Students Who have Inspired Me

Respectful, Affectionate and the Mean Machines

I have been lucky to have wonderful students, some who stood by my side in the worst of times (I mean office politics), some who were extremely respectful and some extremely affectionate. And of course there were some mean machines, very much fit for the hyper competitive MNC but not fit to inspire trust and collaborate. Some of my students have given me lifetime memories and some have inspired me in amazing ways.

I began full time teaching in 2004 at ICFAI, Pondicherry. One student I particularly remember from those days is Midhunalaksmi, who was respectful till the end and still stayed away from the loyalty and political games. Such a balance is very rare these days. 

I shall always remember Prakash Upadhyay for the immense professional courage he always displayed. Being assertive without becoming aggressive is a tough job but he maintained that balance beautifully. Varun Vyas has that ‘Never say die’ spirit and sincerity very few people have. He moderates a Facebook group “Aasha India Genx’ and is inspiring young generation & giving them hope. 

I shall remember Parul Aggarwal as the most balanced student I have come across. Mohit Ahuja had the passion for photography and bikes, which I really admire. Passion is something I find very rarely among people, no wonder many of my students in their 20s had the energy levels of 50 plus. LOL. Jasleeen Bhasin, Qaisar R. Bhatt and Shivani Sood will be remembered as the pure souls who touched me with their genuineness and positivity. 


And Faustine from France for having the courage to be the only international student. I have been through the pain of being the only outsider to a culture and I can understand. There is a long list of students who have touched in their own ways like Vinayshree, Harbans, Binita, Sanjoy and so on.

Nicole Gomes had her doubts about choosing between Creative and Client servicing side. She accepted my advice unquestioningly and found her forte. I shall always have a soft corner for my students though I feel sympathetic for the mean machines. May be sometimes our financial struggles brings out that side? I would also remind them that social media is moving the world from competitive to collaborative environment and they may be the losers in the new world. In any case over competitive people send negative vibes and are not able to inspire trust as leaders and entrepreneurs.

I once told a class very frankly that it is humanly impossible to be completely impartial as bias is built into human psyche. But we need to make a constant effort to be as impartial as possible. The students who gave me extra respect and extra affection, got it in return most of the time.

But even I may have failed to return the immense respect and affection I have got from some of the students like Anurag Pandey and Neha Tyagi.