else.

When others strived hard to get their last-minute preparations done by burning their midnight oil, our friend with all his wit and strategic mastery of remembering things in the easiest of ways possible, up his sleeves, would sail through the syllabus even with the most difficult subjects in the blink of an eye and would come out with flying colours. As his roommate recalls, “I literally saw him change slides within seconds of reading them. After hours of loitering around, he would start preparations for the next day’s exam at around 11 pm and would finish it mostly by 12:30 am and then off to bed! On the exam day, he had this habit of finishing a 3 hrs exam in just 2 hrs and then leaving the exam hall with that look on his face.” (sic).

One particular incident which cannot be missed at all - “Roll No 70.” Everyone used to wait for Nikhil's turn whenever Prof. S.P. Singh would start taking attendance. "Roll No. 70, Nikhil Tiwari. What a blunder. Such a bright student cannot have bad marks, only due to a mistake".

Story goes back to the first term's result declaration; Nikhil had failed in MEA (not actually!). It was due to a small mistake - Roll no. 69 left IIFM in between and his internal marks got swapped with Nikhil's. The mistake got rectified eventually but there was not a single class in the following trimester when the professor would go without mentioning the incident. Hence, he became our Blunder Boy.

Being exceptionally talented in academics, his approach towards problem solving cannot be stereotyped. He was a master of all. You name a sport and he excelled in it. He was an extremely great sportsperson and earned many accolades at IIFM. Even before IIFM, he represented Madhya Pradesh in the National Games for Kho-Kho. He was one of the finest goalkeepers IIFM has seen and an exceptionally good basketball player and this led him to represent the institute twice in the All India Forest Sports Meet. (The sight of him hogging on food during both the Forest Meets was adorable, he loved to eat and lived to eat). No one in our batch or the junior batch can forget the final match of the cricket tournament where he hit a six on the last ball to win a very critical match and the whole crowd echoed with the sound of “Ek Tiwari Sab Pe Bhari”. No one can forget his bruised palms while wicket keeping for the Institute’s cricket team, poor lad never complained, one of the humblest, patient sportsmen there is! He was a leader, a teammate, and someone everyone trusted and looked up to. All these and many more achievements during his time at IIFM made him win the rightly deserved “Sportsperson of The Year” award. 

His strong academic profile and skills secured him his summer internship in the first go, with the first organisation. Being in the SI committee, he then along with the team, did great in getting other land their internships. As a friend and batchmate, he assisted many in getting placed and motivated them to follow one’s instincts. His internship was with MicroSave at their Delhi office. For the 10 weeks during the internship, he and a few more from the batch stayed at the IIT Delhi campus hostel. He spent a lot of time going for walks after dinner and exploring the vast campus. Looking at the streets he always got reminded of the Need for Speed gameplay. His food stories make a comeback here again, this time from a new location, IIT Delhi campus. He was on his late night explorations of the canteens of different hostels, always up for munching anytime, or have his newfound favourite aloo paratha with chai in the evening after coming from internship. His internship project was to study DBT via India Post channel and analyse implications of the recent IT initiatives for India Post Payments Bank. This project won him the Director's Award for Best Summer Internship and was appreciated by the faculties.

Nikhil was more like a brother to anyone, than a batchmate. He was one of the few guys who showed high calibre, grit and potential; yet, he was humble, quick-witted, polite, adept. He was such a well-mannered, humble and down to earth person that he would gladly help you if you needed and would come to ask for help if he needed it. Very few people have the experience of almost everything one can imagine or do, and Nikhil was one of them. You could talk about anything to him and he had a sound experience and knowledge on it - be it studies, sports, general knowledge, spirituality, food, or any other discipline. Even after IIFM, despite his own professional life, he was always just a call away, ready to listen to your woes for hours at a stretch. His calm and optimistic view of life was infectious and always rubbed off on others who were in his circle. In May 2017, Nikhil got placed as a Management Trainee at Dr Reddy's Foundation in Hyderabad. On completing his traineeship, he got promoted as Assistant Manager DTMSU in May 2018, stationed at Kothagudem, a town serving as headquarters of the Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Telangana. At DRF he worked with one of our senior IIFMite. Nikhil was only the second IIFMite to join DRF after him, and he was delighted to have another one of the same tribe, an IIFMite. He describes Nikhil as a delightfully genuine guy, a joy to hang out with after work. He was a thoroughly dependable and competent professional who made invaluable contributions at DRF, including to the foundation of DRF’s entrepreneurship promotion program. After working for almost 1.5 years, he chose to end his stint at DRF and was ready to pursue his dream, returned back to Indore and started preparations for the Civil Services examination.

A doer, a thinker, a foodie, a sportsman, an avid anime and movie lover, a friend, a mentor.  Nikhil was multi-talented and above all, he was a brother to all. Nikhil was the most upfront and genuine person one could find. It's not easy to let go of such a person from your mind but he will be in our hearts forever.

He deserved more and this world deserved more of him. As most of us still yearn to hear “Bhai chal chai peekay aate hain” from Nikhil, for one last time…...

But you know what they say,

“God only takes the best.

So, as we sit here and mourn the loss of a beloved friend,

We have to keep telling ourselves that we will meet again.”

Written by the Batch of PFM 2015-17 

https://www.iifmalumni.com/index.php/alumni-in-focus/

In Fond Remembrance: Bhargavi Manohar, PFM 1997-99

A bright and intelligent student with clear-cut goals, Bhargavi joined Jungle Lodges and Resorts after passing out of IIFM and then moved on to pursue a career in market research with IMRB, and later on joined Millward Brown, in keeping with the path that she had set out for herself. 

