Rashmi Bansal at IIM Lucknow

“There is a value to struggle in life. Then you value that as well since the passion of doing something drives you”

A room of students, signed copies of bestselling books and Rashmi Bansal… a combination that is rare and enthralling. It did happen on the 27^th September evening when the writer visited the IIM Lucknow campus and I, with my Media and Communication Cell team, had a warm conversation with the author over a cup of coffee. She owns an outstanding literary career after writing five bestselling books featuring entrepreneurs.

I was totally taken aback when Rashmi expressed in excitement that she loved the crowd, the facilities and the “five star mess food”. More so when she said that all these make her wish if she could come back for a second MBA at IIM Lucknow! The crowd which has always been a nerdy, serious-looking, always-in-a-hurry bunch of young people… facilities are no doubt one of the best… but the (five star) mess food! I’ve always been a woeful survivor on milk and cornflakes... not that the food is totally hopeless, the biryani

gets monotonous with time. But Rashmi feels that this is the beauty of IIM Lucknow. The serious students don’t step back to express their excitement and creativity. The facilities, in Rashmi’s words, are “so good” in terms of sports, library, swimming pool and gym, unlike so many colleges that she has seen. I asked her again about the mess food to see if she would like to reconsider her take but she says that there is variety, taste and warmth in the food of IIM Lucknow which she preferred over dining at a fancy restaurant that day!

Rashmi says that she would like to see 10% of the batch become entrepreneurs. In her words, if the best and brightest brains in our country, who are capable of time management and hard work, don’t think differently, then who will? “We all are born with some unique dream… to climb Mount Everest and likewise… dreams that are not motivated by the money part of it. But as we move from KG to PG 90% of the spark dies out.” I saw a broad smile on Shivangi’s face who was behind the camera. I think she recalled some unique dream that she had.

We do often get carried away by money. I mean most people do… just that students like us don’t have money at this stage of our career. But it was so inspiring for all of us when she said, “Do you really work to make money? Sometimes you look for path breaking ideas.”

I was just about to put forward my ending question to Rashmi when Saurav, my MCC co-member, mentioned my book and that I was going through a problem, a second book syndrome. And I adored it when Rashmi said, “You should write what your heart wants to be told… not what readers would love to hear… I too went through the problem, everyone does, but this way you counter-attack the syndrome.” It was a wow moment when she promised to come for my second book launch (as and when it happens). “I’m happy that IIM Lucknow has so much diversity,” Rashmi said.

It was really a pleasure to have Rashmi between us and we did mention that to her. To this, she sweetly smiled and said, “Dear, it was my pleasure as well… I enjoyed with you guys… and I would love to be back.”

Godrej Loud Dream

Debalina writes about her dreams for Godrej Loud...

"Writing for a Purpose…and the purpose is to touch the lives of the lesser fortunate"

 In West Bengal, in the year 2007, there was a huge disorder regarding the land acquisition by the Tatas in Singur and Nandigram. Innocent farmers were killed, their families destroyed… a complete human barbarism was moving around in the air. Most terrible was the fact that women were being raped and burnt. I was in my class 12 then and the entire episode hovered in my mind like ghosts. I penned down a poem, “An enigma called Woman” and dedicated it to Tapasi Mallik, a 16 years old rape and murder victim of that time, and women like her. It received the Editors’ Choice Award by Poetry.com and International Library of Poetry.

There were tears in my unbelievable eyes at 12 midnight, somewhere in the month of July in the year 2011. A story that my pen told the world about an ugly truth of street children in India had won the Critics’ Choice Award by the All India Short Story Competition, Illuminati 2011. And there was the joy that it was being read by millions in our country and abroad. The story thus unfolded was called “By-lane Dreamers” and somewhere down the line, I was happier since my creation could be an opportunity for many dreamers who have sweet-might-have-beens in their eyes… the poor children who belong to the streets

And finally, in 2012, my debut novel, “The Female Ward” was released internationally by Thames River Press (London). It is a diary of a young girl who witnesses few social issues in India like corruption, prisons and ragging. Again, a dream came true in the attempt to change India.

Now, I’m here at IIM Lucknow. The busy schedule has not stopped me from dreaming about a changed India where everyone is happy. I’m so glad that my mission, writing for a purpose, is actually helping me realise my dream. I’m working on my second book, “The Interpreter of Propinquity”, not a novel, but an anthology of short stories. It will have 20 stories, 750-1500 words each, highlighting current issues in India, helping people come out of their ship-wrecked existence and live a life. I’ve the manuscript ready for 10 stories and working hard to complete the remaining in a year. I would love to disclose the titles of the stories I’ve written already and they are:

1.       An Empty Title

2.       Imaginary

3.       Ocean

4.       The Conch Shell

5.       Fading Clouds

6.       The Last Hint of Orange

7.       By-lane Dreamers

8.       The Stripper in Radha

9.       The Old Giant

10.   The Paper Boat

So here I am, a full-time dreamer since 2007, writing for a purpose and the purpose is to touch the lives of the lesser fortunate because

“There’s nothing like a dream to create future” – Victor Hugo, Les Miserables