Question: So, Ashish, we’ll start with the first question. So, how about we start with how your life at KGP was? What were your expectations when you joined IIT KGP?
When I first arrived on campus, it was a very chill environment for me. As I’m from Mumbai, I didn’t find much difference in the atmosphere. The most important fact was the exposure to a variety of cultures. People from across the country were present, which was something I wasn’t initially familiar with. This encouraged me to learn new things.
Talking about my expectation, my expectation from the campus was to experience every aspect of it by the time I graduate, whether it is in terms of career, politics, science, or anything else. I have been driven in that sense to explore every field in order to achieve my goals. For example, in terms of career, I have explored finance, software, data science, and consulting, and finally chose what is best for me.
On a soft note, in terms of skills, I have a keen interest in the politics that KGP has to offer. Secondly, I consider myself a very people-centric person. If I don’t speak to at least five people in a day, my day feels incomplete. KGP made me realize this aspect of my personality, and even though I may not be certain about how I envision myself 10–15 years from now, I at least know my likes and dislikes. It has provided me with a greater understanding of who I am as an individual.
Also, I’ve been asking myself a question for a very long time: what brings happiness in life? When I came to IIT, I thought, “Padhai likhai karenge, badhia marks laayenge, aa jayega usse happiness.” But then I got into IIT with a rank that was almost on the verge of not making it, but somehow I made it. I joined the Department of Mining Engineering and successfully DepCed into the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Then, I joined the E-cell, which was the most hyped society at the time. I thought it would bring me happiness, but I ended up doing a lot of work without feeling satisfied. After that, I thought if I achieved something good in my career, it would bring me happiness. So, I ventured into finance and consultancy as I feel I am from a people-centric background.
I scored a very good internship then; I scored a very good placement. But that happiness lasted only for a day. Slowly, after the end of the first year, I realized that all the experiences where I was able to make a difference in people’s lives were the ones that brought me happiness. For example, in my hall, I was very focused on creating a holistic environment for juniors. I’m from MMM, which didn’t have a very good culture five years back, it was quite naive. If you compare it with VS or MS, we were pathetic in comparison in the year 2018. But slowly and steadily, five years down the line, we have built enough credentials and potential that this year, we were able to fight RP for the post of Vice President. So, wherever I can create an impact on people’s lives through decision-making, it makes me feel happy. The crux of my KGP life is realizing what makes me happy, and that is having opportunities for decision-making.
Question: You mentioned that you tried everything in KGP and explored every domain. Your portfolio has been very diverse. So, how did you manage all of this in five years? It’s tough for people to manage two domains at the same time. How did you manage to pull it all off simultaneously?
It took a lot of sacrifice. Until the end of the third year, I was very focused and secluded. I used to prioritize what was important to me. This affected my friendships and relationships to a great extent. I mean, I could only maintain close relationships with a few people. I do not have a vast circle of very close friends. That’s because in order to experience so many things, you have to adapt and evolve constantly. For this reason, I believe the most important thing is that I was ready to sacrifice a lot of my personal time to pursue those opportunities.
Additionally, most of the things I have done were influenced by what I learned in E-cell and other experiences, which helped me score good internships. With those internships, I was able to secure better PORs on campus. Through those PORs, I was able to create a network with my juniors and seniors much faster. Interns also gave me a lot of other opportunities. So, it was basically a virtual cycle where “doing something good led to utilizing it in doing other good things .”
Question: So I see that you’ve been mentioning E-Cell a lot and how it influenced you and shaped you as a person, right? So were there other societies or clubs or anything other involvement that you would like to tell us about?
Sadly, I was very passionate about E-Cell, and hence I gave my entire second year to it. If you look at my academics in the second year as well, all I did was go to class in order to maintain a 9+ CGPA. Apart from that, I was truly devoted to ECell. I did apply for ScholsAve in my first year. But, the interview question bamboozled me, and I wasn’t able to answer it. But, I have immense respect for DebSoc, B Club, and Quant Club. During the time I joined IIT, BClub and Quant Club weren’t that established. In the year 2018, Bclub was not that influential on campus, but looking at the progress that it has had now, B Club, DebSoc, Quant Club, and 180 DC as well. I think these are hotspots that Juniors should try.
Question: So like, you told us that you got your department changed from Mining Engineering to Industrial and Systems Engineering. Were there any? What were the specific reasons that you picked Industrial and Systems Engineering as your major?
I have a very strong personal ambition to be the very best in whatever I do. I realized that with the peer group in my department, it was highly unlikely. Say, if I’m into politics, I’d want to be the Prime Minister of India; if I’m into Finance, I’d want to be a Private Equity Analyst. Hence my decision to DepC was a do-or-die situation. In order to build my life, I had to get out of Mining Engineering. Otherwise, I can’t stay. So, in my first year, if was not in an ECell meeting or class, I would just be studying in my first year or playing poker in my room, most probably. If you consider it in that sense, it’s a do-or-die situation for me every time, and DepC was just the start of it, where I realized if I put my mind to something, I can definitely achieve it considering the time.