IIFM was very close to her heart, and in the company of friends, she loved to relive fond memories from those times. She was a melodious singer and many of the IIFM events were incomplete without her performance. 

An avid traveler, Bhargavi was also known for her keen love for trekking, hiking, and nature.  Her energy and smile could liven up any situation. Bhargavi was the cog who would make all the wheels move around her. If you had to describe Bhargavi in one sentence, you could say that she believed in living life to the fullest!

Bhargavi is survived by her husband Prabhu, mother, and brother. 

It’s difficult to believe that you are no longer with us Bhargavi. You will be terribly missed! 

Written by - Batch of PFM 1997-99

https://www.iifmalumni.com/index.php/alumni-in-focus/

A journey to remember Abhishek Upadhyay (1995-2021)

“Abhishek Upadhyay,” He said and shook our hands for the first time. At that point in time, we didn’t know that this bond of friendship, or whatever you want to name it, will lay the bricks of infinite memories someday. Little did we know that he would leave us too soon!

Abhishek belonged to a subset, which was predictable, yet different. One could never say what his ‘next plan of action' was or how he’d throw a line of wit and humour at you. Let’s take a deep dive into his life and try to know him more. 

Abhishek, the youngest and most lovable son of Mr. S.K. Upadhyay and Ms Tara Upadhyay, hailed from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to the elite when it came to academics. Right from school days he remained a top performer in studies as well as sports. Though he pursued a Bachelors in Technology passionately, by the end of those 4 years his interest drifted towards Environment and Ecology which made him open that door number 28 of Nilgiri hostel’s ‘Shukla Gully’, an iconic part of the PFM 2017-19 batch. This chubby charming, adorable dear Abhishek was nicknamed “Panda” and we rarely called him by his name henceforth. He was “Panda” for all. 

After classes, one could find him either dribbling the ball in the basketball court or shuffling the cork in the badminton court. As a part of the Students & Alumni Affairs Committee, he served as the Chief Election Officer. He actively participated with organisers and played a key role in making many events successful. 

It was a common sight to find Panda eating aloo parathas and sipping Coke in the evenings at the IIFM canteen. This teetotaller and his jokes were a fond memory of all our daaru parties. His room was open to all and the kitchen of the Shukla Gully where one can find him making Maggie in the middle of almost every other night.

Being the most reliable peer in group assignments, he was the most sought after assignment partner. Everyone wanted to have him in their group. He was the guy who did work with utmost perfection and could only be bribed with a coke in the canteen. 

The placements saw people sweating it out, restlessness dripping off their faces, but Panda seemed to have pulled it off with ease. He bagged an offer at the IDFC First Bank, one of the best opportunities, with his usual nonchalance. We remember vividly, how soon after getting placed he plunged into work to help organize interviews and to help the rest of us keep our calm during the infamously stressful placement week. 

After graduating from IIFM with flying colours, he pursued that opportunity sincerely and went on to prepare for government examinations. He lost his life to COVID 19 on 16th April 2021 after fighting for two long weeks in the hospital. It was a very pathetic situation for his family members seeing the youngest in their house losing life so early. Due to COVID protocols, his family was not able to see him after the day he got admitted to the hospital. It is life-long grief for them, as they claim, and may God give them all the strength they need.

It was unbelievable to know that our dear darling Panda who we still fondly remember hanging around with us, is no more. We wish this was just a nightmare that would break the moment we rise and wake up. May you be at peace in the eternal world Panda…..you will always be missed by PFM 2017-19.

To sum up, there was an alternate universe in his captivating and fascinating smile, inflicting positivity among everybody around. “Arre sab kar lenge, Bhai” or “Don't worry, echoed in the hallways of our Nilgiri hostel when someone was going through a crisis, followed by his rolling laughter. Panda may have left us too soon, but we feel his soul is still here, maybe in the Shukla Gully or at the canteen relishing the last bite of aloo paratha. 

 

Satish will always be remembered by all of us for his ever-smiling face and helpful nature. He was an extremely hard-working and honest guy who never used to give up despite facing a lot of odds in life. He had osteoarthritis in his knees which he never allowed to come in his way and continued doing his best which we remember from all our assignments and activities inside and outside the campus. 

Satish was born on 1st February 1979 in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh to Sri Sitaram Kharwade and Shrimati Pinga Kharwade. He has an elder brother and two younger sisters. He did M.Sc in Biotechnology from Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla University in Raipur before coming to IIFM. He was currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Environmental Science at the University School of Environment Management from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. He was also a recipient of the National Research Fellowship Award from the University Grant Commission (UGC), disbursed through the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. He had successfully cleared GATE as well as NET in Environment Science. 

He was a very lively person who was always up for adventure and fun which we remember fondly from our IIFM days. He was incredibly detailed in his approach and preparation all through his life. Many of us used to admire his persistent efforts which we witnessed very closely while being together at IIFM. 

He had faced lots of challenges and overcame all of them to have a successful career in natural resource management where he specialized in wetlands management. 

His hobby was writing which he enjoyed a lot. We never saw him without a “running” paper/article on his desk all through his professional life. He got immense satisfaction in “creating” value and we gained a lot from his deep insights which thankfully will always stay with us and IIFM family. 

