Bombay Diaries 3: Corporate

PGDM.

Post Graduate Diploma in Management.

A 2 year course which involves at least 36 different subjects and a 2 month internship in your specialized field.

Internship at IFB Industries. 

Precisely the reason why I’ve come to Bombay. This being my first corporate stint, I was very excited and a little nervous. But the people in the office were very warm and I settled down quickly. I and a friend from college, Radhika, got our internship in the same company so we decided to stay together and work together. I didn’t know her that well earlier but now I think that to live together was a good decision. We get along well and it is easy and fun working with her. My specialized field is marketing so it has given me an opportunity to see the real Bombay and its people.

The life on the streets, on the railway stations and the super tired evenings when we get back home. My job profile is related to the marketing of industrial products which gave me a chance to visit one of the best and the most beautiful corporate buildings and the most elegant restaurants and breweries that Bombay houses. It is here that I realize what luxury and affluence could really be. To work in these offices require a lot of hard work and then spending the hard earned money in one of the best restaurants of Bombay. Well, that is how money keeps changing pockets. Isn't it?

Because of the travelling involved, I now have a full local rail map etched in my head and yes the m-indicator is my constant companion. The people in Bombay are very helpful and you don’t have to worry if you feel lost. They’ll try their level best to help you out.  I used to hate walking and Bombay is compelling me to walk. 

And with this, I do aspire to do away with that extra weight. It is only here that I see the roads lined up with food stalls even in the day and decent looking people eating food off it. They are a very important part of a common man in Mumbai and the kind of food they offer is good too. I had an Uttapam priced at Rs. 20 and the only thing I could think was to ask the big shot restaurant owners to hire this uttapam stall guy or atleast take down the recipe from him.

Source: Google Images

If you are pursuing marketing and if you are asked to meet clients by your mentor, trust me, he will never be satisfied with the number of clients you meet in one day. He will keep badgering you to meet more and you will finally understand the reason why bosses are hated all over the world. 

My mentor, though cute, never considers the fact that I am new to the city and travelling in Bombay is a task in its own. Anybody who has learnt to travel in Bombay trains and buses must have developed some serious analytical skills. So I end up meeting 7 or maximum 9 clients before I decide to go home which takes another one and a half hour. 

It is now that I realize the meaning of dropping dead on the bed. I sleep at 11 in the night and wake up at 8 wishing to sleep longer. Sleeping after a long tiring day is heavenly and delightfully peaceful. Working in Bombay is teaching me to be confident, independent and mature. It has been a good experience uptil now and I hope this feeling will continue for the rest of the summer.

~Supriya Jain