about_the_author

My early Years - the journey to date

I was born on just-another October morning on the 10th day of the month in 1976.Little
did I know at the time that I would be switching addresses scores of times in the next
two decades.

My first long journey did not take long to start. After crawling and standing and stumbling in my west Delhi home for 18 months, my father was transferred to Nigeria, thanks to the Indian Government. I remember flying toRome and then to Kano, in Nigeria in 1978. For the next four-and-a-half years I enjoyed the adventures of childhood in Wukari, a town of 10000 people near the banks of the river Ibi in the western Nigerian state of Gongola.

I saw home soil again in December 1982. After another short stint in Delhi, I moved to the city of Nawabs, Lucknow. In this city started my story of joining the first batches of almost any educational institution I attended. I started by joining Kendriya Vidyalaya, Aliganj in standard III.

Of course, I came through with flying colors. However, just when I was stablising there, came the inevitable transfer again ? this time, back to Delhi in June 1987. I never recovered from this uprooting in Kendriya Vidyalaya-VIII, RK Puram. My grades went downhill steadily and the troubles were compounded by the complexities of growing up. Then followed the time every Indian student dreads competitive exams.

The phase of 1993-94 made me forget all notions of intelligence, attitude, aptitude and creativity. I redeemed myself, atleast partly, by becoming a part of the first batch of Master of Management Science students at the Institute of Finance & Management of the University of Lucknow. I graduated in 1997 and continued with my PG there, before being uprooted again

.

This time I joined the PG programme at Indian Institute of Management Indore. For once, I was part of a premier institution of the country, although, yet again, I was in the first batch of the programme. I graduated from IIM Indore in February 2000. Two years at Indore were probably the richest learning experience for me. In the midst of a heady combo of intense coopetition, strong camaraderie and flowing sensibilities, I discovered a new me.

Education and occupation

As can be seen above, my journey till the year 2000 was pretty eventful. When the above para was written, I was still in Indore. HOwever, I must mention that I was selected to join one of the largest FMCG majors in India, Dabur India Ltd., on 19th February, 2000. I was asked to start work on June 1 as a Management Trainee. I started with a 4 month stint with their Family Products Division (FPD) in another beatiful city - Hyderabad. I learnt the tricks of the trade there before being shifted to Delhi and then to Udaipur for my second stint, this time with Healthcare Products Division. I did my last stint at Dabur's corporate headquarters near Delhi in International Marketing and was confirmed as Product Manager for a brand called Lal Dant Manjan. I have since worked on Anmol Cocnut Oil, Vatika Lite Hair Oil and two new products that are being developed at the time of writing this
Update: Inspite of everything, my company decided to promote me in July'04 and I'm now a Senior Product Manager.

Aspirations and Ambition

I plan to continue in either the Consumer Goods industry or move to a related industry in the near future. I should be part of senior management by 2010, after which I plan to venture into a startup. Not decided what kind yet - maybe strategic consultancy. Sometime in between or after this, I plan to spend 11/2 years at Wharton doing another MBA. I see myself as a fit and dynamic VP of a company or CEO of my own concern at 45, and yes, I would also be a family man and should have a 12 year old and an 8 year old part of it.

my loved ones

My father - Ever with me

My mother - my best friend

My sister - my inspiration and support

Others!

Interests

Music: This, by far, is my primary interest. Hobbies have come and gone, but music has stayed with me like a loyal friend. After my first exposure to music when my grandmother sang bhajans to a 10-month old me, I developed a love for it that I don't foresee waning in the future. My interest in music encompasses almost all kinds. However, I must admit that the feelings generated through Indian classical music are unmatched. I have indulged in composing, writing, singing and playing of music. My favourite artists include Kishore Kumar, John Denver, Udit Narayan, Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia and Suryakant Tripathi and the great R D Burman

Photography: an avid photographer friend of mine introduced me to the wonderful world of amateur photography only very recently. Needless to say, I took up the interest quickly. Inspite of the constraints this expensive hobby exert upon a person, I managed to keep it alive through intermittent photography experiments. I don't know a lot about the field yet, but I do own a good camera, interesting memories of not-so-successful sojourns, miles of film and some, good pics.

Travel: After all the places I had already been before I had even turned 7, it's a small wonder that I can drop almost anything for a trip. I?ve been lucky to see most of the western world and most of India. However, it really isn't fair to say that ANYONE has seen all of India, or even most of it. I can, nonetheless
boast of having seen more than one can expect in the circumstances.

Languages: I can't say I have a gift for them, but I seem to pick up words here and there. I have not mastered even my mother tongue as yet, but I can pick signals of Gujarati, Bangla and Tamil. Besides, I can read and write these plus Urdu.

My early Years - the journey to date

Education and occupation

Aspirations and Ambition

my loved ones

Interests

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