Research Publication : 

• Kumar, S., and Shimrah, T. 2020. Analysis of vegetational changes in river floodplain using Sentinel – 2 time series: a case study in Okhla Bird Sanctuary in River Yamuna. Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, 8, 42-53 

• Kumar, S., and Shimrah, T. 2020. Assessment of Dominant Macrophytes and Paradigm for Emerging Invasion Dynamics in Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Environment and We: An International Journal of Science & Technology, 15, 105- 115 

• Kumar, S., & Shimrah, T. 2018. Assessment of ecosystem services and threats in fresh water inland wetland: A case study of Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Environment and We: An International Journal of Science & Technology, 15, 105- 115

• Dubey, P. and Kumar S. 2007.Marketing efficiency of planted teak in Madhya Pradesh: A case study of Jabalpur Circle, Regional workshop on Processing and Marketing of Teak Wood Products in Planted Forests, Kerala Forest Research Institutes, Kerala, India 

Book Publication 

• Kumar, R., Kaushik, M., Kumar, S., Ambastha, K., Sircar, I., Patnaik, P., and Vervest, J., M., 2016. Integrating Landscape Dimensions in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Cluster Planning Approach. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, Springer, Cham. 42,271-291 

Reports 

• Wetland Management Action Plan of Ashtamudi Estuary (2017) and Sasthamkotta Lake (2016) submitted to Centre for Water Resource Development and Management, Government of Kerala. 

• Wetland Management Action Plan of Kanwar Jheel (2015) submitted to Environment and Forest Department, Government of Bihar. 

• Wetland Management Action Plan of Lokatk and Associated Wetland Complex (2014) submitted to Loktak Development Authority, Government of Manipur.

• Wetland Management Action Plan of Vembanad backwater (2013) Mangrove for future led by IUCN and UNDP. 

• Wetland Management Action Plan of Chilika Lake (2012) for Chilika Development Authority, Government of Odisha. 

• Kumar, R., SinghT.I.,Meitei N.S.and Kumar, S. (2010). Loktak Newsletter on world wetlands day, Technical Report submitted to Loktak Development Authority, Government of Manipur.

• Wetland Management Action Plan of East Kolkata wetlands (2009) for East Kolkata Management Authority, Government of West Bengal. 

• Kumar, R., Maitra, M.K. and Kumar, S. (2009). Monitoring and Evaluation Plan – Short Term Action Plan for Conservation and Management of Loktak Lake. Technical Report submitted to Loktak Development Authority, Government of Manipur.

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His wife-Poonam- told us about their two young sons: Shaurya and Daksh. She also added that he was a very caring and loving husband and a doting father who used to enjoy family time the most. He was a great foodie and would always appreciate every meal wholeheartedly. 

Satish left us all on the 28th of April 2021. Wishing for peace and strength to his family and friends. He will be remembered.

A. IIFM has helped me to prepare for a change, undertake some independent endeavor for de-learning and relearning. 

(My personal thought about IIFM is reflected in the stanza I wrote in 2014, available online. 

https://hellopoetry.com/poem/680114/reminiscences-of-our-temple-and-castle/ ) 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. Multidisciplinary approach blended with management science; deeper understanding about complexity and dynamics of natural resources-people-culture-livelihood- policy and governance.  Helps in developing an inner motivation to face the reality and working in the field for the cause of people and nature.   

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. Carry out independent study and documentation and continuous learning and de-learning from the indigenous communities of North East India is the most wonderful part of my contemporary engagement.  

2020-2021 even though is a period of the pandemic, have got the opportunity to involve with some stimulating works - 

• Conducting case study sessions as case study coordinator for the student of Civil Engineering and Environment Management (CEEM) of North Dakota State University (NDSU), USA.

It is for the third time, CEEM, NDSU adopted my study for case study analysis in their Environment Management Paper. This time on “Regenerative approach of rural development for forest fringe villages” Experimental learning from Kohora River Basin of Kaziranga-Karbi Anlong Landscape. (Earlier case study adopted for the purpose was “Drinking water health and issues of witch-hunting” – a case study of Goalpara district of Assam, India in 2012 and “Conservation Livelihood for fringe villages of Protected Area” case study of Manas National Park – 2015) 

Such session involves theoretical briefing, conducting student’s brainstorming session for issue identification, followed by the development of environmental management plan by the student (get 10 working days of time) and presentation of the plan to the community and stakeholder representative of case study area where the representative verify the scope of applicability of the plan. In the process case study coordinator and faculty jointly evaluate the student.  It is organised online and it is an approach adopted by NDSU under a principle of ‘Engineers beyond border’. 

• Very recently completed a long term collaborative work with the Department of Chemistry of Dibrugarh University - “Study on Traditional Alcoholic Beverage (Apong/Chang) for Enhancing Quality (Color, Texture, and Taste) Shelf-Life and Commercialization”; my contribution was on traditional knowledge and practice documentation; drafting documents for GI application, developing community-owned business strategies. It was an assignment of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. 

• My recent association with Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture (VKIC), Guwahati, as a member of research council, where a study forum was started on “Development through Culture: nature-culture-wellbeing, fostering sustainable development” with series of lecture, student’s research work, Case study sessions, field documentation, and policy dialog focusing on North East India. My involvement is mainly in strategic academic and R&D planning to continue the progamme for two years. 

• Association with MARAGDARSHAK ADVISORY 

(https://margdarshakne.in/) as a mentor for the young entrepreneur in the area of Agricultural product and NTFP value addition. 

• Moreover, my regular work assignment in two world natural heritage site – Manas and Kaziranga as a consultant of Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org) for NRM and livelihood.  It is always exciting and in the process able to learn many things- in the aspects of work with the community and engaging stakeholders. 