Question: So, we all know that you led the Inter-IIT Tech contingent this year. Could you tell us about your experience leading the contingent and winning the gold for IIT Kharagpur?
If you look at it internally from the administration point of view, the Contingent Captain, the Vice-captains, and compare it with an operation of, let’s say, an MNC firm. An MNC firm will have a lot of brands. Let’s consider HUL. It produces a lot of stuff. It makes soaps; it makes detergents, it makes dishwashers, etc. Consider every product like one of the problem statements. So if you look at it from a corporate point of view, the captain is like the CEO and the vice-captain is like a COO. So this is the best experience that KGP has to offer if you want to. Check whether you are CEO material or not. That is, if you are able to manage the team, how are the power dynamics, and there will be a lot of departments of which you might not even know the slightest basics. Say, we have Soumyo here. He was a part of the Drona team and was into hardware. I am not a hardware guy, but still looking at their work inspired me. It is not rocket science if you put some time into it. To just learn the basics, all you gotta do is ask when you have not understood something. People will be ready to explain it to you, and then you will be able to make decisions for them when they are not able to do that for themselves. So being the Contingent Captain, it is very similar to a CEO position. And with that power comes a lot of responsibility as well. You cannot keep everyone happy. We have to keep checks in place to ensure what’s best for the overall contingent. You do it irrespective of whether people like it or not because So-Cult and Tech are very different. In So-Cult, everyone tries to maximize their fun and their utility. And if they have fun, it is directly proportional to them winning. But in Tech, it is not in that sense. In Tech, you have to push people to give their best for very extended periods of time. You have to put in 10 to 12 hours per day constantly, and if you’re in a fourth-year or fifth-year position, you also have to push your juniors to put in 10–12 hours which is something excessive.
Question: As you said, you spent most of your time in studies and E-cell and not really exploring the So-Cult side or even socializing. So, do how have any regrets?
I don’t think so, particularly. I am a man who does not like to carry regrets, and I knew what it was going to cost me. I knew that I would not be able to play a sport on campus or do dramatics on campus, even though I liked them a lot. But you have to choose whatever you want on your plate very wisely. And it worked out very well for me, so I have no regrets in that sense. So, everything I chose has led to what I am and what my career would look like.
Question: So Ashish, here’s another question. What was the personal motivation to keep going and, you know, to keep achieving your goal each and every day throughout your stay of five years at KGP?
I think there have been two major reasons. I have a very strong personal ambition to be the best in what I do. That is, to be at the top in every field. As I said, if I were doing politics, I would want to be the Prime Minister of India. If I were in finance, I would currently want to be a private equity analyst. Or let’s say I’m in software engineering. Then I would want to work in Google’s Deep Learning Center. So, being the best at everything that I do is my personal ambition, and that stems from a movie that I had seen in my childhood. Have you read Iliad and Odyssey, by any chance? Iliad and Odyssey is the story of Troy. So I watched this movie, Troy, probably around when I was in 4th standard. It was the second Hollywood movie of my life. There is a scene in which Achilles is on his way to a fight. And then a kid tells Achilles that the person he’s going to fight is very strong and asks why he isn’t afraid. Then Achilles asks him if he would go to that fight if he were given the chance. The boy says no. Achilles replies, “That is why no one will remember your name”.
I have been mad enough to follow it till now. I often think at night that to do something extraordinary, you need to be extraordinary and to make people remember your name, you have to do something extraordinary. So, one thing with me is that I cannot sit idle for a long time.
I have to be doing something or the other.
Before your call, 15 minutes before the interview, I had nothing to do. So, I created a set of five questions that you’ll probably ask and framed answers for them.
Question: Out of the five questions, how many questions did we match?
Three questions out of the five. I have spoken to a lot of people, so I can guess the common questions.
Question: Yeah, you mentioned your work ethic and how you work a lot and cannot sit still. Wouldn’t that much work lead to burnout, and have you experienced burnout?
I have. After my third year in E-Cell, I was burned out because of the two years I spent in E-Cell, second and third year.
For me, burning out is reading a book in silence. For example, after the Inter-IIT, I did nothing substantial in the month of March apart from the elections. In the elections, it’s training a candidate so that he knows what he’s going to do in his fourth year if he gets elected.
When I get burned out, I speak to a lot of people, or read a book. I am currently reading a book about Mossad, the Israeli secret service, and some of their investigations.
Question: What books would you recommend for us to read?
‘7 Habits of Highly Efficient Teenagers’ is a good book. Mark Manson’s ‘Everything is F*cked’ is also nice. These two books provided me with something unique. 7 Habits of Highly Efficient Teenagers is ‘mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.’ If you pick up any other self-help book, say ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’, every learning of this book can be extrapolated out of just one learning of 7 Habits of Highly Efficient Teenagers.
Question: Having been a member of the E-Cell, what is your take on the entrepreneurial culture on the campus?