• My  regular association with the National Children Science Congress ( a flagship program of National Council for Science and Technology Council, DST,GoI ) since 2012 with the capacity of a member of the National Academic Committee. It is an initiative based on the principle of inquiry-based learning through project works by the children of 10 to 17 years. Our responsibility is to design activity guide book, train the teacher, mentor the facilitator and evaluate the project at the national level. It is really wonderful to work with children and teachers.     

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. Very much! Particularly facing uncertainty, taking risk for independent exploration, developing an outlook to approach to work differently.  

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles? 

A. Always try to connect my head-heart and hand in every walk of life. For me satisfaction and happiness is an inner feeling it cannot be measured by designation and pay-scale; it is possible only through establishing a connection with nature and people.

Every individual has their own framework to lead a life. I personally did not prefer to give any advice. My idea is that “If someone’s head and heart connectivity inspire to do something which are positive need to experiment that”.  

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A. Group assignment which opens the windows for group learning; Resources in library and support services of the library, Opportunity of need base discussion with faculties for clarification of doubt, taking critical inputs and advice. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni? Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. Core is the - understanding about developing a logical framework before approaching any works and research with defined criteria and indicators from the courses like Environment and Development, Sustainable Forest Management, Forest Economics, Agroforestry, Livelihood local institution and governance, Financial Management, Research Methodology, etc.   

Q. The best friends / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share.

A. Grateful to all the faculties and classmates, need to mention about Rajesh Mal, Bishnu Parida, Nahar Muhammed, Chandrakant Deokar, Anurag Gupta, Subhro Sen.  

Indrani and Anindita taught me Statistical tools, debated a lot with Subhro, Rajesh always stands with me when I was in trouble,  in the post IIFM period lots of exchange of idea with Nahar, Bishnu, Anurag and Chandrakant. 

Get many guidance and technical inputs from Dr Praduyat Bhattacharya, Dr MD Omprakash, Dr Suprava Patnayak, Dr Parul Rishi, Dr Madhu Verma, Dr Amitabh Pandey and Dr Debashish Debnath. 

Q. As an alumnus, what is your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. Need to focus on ongoing relevant works in the field along with course works, developing network with individual, professional, and scholars to learn from their experiences.    

Q. What is your typical day at the office?  

A. Since 2009 working independently; since then spent almost 10 -15 days per month in the field and the rest is work from home. (However, pandemic has changed the schedule) 

Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add?

A. Weekends – spent time at home with the family, usually cooking for the family and consumed with the hobby. 

Hobbies – drawing, writing poem, traveling, listening music, participating in science communication activities. 

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors.

A. Books – 

a)Fiction – ‘Hungry Tide’ - Amitav Gosh.

b)Non-fiction – ‘Third Wave, Power Shift, Future shock” of Alvin Toffler  ‘Forest Unseen’ by  David George Haskell, ‘Gun, germs and steel’ by Jared Diamond, ‘Science in the soul’ by Richard Dawkins, ‘Environmentalism’ by Ramachandra Guha. 

Movies- ‘Children of Haven’ of Majid Majidi, ‘Bhuvan Shome’ of Mrinal Sen, ‘Parr’ of Goutam Gosh.

Authors -

a)Fiction – Amitav Gosh (in English), Bhabendra Nath Saikia ( in Assamese), Sunil Gongopodhaya ( in Bengali) 

b)Non-fiction – Alvin Toffler, Jared Diamond, David George Haskell, Richard Dawkins, Ramachandra Guha 

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A.

• I am very much interested in mentoring the student if they involved with study in the area of Traditional Knowledge, NTFP, Forest Fringe Villages, Conservation livelihood. 
• If any students are interested to get experience in North East India able to extend help and guidance. 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. Not very much aware about the contemporary situation,  except meeting the students in field training programme in Assam with Aaranyak (however for last two years it was not materialize even after planning because of pandemic situation). Whatever gathered from students and associated faculties there are lots of positive initiatives from the institute. 

However, there is an evolving challenges for all academic institution in mobilizing resources for academic transection and research along with engaging students in their desired career path. 

May be young people’s interest for development sectors decline, rather more inclination towards corporate sector is reflecting. 

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. Muhameed Nahar,  MRM 2004-05 

Before AG, Ankit worked for 4 years with YES Bank's Knowledge Advisory vertical and got detailed exposure of Government functioning at the state level. As part of his work, Ankit helped state governments of Punjab, Haryana, and H.P in various policy advocacies focused on strengthening investment promotions of the states. This helped the bank to strengthen its books within the entire Govt. ecosystem of Northern India. 

At the start of his career post graduating in 2013, Ankit got two years of grass root level experience working with communities on different projects ranging from market linkages, JFM (Joint Forest Management) to Sustainable tourism development.

Email - er.ankit588@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

 A. It has been almost 8 years since I graduated from IIFM and the journey so far has been enriching and full of challenges. IIFM had given me, my first steps to reach where I am today, and it has been a really good experience. I got the opportunity to evolve myself by working at various locations, meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, and all that under great mentors.

After graduation in 2013, I started my career with Greenply Industries working in their raw material procurement division, but it was a short stint, and had to leave due to some external factors beyond my control. Then I opted for putting my hands into the development sector and later into environmental consultancy working with communities for two years. Sooner, I realized that this was not the profile I wanted for myself. As I was on my path of realizing my strengths and weaknesses, I kept exploring. I joined Yes Bank in 2015 and realized my strengths can be better utilized in business development, so I spent 4 years with the bank developing business of a wide range of banking products within Government entities.  

In 2019, I got the opportunity of entering into the hardcore business experience with Aron Global. 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. The biggest milestone in my professional career has been, establishing a business in new geography and getting it to breakeven within two years with a turnover of $2.2 million in the last financial year. 

The biggest learning, I would say was taking the daunting decision of leaving jobs at an early stage of my career which allowed me to explore other possible avenues and also taught me not to get too nervous about the changing profiles on my CV. Most of us fear change but with my journey, I feel every job and experience brought growth at so many varying levels in me, both professionally and personally. However, we may not realize the value initially until it became evident as we move forward.

There is no "ideal" path on how to go about finding the right fit role so just keep your eye on the end goal you want to achieve in your life and move ahead, taking few leaps of faith in the journey.  

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. My current role was a new challenge and also the biggest opportunity of my career. When I got this opportunity I was enjoying my 4th year with Yes Bank, posted in my hometown (Chandigarh), living with my parents, bought my first car, and was just about to get married. So basically there was no reason to leave as everything seemed settled, but somewhere I knew, I must get out of this comfort zone and sooner I realize, it's better. So, when the opportunity of working at Aron Global came knocking, I am grateful that I grabbed it with both hands.

In 2019, I got an opportunity to work overseas with Aron Global (AG), and a kind of lifetime opportunity one can have in a career wherein you would get a chance the run a company on your own.

For now, it has been exciting two years of managing a Ghana-based profit center, trading in timber products. My role requires me to focus on strategizing new procurement deals, managing procurement operations, Govt. networking, managing shipping and logistics, keeping an eye on the global market & currency fluctuations, legal & tax compliances, constant business model re-engineering, and managing ground teams & service providers. Basically, we play on numbers and I am responsible for the complete P&L of the country books which involves all aspects of trading business at both macro & micro-levels.

Also it is a wonderful experience to manage a team and mentor people which I had never experienced before in my career. So it was equally challenging and inspiring to motivate other to perform optimally under my leadership. 

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. IIFM has been my grooming ground in every way from academics to personality development. Trust me all other skills learnt at the institute are at one side and relationship management is at one side which cannot be learnt in books but only by practice. You can build long lasting businesses by having good relationships as people prefer trustworthiness over margins. 

I will advise freshers to work on personality development along with getting good grades. In professional roles, knowledge is definitely required but to be effective you would need to possess attitude and aptitude towards the work. 

Like an organization needs all key verticals to work in harmony, similarly, if you want to achieve success in career, you need to work on all key components required in a personality development. So focus on overall development and most importantly be approachable.

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles. 

A. Everyone has their own stories to share about their journey post IIFM. Fortunately, my professional journey has been full of IIFMights who has been key drivers in my path so far. These are actually tough times going one, especially for freshers. The economy is slow and jobs are scarce. But I would say from my own experience that have trust and faith in this institution, you will survive, this time will pass by.

Through this write up I want to give advice to juniors that make connections, make friends with alumni or other industry experts, they will help you when you need them most, especially in these tough times when placements are tough. Here we are talking about a long journey as not just one placement can define your career.

I have myself experienced the fact that alumni of any institution are its real assets.

My initial two professional years post-IIFM were full of turbulence. Got a very handsome placement from campus (one of best during those days) but things turned rough soon after and had to switch. Then the same thing somehow happened, again and again, so by end of two years I was on to my fourth job.

None of the jobs was bad, all were good in their own ways but situations were out of my control. Those who know me, know everything, so that is not the thing I want to share here but the point I want to make is that at every step one or another IIFMight came to hold my hand and guide me well to move forward in life. 

Deepak khare (PFM 1988), Arvind Garimella (PFM 2013), Aatish Khan& Sunpreet Kaur (PFM 2009), Lokesh Kumar (PFM 2005) and Rishi Prakash (PFM 2007) are few names who mentored me at the crucial junctures of my professional life and helped me in defining my path. As you can see there is nothing common or connecting between them except the 'IIFM' link which clicked for me and obviously helped me. 

It happened because I rigorously followed up and continued staying connected with my alumni which helped me in longer run. Till today all of them and few more alumnus are my mentors as well as friends who keep guiding me.

So for new batches, just want to share that get a mentor for yourself. Remember no one has time for others, it's you who have to pursue it politely and build it. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A. Each and every day spent at IIFM was memorable. From first day to last, each day is fully engraved in my mind which I keep rewinding. Post Engineering, when I first landed at IIFM with my big bag, I was surprised that my immediate senior greeted me at reception and helped me in carrying my bag till hostel and also helped me on my first day by getting familiar with campus. Unlike Engineering days, seniors were more approachable and friendly, which was quite a surprise I had on my first day. Then I met my batchmates and immediately we went for field trip of ten days to Panchmadhi and nearby areas. That was the best time of interacting and bonding with new friends who later became my life time friends.

Playing football, field trips, climbing India Gate, drinking beer at bamboo forest, eat out at Shakshi dhaba & Hakims, samosa chaat of Madhuram, watching football in common room and roadies event of adventure club are few of my favourite memories, but the list is endless. It has been 8 years and the best part is that all the boys from our batch are still in close connection with each other where we interact on almost daily basis which never makes us feel away from IIFM days. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. Biggest influence on my career came from Alumni of IIFM, which I have already elaborated in detail.

Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share? 

A. I would say, every single person I came across in IIFM, played some role in shaping my path. Be it my roommate, my best friends, our gang as well as seniors who turned out to be great friends too and then the faculties as well.

Q. As an alumni, what's your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. IIFM is not a regular MBA institute, so those coming in should have clear expectations. Once at IIFM, there are plenty of resources at your disposal so find your interest and make the most of it. Inculcate all the good teaching you get both in and out of course/classrooms and be participative in general in IIFM ecosystem. Also remember to explore all nook and corners of the campus as it is like a small heaven. 