IIT Kharagpur’s entrepreneurial culture is pathetic if you compare it with the other top IITs. If you ask KGPians, which is their favorite IIT KGP startup, half of them won’t be able to name a single one. Many people don’t even know that one of Swiggy’s co-founders is our alumnus. There is very little awareness of entrepreneurship on campus. People feel that they can get opportunities through micro-specialization in EP or reading some articles. We do organize events to create awareness, but we still are in the process of finding where the ignition factor lies. We’ve seen that in the events conducted by us, people who are non-KGPians are way more motivated than the students at IIT Kharagpur itself. Another factor that might be responsible is the remote location of the campus.
One interesting thing I’ve observed is that I’ve spoken to a lot of VC(Venture Capitalists) and PE(Private Equity) guys, and IIT KGP contributes the highest amount of people to this sector. The majority of people don’t have a direct encounter with entrepreneurship during their stay at KGP, but as soon as they graduate, they take up roles in Consulting or Investment Banking. So, in my opinion, people want to deal with investments and startups rather than starting their own.
Question: What were the things that you cherished throughout your years at KGP?
Can I actually cherish decisions and not time?
Firstly I was very puzzled about whether to continue E-Cell in my 3rd year or not because I had very different priorities back then. After introspecting a lot and talking with some of my friends, I decided to continue.
Secondly, to go for Inter-IIT Tech Captaincy. Kshitiz and I had long conversations as to who should apply between us both. My decision was very clear that if Kshitiz applied, I would be backing down because he was the best person on campus to lead the team. But he thought otherwise, and in the end, he backed down. Thirdly shifting from Consulting to Finance at the very last moment in placements. The reason being after introspection, I realized that even though Consulting is considered very “flashy,” it would not make me as happy as Finance would. The most important reason for that is I wanted to join Consulting just so that I can exit into Finance 2 years down the line. And when I got to know about the work at DC Advisories through their presentation, I realized this is what I want to do! So why wait for two years in consulting when I know I am not that interested?
Question: What do you think makes a good leader?
Obviously, this does not have a straight answer. I attended a leadership conference in my 10–11th grade, where they mentioned various types of leadership. E.g., If you look at Russia, it is kind of a dictatorship and also not one. Now take India, where everybody is free to voice their own opinions. It is more of a collaborative leadership. I wouldn’t say Russia is better than India or vice-versa. No. Both are doing great on their own terms. In a similar way, it depends on which environment you are dealing with in the first place. For example, in E-Cell, you cannot do collaborative work because there is a lot of work to do, and you need to have commanding leadership, which is similar to Consulting and Finance. Whatever the MD or Partner says, the analyst has to do that work without a single question. Because if he/she declines their request, then it will bring havoc at work. Now compare this to Inter-IIT. There are a lot of stakeholders involved here; everybody does not have full information about everything. So here, you cannot have a commanding lead. Commanding is good when you have knowledge about the whole process.
So I think the best quality of a leader would be to analyze what sort of environment they would be working with and then adapt to that environment to bring the best out of people.
Question: What is your stance on elections in KGP? Obviously, you know all the things that take place behind the scenes.
I think KGP elections very closely resemble Indian Elections on a smaller scale. Let me explain that through a few examples:
India has parties; here, we have halls.
We observe “Gathbandhan’ there; we can see pacts here.
The grooming and the shadow concept are extremely similar to what happens in Indian Elections.
Candidates in Indian Elections campaign in different states; we have candidates who campaign in different halls.
Every candidate or party stands with some values, and to achieve them, they have their proposals, e.g., foreign policy proposals, water proposals, etc. On a similar note, the VPs in KGP also have proposals. But the main differentiating factor is that there is no incentive to keep a check on the wrong things a VP might do in his tenure. But for Indian Elections, if the PM does not work, he might be voted out of his office. So there is an incentive to become a VP in KGP, but there is no incentive to perform.
So, if the VP is egoistic, why will he care about what the general people think? Hence, the grooming process exists where they try to shred the ego of a candidate completely.
Question: What advice would you give to junior students who aspire to achieve similar success as you?
Particularly for the juniors, don’t waste your time. Because time is money. Time is your value. Put your time very judiciously with people you want to stay connected to for a long time. Time should be invested considering the return it will give you, the people who would be involved with you, and the future, personal self-ambitions that you have. For example, if I do not want to enter a non-tech domain. Then being in E-Celll does not make sense.
Choose your decisions also considering what you want to do in the future and invest time in those decisions accordingly.
For example, you get your happiness by playing badminton. Then, boss, you are doing something wrong by being in IIT. You should play a sport via some national coaching sector. That is my philosophy; I know it would be very different for many people, but for me, it’s that.
In my career, choosing finance at the end of the day after coming to IIT is very unconventional. It’s not the wisest decision to do so. But, one of my reasons for rejecting the PPO was the same. I could have gotten a Nomura job from SRCC or DU as well.
But coming to a front-end investment banking office is something that only IITians did, and that too just IIT Kharagpur and IIT Kanpur. So being in IIT should mean something to you. It’s not like your life would be set if you were in IIT Bombay instead of Kharagpur. IIT KGP should bring something unique to you.