Q. What is your typical day at the office?  

A. My workdays are super hectic but equally enjoyable as I get to travel across the country on daily basis. My day usually starts 5:30 am as I get early to take my dog out for a walk and do some exercises. During the walk I check all my emails on phone and mark the ones which needs actions. Since I enjoy my job, so there are no Monday blues, I generally make my plans for least two weeks ahead. For easy explanation I can divide in two ways: 

b) When I work from home which largely means logistics and supply chain management which keeps me occupied all day on various calls with the local team and channel partners as well as marketing and documentation teams of our company. I also need to be on top of accounts, shipment documentation and legal/taxation related issues. Apart from this, I engage with my local team on daily basis to mentor my entire ground team while they are performing their day to day activities. 

Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add

A. I live in Ghana, Africa with my family. So one of the first valuable advise which i got post landing was to make social circle for the sake of my family to ensure they have an ecosystem while I travel around the whole country! Being an extrovert, am good in social connections, so each weekend we hang out with small Indian community we have here by going to beaches and clubs.

Also, I suggest everyone to add some kind of sports in their lifestyle to maintain fitness. Sports teaches you many aspect of leadership as well. I was lucky during by 4 years at Yes bank that I got opportunity to pursue sports on regular basis and I went on participating in various national mountain biking races and marathons. I also peddled my cycle from Manali to Leh up to top of Khardungla peak which has been my most memorable journey in life so far.

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors? 

A. I am only into self-help books. Mitch Albom'sTuesday with Morrie was my first book and it's still close to my heart for life lessons I got reading this masterpiece. To whomsoever I meet, I advise to read one book in particular which is "Power of subconscious mind" by Dr.Joseph Murphy, which helped me at numerous occasions to come over negativities and focus on positive things.

I am more into sports than cinema but on certain occasion like to watch any tv series/ movie with family over weekend, so no such favouritism.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? 

A. I am always available for interactions regarding career-related topics and also, life in general. Will always try my best to support the institute so feel free to connect anytime. 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. I haven't visited IIFM for past 5 years so I am not much aware on what new upgrades has been done. Last I was there, it was wonderful to see the new upgraded classrooms which is a big boost in infrastructure.

Next big change I noticed was the formation of Alumni association and increased efforts in bringing complete community together. Kudos to new batches for this, it will help you in longer run.

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. Among the alumni's who haven't been interviewed yet and I look forward to them are:

Abhinav Shekher and Himwan Gupta (Aron Global), Arvind Garimella (KPMG), Aatish Khan (Nature Dots), Mukul Kumar (Axis Bank), Alark Saxena, Shitiz Chaudhary (Yale University) and Satyendra Gupta (Bank of Maharashtra)

Email - debabrata.behera21@gmail.com

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

A. The journey so far has been an enriching, educating and most importantly a self-fulfilling one. Though Wipro is my second organization and I have been working here for the past 13 years, the journey could be called anything but monotonous. Each project, each client itself is like a new job and hence provided ample opportunities to learn as well as challenges. I have worked in sectors like Transport, Excise, Agriculture, IT & Electronics, Skill development, Science & Technology, Commercial tax, Housing & Urban Development just to name a few.

I had lived out of my suitcase for several years yet enjoyed my stay in all those places. I had been in different roles from Business Analyst, Consultant, Project Manager, Pre-sales lead to the current role of Delivery Manager for my organization. I see myself evolving all through this process, getting a different perspective from work as well as personal front which is the best part. 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. I had my engineering in Computer Science and the desire of getting a management degree brought me into IIFM, the first key turnaround in my life. I along with three of my batch mates got our placement in Harihar Polyfibers, Grasim Industries. After one year, I wanted to change my career track from the manufacturing sector to the service industry. I joined Wipro, but getting into consulting and in the Government sector was purely fate-driven the second key turnaround. Those were the years when e-Governance was in its nascent stage and there was lot to learn and unlearn. Government consulting is a sector where I find, you play the role of a bridge between government and corporate, transferring knowledge in both ways. 

The journey has taught me many things where the most important one is to do justice to your potential by providing yourself an enriching and self-fulfilling professional life. 

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. I have been growing steadily in my organization and have been donning different roles. With each new assignment the learning increases, your capability of human interaction increases. When we started, there were only two of us (Rahul was the other) coincidentally both of us were from the same batch in this sector. The fear of uncertainty being in an unconventional domain, having come from IIFM, was looming large. This gradually receded with each learning and successful delivery. 

It is always heartening to see your project going live and then the happy feeling of contributing something for the greater public good as it unfolds. Also, being in the government sphere we get to interact with senior bureaucrats, and we often build good camaraderie which continues even after the assignment is over helping us in learning life lessons from their experience. Currently, I am working in my native state for the last few years, and this has helped me to look after my family and maintain a good work-life balance.

Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?

A. IIFM gave me the window to have my first glimpse of the professional life through Organizational Training (we used to have 2 OT's that time which is now called SI). The classes and assignments taught time management and the importance of deadlines and quality delivery within a timeline. Several courses of IIFM have helped me in my career to date. And it is always easier to connect the dots when you look back. I believe, IIFM teaches you all nuances of management with additional insight into the forestry-environment-rural development. 

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles. 

A. All the faculty members have been great influencers and I will always remain indebted to them. My batchmates are a great bunch of guys and they have been and will remain influencers for me.

My advice to fresher is to first try and work towards a vision for your career, shortlist the sector you want to be in, and finally what and where you want to be post 10-15 years. Each option will have its pros and cons, and hence evaluate based on your priorities. Having done that, then focus on the very immediate job you have in your hand. Whether it is your assignment, project, exam whatever will take you one step closer to your goal. This is like walking the rope, where the ultimate objective is to reach the end, but your whole focus is on the very step that you are taking. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A. IIFM is one of the best things that happened to me in my life. I always feel those two years were the best days of my life. With a great batch like ours, the best roomie, best neighbours, great faculties, excellent campus and the freedom to explore nature was something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. 

We were a great bunch of creative guys, had great fun preparing and playing skits during Kalpataru (annual fest) and other occasions. Such was the craziness that we were called nautankis. In our batch, Sudeep and I were the fitness freak, so the evening workout was something memorable. I remember winning several creative competitions during Kalpataru with great partners like Tarique and Ashu. Winning the treasure hunt by finding the final treasure and then decoding the other links backward, thanks to Binay. The field trip to Andhra, organizational trainings in Rajasthan and Karnataka were life experiences. The list is too long to be penned here. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. We have been fortunate to have got the opportunity to study under some great faculties. While the personal level interaction with PK Biswas Sir could never be forgotten, the teaching methodology of CSR Sir was too impressive. Lectures of Suprava Ma'm, Amitabh Sir, MMY Sir, Madhu Verma Ma'm, Yogesh Sir, Pethiya Sir were so enriching and have been beneficial throughout my professional career. The whole pedagogy has helped me in various stages of my career.

Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share? 

A. I had the best roomie, Himanshu, the good boy of our batch. So it was me Himanshu and Chinmay often hanging around. I was fortunate to have neighbours like Harsh, Kumar, Satya, Binay, Rishi and Dada (Abhishek Kar). In fact, the entire batch was a group of crazy guys with varied characters each unique in their way. Our room was often the room for gossips and hanging around. Like many in my batch, I too used to watch a lot of movies. The camaraderie with our seniors, MRM, and the next batch was also wonderful. 

Q. As an alumni, what's your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?

A. These two years are immensely valuable in one's life and believe me, they will pass by like the blink of an eye. So I would advise all freshers to try and slowly work out a clarity towards their career path as early as possible and no matter what, stick to it and pursue it. The lecturers, assignments and training are particularly important to equip you to take on the world that awaits you outside the campus walls. There is no hiding from it, so along with increasing your learning capabilities, expand your socialising skills, enhance your management and organising skills too. Try doing a lot of research on your interest areas through secondary searches to increase your understanding and knowledge base of the sector as that will eventually help you a lot. 

Q. What is your typical day at the office?  

A. A typical day of mine involves client meetings, internal team meetings, working on some deliverables & reports, review of team's work, look out for opportunities, analysing tenders, preparation of proposals, presentations, coordination with team members etc. Being in the consulting sector means we work out of client locations and very rarely get to visit our own office campus. This also demands travels, often long ones as per project tenures.

Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add?

A. Most of my post office time goes after my two kids, and even then, I fail short meeting their expectations!! Else, I like to spend the weekend lazing around, watching movies, going for short family trips. I also try to do my regular workouts. 

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors?

A. I have a special interest in history, mythology, and astrology, so often read related articles. I like to keep myself updated with news and read various review reports and articles. I am not an avid book reader, but I regularly read magazines and newspapers. Online encyclopedias, blogs on history and astronomy are my regular consumptions. I am a movie buff, so a few of my favourite movies are Life is beautiful, Interstellar, Up, Avenger series, Braveheart.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? 

A. I would love to interact and share my experience and insight with anyone who wants to get a perspective in the consulting field. So feel free to connect with me for any talk/interaction. 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. The last time I went to IIFM was in 2017. A lot had changed then, especially infrastructure and batch strength-wise. These are the welcoming developments that shows that the institution is on the right path. The one thing that I felt still unchanged is the spirit of IIFM, imbibed in all its fraternity. 

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. Himanshu, Chinmay, Satyajit, Suraj, Rahul, Harsh, Sharad and Kamal.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/nagars/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shailesh75/ 

Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? 

A. I believe that your context shapes your understanding of the world, views and attitudes and therefore everyone probably is limited by their contexts. To expand, you have to explore different contexts, go out, do things, fail, succeed and continue. IIFM was MY door to the larger world and to expand myself. I still remember the moment when I was walking from the main gate of IIFM to its Administrative building in March 1995. It was during that desolate walk around rocky outgrowth and upcoming trees that I decided that this is the place I would like to be. 

At the time of placements at IIFM, I was not very particular about what job I would choose, so when I got selected for Foundation for Ecological Security (at that time it was National Tree Growers' Cooperative Federation), I was happy. I had specifically asked the organization to place me in Munsiari, Uttarakhand where our senior (K Ramnarayan) was already working. In fact, it was Ram's placement talk, which inspired me to join there. 

FES' work in Munsiari, though, was not a piece of cake. In fact, it was the opposite of that. We were working with Van Panchayats and Tree Growers' Cooperative in Gori river valley from the originating glacier to where the river joins another. It took me time to adjust to the place and work. I was managing work on social, economic and ecological aspects in a particular sub-valley directly working with communities. The work required daily grind of walking up and down the mountain slopes for work around community mobilization and governance, soil & water conservation, afforestation, conflict resolution, livelihood activities etc. 

After working with FES in different geographies at different levels, I opted for further studies and got enrolled at the Cambridge University for doing my MPhil. My time at Cambridge was probably the best time where I could reflect on my experience and get more clarity and a better perspective on different aspects of my work. My MPhil culminated in a thesis on Biofuel policy in India which was later published as a book chapter. I think people who are in their mid-careers should go for such a break, if they can. After my MPhil, I joined NRMC at a time when there were only three employees. Through its ups and downs (well mostly up), I have seen and contributed to the growth of the organization where it is today. 

Q. What were some of the key milestones/ learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?

A. Many milestones that I can remember -

• Walking 16 km off-road alone in the dead of night in mountains with a 35 kg load, an umbrella in one hand and a torch in another taught me the limits to which I can go physically.
• Establishing a project on the ground from the start and helping it grow taught me that ups and downs are part of the process and success would require contributions from each member of the team. I truly believe in the Ubuntu saying the "I am because of who we all are". 
• Getting a Chevening scholarship to study at Cambridge taught me perseverance. I was unsuccessful for two years but in the third year, I got two full scholarships (Shell-Chevening and Commonwealth). 
• Contributing to making my organization a top private sector organization in NRM domain.

Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role? 

A. The most satisfying part is that I am working across various domains of a sector where my heart is, where I can travel to unknown locations, meet with people from different strata and geographies, try and understand the world around me, contribute to society and also get paid for doing that. A perfect IKIGAI for me. Also, during my journey from IIFM till now, I have dabbled in aspects like designing of projects, grass-root implementation and support, research and evaluations and policy work across the development sector. I have met, argued and made friendship with people who hold similar or antagonistic views to mine. I have experienced success as well as failures in the projects that I did. All this has been the cause of my satisfaction. Also, all of this has provided me with a unique perspective that helps me to understand empathetically. 

Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles? 

A. While I would give credit for where I am and shaping my thinking to all the faculty members who taught me, I would especially like to mention Prof. Krishna Kumar and Prof. C S Rathore with whom I did my OTs (now called Internship) and I think those experiences and interactions shaped my professional thinking to a greater degree. 

While there is a role for specialization and now a day's ultra-specialization, I am more of a multi-sectoral person. I believe that future needs will require people with broad thinking and multiple skill-sets. People who can think from different perspectives and can wear different hats depending on the requirement. The future challenges are going to be more complex and therefore my advice is to be open to life-long learning, have the humility to accept not knowing everything and doing your best in the field your heart lies. Go for IKIGAI. 

Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days? 

A. There are numerous memories associated with IIFM. The first memory that I have is of umpteen cobra snakelets on the sitting place adjacent to the Library. Another is of a month-long fieldwork to Kerala for which I and my batchmate Nelson travelled from Bhopal to Trivandrum on the floor of the train coach without reservation. During that fieldwork, we also participated in the annual forest sports meet and our football team (which we fought to get included in the contingent) got trounced by some 10-15 goals in the first match. Before IIFM, I had not played formal cricket, but in my first formal cricket match (between faculty and students at IIFM), I opened and was not out for the match. I started opening in any formal match after that. Another is the Holi cocktail dhamaal with seniors first in the moat and later in front of Silver Fir which would continue till late in the night. 

Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni. Anything else!!)  or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?

A. I think it was an amazing combination of field (we used to have one field component and two organizational trainings) and classroom teaching which provided the best exposure to the sector that I was about to embark on. We always (at least during my time and till sometime later) were thinking the course in terms of Management or Forestry, but I think it was the unique combination of it which made me what I am both personally and professionally. 

Q. The best friends / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?

A. There was such a great bonding within our batch, with our immediate seniors and our immediate juniors that it is difficult to pick best friends. But yes, as a Silver Firian, I feel closer to Suneel Padale, Devesh Sharma and Rohit Jindal. During placements, parties were the norm and on one such night, a few of my batchmates got stung by scorpions. They were moved to a hospital for normal treatment. One of them who was on saline, asked the nurse to remove the saline and replace it with a bottle of Old Monk. I am sure such incidences happen now a days as well at IIFM.  

Q. What is your typical day at the office? 

A. There are two aspects of work that I deal with on daily basis. Execution and Business Development. The execution part is the projects/ assignments that we already have that require my involvement either as a lead or as an expert. Business development requires more reading, networking, ideation, strategizing, internal meetings etc. Usually, there are periods when one or the other takes more time but overall its half the time for each aspect. 

Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add?

A. I am kind of an explorer, so would like to get involved in new things, travel, read, etc. Covid has impacted my travelling a bit. Normally, weekends are time to be spent with family, watching movies, going to relatives and eating out. 

Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors.

A. Favorites change with time and mood. But what comes first to my mind are the following:

• Books – Raag Darbari, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Thinking in Systems, India After Gandhi, Tale of dueling neurosurgeons, and many more.
• Movies – Guide, Andaz Apna Apna, Matrix, and Sholay and many more from all kinds of cinema.
• Authors – Shrilal Shukla, Amitav Ghosh, Ram Guha, Daniel Kahnemann etc.

Q. IIFM is driven by alumni's passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?

A. I would surely like to engage in whatever way I can to help IIFM. For students, I am open to discussing their career choices and in whatever way I can help them to bring clarity in their thinking. IIFM alumni group holds a lot of promise, especially in the current scenario. IIFMites coming together to develop ideas, organizations, processes etc is something I think we can do together. 

Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?

A. One of the major aspects of IIFM that strikes me now is the strength of the batch. We were 21 students in our batch and similar numbers for seniors and juniors. The increase in batch strength and related requirements in infrastructure has probably led to construction at IIFM which I do not think is in line with the architecture IIFM was once proud of. However, this strength also increases the number of IIFMites in the sector, more so now when discourse around sustainability is picking up steam. 

Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?

A. PFM 95-97 – Suneel Padale, Amita Bhaduri, Mukul Trivedi.